Bite-Sized Balance Podcast with Wendy McCallum Wendy McCallum, Burnout & Balance Coach

Wendy talks with Jay Fields, an educator, coach, and author who has taught the principles of embodied social and emotional intelligence to individuals and organizations for twenty years.
 
If you’ve ever wondered how to get better at sitting with your emotions, instead of drinking, eating, or scrolling to escape them, Jay’s got the practical three-step solution.
 
Wendy and Jay discuss the importance of feeling your emotions instead of “fixing” them, and how learning to do this using Jay’s approach allows us to respond instead of react, which in turn leads to deeper, more meaningful connections and personal relationships.
 
Topics include how people-pleasing arises from a common childhood blueprint (“never make anyone else feel uncomfortable”); how trying to “fix” an emotion instead feeling and accepting it can lead to overwhelm and burnout; the power of the words “of course” when it comes to regulating your nervous system and connecting with yourself; how felt sense increases empathy, compassion and intuition, and how “solving” emotions causes us to abandon ourselves.
 
More about Jay at: https://jay-fields.com/yours-truly

Today’s conversation around the value of meaningful female friendships in midlife is especially poignant for host Wendy and her co-host Sarah, colleagues who have also become very good friends over the course of the last few years.
 
They discuss how picture-perfect social media feeds can often lead to comparison and feelings of inadequacy, and how that can keep women from reaching out when they need more connection. 
 
But with midlife there’s a sense of coming home to oneself, and with that, a level of honesty that can make women finally feel they can admit when things are imperfect. Being able to build these deeper, more vulnerable friendships nurtures our energy. Midlife is also a time when many women feel they now also have time for themselves, and these high-value friendships that could have been put on the back burner while they were prioritizing their family’s growth. 
 
If you have a story about your friendships or have any ideas of topics you’d like to hear Wendy cover in Season 4, please reach out and let her know via email or the contact section of her website: https://www.wendymccallum.com/
 
To contact Sarah Baillie about coaching, email her at: sarahbailliecoaching@gmail.com
 

What does your inner critic sound like?
In this episode, Wendy introduces coach Lorna Wilson and they dive deep into how to silence your inner critic, identify the opinions or feedback you should be paying attention to, and how not to be reliant on receiving praise from others. Wendy shares how Lorna has helped her reframe criticism and tap into her own inner mentor. The discussion stems from the book Playing Big by Tara Mohr, which Lorna and Wendy both highly recommend to all women!
Lorna Wilson's journey as a life coach began with a story of courage and resilience. As a young widow, she learned early on that navigating life is certainly not always easy, but it's our life experiences that can make us stronger and more determined to create a better future.
Drawing on this strength, Lorna became a certified professional Life Coach, using her personal journey to help countless women on their own paths to personal growth and fulfillment. She then became a certified alcohol-free coach, where she helps women achieve a healthier, happier lifestyle by ending the conflict between their conscious desire to drink less and their unconscious belief that alcohol is beneficial.
Lorna’s career experience in managing non-profit organizations and leadership roles in local government has given her a unique perspective on the challenges facing leaders and individuals in public service. She understands how those challenges can take you in a direction where you're no longer in alignment with your true calling, and that's why she's committed to helping her clients navigate the twists and turns of life, rediscover their true purpose, and unlock their full potential.
If you’ve ever felt addicted to praise, or like one critic could topple your self-worth, you don’t want to miss this episode.
To connect with Lorna and learn more about her coaching services you can find her at: https://lornawilsoncoaching.com/

This is Part 2 of the “How to Do Less and Get More in Midlife” Episode. In Part 1, Sarah & Wendy discussed why so many women reach overwhelm and burnout in the care sandwich that is midlife. They shared their favourite coaching strategies and tools to help busy women scale back on their to-do list and clear some space to bring in more of the things that serve them. In this second instalment, they provide some concrete strategies for standing in personal responsibility and figuring out what you need more of in your life to create the next fulfilling joyful chapter, because no one is coming to do it for you. What matters to you about how you live the next 20 years of your life? What do you need more of? If you don’t know, how do you find out?
To contact Sarah Baillie about coaching services, email her at: sarahbailliecoach@gmail.com

Friends and colleagues Sarah and Wendy talk about why so many of us reach overwhelm and burnout in the care sandwich that is midlife and share their favourite coaching strategies and tools to help busy women scale back on their to-do list and clear some space to bring in more of the things that serve them (listen to Part 2 of this episode, coming soon, for those strategies!). Topics include being v. doing, how to say no more often, how to care less, how to figure out what’s no longer serving you (energy drains v. gains), people pleasing and why it’s a dishonest way to show up, and how it’s not serving you or the people you are pleasing. They also discuss the answer to the most common question they hear from the women they support: Is this IT? (Spoiler: Nope. There’s SO MUCH MORE great stuff to come.)
For more on coaching with Sarah Baillie, email her at: sarahbailliecoach@gmail.com

Susan Hodgson is an Irish expat coach helping women navigate new territory with their drinking amidst the challenges of living abroad and trying to find that elusive feeling of “home”. She lives near Paris with her French husband and three kids who enjoy correcting her grammar and complaining about holidays back to the Donegal rain.
Susan shares her story of becoming alcohol-free, and Wendy and Susan discuss the common misconceptions of expat life, why it can make drinking less more challenging for women, the difference between what you do and who you are, mommy wine culture abroad, learning to feel emotions instead of numbing them, the concept of “home” and how to find it anywhere and discovering yourself in midlife.
This is a lovely conversation with an even lovelier human. Enjoy!
More about Susan:
www.sharpsensecoaching.com
@sharp.sense.coaching on Instagram