The T.O.C Talk Podcast with Dr. Dwan Bryant

Dr. Dwan Bryant
  • 3.9 (7)
  • Careers

The T.O.C. Talk — Table of Confidence Welcome to The T.O.C. Talk—The Table of Confidence...where high-achieving women pull up a chair, take off the cape, and get real. This is your go-to space for conversations that nourish your confidence, protect your peace, and help you lead from a place of psychological well-being not burnout. Whether you’re leading a team, a business, a classroom, or a household, this podcast is here to support the woman behind the title. Each episode is designed to help you: ✨ REWIRE your focus ✨ RECLAIM your joy ✨ REDEFINE what success means to you Here, we unpack real challenges, share strategies rooted in the REWIRED framework: Reflective, Empathetic, Wellness, Influence, Resilience, Energy, and Dedication—and empower you to make bold, aligned moves in every area of your life. Need a mindset shift?Craving deeper confidence?Looking for honest conversations that meet you where you are? Pull up a seat. You belong here. Subscribe now for weekly episodes that fuel your fire, soften your edges, and remind you: You don’t have to have it all. You just have to have what matters.

  1. 3d ago

    Lipstick & Lashes – When Looking Put Together Isn't the Same as Being Healed

    Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary What if the strongest version of yourself isn't the one who always has it together? In this kickoff episode of the Healing the Woman Behind the Title series, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores the hidden cost of perfection and the pressure many high-achieving women feel to appear strong, polished, and successful—even when they're quietly carrying emotional burdens. Using the everyday ritual of applying lipstick and lashes as a powerful metaphor, Dr. Bryant invites listeners to consider a deeper question: Have you been preparing your appearance while neglecting your heart? This episode is a reminder that healing isn't about becoming someone new. It's about giving yourself permission to become the woman God created you to be—without the mask of perfection. In This Episode, You'll Discover: Why perfection is one of the most exhausting masks women wear.The difference between looking put together and being emotionally whole.How achievement and appearance can become emotional armor.Why asking, "How am I doing?" is more powerful than asking, "How do I look?"A fresh perspective on healing the woman behind the title.Memorable Quotes "Perfection isn't peace. Control isn't healing. Achievement isn't identity.""People may celebrate what you produce, but your soul longs to be known beyond what you do.""Healing begins the moment we stop asking, 'How do I look?' and start asking, 'How am I doing?'""You were never created to be admired more than you are known.""Don't confuse looking put together with being healed."Reflection Questions Take a few moments this week to reflect on these questions: What mask have I been wearing lately?Where am I performing instead of being present?What emotion have I been hiding behind my success?What would healing look like if I stopped trying to earn it?Consider writing your responses in a journal and revisiting them throughout the week. Resources Mentioned I'll Have What She's Having by Dr. Dwan BryantI'll Have What She's Having: 30-Day Reflection Companion JournalHealing the Woman Behind the Title Weekly Blog SeriesBecoming H.E.R. Summer Book ClubVisit drdwanbryant.com to learn more, read the companion blog, purchase the companion journal, and join the Becoming H.E.R. community. Connect with Dr. Dwan Bryant If today's conversation encouraged you, subscribe to TOC Talk: Table of Confidence so you never miss an episode. Share this episode with a friend, sister, coworker, or leader who may need the reminder that she doesn't have to carry the weight of perfection alone. Together, we're building a community of women who are choosing: ✨ Healing over hiding ✨ Purpose over perfection ✨ Growth over performance Thank you for pulling up a chair at the Table of Confidence. Until next time, remember: There will always be a seat waiting for you here. Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    24 min

