This show allowed me to grow in ways I didn't expect, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, and I'll always be thankful for that. But if there's one thing I keep coming back to as I look back on this whole experience, it's my friendship with Bracey. We were already friends before the podcast, but this journey brought us so much closer, and that's something I will carry with me long after this last episode airs. That's the kind of magic this show is really about.

I can’t wait to keep listening. 💛

Love, Anna

Links:

• Subscribe: likehearted.substack.com

• Instagram: @likeheartedpod

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

Living Fully and Beautifully in Chaos

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

All the Ways We Grieve

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Honoring Our Gifts and Strengths

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

I will never not look for the lessons or reframe something hard because I love to make meaning, as I think all humans do. So here are a few things I’ve stopped believing about the lack of measurable growth and podcast metrics in general:

I’m a failure

Obviously, the first place I go is that if the podcast isn’t growing, it’s a failure. And yes, I do want to keep reaching for a larger audience. But, on my good days, I can see that making something is always a win. Impacting the people the podcast does reach is a win. The connection and growth the podcast has brought me personally is a win. And being brave enough to start something most people wouldn’t even consider doing is certainly a win.

Moving forward, I’ve reframed the goal to be process-oriented. This means making ‘trying’ the whole point. Whether it’s a certain number of social posts per week, or writing these extra Substack essays, hitting the goals that have nothing to do with whether I’ve garnered the algorithm’s favor is making me feel really proud of myself, and ain’t that the best.

I’ll never be able to hit a specific goal

This is a big one for me and feels very personal, but when I set a specific goal and miss it, I tend to extrapolate that I should never set specific goals. My goal was always to break-even on the podcast, because yes I do pay to produce it, but I’ve never hit it. It’s especially mortifying if I announce a goal and then don’t hit the mark. Cue me melting into a puddle of embarrassment on the floor. I know I’ve got some work to do about my beliefs here, but I want to be brave enough to keep pursuing things even when they feel vulnerable. In the meantime, I’m reminding myself that sometimes you have to fail in order to learn. I never notice or care when other people set goals they don’t reach. I’m always impressed that they’re trying.

I shouldn’t be doing this

The toughest belief of the bunch. Oftentimes when I think about the lack of podcast growth (at least on paper) over the years, I’m tempted to make it mean that I’m doing the wrong thing, that I should just throw in the towel. I’m sure most people would have done that by now. But it’s hard for me to fully accept that something that feels so life-giving is the wrong choice. You should see me when I get off a podcast recording, my energy is buzzing, the ideas are flowing, and I could talk your ear off for an hour. I literally have to schedule recordings during the day because if I record too late then my come-down pushes back my bedtime. I can’t deny that kind of physical response. It’s fun, fulfilling, and healthy for me to have these conversations, so why stop? Talking about personal development is something I will do for the rest of my life, so why not keep doing it for others to hear.

I’m still in the messy middle of all this. There are days when the doubt creeps back in. But the biggest motivator this time around is that doing this work (and yes, I’ve finally come around to the idea that the podcast is work) makes me feel so proud. I feel good about what I’m making and that in and of itself is enough for me to keep going.

I’m sure this is not the end of the story, but I’d love to know if there’s any area of your life where you’ve hyper focused on the result instead of enjoying the process.

P.S. I’ve got a big shift coming soon - you’ll hear more on the podcast next week!

• Anna has a big, big surprise!

• Bracey is coming off a fun month of travel.

• A discussion of the most important book we’ve read on the pod - do yourself a favor and put it on your TBR immediately

• What systemic collapse looks like

• Prepping for weather events without becoming a prepper

• How Bracey is handling explaining system collapse to her kids

• A beautiful Jewish tradition for bearing grief collectively

• How uncertainty tolerance factors into it all

• What we’re changing in response to this book

Links & Resources:

• Want a reading of your own? Email likeheartedpodcast@gmail.com

• Subscribe: likehearted.substack.com

• Instagram: @likeheartedpod

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

What’s On Our Minds: August 2026

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Self-Acceptance

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The Book of Alchemy Book Review

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

A probably not comprehensive list of disappoints I’ve experienced while making things online:

Not growing at the pace you want.

