I didn't even know how to like myself.

For years, I thought saying the words - telling someone I loved them - was the same as knowing how to let them love me back. It wasn't. I kept everyone at arm's length: my children, my wife, the people who opened themselves up to me and got nothing but distance in return. I called it being guarded. The truth is I was never comfortable enough with myself to let anyone else be comfortable with me.

This one's about what I'm finally learning, this late: that love isn't a feeling you announce. It's a consistency you show up with, especially in the quiet, everyday moments nobody's keeping score on.

I'm not finished with this. I'm just paying attention now. If there's someone you've been keeping at a distance, you probably already know who they are. You don't have to fix it today - just notice it.

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THEE BIG SWING with Lloyd Hassell

There's a version of you that existed before something shifted - before a conversation, a decision, a thing you almost didn't say. You don't always recognize the moment it happened. You just notice, later, that you're not who you were.

This is a reflective podcast about those moments: the emotional reckonings and subtle internal recalibrations that change our trajectory over time - and the possibilities still available in life.

Each episode explores what happens when curiosity, courage, accountability, or reflection opens a new way of seeing ourselves and the world.

Through personal reflections and conversations, Lloyd explores changing identities, relationships, self-trust, and the quiet decisions that alter how we see ourselves over time.

This is for people who are quietly realizing they are not the same person anymore - and that there are still choices left.

The biggest swing isn't always dramatic.

Often, it's the shift inside that changes everything.

If something here stayed with you, you can reach me at lloyd@theebigswing.com