Ego Was Here

Anna Iris
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Ego Was Here is a raw podcast about identity, ego, and the messy beauty of being human. Host Anna Iris explores self-awareness, vulnerability, and mental health through unfiltered conversations with artists, thinkers, and creators. These honest stories go beyond achievements, revealing the parts of ourselves we hide and the longings we carry. If you’re craving authenticity, human connection, and deeper truth, this space is for you. Follow to start unmasking your story.

  1. FEB 5

    #29 My Father Threatened My Life After I Escaped an Arranged Marriage | Dima Ghawi

    What do you do when choosing your own life puts you in danger? Born in Jordan, Dima Ghawi grew up in a culture where women were discouraged from pursuing education or independence. After escaping an arranged marriage, her father believed she brought shame on the family and has sought revenge ever since. For nearly twenty five years, the consequences of that choice have followed her. In this episode of Ego Was Here, Dima shares what it was like to grow up feeling unseen, how isolation can slowly become familiar, and what it takes to rebuild your life when you leave everything familiar behind. This is a conversation about courage, consequence, and the long road to choosing yourself. Today, Dima is a globally recognized keynote speaker, leadership coach, and the award winning author of Breaking Vases. Her story is one of resilience, reinvention, and learning to live with visibility after years of being told to stay small.

    56 min

  2. JAN 29

    #28 The Hidden Truths About Midlife Every Woman Must Know | Heike Yates

    What if midlife is not a crisis or something to fix, but a powerful point of change? This episode explores what women often face in midlife: shifting roles, changing bodies, and the pressure to keep going even when everything inside says to slow down. Heike Yates shares insights from over 40 years of experience in fitness and coaching, reflecting on how this stage affects identity, confidence, and the relationship women have with their bodies. We talk about the guilt that comes with rest, the constant pressure to improve, and what it means to care for yourself in a way that feels supportive rather than punishing. This is not a conversation about doing more. It is about letting go of what no longer fits and finding strength that feels true to where you are now.

    58 min

  3. JAN 22

    #27 Inside the Mind of a Mayor Who Fights For Change | Janice Kovach

    What does leadership feel like when responsibility comes first and there are no perfect answers? In this episode of Ego Was Here, Janice Kovach, Mayor of Clinton, New Jersey, reflects on leadership as lived experience rather than theory. Drawing from years in public service, she talks about what it means to serve an entire community while navigating disagreement, pressure, and accountability. Janice shares how she learned to separate personal feelings from public responsibility, why listening became central to her approach, and how her understanding of empowerment evolved over time. The conversation also explores the role of dialogue, art, and community in bringing people together, even when opinions differ. This episode offers a thoughtful look at leadership shaped by experience, perspective, and care, rather than performance or certainty.

    30 min

  4. JAN 15

    #26 Why Success Didn’t Stop Her From Feeling Behind | Laura Behnke

    What happens when your life doesn’t unfold in the order you expected? In this episode of Ego Was Here, Laura Behnke shares her experience of building a successful career while quietly questioning her timing in life. Laura spent 16 years as a TV sports anchor and reporter, reaching professional milestones many people aspire to. And yet, at 35, she had never been in a relationship and often felt out of sync with where she thought she should be. This conversation explores what it’s like to be doing well on the outside while feeling behind on the inside. We talk about societal expectations around relationships and success, the pressure of timelines, and how comparison can shape the way we see ourselves. Laura reflects on letting go of the idea that life has a correct order, and what changed when she allowed herself to imagine a future that looked different from the one she had planned. This episode isn’t about advice or fixing yourself. It’s about recognizing the quiet tension many people carry when their life doesn’t match the milestones they were taught to expect, and finding space to live more honestly within that reality.

