What if “too late” is the wrong question and the better one is “what do I actually want now?” We dig into the midlife pivot with humor and honesty, peeling back the fear of looking foolish, the pressure to be instantly good, and the myth that everyone else got the memo on timing. From career changes to first creative attempts, we explore how to begin again without blowing up your life or your budget.

I share why podcasting became my laboratory for starting messy and staying consistent, including the reality of working without sponsors and carving out time around a day job. We talk about the real costs—money, energy, visibility—and the underrated advantages of being 40-ish: clearer boundaries, sharper instincts, and the ability to spot red flags early. You’ll hear personal stories, from my dad launching his own architecture business in his 40s to a one-year job detour that wasn’t ideal but led to friendships that changed everything. These aren’t highlight reels; they’re proof that experience is the upgrade, not the obstacle.

If you’ve been sitting on a new path—writing a script, changing fields, starting a business—we walk through reversible steps that reduce risk and build momentum: small pilots, trusted feedback, simple outreach, and a plan that respects the bills while growing your craft. The most useful reframe might be the simplest: time will pass either way. Five years from now, do you want to be wondering or living differently? Try this prompt to unlock honest desire: If it wasn’t too late, what would I let myself want?

If this conversation resonates, tap follow, leave a quick review, and share it with a friend who needs the nudge. Your words help more 40-ish listeners find their next brave step.

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The waves of grief never truly stop—but they can get smaller when the logistics are clear. Author Lynn Stone joins us to share how her husband’s unexpected passing led her to create a practical, compassionate guide for end-of-life planning that puts love first. This conversation moves past stigma and superstition and into simple actions that protect the people we care about most.

We walk through the real costs families face—from funeral expenses and burial or cremation fees to the surprising price of death certificates—and why a single life insurance policy often isn’t enough. Lynn breaks down the essentials: durable and medical powers of attorney, advance directives, beneficiary reviews, and adding payable-on-death designations at the bank. She also explains why documenting passwords and digital accounts may be the single most helpful step you can take this week. Along the way, we talk about organizing important documents in a fire safe or structured file system, setting a regular review cadence, and “cross-training” at home so no one is left in the dark about bills, maintenance, or daily routines.

Beyond the checklists, Lynn speaks openly about therapy, widow support groups, and the fog that follows loss. Her story shows how preparation eases decision fatigue during the hardest days and how planning can strengthen families long before they need it. If you’ve avoided the topic because it feels scary or morbid, this episode offers a kinder frame: planning is an act of love, a way to lower the height of future waves, and a gift of peace for the people who will carry your memory forward.

If this conversation helps, share it with someone who needs encouragement to start. Subscribe for more honest, practical talks, and leave a review to help others find the show.

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What if the uneasy feeling you can’t name isn’t a problem to fix but a signal that something new is forming? We open up about the midlife identity shift many of us feel around forty and trade the pressure to reinvent for a kinder process of remembering, editing, and choosing with intention. The roles that once defined us grow quieter, and that silence can feel like loss—until we notice the space it creates for a fuller self to step forward.

We walk through a simple reframe: you’re not lost; you’re between versions. From there, we get practical. Katie shares how returning to dance—on her terms—became a way to reconnect with joy without performing for anyone. We talk about bodies that need different care, finding movement that fits real life, and why tiny, sustainable steps beat flashy comebacks. Creativity shows up too: hand embroidery as a focused, meditative practice that invites flow, calm, and self-trust in small pockets of time.

Curiosity doesn’t stop at old loves. We dig into trying something brand new—like writing—without waiting for permission, credentials, or perfect conditions. Expect ideas for low-cost experiments through community classes, ways to rekindle learning without chasing a degree, and prompts to spot the parts of you asking to be reintroduced. If you’ve been wrestling with guilt for wanting more or feeling unsure about what comes next, this conversation offers language, tools, and a gentle nudge to start where you are.

Ready to meet the next version of you with less pressure and more presence? Press play, then tell us what you’ll reintroduce or try this week. If this spoke to you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who could use a hopeful reframe.

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What if resilience isn’t about being tough—but about letting yourself be seen? Today we sit down with counselor and author Stacy Schaffer to explore how healing starts when we match our insides to our outsides. Stacy opens up about the pivotal moment a childhood friend asked what really happened the year she “disappeared,” and how choosing to own her story transformed her life and practice.

We dive into the difference between “strong” and resilient, especially in the shock of grief. Stacy breaks down small, doable steps to build emotional resilience: practicing honesty with safe people, asking for listening instead of advice, and noticing defensiveness as a clue to unhealed places. Drawing from two decades of clinical work, she shares what kids teach us about growth—why naming feelings early prevents years of unhealthy coping—and how simple validation can change a child’s trajectory more than any five-step plan.

We also face the hard realities today’s youth carry: lockdown drills, ubiquitous social media, and chronic anxiety that often feels rational. Stacy offers clear ways parents, teachers, and community members can be safe places, without rushing to fix. She talks about narrating her audiobook as a powerful integration practice, and why clinicians—and all of us—do better work when we do our own work. Midlife themes run throughout: setting boundaries, protecting capacity, and caring less about approval while caring more about congruence. If you’re craving practical tools and a compassionate reframe on resilience, this conversation will meet you where you are.

Subscribe, share with a friend who’s doing their own emotional work, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What’s one small truth you’re ready to say out loud this week?

Link to Stacy's website and where to buy her book HERE

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January doesn’t have to shout to matter. We’re kicking off 2026 by pressing pause on the pressure and choosing intention, reflection, and small, steady steps that actually fit a real life. Katie looks back on the quiet wins of 2025—starting the show without perfect timing, publishing through self-doubt, and caring for a sick spouse while keeping the mic warm—and shares how those moments reshaped what progress looks like in midlife.