As mentioned, putting in a little extra effort and hoping the numbers will grow or recommitting to instagram for the 3rd, 4th, or 5th time, and seeing nothing change is disheartening. I can’t even really blame myself. It’s vulnerable to put yourself out there in one way, let alone multiple. And it takes time to grow your capacity for “being seen,” whatever that means. Making my goals more process-oriented has helped with this.

Seeing how the people in your life react.

I still honestly don’t know how I want them to react. I can’t even tell you how often I’m at a dinner table and realize later no one asked a single question about my life outside of my children. I so appreciate when people I know support the work. And I don’t mind if they ignore it all together because then I don’t have to wonder what they actually think about it. In person conversations can be hard when you feel like they either don’t understand or aren’t even interested in asking how things are going. All of this is soothed by the people who do really get it and are your best cheerleaders. Long live the cheerleaders.

Handling feelings of failure while still trying.

To be perfectly honest, this is still probably the hardest for me. I know that I can’t expect things to improve overnight, so I’ve got to practice the things I want to get better at. And in the meantime, I have to suck at a few things. I’ve given myself a timeline for the trying. I’m going to be a real try-hard for at least 6 months, hopefully more like 9 (depending on some things in my personal life). I’ve adjusted the goal posts so that I’m not expecting exponential growth in this beginner phase. I’m being realistic about what I can actually commit to during that time. And I’m making friends with being a beginner in the first place. There’s really no shame in trying.

Overthinking it.

There’s so many flavors of this. Getting sucked into content about how to grow and then realizing you’ve wasted your time down a rabbit hole when you could’ve been making the content you already planned to make. Second guessing why something you loved making flopped. Having trouble turning your brain off, half the time because you’ve got so many ideas to consider, and the other half because you’re panicking over not having a single idea. There was a point last winter when I was staring up at my bedroom ceiling spiraling over whether I’d wasted my life making something that didn’t matter. I don’t feel that way most of the time. My brain is the wild west sometimes and must be managed accordingly.

The emotional whiplash.

The emotional sister to overthinking. Feeling like you’ve totally got this one minute and like you have no idea what you’re doing the next. Second-guessing whether what you say even matters. The worry over whether all the effort you’re putting in is actually worth it. It is - if only because you won’t have any regrets over never really trying.

Where it leaves me:

For right now I’m finding the sweet spot between trying and letting go of the outcome. I’m practicing some new beliefs about the process, treating the next 6-9 months like an experiment, and not making the metrics mean anything about me. I’m finding what works for me and leaving the rest. This is a work in progress, but I’ve honestly never felt so good about the direction I’m heading and how I’m getting there. Here’s hoping that’s the secret sauce 🤞

What would you do in my position?

- Bracey

• Anna and Bracey kick off this episode with a discussion about the top five things worth the money trend (spoiler alert: they could only think of a few off the cuff!)

• Bracey offers her advice on dealing with insomnia — what to get checked and what actually helps when sleep won’t come

• A conversation about the responsibility of strangers: what we really owe each other in everyday moments, big and small

• Reflecting on the Rumi quote “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears,” and what it means to trust the process instead of needing the whole path mapped out

• A detour into TV talk as Bracey and Anna dig into their thoughts on Bones

• Bracey opens up about building an online presence, sitting with disappointment, and how she’s thinking about splitting parenting and free time

• And of course, there’s more! Listen in to hear it all :)

Links & Resources:

• Want a reading of your own? Email likeheartedpodcast@gmail.com

• Subscribe: likehearted.substack.com

• Instagram: @likeheartedpod

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

Written in the Stars: Analyzing Anna’s Astrological Chart

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Self-Acceptance

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The Book of Alchemy Book Review

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

In this episode:

• Bracey walks through how she reads a chart, including the pieces that often get left out of pop-astrology takes — aspects, aspect patterns, and how they add nuance beyond just “sign” and “house”

