Inside Marcy's Mind

Marcy

Having hosted the Aging aint for Sissie's podcast for two years, I wanted to expand what I could discuss. This podcast will touch on the fun of aging and whatever has crossed my mind! Please join me as I walk through life! #retirement #travel #fun #aginggracefully Link in my bio! Listen now! #insidemarcysmind #aginggracefully #retired #retirementpreperation #aging #retirementplanning www.insidemarcysmind.com

  1. JAN 30

    Why Being Liked Drains You And What To Do Instead

    Send us a text Ever catch yourself smoothing every edge in the room so no one gets upset? We dig into the quiet habit of needing to be liked—where it starts, why it sticks, and how to step out of it without turning cold. From a quick road update and a candid health note to the real talk about approval, avoidance, and boundaries, we explore how people-pleasing drains honesty, energy, and clarity while fueling hidden resentment. We trace the early lessons many of us absorb—approval equals safety, conflict equals danger—and how that training turns into managing other people’s feelings as adults. Then we get practical: the power of pausing before you respond, how to say “That doesn’t work for me” without padding, and why letting others have their feelings is not unkind. You’ll hear what truly changes when you stop overfunctioning: some relationships wobble, a few fall away, and the ones that remain become more genuine because they finally meet the real you. If you’ve ever wondered why being liked doesn’t feel like being valued, this conversation offers a reset. Expect clear language, simple scripts, and a compassionate push toward boundaries that match your values. The payoff is real—peace, self-respect, and connections that aren’t built on compliance. Listen, reflect, and try one small shift today: pause, keep your sentence short, and let silence carry the rest. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs stronger boundaries, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your voice helps this community grow.

    9 min
  2. JAN 23

    From Brain Loops To Calm: Practical Tools To Break Overthinking

    Send us a text Ever replay a tiny moment until it feels huge? We go straight at overthinking—the late-night loops, the shower replays, the “did that mean something?” spirals—and break down why your brain does it and how to make it stop running the show. Not by shutting thoughts off, but by choosing the right tools when worry dresses up as logic. We start with a reframe: overthinking isn’t a flaw; it’s your brain trying to protect you with pattern recognition and care. The problem is timing and intensity. You’ll hear how the loop forms—analyze, imagine, doubt, feel worse, repeat—and why thinking harder rarely delivers the certainty you crave. Then we pivot to what actually works: action or acceptance. From sending a clarifying message to admitting you don’t have new information, these choices restore calm because they restore control. You’ll learn four practical tools you can use today. Name the spiral to create distance. Ask, “Do I actually have new information?” to stop dead-end thought. Set a thinking container with a timer so your brain gets boundaries, not endless spin. And get into your body: stretch, walk, breathe deeply, and reset your nervous system. We also take aim at mind reading. Silence isn’t rejection, delayed texts aren’t verdicts, and someone else’s mood is not your responsibility. If someone has an issue, it’s their job to communicate it. That reframe saves hours of pre-punishment and keeps your energy for real conversations. Finally, we rebuild self-trust. Swap “What will they think?” for “What do I think?” Practice, “I can handle whatever happens,” and mean it. You’ve done it before; you can do it again. The goal isn’t to stop thinking—it’s to stop letting thoughts drive. Subscribe, share this with a chronic overthinker who needs a reset, and leave a review with the tool you’re trying first.

    17 min
  3. JAN 16

    Stop Making Life Harder Than It Needs To Be

    Send us a text What if most of your daily stress isn’t fate, but friction you can remove? On a solo drive from Chicago to Flagstaff, I lay out the real-life rules that make everything feel lighter: respond slower, explain less, and stop giving unlimited access to people who haven’t earned it. This isn’t a pep talk; it’s a practical field guide for less chaos and more calm, built from miles on the road and years of paying attention. We start with the power of the pause—“Let me think about that and get back to you”—and why urgent texts don’t deserve instant answers. From there, I unpack the trap of overexplaining your choices and how no can be complete, kind, and final. We draw a sharp line between effort and effectiveness, talk about rest as strategy, and explore why being exhausted isn’t a personality. You’ll hear how I gatekeep my time and energy, why less access beats dramatic exits, and how to assume ignorance before malice while still tracking patterns that don’t change. Then we get tactical. If it isn’t a clear yes, treat it as a no. Most decisions aren’t permanent—repaint the wall, reupholster the chair, pivot the plan. Don’t decide when you’re tired, hungry, emotional, or lonely. Build simple systems that lower decision fatigue: automate bills and meds, streamline email, keep a repeatable breakfast, and fix tiny annoyances immediately so they stop taxing your attention. Finally, we trade motivation myths for momentum: start messy, refine as you go, and let calm be a worthy target. Peace isn’t boring—it’s the baseline that lets you enjoy the life you already have. If this conversation helped you breathe easier, share it with a friend, subscribe for more practical life tools, and leave a quick review to tell me which rule you’re adopting first.

