A reality check for overachievers and perfectionists who are tired of trying to “get it right.”

We’re a society of overachievers and perfectionists who keep trying to “get it right.” We've been taught that the solution is ‘fixing outcomes’, yet we’ve tried that -over and over again, and it’s still not working.

The real path to what you want?

It’s expanding your identity and capacity. And that’s great news because you can change you.

Today, Stephanie and Maren unpack this path from the perspective of hidden fears, how we sabotage our goals and resolutions and the beliefs keeping us stuck. Instead of guarding a fragile plan, they walk you through building capacity. Instead of white-knuckling toward outcomes, they share how to build skills that keep momentum alive without burning out.

Today they get real about:

• fear of responsibility blocking goals
• reframing power as response-abilit
• receiving abundance without guilt
• spotting red flags and road signs
• life as a learnable, practical skil
• trust, discernment and guidance
• moving beyond shame and blame
• questions that keep momentum alive

From reframing blame and shame to noticing the cost of avoidance in the body, you’ll find tools to build a clearer, truly joyfilled life.

If you’re ready to trade either-or thinking for powerful choices, this conversation will meet you where you are and expand what you believe is possible.

If this resonates, follow the show, share with a friend who’s stuck between fear and growth, and leave a quick review so more people can find conversations like this.

➡️ Your next step is simple: choose one skill to practice this week and tell us how it goes.

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The resolution and goal frenzy is loud - and frustrating. What if there is a richer path?

Stephanie and Maren kick off the year by turning goal setting on its head. They reframe why we set goals, how we measure progress, and what actually sustains motivation when the novelty fades.

👉🏻 Instead of chasing numbers to prove worth, they explore how to build meaning like a skill.

👉🏻 They unpack a pivotal shift: goals are less about the finish line and more about who you become on the way.

👉🏻 They expose the danger of borrowed metrics, insightfully discuss why removing every roadblock dulls growth, and share how to recognize the subtle indicators of inner growth and transformation.

👉🏻 You’ll hear how to unlock connection and joy, as well as how to rewire stress responses.

Their personal, candid stories of burnout, rebuilding, and small reframes that changed everything, map a path from external validation to inner alignment that you can apply right away.

If you’ve ever experienced goals as heavy, joyless, or strangely empty even when you hit them, their conversation offers a practical alternative. Are you ready to…

• align challenges with your deeper why
• choose battles that genuinely grow you
• craft an inner story that stops the blame/shame monster and creates motivation instead

Today’s podcast offers a better scoreboard—one that values resilience, clarity, and heart alongside outcomes.

✅ Subscribe, share with a friend who’s rethinking resolutions, and leave a review telling us one small reframe you’re trying this week.

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REFERENCES

9:57 Daniel Goodenough The HuPerson Project, Caravan of Remembering

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What if your most important work has nothing to do with a checklist?

This is Stephanie and Maren’s 200th episode and they’re celebrating two-fold:

1. by sharing a glimpse into their future
2. by unveiling a bit of their secret sauce to help you get the MOST out of this year

In 2026 they’re taking the leap into live shows - connecting in real time, fielding your questions, and engaging in direct conversation with you.

That choice reflects the deeper practice they’ve honed for years—staying present, trusting the unknown, and letting inner truth lead their success instead of algorithms and checklists.

In today’s podcast they share knowing the difference between drifting and “devoted uncertainty” in daily life. Drifting is “I don’t know” with no orientation. Devoted uncertainty is clarity about who you’re becoming and what’s yours to do, paired with the courage to release rigid plans.

Do fear, anxiety, and frustration show up when you step beyond your comfort zone? No problem, they share easy manageable solutions.

To help even more, Maren opens up about how the publisher who contacted her to write a book emerged. Hint it was NOT from hustle theater, but from years of quiet repetitions—writing show notes, refining articulation, and honoring the weekly practice no one sees.

👉🏻 If you’ve ever struggled putting in seemingly invisible effort, this is your podcast.

Today explores how outer results come from inner mastery, talks about how to trade grasping for a different way of listening to life, and supports each person’s unique path with ways to keep from drifting.

✅ For those who are on the road less travelled, you might be interested in Maren & Stephanie’s Co-Creation Circle—a year-long, online community of soulful leaders like you.

🙌 If you know someone who is tired of the hustle, push, strive and is seeking their own way, please share today’s episode with them.

✍️ If you’ve found value, subscribe, and leave a review on YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify.

👂 And we’d love to hear from you - what practice will help keep you present this year? Share it in our Facebook or LinkedIn Groups

TRANSCRIPT

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Are you feeling the pressure of the end of the year?

What if you could let go of that pressure and actually feel renewed going into 2026?

What if that pressure is the very thing cutting you off from what you truly need and want?

Today, Stephanie and Maren share their unconventional point of view regarding resolutions, goals and pushing through. Their engaging conversation meanders through personal stories and examples where they show a practical way to exit the drama triangle, share how to create space, and use the breath and inner listening to restore true choice.

If you are ready to turn frustration into gold and get the most out of this beautiful season of renewal, today’s podcast is for you.