• A full reading of Anna’s chart, touching on her core placements and what they reveal about her identity, emotional world, and relationships

• How some of Anna’s placements connect to real patterns in her life — from people-pleasing tendencies to how she processes conflict and disappointment

• A conversation about the balance between self and others, and where Anna’s chart points to growth

• A fun detour into the different branches of astrology (psychological, electional, medical)

• Why “easy” placements aren’t always the most useful, and how challenging aspects can sharpen personal growth

Links & Resources:

• Want a reading of your own? Email likeheartedpodcast@gmail.com

• Subscribe: likehearted.substack.com

• Instagram: @likeheartedpod

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

Creative Personal Questions and a Mid-Year Check-in

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The One about Fall

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Soft Life Era

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

Parenting is a Very Hard Thing to do, but it’s infinitely harder if you have a bad attitude about it. If you’re new to borrowing beliefs, we recorded a podcast about self-concept that you can reference for more information and here’s an article about my beliefs about how life works, but the gist is that you can choose what you want to belief. Repeated thoughts become internalized, so pick and choose what is serving you and what is not. And with that quick intro, let’s get into it!

If you’re new to me and my work, I’m in a heteronormative relationship, so obviously this stuff will be colored by my lens, but feel free to take what resonates with you and leave the rest!

#1 Happy Mom, Happy Family

I am the emotional nucleus of my family. When I am happiest and healthiest, the family is the happiest and healthiest. To be clear, this is not me expecting everyone to cater to my moods, it’s me taking radical responsibility for my feelings. I must take care of myself first, because that is what’s best for everyone.

#2 Parenting Gets To Be Fun

Your kids have more fun when you’re having fun, so do things the way you enjoy them! Our life is not solely focused on the kids. We make time for the things we enjoy, and especially the things that make us feel like adult humans who are more than just parents. For me that means taking the kids to places I want to go and listening to the music I want to listen to. There is a time and a place for The Wheels on the Bus, but driving in traffic is not it. Plus, I love the idea that my musical influences will become the soundtrack to their childhood.

#3 Being a Mom and Being a Dad are Different Experiences

This is something I continue to re-learn and accept, because there is a lot of (understandable!) messaging about equality in parenting happening right now. But where we’ve landed on this is that my job as a mother is fundamentally more taxing than my partner’s experience as a father. In a one-to-one scenario like waking up and hanging with the kids at home on a Saturday morning, they need more from me than they do from him. At first, I was angry that I could come downstairs and everyone would be playing nicely seemingly without any needs, but now we just plan for the difference in requirements and I’m not constantly comparing our experiences.

#4 My Job is 9-5

Being a stay-at-home parent does a number on your sense of work-life balance. One way we combat this is by mentally separating working hours from non-working hours. From 9-5, I’m responsible for the kids unless I’ve got something else I must do and I pre-arrange ‘time off.’ Anything that falls outside of 9-5 is a shared responsibility. We do not default to things being my responsibility just because they are childcare duties. We alternate who gets up to do the morning shift with the kids, and we split the bedtime duties.

#5 Parents Deserve Equal(ish) Free-Time

When our first was born, we utilized the Fairplay cards by Eve Rodsky, so we could visually see who was doing what. That was helpful for a time to make sure we’re both acknowledging each others’ workload. What works well for me now, as a person who is way too concerned with making things exactly fair, is thinking more about each person getting about the same amount of free-time. If anything, I usually get a little more free-time since my 9-5 is also my 5-9 and I just need more intentional space to remember I’m a person. This shift has also helped balance the fact that I require more sleep than my partner. So instead of being resentful that he gets hours to himself after bedtime than I don’t get, I just take more time before bed and on the weekends to balance it out. Maybe this is just a way to rationalize doing what I need, but it’s a belief that works for me.

What’s Next

As I was writing these down, it hit me how much we as mothers have to talk ourselves into taking care of ourselves. I don’t even consider myself to have a lot of ‘mom guilt,’ but I do have to talk myself into taking time away from what I consider to be my main responsibility. And I can’t do that job well if I’m not my best self.

