E191: You Can Change Your Life One Small Choice At A Time

Burnout is not always dramatic. Sometimes it looks like skipped breaks, a constant tight chest, snapping at people you love, and telling yourself you’ll rest after the next deadline. We wanted a grounded conversation about what actually helps, so we brought on life coach and Human Design practitioner Mary Okon to share the practices that helped her move from corporate burnout, daily migraines, and chronic pain into a healthier, more sustainable way of living and leading. 

We talk about why self-care can feel uncomfortable or even “wrong,” especially if you grew up in a work-first culture where taking time for yourself was judged. Mary breaks down how to start small, build trust with yourself through tiny choices, and use your focus intentionally so you stop reinforcing a loop of stress and complaints. We also get practical about leadership and authenticity: how to find safe spaces to practice being yourself, how community reduces isolation at the top, and how to become an observer of your reactions so you can respond with intention next time. 

Then we bring in Human Design as a self-awareness tool for leadership development, energy management, and decision making. Mary explains how people are wired differently, why some thrive on variety and movement while others need more rest, and how alignment signals, such as satisfaction or frustration, can guide your next step. If you’ve been forcing yourself into someone else’s “right way,” this conversation offers a clear permission slip to work with your nature instead of against it. 

If this resonates, follow the podcast, share it with a friend who needs a real break, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one small act of self-care you’re willing to take today?

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Transcript

Welcome And Listener Offers

Cynthia 0:06

Hello, hello, friends, and welcome back to Uncharted and Unfiltered, a journey back to you. Before we dive into today's conversation, I want to tell you why I was so excited to bring my friend Mary O'Conn onto the podcast. Mary is a life coach, a human design guide, and one of those people who has the ability to take complex ideas about personal growth and make them feel incredibly practical. We met through a coaching community and quickly became friends. And every conversation we have leaves me thinking differently about myself. In this episode today, we explore what it means to reconnect with yourself. We talk about burnout and why it so often begins with abandoning our own needs. We explore why self-care isn't selfish. It is one of the greatest gifts we can ever offer the people we love. We discuss authenticity, people pleasing, leadership, community, and why so many of us feel stuck when we become disconnected from who we really are. Mary also shares beautiful insights from human design, not as a label or a box to put yourself in, but as another lens for understanding your energy, your decision making, your strengths, and the unique way that you are designed to move through the world. Whether human design is completely new to you or something that you have been curious about, I think that you will walk away with a deeper appreciation for yourself. And because Mary is so incredibly generous, she has created a special offer exclusively for listeners of Uncharted and Unfiltered. She has put together a human design mini package that includes three one-on-one human design coaching sessions designed specifically to help you understand your unique design and apply it to your life and leadership. Normally, the package is $550, but if you use the code July 50 before August 7, 2026, you will receive 50% off, making it just $275. You will find the link and all of the details in today's show notes, and those will be US dollars. I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Grab a coffee, take a walk, or simply settle in and let's get started. Hello, hello, Mary. How are you this morning? I'm super excited for this conversation.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Me too.

Cynthia 2:36

Before we get started, maybe you want to tell the listeners a little bit about yourself and maybe how we know each other.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Yeah, yeah. Okay, I am Mary Okan. I'm a life coach. Um, I'm also certified in human design. And Cynthia and I found each other in one of our coaching communities, and then we bonded over friendship and human design and coaching and all things self-development.

Cynthia 3:02

Mary is such a gift to the world, and I knew as soon as I came into Mary's orbit, you know how you just meet people and you just connect with them. Mary is one of those people for me, and I knew that I wanted to have her on the podcast because she has so many nuggets of wisdom that can be really useful for anyone listening, and I think regardless of any age or stage in life. Um, so with that, Mary, do you want to just give people a little bit about? So I know you've shared that you are a life coach, and I'm curious, tell us a bit about your journey here. How did you arrive here? What brought you here?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah, so I got super burnt out in corporate, but burnout because I just wasn't taking care of myself. So I had ended up putting on a bunch of weight, had migraines every day, had regular back pain, and had to go to the chiropractor all the time, and was absolutely miserable. So, in my wellness journey, first I started just eating healthier and working on work-life balance. Um, and then I like my husband and I moved in and it was like middle of COVID, and I became a stepmom overnight too. And it felt like my whole world was out of my control because work in corporate during COVID, insane, because we're all developing everything as we go. Now I'm in a like living in arrangement completely different, being a stepmom is all different, and then all of a sudden it's like, okay, hold on. And during that, I started gaining back some of the weight I had lost. And I was like, nope, not happening. And I was like, Well, I can at least control what I eat. Like that gave me one sense of control. So I found the new map, started counting calories, and in that I learned about mindset work because I'd never really been in my realm before, and got hooked. So read 26 books that first year, got totally hooked, lost a whole bunch more weight. I've kept it all off since then. Um, and just was like, how do more people not know this? So left corporate, started my business, and now it's been this evolution because from employee to entrepreneur, even if you were a director, executive level leader, it's completely different in entrepreneurship. So going through this transition, growing, learning, um, now helping others do the same. And that's how I got into it. It's like, how do we take what we learn and our hardships and then what we've been successful working through to help others?