    1h 1m

  5. JAN 8

    #25 How Limiting Beliefs Quietly Shape Your Life - Karen Leigh

    What if the reason some parts of your life feel hard to change has nothing to do with motivation or effort, but with beliefs that were formed long before you were aware of them? In this episode of Ego Was Here, Karen Leigh, NLP Master Practitioner and hypnotherapist, explores how limiting beliefs take shape early in life and continue to influence how we grow, decide, and move forward as adults. These beliefs rarely affect everything. More often, they block specific areas such as confidence, relationships, ambition, or self-worth, even when there is insight and a genuine desire to change. Karen explains how early experiences shape what feels possible, safe, or realistic later on. We talk about why people can feel capable in some areas of life but stuck in others, why understanding something intellectually does not always lead to real change, and how familiar patterns can repeat quietly over time. This conversation is not about fixing yourself or pushing harder. It is about understanding why growth can stall in certain areas of life, and what changes once those patterns are clearly recognised. If parts of your life feel like they are not evolving despite effort and reflection, this episode offers a grounded and compassionate way to understand why.

    45 min

  6. 12/25/2025

    #24 How to Stop Overthinking and Get Your Life Back | Mary Starks

    What if the reason you feel stuck in your head, exhausted, and disconnected from your own life isn’t because something is wrong with you, but because overthinking has quietly taken over? Psychotherapist Mary Starks joins to explore why authenticity can feel dangerous, how old patterns and survival strategies keep us locked in our own minds, and what it actually takes to feel like yourself again. From the pull of validation and performance to the quiet cost of comparison, this conversation looks at ego, identity, and the need to be seen without abandoning who we are. If you’ve been longing for clarity, self-trust, and a way back to a life that feels present instead of overthought, this episode offers insight and practical guidance to start reconnecting, gently, honestly, and at your own pace.

    45 min

  7. 12/18/2025

    #23 The Prodigy Dilemma: Breaking Free from the Pressure to Have It All Figured Out | Elinor Keyes

    What actually happens when you grow up faster than everyone else? In this episode, filmmaker, actor, and producer Elinor Keyes shares what it was really like to start college at 13 through an exceptionally gifted program, and why being academically ahead didn’t make growing up any simpler. She reflects on skipping high school, entering adult environments as a child, and how early achievement quietly shaped her relationship with pressure, confidence, and other people. Elinor talks about the parts no one prepares you for: learning social and emotional skills later than expected, realizing that intelligence doesn’t translate to ease in everyday life, and unlearning the belief that productivity equals worth. She also opens up about anxiety, creativity, and how finding the right role behind the scenes, producing rather than performing, helped her build a life that actually fits. This conversation is about the gap between achievement and real life. Elinor explains how being ahead can shape your relationship with people, pressure, and self-trust, and how you rebuild those skills when the world assumes you already have them.

    1 hr

  8. 12/11/2025

    #22 The Women Whose Stories Change How You See Yourself Kerry Chaput

    What if the women erased from history were the very ones who could help you finally stop shrinking yourself? In this episode, award-winning historical fiction author Kerry Chaput (Daughter of the King, Chasing Eleanor, The Secret Courtesan) shares how discovering forgotten women in history helped her reclaim her voice, her creativity, and her life. She opens up about growing up in a patriarchal environment, learning that women were meant to support men, not be the heroes, and how that belief fed years of anxiety and self-silencing. At 40, Kerry reached a breaking point and decided: “This is my time.” From secretly writing in the margins of her life to publishing award-winning historical fiction, she shows how truth, “useful rage,” and storytelling can become tools for women who are tired of being invisible. If you’ve ever felt “too quiet,” “too sensitive,” or “not enough,” this conversation is for you. In this episode, we explore: Growing up being taught that women are not remembered and not meant to be heroesHow silencing your voice feeds anxiety, and what changes when you finally start using itTurning anger into “useful rage” that fuels courage instead of shameThe impact of Eleanor Roosevelt and the quote that changed everything for KerryLetting go of external approval and redefining success from the inside outThe story behind The Secret Courtesan, a novel about a hidden woman sculptor whose genius was buried under a man’s name

    49 min
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About

Ego Was Here is a raw podcast about identity, ego, and the messy beauty of being human. Host Anna Iris explores self-awareness, vulnerability, and mental health through unfiltered conversations with artists, thinkers, and creators. These honest stories go beyond achievements, revealing the parts of ourselves we hide and the longings we carry. If you’re craving authenticity, human connection, and deeper truth, this space is for you. Follow to start unmasking your story.

Information

  • Creator
    Anna Iris
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Ego Was Here
  • Show Website
    Ego Was Here