• the difference between needs and wants
• conditioning and labels that narrow choice
• victim and violator
• pivot out of reactivity
• breath and space as neurological resets
• the theater technique for objective awareness
• choosing your inner state
• moving from rescuer to inner coach
• real-life example of reframing frustration
• group practice through the 12 Days of Presence

They also invite you into the 12 Days of Presence, a gentle, email-based group practice that maps the days of Christmas to the months ahead, helping you seed your year with awareness instead of pressure. No mandatory calls, no perfectionism—just a supportive rhythm that rewires your brain toward choice and centers you in what truly matters.

If this resonates, listen now, subscribe, and share with someone who’s ready to leave the old road behind. Leave a review to tell us which corner of the triangle you tend toward - and what you choose instead!

TRANSCRIPT

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Are you tired of fighting through life and work? Perpetually exhausted?

You’re not alone. It’s a messy world that seems to offer only two exhausting extremes: numbing out or fighting everything.

What if you could stay open-hearted in this messy world without carrying everyone else’s pain home with you?

This week, Stephanie and Maren dive into how to create a clear, livable path that transcends those extremes and puts you into the driver’s seat - living life full out.

Through candid stories and practical tools, leaders, helpers, and anyone who feels overwhelmed outside -and crowded inside- will find a grounded how-to, including: micro-pauses to regulate the nervous system, language that defuses the drama triangle, and practices that turn compassion into clarity.

If you’re looking for even more support, join the free 12 Days of Presence, where you build space for what you truly want without forcing goals or pretending the hard stuff isn’t there.

If you’re ready to live and feel, fully, without absorbing drama - and lead with compassion, without burning out, hit play. Then

• 🙌share this with a friend who could use more space
• ✔️subscribe for more soulful leadership tools
• ✍️leave a review to help others find the show

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You feel the need to constantly ‘do’, to be in motion. You feel guilty when you stop, rest, or need a break. Why?

The simple, and uncomfortable answer is that being busy hides our deeper fears. We use it as a safety blanket for our egos even though it really signals burnout and walls us off from intimacy with others and with ourselves.

Today, Maren & Stephanie dive deep down the rabbit hole of personal value starting with a classic parable that reframes wealth and invites in enoughness, presence, and choice. They also talk about the difference between trading time for money and creating value NOT measured by hours - a pivot that changes more than pricing; it rewrites self-concept.

Big changes like retirement, layoffs, empty nests, and even an unexpected injury can strip away those roles we hide behind and put us face to face with who we are when the calendar goes quiet.

If you are squirming in that experience (or want to avoid feeling so lost), this powerful episode is for you.

This conversation will meet you where you are and walk with you to where you want to be.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs permission to exhale, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your stories and experiments matter.

We’d love to hear— what changed when you tried “enough?”

TRANSCRIPT

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Ever had a simple task become overwhelming?

👉🏻 It’s not the task, it’s the story we’re telling ourselves ABOUT the task!

This week, Stephanie and Maren dive into the cost of “it’s so hard” and trace where the heaviness really lives: not in the action itself, in the narrative we keep rehearsing. From a timeless Zen parable about two monks to a very modern yardwork fiasco, they unpack how righteous justification sneaks in, drains energy, and keeps us resentful when a small reframe could set us free.

This episode includes a practice around questioning the belief that’s running the show, and then observing it rather than absorbing it. The payoff is real: less reactivity, clearer boundaries, more creative options, and relationships that feel lighter.

Have you ever wished you had a single compassionate line that diffuses defensiveness and preserves your energy? You’ll want to listen to today’s podcast!

If this resonated, follow, share with a friend, and leave a quick review—what story are you ready to drop?

Want more conversations like this or a topic you’d like us to unpack? Connect with us on Facebook or LinkedIn at the Soulful Leaders, on YouTube at the Soulful Leaders, or drop us a line at thesoulfulleaderpodcast.com or TSLP.life.

Please share your insights and questions in one of our Soulful Leaders groups:

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There are very real costs to people-pleasing, and you’re likely living them - the quiet resentment that builds after a hasty yes or the loss of trust that happens when someone can’t deliver on a promise.

People pleasing doesn't please, it erodes: trust, time, and energy.

With a memorable five-year roof story and hard-won lessons from work and relationships, Stephanie and Maren unpack why “just because I can” doesn’t mean “I should” and

• map a practical path out of the “pleasing” loop
• share the four questions to ask before saying yes
• offer a fresh lens on procrastination as misalignment
• talk about human-centered leadership skills to eliminate the “pleasing” disease
• share ways to reset agreements when you’ve already said yes
• invite lighter “yesses”, kinder “nos”, and work that is honored

😣 If you’ve ever stayed too long in a role or relationship because you didn’t want to disappoint

🧐 If you are ready to reduce overcommitment, prevent burnout, and turn uncertainty into useful information

🫣 If you struggle to say no

👉🏻 this conversation - filled with truth, tools, and relief - is for you. 🙌

If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who overcommits, and leave a quick review to help others find Soulful Leader.

Then tell us: Which question will you ask yourself before your next yes?

TRANSCRIPT

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