Here’s to being our best-selves,

Bracey

Anna walks in with a literal homework assignment — her supervisor handed her seven reflection questions and said "sit with these," which is therapist-speak for "this is going to wreck you a little." They also get into a mid-year check-in (HOW are we already halfway?) of their own goals list and discuss what has changed, what hopes still exist, and what has been quietly abandoned.

What we got into

SO MANY TANGENTS. The girls love to chat.

🕳️ The missing-from-your-life question. Turns out neither of them was ready for how fast the answer came.

🍯 Craving vs. actually wanting. The difference between what sounds good on a vision board and what your nervous system is begging for.

🎯 The workshop-that-exceeds-expectations fantasy. What we’d actually walk away wanting — spoiler, it’s not a certificate.

Tell us how the first half of your year is going!

Seriously. We want to know. Email likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com or leave a comment on Substack with the whole story — no judgment, only curiosity and awe.

Stay connected

• 📧 Email: likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com

• 📸 Instagram: @likeheartedpod

• 📝 Substack: likehearted.substack.com

Talk to you soon. 💛

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

Motivation, Discipline & Devotion (aka Why We’re Canceling Willpower)

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Who Do You Think You Are? The Self-Concept Episode

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

All the Ways We Grieve

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

Where It All Started

A few years ago on the podcast, we did an episode on values. Specifically, we did this values exercise from Dr. Brene Brown. If you do nothing with this article other than hop over there and figure out your values, I’ll have done my job.

But it’s been four years since that episode(how??), and I’d like to reflect on how knowing my values has been hugely important to me.

It’s going to sound dramatic, but I think narrowing down my values has been the most impactful exercise we’ve done on the podcast, which is saying something considering we’ve touched just about every facet of the personal development in the last 5 years.

In case you missed it, and in case you can’t already tell from the themes of this podcast, my top values are growth and authenticity. In the exercise, they recommend narrowing it down to 2 and I’ve found that to be very valuable. At the end of the day, you can only have so many top priorities, and this is a place in which limitation creates space.

The Impact

I think about my values multiple times per week. They keep me honest. They are my north star. If I’m growing and I’m being true to myself, I feel like I’m getting it right. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s slow. Even when it hurts. I can trust the process if I’m growing and I’m being me.

• Whenever I’m not sure what decision to make, I consider what is most aligned with my values.

• When I’m struggling with something, I try to see it through the lense of my values.

• When I’m planning my future, I absolutely use my values to align myself.

I feel so much more confident in my decisions and clear about where I’m heading. It’s easier for me to see and honor where there are mismatches in values in my relationships, which means I’m wasting less time and energy wondering why things aren’t aligned. And knowing that authenticity is important to me has made it very clear where I’m not being honest with myself and others. It’s created clarity and space where I never knew I needed it.

Where to Now?

I’ve also expanded upon my values some in the last few years. I’m pretty well acquainted with growth and authenticity. Using those as guideposts has become second nature. But more recently I’ve been putting more weight on personal responsibility, spiritual connection, and pursuing fulfillment. These are things that are also very important to me, but not quite so much as growth and authenticity.

These are the places I feel like my life could use some shoring up. And I love how they can be a measure of my own actions, but also how what I’m allowing in relationship with others. I’m still in the early stages, but I’m enjoying having some other things to add to the (internal) conversation.

What do you think, have I sold you on discovering your values yet?

- Bracey

In This Episode

🎉 Our summer selves are here! An update on Anna’s European adventure and recap of Bracey’s habit tracking.

🧠 Soft discipline: trying softer
Turns out forcing yourself to do things you hate isn’t a long-term strategy.

📵 Phone usage makes an appearance because of course it does.

🔄 Discipline is out. Devotion is IN.
It’s the same concept but without the shame and pressure.

🎨 Utilizing 20-minute windows is annoying but it works
Bracey shares her low-lift setup for squeezing in creative time.

💪 Motivation: it ebbs, it flows, it disappears for weeks at a time
Both of us get honest about our relationship with motivation.