    25 min
  4. JAN 2

    A Solo Road Trip Toward Clarity And Courage

    Send us a text A fresh year deserves more than another slogan. We’re kicking off with new music, a hard-won cancer-free milestone, and a plan that puts clarity in the driver’s seat: a solo road trip designed for thinking time, wide horizons, and the kind of quiet that lets your own voice come through. No reinvention theater, no 10-step blueprints. Just the courage to set a route that matches your energy and the discipline to listen when the road starts telling the truth. Across the miles, I get honest about why I’m going alone, why I’m going now, and why aging isn’t a cue to shrink. We talk about routines that help until they hem you in, the seductive illusion of control, and how adaptability becomes our most underrated skill as the birthdays stack up. I share the practicals too: daylight driving, AAA at the ready, pacing days for long early stretches and slower landings, and yes, the joy of a pit stop in Uranus for fudge and clean bathrooms. Along the way we unpack how driving loosens the mind, why uninvited ideas show up around hour three, and what it takes to sit with yourself without apologizing for it. This is the start of a series about aging without shrinking, choosing expansion at any age, and granting yourself permission to want more. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to be smaller, more predictable, or more careful than your spirit can stand, consider this your nudge. I’m turning 65, celebrating 38 years sober, and building days that fit the life I actually want. Come ride along, reflect, and ask yourself what your road could give you if you stopped asking permission. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a brave nudge, and leave a review so more listeners can find these conversations. Want more on sobriety and sustainable change? Search Unbottled by Marcy Backis wherever you get podcasts.

    19 min
  5. 12/26/2025

    Dear January, Stop Yelling At Us

    Send us a text The loudest voice in January insists we start over, buy more, and hustle harder. We’re not doing that. We’re choosing intentions—gentle, flexible guardrails that help us evolve without the shame spiral that usually follows broken resolutions. If you’re tired of feeling like a failure by the second week of the year, this conversation will feel like a deep breath. We unpack why resolutions fall apart so quickly: they start from a story that you’re broken and need fixing. Then we offer a kinder framework that begins with reflection. What drained you last year? What surprised you? Where did you grow without noticing? From that ground, we set one to three intentions that focus on how we want to feel and how we want to show up. You’ll hear five practical intentions you can borrow—listening to your body, protecting your energy, staying curious, nurturing relationships, and enjoying life now—and how to translate them into choices you can sustain. Throughout the episode, we weave in real-life context: a noisy city day after the holidays, travel plans for a milestone birthday, navigating a medical year with more self-advocacy, and practical boundaries for work and the phone. We show how to use intentions as a daily compass by asking, “Does this support my intention?” and how to check in monthly, adjust without guilt, and celebrate progress—especially on the messy days when getting through is the win. It’s an honest, encouraging reset for anyone craving growth without the grind. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who hates resolution season, and leave a review so more people can find it. And don’t miss our new sobriety-focused show, Unbottled, dropping three launch episodes on January 1—tune in and tell us your first intention of the year.

    19 min
  6. 12/19/2025

    The Mental Load, Unmasked

    Send us a text The quiet weight that keeps families afloat has a name—and it’s heavier than most people admit. We dive into the mental load with raw, everyday stories: the constant planning behind dinner, the whiplash of medical appointments, the emotional labor of smoothing conflicts, and the tech-driven reality where “savings” hide behind apps. If you’ve ever been the calendar keeper, the medical historian, the emotional buffer, and the household IT support, this conversation will feel uncomfortably familiar and deeply validating. We talk candidly about how that invisible work so often falls to women, even after kids are grown. Adult children still need support, partners rely on the “person who knows,” and the to-do list expands as we age—finances, specialists, pet care, travel, and the nagging feeling that time is tighter. There’s humor here, too: free Fry Fridays that require app fluency, coupon stacks that turn a $60 bill into $22, and the absurdity of spending energy to save a few dollars when bandwidth is already thin. The point isn’t perfection. It’s permission to set limits and share the load. Practical shifts are the thread that holds it together: stop automatically picking everything up, share ownership not just tasks, say out loud what you can’t carry, and let a few corners stay imperfect. Boundaries aren’t punishment—they’re protection. And when the day wins, a nap with the cats can be a reset, not a failure. You are not broken; you are overloaded. If this resonates, pass it to someone who needs the words, then subscribe for more honest conversations that trade shame for clarity. Leave a review to tell us the one invisible job you’re ready to put down.

    18 min
5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Having hosted the Aging aint for Sissie's podcast for two years, I wanted to expand what I could discuss. This podcast will touch on the fun of aging and whatever has crossed my mind! Please join me as I walk through life! #retirement #travel #fun #aginggracefully Link in my bio! Listen now! #insidemarcysmind #aginggracefully #retired #retirementpreperation #aging #retirementplanning www.insidemarcysmind.com

You Might Also Like