Cynthia 5:32

It sounds like it was a lot happening all at once.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Yeah, and like all at once, but over time. So, like, kind of like started putting work in check, then started eating better, then kind of amped up the food, then like so it all comes in stages. It doesn't all come at once, and that's something we have to be careful with too. It's just like, okay, let's find one main focus, and then that area makes the other areas easier and better, too. And then just as we're going along the way, like the last few years, like with my wellness stuff, it's just been refinement. Like maybe this activity or exercise gets boring, and now we switch it up a little bit, or now I do this instead of that, or food. Like, obviously, that transitions a little bit, but one thing at a time, it all helps everything else, and then refinement from there to keep it up. And honestly, like things become easy over time. Like I just did a post about effort, then ease because it's like I look back now and think my weight loss journey was super easy, but in the moment, it was a lot of work when you're first learning how to eat better and eat out, and then being able to choose foods

Burnout To Coaching Transformation

SPEAKER_01 6:40

that are healthier and tracking calories and doing all that. But now it's like I don't track calories, I don't do any of it, I just know what works for me, my body, and go from there, and it's an easy part of life.

Cynthia 6:50

So I want to come back to this. I I just grabbed my paper if you saw me doing that, and I wrote myself a note because I want to make sure that I come back to a question around burnout and get your uh thoughts about that. But there was something that you said that I want to go back to, which is how do people not know this? And can you give us some scaffolding around what you mean by this? And just take us there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Um, so how do people not know that it's important to take care of themselves? And this came from my childhood. So I have sisters, it was just us girls. We grew up on a format, so we learned to do everything roof, drywall, build buildings, do the chores, go to school, pull really good grades, have three jobs. Like this is how I grew up. Um, but self-care was non-existent. It was work, work, work, work, work. That was life. That's what you did. You know what I mean? It was just work, work, work. So then you get into a career, and my background's culinary, so like work to the max, chaos, wonderful chaos in food service, um, long hours, weekends, holidays, all that. So you just keep going. And then I think one of the triggers in there too was that was fine working 80 hours a week, working all the time, working on holidays, until I had met my husband. Because all of a sudden you're like, oh, I'm so stressed with work. I come home and I accidentally snap at him. Or you catch yourself on your phone answering work emails, not being present at all. And I was like, that is not the person I want to be. And um, there was a quote once and it was saying that your job will be posted before your obituary. And that hit home so much for me because I'm like, oh yeah, it's not about the job. And I love working, like, don't get me wrong. I love what I do now, I love my job then. It ended up not being the right fit, but I like like contributing, I like working, all of that. But it is true that jobs can come and go, your family will always be there. And how do I want to show up for them? How do I want to show up for me? Like myself, I have to take, I have to make myself a priority and then also make my family priority and make sure I'm focusing there because otherwise, if you get to be retired, then what? Then what? Now you have no connection with your family, your spouse, life outside, like you would feel so lost. So it's like, no, how do I add the life back into the work-life balance?

Cynthia 9:14

Oh my gosh, I love what you have just uncovered here. And my journey was similar in the sense of like that's what I observed as a kid growing up is working hard. And your reward for that was the opportunity to do more. And I'm curious, Mary, when you when you shared like like you taking care of yourself enabled you to take care of other people, except was that always the way that you saw that, or was that a shift in your thinking?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

No, the way I what I think I taught was taught growing up is that people who take the time for themselves, people who dress nice, people who have money, they think they're better than other people. So those aren't things you do. And it was always everyone else, and also um just the dynamic of families. You know what I mean? I was a peacemaker, I was the one who this and that. So you just take that on. So it becomes like the people pre-pleasing as a form of self-protection, making sure everyone's good so you can feel safe and going on from there. But it's just one of those things where it's just you have to transition. And what really helped me, because at first you do feel very guilty when you're spending time on yourself and you're not used to it, it's very uncomfortable, and it's just like okay. But towards the very end of my weight loss journey, I started working out because I learned you can get weak if you're losing weight, and I didn't want to get weak, so I added food to my diet and started working out, and I needed that workout so much for me to process my stress and my emotions. Like I never knew how much movement would help me. It stayed with me ever since. But one day I must have been irritated or whatever, and my husband's like, Did you not work out today? And most people might take offense to that, but I didn't because it totally sold me on the fact, oh, not only do I get to do this and feel great, he notices I show up differently, and then I'm better for him, my stepkids, and everything else, too. So it gave me full permission to be like, oh, great, like perfect. This is helping everyone, not just me, because people in our world are very big-hearted, caring people. We care about our people so much. So we have to get our brains on board with what we're doing also being beneficial to them. Otherwise, it's probably not gonna happen. So I help clients see that all the time. Like, we have to know that this is benefiting everything else in our life too.

Cynthia 11:33

Absolutely. And you're bringing up, I mean, the metaphor, and I've I've talked about it before on the podcast, but we'll talk about it again, is this idea of like when we're on the plane and the stewardess or whatever they flight attendant, whatever they call them now, goes through the motions of explaining and articulating to us the importance of when the oxygen mass comes, that we actually put it on ourselves before the child or before the loved one, so that we can care for them. And my own journey, sounds like much like yours, was the opposite, right? So what society said was let's take care of everyone else before, and then whatever time is left, whatever money is left, or whatever, whatever is left, then Cynthia, you can take care of you. So I love what you have highlighted here so much because I also know that when we can give ourselves permission to change that orientation, that it changes everything for the leader, for the human, for the mom, like it doesn't matter who we're talking about, but it actually shifts everything. And I'm curious about you, Mary, when you started to do that, what did you notice that changed in your reality?

SPEAKER_01 12:58

There's a lot of things that change, and it's there's so many different transitions. I think it's hard to pinpoint all of them because like as I was going through all this, I was starting to enjoy my corporate job more and more. So it's pretty manageable until like you just realize at some point it's not the right fit.