✅ Consistency doesn’t mean daily, and that’s the whole point
Structure as freedom! Routines as bumpers on a bowling lane!

Highlights You Don’t Want to Miss

• A fun Laney story with all the personality we expect.

• The realization that beating yourself up for not doing something costs MORE energy than just doing it

• Anna commits to 10 minutes of morning reflection in June, tracked out of curiosity (not shame!) — we love character development

Come Find Us!

Got hot takes on motivation? A devotion era success story? We want to hear it.

• 📧 Email: likeheartedpodcast@gmail.com

• 📸 Instagram: @likeheartedpod

• 📝 Substack: likehearted.substack.com

Talk to you soon. 💛

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

All the Ways We Keep in Touch

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

All Systems Go!

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Over-Functioning: What it Looks Like and Where it Takes Us

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

Raise your hand if you feel the need to have the kitchen perfectly clean at all times. 🙋🏼‍♀️How about the need to reply to emails and text messages no matter what time of day or what you’re already in the middle of?

As a mother, I find this looks like:

“Do we need to do more enriching activities this week?”

“I need to make sure I’m making the most of my time with them.”

“I need to make sure I’m making the most of my time away from them.”

“Have they been outside enough?”

“When was the last time I took them to the park?”

“Let me clean up these toys they played with for 5 minutes.”

“Dinner is at 5, so we have to leave by 4:45, but getting the kids in the car takes ten minutes, so make that 4:30. The diaper bag needs repacking, and the kids will inevitably be stained or naked by naptime, so let’s start getting them dressed around 4. To dress at 4 we’ll need to get them down for a nap a little earlier than normal, so lunch will need to be at 12:30, but in order to make that work we’ll have to leave the park at noon…”

You would’ve thought that after joyfully exiting the corporate arena in 2018, urgency culture would’ve missed me, but alas. I’d be lying if I said I never do this mental math anymore, but now it’s at least only on the busy days and not coming from a habitually anxious place.

In my opinion, urgency is one of the silent reasons most people are miserable – moving quickly toward some nebulous goal that they may or may not have even picked for themselves in the first place.

Urgency culture keeps us operating in this state of necessity all of the time by means of constant notifications, expectations of immediate responses to texts, emails, and DMs, and a view of rest as either selfish or a reward for hard work. I could expound upon the ways in which this is created by capitalism (selling solutions to manufactured problems, do more/be more/buy more, etc), but it’s terribly plain to see, so I’ll spare you.

I had hoped that staying home for months on end during the pandemic would’ve cured us of this bend towards busyness. There’s nothing like a forced break to make you realize you were doing too much, or so I thought. Like with anything else, we don’t want to swing too far in the opposite direction either. In the same way the anxiety helps us get to our dentist appointments on time, urgency helps us act upon what’s most important. Most important. Not “sorta important.” Not “will be important.” Not “important to [other person].”

Nothing has helped me with this more than having a toddler. It’s easy to identify urgent needs vs nice to haves when a toddler is asking for snacks, asking you to watch their 99th gymnastics trick, and dumping your bottle of water all over the floor at the same time. Something has to come first.

But urgency for most of us has become the water in which we swim. A well-worn path. It’s hard to distinguish where to start unlearning. Unsurprisingly, I have some thoughts.

Where to start?

First, identify that staying in fight or flight is bad for you. This problem does make us productive and valuable to others, so the people pleasers in the group might not naturally want to even address the issue. What is the cost of keeping up with an unsustainable pace?

Once you’ve actually decided to make a change, start small.

Can you turn the notifications off for 95% of the apps on your phone? I find this is the easiest start with the biggest payoff. You don’t need constant notifications to be going to most of those apps anyway. It doesn’t prevent the updates, just stops constantly pulling your attention. Plus, if you’re like me, some of those notifications are giving you a jolt of anxiety when you see them even if they’re not something you need to act on immediately.

A few other options:

• An hour or two a day on DND. Or at least turn your phone on silent so you have to check to see if anyone has contacted you. Think of it like the 90s and you have a landline. You’re out of the house and will get back to them when you can. Leave a message at the beep!

