The Self Investment Project with Kathy Washburn | Emotional Wellness, Midlife Reinvention & Reclaiming Your Authentic Self

Kathy Washburn
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Biweekly

The Self Investment Project is a transformative podcast dedicated to those grappling with Type C traits—people-pleasing, emotional suppression, and conflict avoidance. Join us as we explore unique strategies to cultivate emotional well-being, empowering you to reclaim authenticity and resilience. Tune in to discover how prioritizing your emotional health can lead to a more fulfilling, joyful life, positively impacting your relationships and overall well-being. You are worth investing in!This podcast may be helpful if you have ever asked: What are Type C personality traits?How to stop being a people pleaser?What is emotional suppression and how does it affect me?What are the benefits of emotional intelligence in daily life?How to express my true feelings without fear?What are less talked about ways to boost immunity? To learn more about Kathy and her coaching services, head over to: https://kathywashburn.net/

  1. Sep 15

    Ep. 81 - The Golden Spiral Path: Why Healing Isn't a Straight Line with Dr. Leslie B. Newman

    Send us Fan Mail You'll also love… Ep. 01 - Type C Defined with Dr. Lydia TemoshokEp. 04 - Radical Self-Care with Leonore TjiaEp. 05 - Tapping Into Body IntelligenceOn this episode, Kathy sits down with Dr. Leslie B. Newman — psychologist, positive psychology educator, and author of A Daily Dose of Happiness — for a conversation about what happens when healing stops being a straight line. Dr. Leslie introduces her Magic Closet practice, a way of meeting a triggered emotional reaction with curiosity instead of judgment, and unpacks the difference between mindset and what she calls mood set — the emotional baseline we return to underneath our thoughts. The two of them trace her golden spiral path framework, a Wizard of Oz–inspired map for growth that circles back around rather than marching forward in a straight line, revisiting the same lessons with more capacity each time. The conversation lands on a single word: deserve. Dr. Leslie shares how reclaiming that word after a narcissistic relationship became the title of her book, and what it means to receive good things without having to perform for them first. This episode speaks directly to anyone who recognizes Type C coping mechanisms in themselves — people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, emotional suppression — and is ready to find their way back to feeling. Topics Discussed  emotional healing  people pleasing  emotional regulation  self compassion  positive psychology  mind body connectionView extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  2. Aug 30

    Ep. 80 - Reclaiming Your Story: How Writing the Truth Can Heal Your Body with Cristina Simmons

    Send us Fan Mail What if the story you have never told is the very thing standing between you and your own healing? In this episode, Kathy sits down with Cristina Simmons, an occupational therapist turned publisher, author, and founder of a company that helps everyday people write and self-publish their own books. Cristina shares how twenty years of emotional suppression, a marriage tested by grief and betrayal, and a rare femur tumor eventually became the very material that set her free. Cristina and Kathy trace the thread from disconnection to embodiment: the difference between a "ground crew" and a "co-pilot" in your life, what it means to finally become pregnant with yourself, and why writing your story down, even if no one else ever reads it, is one of the most healing acts available to you. This conversation touches on adoption, infertility, forgiveness, and the surprising link between self-devaluation and physical illness. It closes the loop on why reclaiming your story is not an indulgence. It is how you build your new normal. You will hear about: Why Cristina describes twenty years of her life as living "underwater," disconnected from her own bodyThe moment she realized her femur tumor may have been connected to decades of stuffing down her own needsHow her husband’s infidelity became the wake-up call that turned her inward instead of destroying her marriageThe "ground crew vs. co-pilot" distinction for understanding who really knows your backstoryWhy she believes ninety-nine percent of people who could write a book never do, and what changes when they finally startThe ripple effect of one woman finding her courage, and how it moved through an entire communityview extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  3. Aug 15

    Ep 79 - Capacity vs. Capability: The Equation That Changes Everything with Emily Forbes