Cynthia 13:16

It's yeah, it's manageable until it's not right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

And sometimes it's just like you need you just know it's just not a right fit. But um I think then, and throughout the like, I think it's better to talk about throughout the whole journey. I was just feeling better and enjoying life more. There's a point where I realized like when I was coming home and all I would do is complain about my day, but I thought I was just reporting the facts, and like once I realized, like, oh no, I'm complaining by complaining. I'm inviting more of this. I was like, okay, I'm not gonna play it, complain anymore. I had nothing to talk about. There was my default was to come home and report all the crap from my day of negative. So it's like, but I like to talk. So I'm like, I better start looking for good things. So I shifted my focus to the things I really enjoyed about my day. And it took a while, but more and more I could talk about the things I enjoyed on my day. Instead of looking at the one part of my day that went wrong, I start focusing on the little parts I was really looking forward to. And then I could come home and talk about those. And it shifted everything because when you start looking for more good things or things to look forward to, you find more and more of them. So that alone just shifted my whole relationship with work. And I still use this now. Like if I'm ever feeling down or something, I'm like, okay, wait, what do I have to look forward to? What's going on? What is happening in my world that's exciting? Like, let's put the focus there instead of the one little thing that went wrong in the day.

Cynthia 14:33

Oh my gosh. I love this. And what I love about that is you're so right. You are so right that what we focus on, we create more of. And that's why I asked you the reality question. Because it changes everything, right? So for us, even noticing, whether it be complaints or whatever it is, it's orienting your mind. What you've just shared with us is how orienting your mind to more of the growth mindset versus a fixed mindset of this is the way that it is, has changed everything.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Right.

Cynthia 15:08

And remembering to do that over time, I'm like, Mary, you just rewired your brain. Right? That's and that's what it does. And I think that sometimes can sound like it is an easy thing, and sometimes it can sound like an incredibly complex thing. But it is the thing that changes everything.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah, I mean, we have to definitely work on our thoughts and our mindset, and then sometimes it's action that gets us out of it. I've been thinking about that a lot lately too, is like sometimes when we're in our head too much, we have to go start taking action to create what we want. Because and then when we have action, we have momentum, it changes our thoughts, it changes our feelings, and then we can move forward in a better way. But the main point in all this is where our focus is, is really what's gonna show up in our world.

Cynthia 16:07

Yeah, I don't know who says it, but somebody genius says where energy goes or where focus goes, energy flows.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

I've actually

Self-Care Without Guilt

SPEAKER_01 16:20

been thinking about a different concept, it's a little different, but I think I've been using it in relation to past like past childhood stuff, whatever, anything. Um things that happened in your childhood, things that happened in past careers, things that happened in anywhere. Like we've got to cherry pick the parts we like.

Cynthia 16:37

Say more.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

We like okay, so if I'm starting a new career, then I can go back through all the careers I liked, or all of them, and pick out the things I liked from each job and the things I think I did great in. And I can bring them all to a new job. Like I've helped clients with that. It's like, okay, go back to everything you used to like really like about these different jobs and pick them out, and you can do them now because now they have their own business. So it makes sense. Or like our childhood, like we've all got conflicting thoughts, good and bad. There's things that were great in our childhood, the things that weren't. Well, we don't have to focus on the hard things from our childhood that we went through, but you can go back and look at like like my parents taught us we could do anything. It was never a doubt in my mind that I couldn't just do it because we had to do it. There was like no other option. There was no boys do this, girls do this, this or that. Like, it was just we do it. We build things, we do things. Like, so that was a great thing for my childhood. Well, I can choose to put my focus there, I can put my focus on a few things that I don't care for very much, you know what I mean? But we can do this in any situation.

Cynthia 17:42

So if so if someone is listening to this, how would you guide them? Like, what could they do?

SPEAKER_01 17:51

I would ask them, like, what did you like from the past? What are some good things? What do you like if you're looking at a past career, if we're looking from like a leadership and say they're transitioning to a new company or something? I know there's restrictions within each company, but they can be like, I can ask them, like, what were you great at your last job? What are you what did you really enjoy doing? How did you organize your schedule that set you up for success? What really helped support you? You know, so like we dig into all that of what was really great before and like start bringing it into the job now. Because what I find working with a lot of people is they just forget what was working when something changes. And so it's a constant reminder of like, hey, these were the things that were really working for you before and were really helpful.

Cynthia 18:37

So, really an invitation to step into the power that they do have versus allowing the circumstance, be it whatever it may, be the thing that takes the power away.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Yeah, and just playing to their strengths too.

Cynthia 18:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Like if you're if you're struggling, it's like, okay, hold on. Where are you great at here, here, and here? We're gonna take that and pull that right over here, too.

Cynthia 19:00

And what's important about that for people?

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Oh, it's so important because we need the reminders when life is tough or when we're feeling challenged or that we're facing a struggle. And we need those reminders of like, wait, you're actually brilliant all the time. You've just forgot a little bit. Here's all of your brilliance, here are the things you're really great at. And it's also just reframing, reframing the things that they think are negative qualities about themselves that so are not negative qualities, just someone said something once upon a time, and it's something they've carried with them. And it's like, absolutely not. That is actually a truth, and in Cynthia fashion, here's why. Here's why this is true. So it's like constant reminders helping clients see, like, actually, no, that's a strength. Here's how it works to your benefit, and you should use it.

