Why do some men believe they deserve a girlfriend simply because they've worked on themselves? In this episode I discuss how self-improvement can turn into entitlement, why rejection can threaten our sense of self-worth, how we’ve started treating love like a transaction, and why real connection requires accepting that someone has the freedom to choose you, or not to.

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🎧 LISTEN ON THE PODCAST

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5FTgpj6cCI3POMvuo9M31y

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/touching-grass/id1868714114

Listen anywhere else: https://pod.link/1868714114

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⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS

00:00 why men feel entitled to girlfriends

00:56 where entitlement begins

02:04 the desire to be loved

03:24 when self-improvement becomes a promise

07:14 how rejection creates entitlement

11:52 why love becomes transactional

14:15 being needed vs. being wanted

16:05 the meaning of being chosen

17:50 why finding the right person takes time

19:29 you can't optimize your way into love

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📌 FOLLOW ME

Linktree → linktr.ee/touchinggrasspodInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/thetouchinggrasspod?utm_source=qr

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thetouchinggrasspod?_r=1&_t=ZT-99NvTuP60Wk

Substack → https://open.substack.com/pub/thetouchinggrasspod#dating #manosphere #selfimprovement #entitlement

Social media tells us what love looks like and requires, so then why are we all still miserable? In this episode I discuss what social media tells us about love, how applying universal love rules is harmful, what my parents’ 30-year marriage taught me about love, how to define compatibility for yourself, and how to figure out what you want in a partner.

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🎧 LISTEN ON THE PODCAST

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5FTgpj6cCI3POMvuo9M31yListen on

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/touching-grass/id1868714114

Listen anywhere else: https://pod.link/1868714114

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⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS

00:00 how social media shapes our idea of love

01:20 welcome to touching grass

01:44 what social media tells us about love

04:13 why we want rules for love

06:45 how we adopt other people's standards

07:56 what my parents’ 30-year marriage taught me about love

10:55 what makes a relationship work

12:01 finding your own definition of compatibility

15:22 do you actually want what you want?

16:25 figuring out what you want in a partner

18:12 deciding what's right for you

19:38 please subscribe and engage

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📌 FOLLOW ME

Linktree → linktr.ee/touchinggrasspod

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/thetouchinggrasspod?utm_source=qr

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thetouchinggrasspod?_r=1&_t=ZT-99NvTuP60Wk

Substack → https://open.substack.com/pub/thetouchinggrasspod#datingadvice

#datingadviceforwomen #compatability #relationshipstandards

Are tradwives desperate pick me's or is there something deeper to the appeal?

In today's episode, I explore the hidden emotions that might be driving the appeal of traditional gender roles, from the desire to feel chosen and find purpose to the burnout of modern life. As part of my new Unfinished Thoughts series, I question my own assumptions to explore why more women are drawn to this lifestyle, what it reveals about our society, and how we might be blaming the wrong things for the struggles we share.

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🎧 LISTEN ON THE PODCAST

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5FTgpj6cCI3POMvuo9M31y

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/touching-grass/id1868714114

Listen anywhere else: https://pod.link/1868714114

⸻

⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS

00:00 why are women becoming tradwives?

01:17 introducing unfinished thoughts (new series)

02:29 what makes the tradwife lifestyle so appealing?

04:02 are tradwives just desperate to feel chosen?

06:21 what is the draw to submission?

07:45 how traditional gender roles give identity and purpose

09:13 what does ‘men are the protectors’ even mean?

10:39 from girlboss to tradwife: did women get lied to?

12:44 maybe this is about burnout, not feminism?

13:54 we’re more similar to tradwives than we think

14:36 understanding matters more than criticizing

15:34 why do you think the tradwife life is appealing?

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📌 FOLLOW ME

Linktree → linktr.ee/touchinggrasspod

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/thetouchinggrasspod?utm_source=qr

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thetouchinggrasspod?_r=1&_t=ZT-99NvTuP60Wk

Substack → https://open.substack.com/pub/thetouchinggrasspod#tradwife #girlboss #genderroles #internetculture #gender

Dating coaches are using your vulnerabilities to make you subconsciously absorb harmful dating advice. We've all been left hurt at some point while dating, but if dating advice is supposed to make dating easier, why are people lonelier and struggling more than ever in the current dating market?

In today's episode I discuss how trying to minimize your dating pain can start with genuine advice but slowly lead you toward a harmful and transactional way of viewing relationships, how this can create a dangerous cycle with the manosphere, and what we can do instead.