    Send us Fan Mail Emily Forbes spent nine years as a CEO, winning awards and passing every performance review, while her body was quietly falling apart. In this conversation, Emily shares the equation she developed after ill-health retirement forced her to separate two things most of us have never been taught to tell apart: capability and capacity. We talk about the moment capability stopped being enough to override what her body was saying, the crash protocol she now uses on low-capacity days, and why interoception and simple breathing techniques matter more than willpower ever did. Emily is the author of Too Hard to Swallow and founder of Wylde Wellbeing, where she coaches high-achieving women rebuilding their lives after a diagnosis, illness, or major transition. This episode speaks directly to the Type C pattern of pushing through, staying capable on the outside while running on empty underneath, and offers a gentler, more honest way forward. Key Topics Covered ●       The capacity equation: resource + recovery + regulation + support, minus demands and stress load ●       Why capability isn't in the equation at all, and what that reveals about how we're praised ●       Emily's crash protocol and the language of noticing versus labeling ●       Interoception, body scans, and the parasympathetic sigh breathing technique ●       Awareness before agency, and reclaiming choice after years of "capability override" ●       Too Hard to Swallow: part memoir, part self-help, and the wellness plan template inside it View extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  4. Jul 30

    Ep. 78 - Type C to Type D: A Therapist’s Honest Look at Building Your New Normal with Leonore Tjia

    Send us Fan Mail This week I'm bringing back a conversation that has stayed with me since we first recorded it, and repositioning it inside our Building Your New Normal arc, because it's the piece that unlocks what this quarter is really about. My guest is Leonore Tjia, a field guide to the inner world who helps people transform their emotional and relational patterns. Full disclosure: Leonore has also been my therapist for the last seven years. We talk about Type C patterns, the conflict avoidance, people pleasing, and emotional suppression many high achievers live inside without naming it. And we talk about the shift Leonore and I call moving from Type C to Type D: learning to differentiate instead of merge, to hold a boundary without losing the relationship, and to let your own needs matter as much as everyone else's. If you've ever wondered what a real transformation journey looks like from the inside, not the highlight reel version, this is it. In This Episode Where empathy and high sensitivity come from, and why they can be both a gift and a liabilityThe difference between merging with someone and truly meeting themFour ways Type C patterns show up specifically in relationshipsWhat it actually feels like to move from Type C to Type DView extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  5. Jul 15

    Ep. 77 - Learning to Say No: The First Brave Act of Building Your New Normal with Kathy Washburn

    Send us Fan Mail A people-pleaser's guide to saying no without guilt. Three practical scripts, one story about a boss who wouldn't take no, and why no is information, not rejection. If you've ever said yes when every part of you wanted to say no, this episode is for you. Kathy opens Part 1 of the Building Your New Normal series with a personal story about a former boss who kept overriding her boundaries during one of the hardest seasons of her life, and what she learned about the difference between a reflexive yes and a real one. Drawing on Kasia Urbaniak's concept of "the Smoosh" from her book Unbound, Kathy unpacks why saying no feels so loaded for high-achieving women who've spent a lifetime being agreeable enough to be liked and independent enough to be respected. She offers three practical "flavors" of no — the delay no, the clean no, and the relational no — that listeners can practice this week, plus this episode's twenty-seconds-of-insane-courage challenge. Topics Discussed: How to say no without feeling guilty  People-pleasing recovery  Building healthy boundaries  Why high-achieving women struggle to say no  How small habits create lasting life change  Nervous system regulation and boundaries  Self-worth and self-leadership  Building your new normal  Emotional resilience after divorce  How to trust yourself againView extended shownotes here RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  6. Jun 30

    Ep. 76 - The Art of Listening to Yourself: Collage, Creativity and Coming Home to Your Body with Molly Meng