Cynthia 19:53

Yeah. I I think I was sharing with you, Mary, sometime this week. I read a quote that Brianna Weist, I don't know if I'm saying her name correctly, but I hope I am, shared, which is this idea. So lots of leaders that I work with come to me, and I'm curious if your clients come to you in the same way, but they have a sense of like not having the momentum, feeling stuck in some way. And what was fascinating about this passage was you know, you're actually you're actually feeling stuck because there's a part of you that's free. There's a part of you that knows another way. And what I've loved about what you've just shared here is again, it's noticing where your focus is. Am I focusing on the things that can't work or aren't working? Or can I focus on what I what can work, what has worked in the past.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Yeah, when I think of people being stuck, I think of people feeling like they can't be up, can't be themselves or can't show up as themselves, which I think is also the root of all stress. Is because we if we can't be ourselves, if we can't show up in a way we want or feel good about, if we can't live into our strengths, our truths, and we're just constantly going with autopilot, it becomes a problem. So I think what we have to when we're feeling frustrated, irritated, this or that, we have to stop and be like, okay, why? What's going on? What's my way of doing this? And how can I do this and show up great in a way that I feel good about?

Cynthia 21:22

I'm curious about what you've just shared there because I agree with you on how can I show up as myself and a lot of the people that I work with feel like they can't show up as themselves. Is that something that you experience with your own clients and in your own work? And if so, how do you support them in that?

SPEAKER_01 21:48

I think it shows up for all of us. Every single person in some way, shape, or form. And just because we're conditioned and growing up, you're looking for A way to protect yourself. So you people please, you know, it's just a form of self-protection. You do what everyone else wants, you follow the rules, you follow the shoulds. This is what you're supposed to do. This is what's going on. Um, so in order to start trusting ourselves more and be able to show up in that way, I think it's just like literally starting with little things, little choices of like, this is what I want. Little tiny ways. Like, you know what? I really want this coffee today. I'm gonna go get it. Something is simple. So they just have to learn to start trusting themselves a lot. Or like, um, I've had clients before that get to choose logos and they're like, Well, I really want this color and this color, but should I do this one? Ugh. And I'm like, no, you should not do the other one where you're saying, ugh, like, of course not. So I like pick up on little things like that where you can tell clients are just not excited about, and they're like, you can tell there's just a should somewhere in why they're choosing what they're choosing. So I start picking up on that, and I'm like, absolutely not. Or I will explain, like, there's no right or wrong answer. Like, do you want to do this or this? Like, there's no right or wrong. Like, what do you actually prefer? I'll get on board with whatever you want. It's just that how do you feel good in it? Um, and for me, myself, when I'm using this, is when I'm feeling really frustrated with something, like when I'm creating content, when I'm working on projects and things are just not feeling right. I'm so frustrated, I'd be like, okay, wait, hold on, stop. What feels off? Does this just not feel like me? Is this just really not for me? Is there something I can do to change it so it does feel like me, or what's another way to do this? Like I stop and question it because there's normally an answer. Like once you stop and question yourself long enough to be like, wait, hold on, why does this feel so hard? Why does this feel so frustrating? What's out of alignment for me? Then we can start finding answers and taking steps towards showing up in a way we feel better about that's more authentically us.

Cynthia 24:00

How did you learn how to show up in a way that was more authentically you? Or where did you learn it?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

First, we have to give so much credit to my husband, because he was the first person who ever let me show up and be me. So it's having a safe space to feel like, oh, okay, if I make a mistake, he's not gonna leave. If I make a mistake, there's not a huge this or that. And because growing up, it's like mistake equals problem, you're the problem, it's this, it's that. You know what I mean? So it's like you just take that with you, and it then corporate life transfers, this, that, everything. Um, so it's having a safe space to first feel like you aren't gonna be judged when something goes on. And that's what we provide in coaching, having a safe space to allow people to show up as them and to grow and to practice and evolve and try things and have them not work out and come back and feel fully supported and and know they're gonna be held in that place. And then it's okay, like let's let's sort through what's challenging, what's wrong, what's bothering you, and then we'll work to create a solution together. But it's just finding a safe place to fall where you're not gonna be judged because then when you realize there's not consequences for being yourself, you can start to explore being more of yourself in a safe space, and then showing up more and more like that everywhere in life.

Cynthia 25:24

So start small, find a place where you feel safe. And if anybody is listening, I actually don't know this to be true for all, but I just hope that it is. That that coaches would be able to create that space where anyone can come. And you know, something that I always say to my clients is this space is for you, regardless of how we've come together, right? Whether the employer is paid for it doesn't matter. But I'm here for you. And to hear your thoughts, your feelings, your the way that you want to express yourself so that we can sort through any patterns, any conditioning, anything like story, all of those sorts

Shift Focus And Reclaim Strengths

Cynthia 26:10

of things. So I hope that any coach anywhere would offer you that safe space. But I also would be, I also would say that like an individual would know, or I hope that they would know, or be able to discern whether someone like that safe space for them. Whether it be a coach, whether it be their partner, whether it be someone within the workplace, but finding the place for you to be able to be yourself to build your muscle with it.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Yes, just like anything else where we're learning and growing, we have to put in the reps. You're a runner, I bike, I walk, like you have to start small and you have to keep at it. And it gets easier and easier with time, but that safe space is important. So just like anything, like if even if you're picking out someone to cut your hair, you're gonna choose someone that's fun, that you like that so just a doctor, coaches, like you have to pick someone you connect with.

unknown 27:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

So I think that's important to remember too.