🎧 LISTEN ON THE PODCAST

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5FTgpj6cCI3POMvuo9M31y

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/touching-grass/id1868714114

Listen anywhere else: https://pod.link/1868714114

⸻

⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS

00:00 why dating advice turns toxic

01:07 how pain shapes dating beliefs

03:28 when good advice turns harmful

05:27 “you are the prize”

06:14 the ego band-aid

08:53 turning off your emotions

10:17 when dating becomes transactional

11:14 from transaction to resentment

12:28 the manosphere disclaimer

13:30 how the manosphere pulls you in

14:27 the “sigma male” ego band-aid

15:39 emotional numbness to transaction

17:00 how both sides fuel each other

18:44 handling rejection without losing yourself

19:35 you are not the prize

20:41 how to deal with dating pain

21:42 comment your perspective

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📌 FOLLOW ME

Linktree → linktr.ee/touchinggrasspodInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/thetouchinggrasspod?utm_source=qr

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thetouchinggrasspod?_r=1&_t=ZT-99NvTuP60Wk

Substack → https://open.substack.com/pub/thetouchinggrasspod#datingadvice

#datingadviceforwomen #manosphere #datingadvicepipeline #internetculture

Is social media helping you gain more knowledge, or just making you reliant on someone else's thoughts? In this episode, we explore why consuming intelligent, nuanced content on platforms like Substack doesn’t necessarily make us independent thinkers, and how easily we can absorb someone else’s worldview without realizing it. We’ll unpack the psychology behind influence, the difference between gaining knowledge and forming your own perspective, and four ways to become a more critical, independent thinker online💚⸻⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS00:00 is substack helping us grow or making us reliant01:22 the illusion of being an intellectual03:13 why knowing more doesn’t make you a stronger thinker04:05 how social media subconsciously changes what you believe05:45 illusory truth effect: why repetition makes ideas feel true07:09 how to learn from others without outsourcing your thinking08:52 4 ways to become a more independent thinker11:42 when you stop thinking for yourself13:22 intelligence is not a performance⸻📌 FOLLOW MELinktree → linktr.ee/touchinggrasspodInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/thetouchinggrasspod?utm_source=qrTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thetouchinggrasspod?_r=1&_t=ZT-99NvTuP60WkSubstack → https://open.substack.com/pub/thetouchinggrasspod#criticalthinking #intellectualism #digitalculture #medialiteracy

What if you spent your whole life chasing success, only to realize you never actually wanted the life you built?

It’s easy to confuse money, luxury, social media aesthetics, and status with fulfillment. But what if the version of success you’re chasing was never actually yours?

In this episode, we’re talking about social media, lifestyle expectations, self-improvement, self-discovery, and the pressure to build a life that looks successful instead of one that actually feels good.

How do you figure out what you really want? And what happens if you achieve everything you thought you wanted, only to realize it doesn’t make you happy?

Let’s rethink what success, fulfillment, and a good life can actually look like.

⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS00:00 do i actually want the life I'm chasing?01:56 why does everyone want the same life?03:54 are we chasing success or status?05:39 what actually makes life fulfilling?07:32 redefine the way you see success09:06 what if you get everything you wanted?10:44 success on your own terms

Looksmaxxing promises to make dating easier, but looks can’t solve the parts of dating that actually matter.

It’s tempting to believe that changing your appearance is the shortcut to attracting more women, but compatibility requires so much more than looking the part.

In this episode, we’re talking about looksmaxxing, dating, self-improvement, attractiveness, social media, optimization culture, and why there are no shortcuts to genuine human connection💚

⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS00:00 why is looksmaxxing so appealing?02:01 what are women actually looking for?03:28 are we optimizing the wrong thing?05:40 it’s easier to fix your jawline than yourself07:02 the illusion of having more dating options08:16 you can’t optimize your dating life10:07 why human connection has no shortcuts

Convenience culture promises to make life easier, but what if all that convenience is making us lonelier?

From food delivery and AI to friendships that require more effort than we’re used to, we’ve started treating inconvenience as something to avoid, even when that effort is what creates connection.

Let’s talk about convenience culture, community, loneliness, social connection, optimization culture, and why building a meaningful life might require us to be inconvenienced💚

⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS

00:00 why do i miss being exhausted?

01:08 why we’ve started treating effort like a problem

03:22 why community is inherently inconvenient

04:22 the problem with convenient socializing

05:50 how convenience culture is making us lonelier

07:05 why community might help you live longer

08:48 are we responsible for our own loneliness?

10:33 we create the culture we complain about

11:30 why convenience isn’t actually convenient

12:23 why we need to stop optimizing everything