    Send us Fan Mail You’ll also love… Ep. 7 — Writing Your Way to Authenticity with Lisa WeinertEp. 5 — Tapping Into Body Intelligence with Miranda HolderEp. 31 — Finding Connection and Belonging by Building Self Trust with Elise BishWhat if the most honest thing you could do today involved scissors, glue, and a pile of old magazines?  In this episode of The Self-Investment Project, Kathy sits down with artist, teacher, and self-described "walking show and tell" Molly Meng, whose collage workshops have a way of cracking people open, gently, joyfully, and sometimes unexpectedly.  Molly's work is rooted in a simple but profound truth: we are all layered beings. And when we sit down with scissors and images that call to us, something quiet inside us begins to speak.  In this conversation, you'll explore: Why collage is one of the most accessible forms of somatic self-expressionHow layering in art mirrors the layers we carry as human beingsThe healing power of making something with your hands without a plan or a gradeWhat it means to work so slowly you can hear yourself living (yes, Elizabeth Gilbert makes an appearance)Molly's Traveling Postal Club, where strangers make collage postcards and mail them to people they loveHow procrastination might actually be a process, not a flawView extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  7. Jun 15

    Ep. 75 - The Habit Your Body Has Been Waiting to Build with Kathy Washburn

    Send us Fan Mail You’ll also love… Ep. 61 — The Currency of Your Attention: How Paying Attention Can Change Everything with Kathy Washburn Ep. 69 — Investing in Your Future Self with Kathy WashburnEp. 70 — Be Kind, Not Nice: The Type C Guide to Self-Advocacy with Kathy WashburnHave you ever set a clear intention, felt genuinely aligned with it, and then found yourself three mornings later doing the exact same thing you were trying to change? You are not alone. And it has nothing to do with your willpower. In Episode 75 of The Self-Investment Project, host Kathy Washburn draws on ancient wisdom, modern habit science, and the intelligence of your own nervous system to offer a completely different entry point into lasting change. We start in New Zealand with the aboriginal Australians' belief that the world was sung into existence through song lines, paths across the land learned through the repetition of words. We move through James Clear's identity-based habit framework from Atomic Habits, Danielle LaPort's core desired feelings from The Desire Map, and the quiet miracle of a salmon finding its ancestral river by taste alone. WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY Why habits fail when the body is left out of the conversationThe difference between outcome-based and identity-based habit changeHow to use your core desired feelings as a daily compassThe Regulate, Reflect, Root framework as a body-first practiceThree reflection questions to carry with you this weekView extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

  8. May 30

    Ep. 74 - Pelvic Floor Health, Emotional Suppression & Empowerment with Erin Michael

    Send us Fan Mail Erin Michael — physical therapist, competitive powerlifter, breast cancer survivor, and co-founder of Rebuild A Bitch (RAB) — joins the show for a powerful conversation about pelvic floor health, perfectionism, emotional suppression, and what it truly means to reclaim your body and your voice. Topics Discussed: The founding of Rebuild A Bitch (RAB) and why survivorship support is so often overlooked after treatment endsWhy so many women can't actually relax their pelvic floor — even when they think they canWhy Kegels can backfire if your pelvic floor is already tightThe difference between common and normal (leaking, urgency, pain, heaviness are common — they are not normal)Why telling women to stop moving or squatting makes symptoms worse, not betterThe perfectionism–cancer connection: the pattern of over-performing, suppressing needs, and never asking for helpHow empowerment starts from the inside out — sometimes from the pelvic floor upView extended shownotes here Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today! RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy! If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm. Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives. And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.  Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it. #SpreadMadLove

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The Self Investment Project is a transformative podcast dedicated to those grappling with Type C traits—people-pleasing, emotional suppression, and conflict avoidance. Join us as we explore unique strategies to cultivate emotional well-being, empowering you to reclaim authenticity and resilience. Tune in to discover how prioritizing your emotional health can lead to a more fulfilling, joyful life, positively impacting your relationships and overall well-being. You are worth investing in!This podcast may be helpful if you have ever asked: What are Type C personality traits?How to stop being a people pleaser?What is emotional suppression and how does it affect me?What are the benefits of emotional intelligence in daily life?How to express my true feelings without fear?What are less talked about ways to boost immunity? To learn more about Kathy and her coaching services, head over to: https://kathywashburn.net/

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