Cynthia 27:11

It's super important, it's super important because the chemistry that you have with whoever it is that you're whatever service provider, right? At the essence of it, that's what it is. Whatever service provider you have, have a relationship with that person that allows you to be yourself. And it's interesting because you're you're reminding me of even in my own journey of being myself, being authentic, like there were places and rooms and relationships where I didn't feel like I could be myself at all. And to be able to find communities, partnerships, relationships where I could sometimes I think I underestimated that.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Oh, I can relate a hundred percent because I've been in leadership since I was 16, 17, always been on a leadership role. And it's lonely because you're at the top, you can't be friends with employees, the upper management isn't always there as you need them to be. Everyone's got different experiences with corporate, so I'll talk, you know, not talking about everyone's experience here. Um, and it's just a different way of life, you can't have a connection. So once I finally found coaching and then founding coaching communities and my human design groups that I absolutely love so much, like I was like, oh, I need this. And it's actually all over my human design that I need community and connection everywhere. But I didn't know this about myself because I've always felt isolated as a leader. And it's one of those things where it's like now I've grown into it, and you know, I've become community manager and community host and my favorite communities. And it's because I love the group to be together, I love for us all to learn and grow together, and it just helps us all. It's so helpful to know you have someone in a similar situation, like you're all working towards a common goal and to like share each other's struggles and challenges so you know you're not alone and don't feel like what am I doing? You know, there's days where we all feel like that no matter what career we're in. But when you have someone alongside of you, like, yeah, I get that, it happens for me too. Like, nothing has gone wrong. It's you know, in Lindsay, one of our favorite coaches, nothing has gone wrong. It's just what it is, and but once you realize that you can relax, you can be like, Oh, okay. I don't, there's there doesn't need to be any shame or judgment. This is normal. We're all going through this, and when we're together, we can go so much far further because we're supporting each other.

Cynthia 29:34

So many beautiful nuggets in what you just shared. And when I was hearing you, the thing that I kept thinking about is normalizing, normalizing the experience. And I mean, I know this to be true in my own experience when I was a leader, and it didn't matter if I was new or if I had been in the organization for 10 years or even 20 years, there were situations, moments where I felt like I was the only one experiencing something. And even just the awareness that actually, with eight million of us and more probably on the planet, there's probably a good chance that somebody else has gone through the thing that I'm going through. But you raise an interesting thing here around isolation. And I'm curious, Mary, is there any advice or wisdom that you would share for a leader who finds themselves in that space?

SPEAKER_01 30:35

Yeah, find community and connection anywhere. And I'm not even saying it has to be work like related, but find your people. I mean, you have running, I have biking. Like have a hobby, start painting, go meet people and paint, whatever it is, like find somewhere, especially if the work situation is hard right now, find somewhere else where you have community and have uh an escape basically from the isolation. Um, and then I think that's a huge help because you also have to feel safe in this in the situation and in the group. That's how you get to show up as yourself. So it's like you have to find something you're interested in and people who have similar interests. Like my husband and I watch like a lot of British competition shows, but they're just like at-home people, so there's no prize at the end other than like a little trophy or something. But what's so beautiful about watching these is they love being around each other and just love having the community of people who love the same things they do, so they help each other, even though it's a competition and they support each other and they learn from each other, and there's like such goodwill between all of them. That's like once you can start seeing that in a space and you realize you're not so alone, then I think eventually does transfer to the workplace, you know. Then maybe you open up to a colleague about what's going on and you can support each other and stuff like that. But I think it's just having community somewhere, people you connect with on a deep level that help you feel like you belong.

Cynthia 32:03

Yeah. And it's, I mean, being in the discomfort of it at the first, but allowing yourself to be able to experience that in a different way so that you can then shift your perspective. At least that's what happens for me when I go and if I'm enjoying it, enjoying or joining a new community. Sometimes I think I'm actually not gonna like it, but then I go and I like it. So it it allows me to shift my perspective when I can give myself permission to just go and okay, let me just see. Let me just see if this is for me. Let me be curious about that for myself.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

You made a good point there. The curiosity, and also what I'll add to that is easing into things because our society so gung-ho have everything now. Well, then people do this thing where like I'm gonna start biking and they go buy a thousand dollar bike and all the gear and all the clothes, and now you're at $2,000 of stuff, and then the bike sits there and never gets used. So, like, ease into things if you think you're gonna like them or not. Like, I went and got like a cheap stationary bike and had the Peloton app and like made sure I would do it for a while and liked it before I invested in the Peloton. So, like you, like, oh, let me just see if I like these groups, and you go and then you give it a chance and see if it's for you or not. Like, we don't have to be tied and all into one thing. It's worth just trying things and seeing what fits in, especially if you're disconnected from yourself. Like, you don't know what you like until you try. So you gotta go with an open mind, try it out, and 100% be willing to quit it if it's not for you. Like, there's no guilt, there's no judgment, there's no anything. Just try it out. And if it's not for you, that's fine. Moving on.

Cynthia 33:48

Beautiful. I couldn't agree more. And I think this can be applicable to anything. So even if it is finding a meeting or a room or a conversation that you're having where you want to be yourself, again, try it out. And I maybe I know a little bit more about Mary, I'm just gonna bring this in. But there's something that you do, Mary, where it's like, let me change one thing and then notice, like rather than changing 10 things, let me change one thing. Can you speak about that?

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Well, sometimes I feel like I change ten things. But but I think it's yeah, it's just starting small is a key to all of this because once we even change one little thing, we can notice the difference it makes. And it just makes us observant to our own lives, which I think a lot of times we aren't, and we need to be. And it's just like, okay, if I do this differently, how do I feel? There was a time period there for a while where I was meditating and I would like work out and then meditate. And there was like, in all the times I was doing, and I did it for like a year or two, like, there'd be a time later in the day at night when something would irritate the living heck out of me. And I was like, why? This is something that would not irritate me ever. And it was like the two times I forgot to meditate. And so, like, being observant of my life, it was just like, oh, okay, I forgot to meditate these times. I just didn't give myself a chance to calm my nervous system and quiet my brain for those 10 minutes, and that was all it took for me to reset. And now I like naturally, I think, do this throughout my day in different ways, which is why I don't have dedicated time to meditate. But it's just learning that we need that time to quiet our brain so that we can function better later. But I think it's more about being observant of our lives and being like, okay, when I changed this, how do I show up differently?