• Think before you reply. Does this need a response while you’re in the middle of playing with your kids/eating dinner/trying to rest? Probably not. Batch phone ‘admin’ a few times a day if that works for you.

• If your calendar is constantly packed, it’s time for an audit. Go back through the last few weeks and months to see what could have been cut. I know it feels like everything is important, but pick a few tasks or events that didn’t feel worth it to you. Next time these things come up, politely decline. If you’re a person who struggles to say no and regrets it later, make your default answer, “I’ll check my schedule and get back to you” or “let me think about it” as a rule. That gives a little space to be intentional about your time and energy.

• Literally slow down. Stop rushing between tasks. Your nervous system needs a freaking break, and being ten minutes late to everything or trying to cram ten tasks into a short window of time is telling your body that there’s a bear to run from. This will probably mean getting comfortable with less getting done. That’s a skill you can develop, and I’m here to tell you that you will not die if the house isn’t perfectly clean at all times.

The goal here is to calm your physical body down by changing your ingrained habit of hurrying. Consider what it is that makes you feel rushed and how you can reduce that pressure.

There’s a lot to unpack surrounding urgency culture and the habits that contribute to it, but I’ve yapped enough for today. I’m already thinking about the push-back that might be happening internally on some of these points. Who has thoughts?

Here’s to a slow-down ahead,

-Bracey

P.S. Someone ask me soon what I think about what moms should and shouldn’t do during nap time because it is a hill I will die on.

This week we got nostalgic (remember post secret?!), got into our feelings about group chats, and somehow ended up more connected than ever.

What we got into

💌 How our parents actually did it. A time before dinners and drinks were normal. We genuinely cannot.

📱 Group chats: gift, curse, or chaotic neutral? We present the evidence. You decide.

🛋️ The great in-person vs. virtual debate. Bracey makes her case and Anna’s opinion does NOT survive the episode intact.

📸 Instagram, TikTok, and the strange intimacy of watching someone’s life on a 6-second loop.

💬 GChat nostalgia hours. A moment of silence for the away message era.

📞 Phone calls, texts, video chats — what each one actually says about how much you care.

Tell us how you keep in touch

Are you a voice memo person? (If so, please voice memo Bracey) A meme-as-love-language person? A “sorry I’m bad at texting” person who’s actually great at texting certain people? We want to know. Email likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com or leave a comment on Substack with the whole thing — no judgment, only curiosity.

Stay connected

• 📧 Email: likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com

• 📸 Instagram: @likeheartedpod

• 📝 Substack: likehearted.substack.com

Talk to you soon. 💛

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

What’s On Our Minds: Panic Lies, Mental Health Days, and the ‘Disease’ of Laziness

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Book Review: Are You Mad at Me?

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Manifestation Magic

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

Share Us With a Friend

Borrow My Beliefs: Life Edition

1. Everything that happens is for my good, even the hard parts.

It is much easier to see that this might be true for everyone if you have the benefit of hindsight, but you can adopt it in advance. Holding onto the belief that things happen for a reason makes my life infinitely better. Pair this with the expectation that your life just gets better and better over time lends meaning to the rough patches while you’re still in them.

2. My desires are divine, so I get to have what I want.

Seeing your hopes, dreams, wishes, and even cravings for a greasy burger as divine makes you take them (and yourself) more seriously. Plus, it means it’s easier to make it make sense for you to get what you want. And…what if you meet your soulmate while you’re getting that greasy burger??

3. I am inherently good, worthy, and enough as is, so there’s no need to prove (or improve) myself.

I mean, come on. This is simple self-worth. Unfortunately, most of us need some help in this department, so let’s get the groundwork laid yesterday. Bonus points if you kick the habit of self-improvement in the name of self-worth.

4. Relaxing my energy and approach makes everything better.

This one is for the overthinkers! If you’re like me and get yourself into worry spirals, do yourself a favor and adopt an attitude that makes relaxing favorable.