  2. Jul 3

    Comfortably Numb: When Surviving Becomes Your Personality

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever looked at your life and thought, "Nothing is terribly wrong... but nothing feels deeply alive either?" You keep showing up. You keep leading. You keep taking care of everyone else. But somewhere along the way, you stopped feeling. In this episode of T.O.C. Talk: Table of Confidence, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores what it means to become comfortably numb—that subtle place where survival becomes your identity and you quietly settle for existing instead of truly living. If you've been functioning on autopilot, carrying emotional weight in silence, or wondering why joy feels so distant, this conversation is for you. In This Episode You'll Discover: ✔️ What it really means to become comfortably numb ✔️ Why high-achieving women often confuse survival with strength ✔️ How emotional numbness quietly affects your confidence, relationships, leadership, and purpose ✔️ How the Becoming H.E.R.™ framework can help you move from surviving to living again Becoming H.E.R. Reflection Spend time journaling these three questions: • Where have I become emotionally numb? • What pain have I been avoiding by staying busy? • What would it look like to feel fully alive again? Awareness is often the first step toward healing. Continue Your Becoming H.E.R. Journey 📖 I'll Have What She's Having Companion Journal Don't just listen to the conversation—process it. The Companion Journal is designed to help you reflect, heal, and move from comparison to confidence through guided prompts that support your Becoming H.E.R. journey. Learn more at DrDwanBryant.com. Join the Confident Woman Network Healing wasn't meant to happen alone. The Confident Woman Network is a community of women choosing healing over comparison, purpose over perfection, and growth over staying the same. Because you get out of your becoming what you put into it. Join the conversation, find encouragement, and continue your Becoming H.E.R. journey with women committed to becoming healthier, stronger, and more authentic together. Connect here: Website: DrDwanBryant.comFacebook: Confident Woman Network CommunityConnect with Dr. Dwan Bryant 🌐 Website: DrDwanBryant.com 🎙️ Podcast: T.O.C. Talk: Table of Confidence 📚 Author of I'll Have What She's Having If This Episode Encouraged You Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a woman who may be surviving silently. Because Becoming H.E.R.™ isn't about becoming someone else. It's about awakening the woman who has been waiting beneath the layers of protection, performance, and survival. Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    19 min

  3. Jun 22

    Shrinking Thinking: When You Make Yourself Smaller Than You Were Created to Be

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever walked into a room feeling confident only to start questioning yourself the moment someone else began to shine? Have you ever delayed a dream, silenced your voice, or talked yourself out of an opportunity because comparison convinced you that someone else was more qualified, talented, or deserving? If so, this episode is for you. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores the concept of Shrinking Thinking—the habit of minimizing your value, shrinking your voice, and doubting your contribution when faced with another person's success, confidence, or gifts. Drawing from a personal experience early in her speaking journey, Dr. Bryant shares how comparison can distort perspective and cause us to retreat from the very spaces we were called to occupy. But what if the issue isn't that you're unqualified? What if you've simply forgotten that your assignment is different from everyone else's? In this episode, you'll discover: What You'll Learn: What shrinking thinking is and how it shows up in everyday lifeWhy comparison often causes women to pull back from opportunitiesThe difference between confidence and courageHow postponement can become a hidden form of fearWhy your unique story, experiences, and perspective matterPractical ways to stop shrinking and start showing up fullyKey Takeaways: ✔ Someone else's success is not evidence of your failure. ✔ Confidence is often built in motion, not before it. ✔ Your assignment is different from everyone else's. ✔ You do not need permission to take up space. ✔ The room doesn't need another version of her—it needs you. Reflection Questions: Where in your life are you shrinking?What opportunity have you been postponing because you don't feel ready?Whose journey have you been comparing yours to?What would change if you trusted your own assignment?What is one courageous step you can take this week?Quote from the Episode: "You don't have to shrink so someone else can shine. There is room for both of you." Continue Your Becoming H.E.R. Journey If this episode resonated with you, consider sharing it with another woman who may be struggling with comparison, self-doubt, or the fear of not being enough. And if you're ready to heal from comparison and embrace your own becoming, pick up a copy of: I'll Have What She's Having: A Novel About Women Leading, Loving, and Celebrating Sisterhood Because Becoming H.E.R.™ isn't about becoming someone else. It's about becoming fully who you were created to be. Connect with Dr. Dwan Bryant Website: DrDwanBryant.com Author of I'll Have What She's Having Podcast: TOC Talk: Table of Confidence 💜 Join the Confident Woman Network Community #BecomingHER #ShrinkingThinking #TOCTalk #WomenSupportingWomen #Confidence #PersonalGrowth #PsychologicalWellbeing #LeadershipDevelopment #DrDwanBryant Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    17 min