Cynthia 35:49

Hmm, this is so good. Because when I when I think about what you've just shared, like being an observer of your own life, to me, when I hear you say that, there's space. Like you're you're able to have space between your life and you, like you're observing it versus thinking that it's just all happening to you, and that you don't necessarily have any. Um, I don't I don't love the word control, but that you don't have any choice. That's a better word.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

Yeah, because we have all the control and none of the control. And everywhere I I went through all my

Safe Space For Authenticity

SPEAKER_01 36:30

transformations, I changed because I wanted to have control. I didn't want work to control my life, I didn't want my weight to control my life. I didn't want what I was eating, you know what I mean? I didn't want to feel like my schedule was controlled by someone else. That's entrepreneurship. Like, so I did everything to feel in control. But we have to realize in all that is we only control control us and how we're showing up. In the past, before I knew all this, I was just reacting to whatever life threw at me and thought I had no choice. Now I know I have a choice always, and I can respond. And in the off chances where I react in a way I don't like, I use it as information. And instead of beating myself up, I'd be like, okay, I did not like that. That does not make me feel good. I always apologize if I need to. I don't care if anyone ever else apologizes for their stuff. It's about me apologizing for mine, and then I decide how I want to act differently. So the next time the similar situation comes up, there's no way I'm gonna react the same way I did before.

Cynthia 37:33

And this time I will respond in a way I feel good about a self-governing, sovereign woman and leader. That's that's I I mean, I know that to be true about the person that I'm sitting across the camera from. And those are beautiful words that I just want to articulate back to you. And I'm curious about for a leader who might be listening, perhaps, that is not entirely sure how to begin to be an observer of their own life.

SPEAKER_01 38:13

What would you how would you I actually feel like I have a good answer for this? Um in the moments where you react in a way you do not like, you are observing your life because you are realizing I didn't like that. That doesn't make me feel good. Like I'm not proud of how I just showed up. In those moments, you get to stop and think, how would I like to do these differently? But it's those moments that get to you that just punch you in the gut, like, oh, I really did not like that. This doesn't make me feel good. This is not who I am. It's those moments that really sink you in to being an observer. And as soon as you know what you're doing and you don't like it, you then have the choice to change and take different actions moving forward.

Cynthia 39:02

Do you think that I'm trying to imagine myself in one of those moments and whether or not I would be able to catch myself.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Yeah, and in the beginning you don't catch yourself. And then the moment, right? Yeah, yeah. But hindsight was 2020, and that's what's so great about it. Is like, you know, um, one of the stories that I share a lot from my own experience, I didn't like accidentally snapping at my husband or something like that, just being irritated. Um, this comes up for clients all the time, and it's just like, okay, then we work through it. Okay, what happened? Why were you stressed so much that you snapped? Then what did you do afterwards? What would you rather do instead? You know, and then we put in protocols. So next time, like, and I ask them, like, well, where do you feel it in your body before you snap or irritated or act in a way you don't want? Because when you know that and you feel that in your body, you can pull yourself away from the situation. And it takes practice. Full, full transparency, it takes practice. It doesn't happen perfectly overnight, but it gets easier and easier and easier and easier. And we're human, so it happens, like it things happen. But once you feel it in your body first, you know when to step away. You can go recollect yourself, and then you can go back to the situation in a way you're proud of. And then, like I said, it practice. So pretty soon, like if it comes up again, you can correct yourself in a moment and be like, Absolutely not. How do I want to show up instead? Show up that way.

Cynthia 40:33

I love this, and I'm not surprised that I love that, but here's why. And I'm hearing those Cynthia isms now because Mary has been a beautiful mirror and mirrored them back to me. What I am overlaying on that is my own journey where in the recognition of the moments where I reacted, being invited through my coach at the time to go back and do exactly what you you what you just offered, right? So, what was happening in that moment, in doing that, in looking at the hindsight or the rearview mirror, it actually connected me to my body, which I wasn't connected to for probably most of my life. So that's what I love so much about what you have just offered. And I'm curious, Mary, would now be a good time to just bring in. I know you have so much genius and wisdom as it relates to human design. Would now be a good time to bring that in?

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Yeah, because um, so I only found human design at oh in the last couple of years, but as well after I already went through my whole ones journey, beat burnout, got rid of my migraines, lost the weight, stopped with the back pain. And why I got so hooked into human design was because everything I said that was right for my design was everything I did to become my happiest, healthiest self and reconnect with myself and to leave all that other stuff behind. And like now, this is just my natural way of life. But in that, it talked about how movement was so important and how um I have emotional authority, so like I'm not meant to make a lot of decisions in the moment, especially not big ones. So looking back at my life, I can see where I made some decisions that I wasn't would maybe want to do again, realizing I was emotionally excited or like super high or super low instead of coming to neutral ground. But I never gave myself that space to come to neutral ground because I didn't feel I had any control. It was like here's this big feeling in my body, it has to come out right now. And I just acted where now I know better. Now I know, yeah, I get super excited, I have down days, I come to a neutral ground, and then I'm good to move forward. Um, but there was just so much in there that talked about everything. I was like, oh, this makes so much sense of why before things really weren't weren't right at all and were going so wrong.