5. What’s for me won’t miss me.

Duh. Your desires are yours. If it’s something you truly want, it’s not going to slide past you. It will circle you. Prepare to dosey-doe.

6. Life is better when you’re happy, and happiness can be cultivated.

This is the number one thing that got me through the last (exceptionally hard) year. I can still find happiness in the hard. If your happiness has waned, hop back on that gratitude practice ASAP.

Introducing: My Next Up-Level

I am being the person things work out for.

Yes, I’m aware this is not grammatically correct. But affirmations needs to sound like you and “I am being the person for whom things work out” is just a mouthful.

Pick your own wording if you please, but the bottom line here is assuming that things are going your way. It’s all happening. And with pace.

I currently deal well with hard things, but I want to create more space for the magnificent stuff. I want to know that things are going to be even better than I expected. This is step 1 of that new level of self-concept. More to come.

What do we think? Which belief are you starting with?

With love,

Bracey

P.S. Don’t forget to listen to our episode on self-concept if you haven’t already!

Anna’s clocking her monthly mental health day like a pro (with permission from the principal, no less), while Bracey has officially entered Day 10 of Mystery Illness #11. Spoiler: do NOT fly with congestion unless you want to spend the midnight hour googling “is my eardrum ruptured.” But emotionally? She’s crushing it. Astrology course enrolled, journaling intensified, vibes immaculate.

What we got into

🌱 Hard seasons as compost. Bracey landed on the reframe of the year: “I haven’t felt like myself lately. I must be growing.”

💪 Self-efficacy as a tool, not a buzzword. Why finishing tiny things matters more than starting big ones.

🛬 Kristen Bell, the coffee, and the one cream. Adam Grant + K-Bell on people-pleasing as a selfish act (we know, we know).

🔢 Attitude numbers, decoded. If you’re not living in alignment with yours, you’re being messy.

🌀 The transition problem. What solitaire, sudoku, and oranges have in common.

🇯🇵 Seven Japanese cures for “laziness” (which they’re calling a DISEASE, harsh). We do not endorse calling laziness a disease. We DO endorse the tips.

Tell us your panic lies

Seriously. We need them. Email likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com or leave a comment on Substack with the whole story — no judgment, only awe.

Stay connected

• 📧 Email: likeheartedpodcasts@gmail.com

• 📸 Instagram: @likeheartedpod

• 📝 Substack: likehearted.substack.com

Talk to you soon. 💛

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

The Book of Alchemy Book Review

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Our Personal Definitions of Success

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The Upsides of Quitting

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🎧 Share with a friend who needs a little alchemy in their life. Let’s grow together!

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

Likehearted Spring Things

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All the Ways We Grieve

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Honoring Our Gifts and Strengths

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Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives!

How Embarrassing!

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Teaching a Topic: Manifestation and Reality Creation

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2026 Hope, Goals, and Intentions

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Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives

The Dream Episode: Soggy Lettuce, Stress Dreams, and Ghost Stories

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All the Ways We Grieve

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Welcome to the New Age

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Some questions to consider when analyzing the symbols and objects in your own dreams:

• What was the symbol or object doing in your dream?

• What did it look like?

• Where was it?

• How did you feel about it while you were dreaming?

• How do you feel now when you think about it?

• What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of this symbol?

Happy dreaming!

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives

Honoring Our Gifts and Strengths

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​Overcoming Underearning: Discussing Bracey's Fav Money Book

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​The Big Growth Update

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They also swap icebreaker fun facts, talk about what’s been inspiring them lately, and share some exciting things they have coming up this year.

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives

All the Ways We Grieve

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Wintering Book Review

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Pop Goes the Culture

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If you’re interested in exploring financial planning for yourself, check out Martha and Stephen’s offers here!

Some episodes you may have missed….

Here’s some good ones from the archives

Let’s Discuss: Hidden Potential

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Welcome to the New Age

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The Enneagram One Experience with Seb

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If you’ve enjoyed any of our episodes, we’d appreciate it if you’d share with a friend. That’s how podcasts grow - through connection - and we appreciate you helping us grow!

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