  4. Jun 8

    When Your Sister Goes Silent: Understanding the Seasons of Friendship

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever been ghosted by a friend? Not a casual acquaintance. A real friend. Someone you trusted, laughed with, prayed with, and shared life with. Then one day... Silence. No calls. No texts. No explanation. In this episode of TOC Talk: The Table of Confidence, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores the often misunderstood seasons of friendship when women retreat, withdraw, or seemingly disappear during difficult times. Drawing from her personal experience of battling an eating disorder and the friendship dynamics between Dea and Nyla in I'll Have What She's Having, Dr. Bryant unpacks the difference between rejection and survival, and why healthy communities know how to hold space for both presence and silence. Because sometimes a woman isn't pulling away from you. She's simply trying to survive something she doesn't yet know how to explain. In This Episode We Discuss: ✔️ Why women sometimes go silent during difficult seasons ✔️ The difference between ghosting and self-preservation ✔️ How shame can keep us from asking for support ✔️ Why we often personalize someone else's silence ✔️ The importance of knowing who labors among you ✔️ When to move closer and when to simply pray ✔️ The healing power of grace-filled friendships ✔️ Dea and Nyla's friendship in I'll Have What She's Having ✔️ How authentic community creates room for both connection and retreat A Personal Story In this episode, Dr. Bryant shares her own experience of withdrawing from friends while battling anorexia and bulimia. Feeling ashamed and unsure how to explain what she was experiencing, she chose silence over vulnerability. Years later, she reflects on the friend who didn't pressure her for answers but instead remained present, patient, and available until she was ready to share her story. It's a powerful reminder that true friendship doesn't demand immediate access—it creates safety for honest conversations when the time is right. Key Takeaways 🌿 Not every season of silence is rejection. 🌿 Sometimes women withdraw because they are carrying something they don't yet know how to share. 🌿 Healthy community doesn't make people feel guilty for needing space. 🌿 Real friends know when to check in, when to listen, and when to pray. 🌿 Authentic sisterhood survives difficult seasons. Reflection Questions Have you ever mistaken someone's need for space as rejection?Have you ever needed space yourself but felt guilty for taking it?How does your community respond when someone goes silent?Are you creating safety for the women in your life to be honest about what they're carrying?Mentioned in This Episode 📚 I'll Have What She's Having: A Novel About Women Leading, Loving, and Celebrating Sisterhood A powerful story about friendship, healing, comparison, identity, and the women who help us become who we were meant to be. Continue the Conversation Read this week's blog: "When Your Sister Goes Silent" Subscribe for weekly reflections on: ✨ Healing ✨ Sisterhood ✨ Leadership ✨ Becoming H.E.R. 🌿 www.drdwanbryant.com Connect with Dr. Dwan Bryant Website: www.drdwanbryant.com Podcast: TOC Talk: The Table of Confidence Book: I'll Have What She's Having Community: Becoming H.E.R. Heal • Equip • Rewire If This Episode Encouraged You Please subscribe, rate, and share this episode with a woman who may need the reminder that silence is not always rejection. Sometimes it's grief. Sometimes it's healing. Sometimes it's survival. And sometimes the greatest gift we can offer a friend is grace while she finds her way back. Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    17 min

  5. Jun 4

    Perfect Patty Syndrome: When Looking Put Together Is Pulling You Apart

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever felt like you were being graded in life? Not in a classroom, but in your career, your relationships, your leadership, your parenting, or even your healing journey? In this episode of TOC Talk: The Table of Confidence, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores what she calls Perfect Patty Syndrome—the exhausting pursuit of appearing successful, capable, and put together while quietly struggling underneath the surface. Drawing from her own childhood experiences with chasing perfect scores and connecting it to Dea's journey in I'll Have What She's Having, Dr. Bryant challenges listeners to consider whether they are pursuing wholeness or simply performing perfection. Because the truth is, many women have learned to measure their worth by accomplishments, titles, and external validation. But becoming H.E.R. requires something different. It requires honesty. It requires healing. It requires releasing the pressure to earn worthiness through performance. In This Episode We Discuss: ✔️ How childhood perfectionism can follow us into adulthood ✔️ The hidden cost of always trying to "have it all together" ✔️ Why many high-achieving women struggle with validation ✔️ The connection between comparison and perfectionism ✔️ Dea's journey in I'll Have What She's Having ✔️ Why another woman's success is not evidence of your failure ✔️ How to stop performing and start pursuing wholeness ✔️ The difference between perfection and becoming Key Takeaway Don't be perfect on paper and empty in real life. Success without alignment can still leave you feeling unfulfilled. Achievement without healing can still leave you exhausted. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is wholeness. Reflection Question Where in your life are you seeking a perfect score instead of celebrating your progress? Mentioned in This Episode 📚 I'll Have What She's Having: A Novel About Women Leading, Loving, and Celebrating Sisterhood 🌿 Becoming H.E.R. Heal • Equip • Rewire Connect with Dr. Dwan Bryant Website: www.drdwanbryant.com Follow for weekly encouragement, leadership insights, podcast episodes, blogs, and Becoming H.E.R. resources designed to help women grow in confidence, healing, and purpose. If This Episode Encouraged You Share it with a woman who may be carrying the pressure of trying to be perfect. Because becoming H.E.R. isn't about becoming perfect. It's about becoming whole. Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    11 min