From there, we set a humane vision for the year ahead. Think depth over hype, alignment over aesthetics, and community over vanity metrics. You’ll hear our plans to grow the podcast thoughtfully, highlight women navigating midlife with honesty, and expand our lens from “figuring it out” to building, reclaiming, and becoming. We talk tiny, doable health shifts (hello, dance fitness and one-more-glass-of-water), a book-in-progress that I've had my mind on doing for a while, and a refreshed approach to money inspired by an upcoming financial wellness conversation.

We’re also bringing connection into the room—literally. Expect local gatherings in Salt Lake City: low-key ladies’ nights, craft meetups, vision-board sessions, and an embroidery night for beginners and curious hands. If you love podcast swaps, have a guest idea, or know a talented video editor for a “Figuring It Out” series, this is your nudge to reach out. The goal is simple: spaces where women feel seen, can exhale, and can build together without rushing toward reinvention.

If this resonates, follow along, share with a friend who needs a softer start to the year, and leave a review to help more midlife women find this space. Your voice shapes where we go next—what gathering would you show up for first?

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What if the “missing piece” of your story isn’t a flaw to fix but a new lens that finally makes everything make sense? Katie sits down with coach and community builder Natalie Sharp, who’s preparing for her own ADHD assessment at 40, to unpack why so many women are getting diagnosed later in life and how that knowledge reframes everything from school memories to motherhood.

We talk about the realities of assessment access—like the UK’s right to choose pathway and long waitlists—and the quiet ways inattentive ADHD shows up in girls who are praised for being “good” while struggling to focus, initiate, and finish without a deadline. Natalie explains how perimenopause can unmask symptoms, why rejection-sensitive dysphoria hits so hard, and how unmasking can feel messy before it feels free. The conversation moves from grief and validation to practical emotional regulation, kinder self-talk, and relationship language that lowers the stakes when tensions spike.

Then we go bigger: smashing boxes in education and work that were never designed for nonlinear thinkers. We explore interest-based motivation, hyperfocus, and the value of autonomy, plus the ADHD–autism overlap that can either balance or battle inside one person. Natalie’s support group for neurodivergent women defies stereotypes with its surprising calm—proof that being fully understood is a nervous-system balm. Finally, we turn to intuition. After years of outsourcing decisions to rules and experts, rebuilding self-trust becomes the anchor. Pair the brain’s brilliance with the heart’s whisper and you get alignment—strengths like empathy, creativity, and pattern recognition working on your terms.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re “too much” or “not enough,” this is your invitation to step out of the box and into a life that fits. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the moment that resonated most—we’d love to hear your story.

Connect with Natalie on Instagram Here @intuitive.adhd and links to @step.outofthe.shadows

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Holiday magic feels different when you’re the one stitching it together. We open the curtain on the unspoken rules that push many of us to overfunction through December and show a livable way to trade performance for presence. From the drawer that won’t open to the calendar that won’t quit, this conversation moves from home organization mindset to holiday expectation triage, with practical steps for choosing what matters, skipping what doesn’t, and releasing guilt when you make things smaller on purpose.

We dig into how expectations get installed—family traditions, social media, cultural scripts, and our need to make it special for everyone else—and why midlife is often the first time we question the job description. You’ll hear a simple filter for decisions: non‑negotiables, simplifiable, or skippable. We talk about kid‑centered traditions where your presence isn’t mandatory, the power of naming invisible assumptions before they ruin a moment, and the difference between a meaningful ritual and a habit that just survived. Along the way, we get honest about disappointment, like a beloved Nutcracker outing that didn’t match the picture in our heads, and how speaking needs out loud can rescue the feeling we’re chasing.

If you’re craving calm, you’ll find scripts and strategies: set earlier end times, share hosting, buy dessert guilt‑free, protect sleep on the big nights, and let a half‑decorated tree stand as a love letter to real life. We model for our kids what adult holidays can be—warm, flexible, and human. Schedules change, bedrooms shift, traditions evolve, and that’s not failure; that’s growth. You’re not behind; you’re redesigning a season to fit the life you actually live.

If this spoke to you, share it with a friend who’s feeling the holiday pressure, then follow the show and leave a quick review. Your notes help more 40‑ish listeners find a calmer path through the season.

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A stranger’s outrage in a parking lot shouldn’t have ruined our afternoon—yet it did. That jolt of unfairness, the shock that steals your words, and the endless replay afterward can trap even the most grounded among us. We pull the moment apart with honesty and humor, tracing what actually happens in the body when confrontation hits out of the blue and why silence might be the smartest choice your nervous system makes.

We walk through freeze and fawn responses in plain language, explaining how the thinking brain goes offline and why the perfect clapback arrives hours too late. From there, we explore the deeper layers—midlife confidence colliding with old social scripts, the ache of not correcting the record, and the sticky mix of humiliation and anger that keeps the scene looping. If you’ve ever Googled the rules just to prove you weren’t wrong, you’ll feel seen.

Most importantly, we offer a practical five-step framework to stop letting strangers live rent-free in your head: state reality out loud, separate their behavior from your worth, give yourself credit for staying safe, practice closing the loop, and choose peace over being understood. Along the way, you’ll pick up simple nervous system resets, time-boxed rumination, and language you can use in the moment or on the walk back to your car. Share this with a friend who needs a calm, clear plan for the next unexpected confrontation. Subscribe, leave a quick review, and tell us: which step helps you reclaim your peace fastest?

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