Cynthia 42:57

Well, and I I have come across human design, and I've talked about it a little bit on the podcast because I'm not a specialist at all. I don't have your expertise, Mary. I would say that I'm curious about it. I'm someone who likes to leverage tools to figure out who I am and how I can how I can be kinder to myself. And what was interesting to me in the human design work is even just knowing that for me satisfaction is a sign that I'm on the quote unquote right track, and frustration is a sign that I'm quote unquote on the wrong track.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Yeah, that's so helpful. And even it's funny because I used to get so I was someone who pushed away my feelings too. And I whenever in my career, before I found all this stuff, I guess I still do not sometimes, but like when I get super frustrated, I cry. And it's just a way to relieve the emotion. But I always said that. I'm like, I don't want this to happen, but I'm just so frustrated. So learning that was in my human design, because we share that, is just like Oh no, I get it. It's just like the steam kettle letting off the steam. This is how this happens. Frustration out my eyeballs. Um, but it is helpful to know because you check in with yourself. And back to like kind of what I was saying before, like if I'm trying to create something and I'm frustrated, it's like, hold on, something's not in alignment with me. How do I do this my way? Like it's a sign that this really isn't for me and something's off. And then on the flip side, satisfaction, not only in the moment and what feels good in the moment was satisfying, but also sometimes, and it's not talked a lot of it's not talked a lot in the human design world yet, but it's also like delayed satisfaction. So maybe what we're doing in the moment is challenging, but if our end result is satisfying, then we still do it. But a lot of times when people talk about it, it's like, oh, whatever lights you up, and it's like absolutely we don't know. Like there are gonna be challenging things, and we have to put in an effort and time, the end result is satisfying. That's still in alignment for us with our design too, because we share we share a decent amount in our design.

Cynthia 45:00

All right, I love that. How else could we use human design to be an observer?

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Well, like if we're just sticking on like what you just said, our because we're both manifesting generators, it's satisfaction and frustration. That's for us. Same for generators, but for other designs, like one of their out-of-alignment signs is bitterness. So with that, it's like when bitterness shows up, they use it to check in and see what's going on. Um, so human design is very nuanced. There are some general pieces that fit a lot of us, but I think it's really important to know each person's individual individualized human design because then we can dig into things that are very specific for you instead of giving generic information. Um but can you ask me the question again? I'm sorry.

Cynthia 45:56

I think I'm gonna ask a different one. I think I would ask. So if somebody is listening and we've piqued their interest as it relates to human design and how they can use that as a tool to live and lead a life that feels like them, right? How could they how could they learn more about that? How could they leverage that?

SPEAKER_01 46:18

Even one, I guess one of the biggest things human design really helps with is how to use our energy best in a way that works for us, like how we operate our best in our days. For example, some human design types are energy types, which means

From Reacting To Choosing Responses

SPEAKER_01 46:30

they wake up every morning with a full tank of gas, they use it all day in satisfying ways, and they go to bed fully spent. Well, within that, like if someone's not using their energy in a great way, like they will have trouble sleeping. But if something as simple as movement can be great for their days because it helps them burn off their energy, but that's an energy type. Not everyone is an energy type. So some people are not meant to go, go, go all day or do all this exciting things. And it's and it so, meaning like they can sometimes get in three hours of work done, what other people can get done in eight hours, but they're not an energy type, so they need lots of breaks, they need lots of rest. They don't, they're not meant to be like a powerhouse. They're their genius shows up in different ways where they're meant to be like the leader and the guide rather than the worker bee. Some of us are meant to be worker bees, other people are meant to be initiators and like work and bursts of energy. So if we're looking at it just from like an energy standpoint, it helps a lot. Like for my schedule, I'm a manifesting generator. I like bouncing in and out of things. Multi-passionate, fast mover. So I incorporate with horrible, like at a computer, eight hours a day, not good for me in my business. Like I get up, I stretch, I eat breakfast, I journal, then I get on the computer, then I go and work with clients, and then I go work out, and then I come back and work with clients, and then I go off and do this, and then I make dinner, and then more client time and work time. So it's like, but that's what's right for me in my design to go bounce in and out of things and what work, it's what works well for me. But if you don't know that about yourself, you make it wrong about yourself. Because, like before, when I was sitting at my computer frustrated with what I was working on, I feel like I have to sit here and push through, and it would just, ugh. And now I know no, go away, do something that I really enjoy that makes me feel good again, and come back and I'll get to the project 20 times faster, through it 20 times faster. But how we're conditioned in life is not when most of our designs are. So it's about like letting go of the conditioning and learning how to actually operate in your days in a way you feel best. I think that's one of the true gifts. There's lots of gifts within human design, and we can get very nuanced and go into all sorts of things, but just that alone, I think, is super helpful.

Cynthia 48:45

Absolutely. And it gives people a bit of the permission. I mean, I know this from my own journey, so I suspect it to be true. Um, but it gives people permission. A, it gives you awareness around who you are and what supports you, what gifts you have, what your energy is, some signals for you to be able to know what is and isn't aligned for you. And also, I feel like it brings a big permission slip. You're like, actually, oh, this makes so much sense now.

SPEAKER_01 49:14

Yes, yes. Every time I learn more about mind design, because obviously, if I'm here to teach it, I'm here to study it, it's like, oh, thank God. That just makes so much sense. Like, you mean I'm not nuts. This is actually how I do things and it works. And it's so true because the other part of human design that I think is really helpful is just how you make decisions. Because when I heard we're not meant to make decisions from our head, but from somewhere in our body, I was like, oh, wonderful. Because it's just like my your head just goes and goes and can spin sometimes. But when you sink into your body and realize how you're meant to make decisions and you can start working with that, your aligned decisions are so much stronger. And then you aren't fighting when you make a decision that's not really right for yourself to undo it. So even just learning how to make decisions in a way that's true to you and your body is super, super helpful and can improve your life so much.