  6. May 20

    The Cost of Becoming: Left Over Grapes

    Send us Fan Mail T.O.C. Talk Podcast Episode Title: The Cost of Becoming: Left Over Grapes Have you ever felt overlooked? Like everyone else was getting picked while you were still waiting for your season to come? In this heartfelt episode of T.O.C. Talk, Dr. Dwan Bryant shares a powerful reflection inspired by something surprisingly simple… a bag of grapes. What began as an ordinary moment in the kitchen became a deeper conversation about comparison, delayed purpose, leadership, confidence, and the emotional cost of becoming H.E.R. This episode is for the woman who: • Feels overlooked or forgotten • Is struggling with comparison • Questions her timing or value • Feels discouraged by delay • Is learning to trust her becoming process Together, we unpack the truth that not all grapes are meant to be consumed quickly. Some go through a crushing, refining, and waiting process… and eventually produce wine. Because maybe your process is not punishment. Maybe it’s preparation. Reflection Question: Have you been interpreting your delay as rejection… when it may actually be preparation? Be sure to also read this week’s companion blog: “The Cost of Becoming: Left Over Grapes” I’ll Have What She’s Having is available now: https://www.drdwanbryant.com #BecomingHER #WomenWhoLead #TheCostOfBecoming #LeftOverGrapes #IllHaveWhatShesHaving #RewiredWoman Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    14 min

  7. May 12

    Invisible Scars

    Send us Fan Mail Some scars fade from the skin… but the trauma still remembers. In this episode of T.O.C. Talk: The Table of Confidence Podcast, Dr. Dwan Bryant explores the invisible scars many women carry from rejection, disappointment, trauma, comparison, and emotional wounds that quietly shape how we lead, love, and respond to others. Through a personal story about her son Jon surviving a third-degree burn as a child, this conversation unpacks how healing is often deeper and longer than what people can see. Because Becoming H.E.R. starts with healing what’s been hidden. In This Episode: How invisible scars impact leadership and relationshipsWhy unhealed trauma shows up in everyday reactionsThe connection between healing, comparison, and purposeWhy your healing may help set someone else freeContinue the Conversation? Read the companion blog:  Invisible Scars https://drdwanbryant.com/f/invisible-scars Ready to Go Deeper? I’ll Have What She’s Having is a lifeline for women navigating healing, leadership, identity, and becoming whole again. 👉 Get your copy here: Amazon Closing Thought Your scars may tell a story… But they do not get to write your ending. Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    13 min

  8. Apr 11

    Protecting Your Power

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever felt drained… but couldn’t quite explain why? Your energy is low.  Your patience is short.  Your clarity feels off. And you start asking yourself…  “What is wrong with me?” But what if nothing is wrong with you? In this episode of T.O.C. Talk: The Table of Confidence Podcast, Dr. Dwan Bryant challenges the idea of burnout as something that “just happens” and introduces a powerful truth: Some of our power outages are preventable. Not because life isn’t demanding… But because we are often mismanaging where our energy goes. From overanalyzing conversations at work…  To making situations about us that were never assigned to us…  To draining our peace in everyday moments at home… This episode will help you recognize how you may be unintentionally giving your power away—and how to take it back. Because everything does not deserve your energy. And protecting your power is not avoidance… It’s wisdom. Check out my Power Outage blog and don't forget to purchase a copy of, "I'll Have What She's Having." https://drdwanbryant.com/ Support the show 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (NIV)

    10 min
See All (33)

3.9
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

The T.O.C. Talk — Table of Confidence Welcome to The T.O.C. Talk—The Table of Confidence...where high-achieving women pull up a chair, take off the cape, and get real. This is your go-to space for conversations that nourish your confidence, protect your peace, and help you lead from a place of psychological well-being not burnout. Whether you’re leading a team, a business, a classroom, or a household, this podcast is here to support the woman behind the title. Each episode is designed to help you: ✨ REWIRE your focus ✨ RECLAIM your joy ✨ REDEFINE what success means to you Here, we unpack real challenges, share strategies rooted in the REWIRED framework: Reflective, Empathetic, Wellness, Influence, Resilience, Energy, and Dedication—and empower you to make bold, aligned moves in every area of your life. Need a mindset shift?Craving deeper confidence?Looking for honest conversations that meet you where you are? Pull up a seat. You belong here. Subscribe now for weekly episodes that fuel your fire, soften your edges, and remind you: You don’t have to have it all. You just have to have what matters.

Information