Cynthia 50:07

I think that's yes, true. It's been, it feels like my own experience as well. And can really be, I mean, my mind is just shot off in different that's what's happening right now. So I'm just gonna bring you in, be transparent. My mind is shooting off like a rocket because there's so many different ways that leaders can utilize what human design can teach them about themselves so that they can lead in alignment with who they are from their own brilliance. And also, when you touched on decision making, I think about all of a sudden I'm back in my leadership assessment days, where with so much ambiguity in the world, with so much change that's happening, one of the things that leaders are tasked with is being able to make decisions. And that can be a beautiful way to help make decisions that feel aligned in a way that you said earlier, like it's not something I need to undo.

SPEAKER_01 51:10

Right. Well, yeah, and what's more important is you can teach other people how you need to make decisions. So it's really funny, my boss, my last boss, and I want to work corporate. He was who because it was always like he knew we had a joke between us that I needed 24 hours and I could get on board with anything. But it's true, as an emotional authority, you're supposed to sleep on everything. But you have to feel into the highs and the lows. So when he's springing something on me, I'd be like, no, we aren't doing this, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because my mind immediately went to all the reasons it wouldn't work. But then I had time to myself, could think about all the ways we could make it work, then I could fine-tune it all to how it would work best for my employees. So I wasn't like disrupting their whole world and it was easy for them and they could get on board, how it was right for our clients, and I'd have a whole system and process in place. And I would call them back the next day and be like, yep, I got it. Here we go. We're gonna do this, this, this, and this. And on we went. But if your boss doesn't know about it, that you need time, like it's important to know that about yourself so you can be like, okay, this is great. Let me think about it. I'll get back to you tomorrow. Like that would have been great for me to know back in corporate. Be like, okay, please don't spring anything on me. Just give me the idea. You know, I'll handle it. I mean, I have my own, I got to run my department how I wanted. So I got to come up with whatever solution needed. But it would be great if you can tell that to someone who's in leadership with you to help alleviate the conflict between.

Cynthia 52:32

Yeah. I mean, it's communicating how you work best and also asking for what you need to be supported and even using that information and sharing that with your team.

SPEAKER_01 52:45

Yes, yeah. And then realizing that not everyone has the same decision-making process as you. Because obviously, when we're in our own life and our own things, we did we think everyone decides the same way we do.

Cynthia 52:56

That's I remember you broke my brain a lot when I realized you had emotional authority. But that was such a beautiful awareness. So even though you can be in this work for a long time and know a lot of things about a lot of things, sometimes we don't realize that it's not the same for everyone else. And we realize actually, yeah, we're not all the same. We are different. And let's talk about that. Let's talk about what we might need to be our most successful selves in life, in work, period.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

And I think this is why co having a coach is so important. Because we're so in our own lives, we can't see the patterns and habits we have, and we stick to the stories and our past stories and all that. So we need someone from the outside to be like, wait, hold on. There's other possibilities here, there's other ways to look at this, there's other perspectives. Like, we need that because we are all so stuck in our own world. And it's be like, wait, have you thought about this or what about here? Like, yeah, it really is important to get us out of our own worlds to see that there's other options and other ways to do things that may work a lot better for us.

Cynthia 54:08

Well, and yes, and you're even touching on potential here, right? Like sometimes we can't even see our own potential because we are so inside of our own frame that we need, whether we know it or not, whether we want to believe it or not, we need other perspectives. We need people to be able to, they call them blind spots for a reason.

Human Design For Energy Decisions

SPEAKER_01 54:30

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've had clients tell me before, I just wouldn't have done it if you weren't my coach. And I'm like, what do you mean? Like, I believe in them so whole wholeheartedly. I'm like, of course you could do this. I'm just here to be a helpful supporter and a partner in success. And I think that's what coaches are. Is like, we can see it for you. We know the possibilities. Like, we just have to help get you out of your own way so you can see it too.

Cynthia 54:52

Yes, and we also need to give ourselves, gift ourselves the same support.

SPEAKER_01 54:58

Yeah, and that's why we have coaches too.

Cynthia 55:00

That is why we have coaches too. So, Mary, you have shared so much goodness, and I wanted to come back to one question earlier. I made a note because you talked about burnout, and I know that there's a lot of burnout in organizations. I have actually noticed that in my own life there are many beautiful humans that I know that are experiencing this right now in the moment. And I'm curious, is there a piece of wisdom that you could offer them about that? Knowing your intimate journey with it.

SPEAKER_01 55:42

Take a break for the love of all things. You have to take your breaks because so many people in burnout are not taking their breaks. And breaks are step number one of self-care because when we are not taking care of ourselves, we cannot show up greatly. So take your breaks, get some fresh air, eat some food, drink some water, go to the bathroom, get away from the screen. Anything you can do to like these are the basic self-care things that most people in burnout are not doing. Ask me how I know because this girl did none of it. I didn't take a vacation for six years in corporate. I had to work at home all the time and work, and even when I was off, I was still working. There was no not working. It's all steps with it, all starts with one act of self-care. And that first act is a break. I don't even care if it's five minutes. I mean, I've had clients where we've had to work on the fact that like you just need to go to the bathroom that's further away. So literally, you're giving yourself a few more minutes to walk away and give yourself a break and collect yourself and go back. So sometimes it really does start with even just a longer walk to the bathroom and making sure you're taking a bathroom break. But that really is a simplest step because it gives you a chance to breathe, to rest, to reset, and go back at it. And then we start with a few minutes and we build and build and build. So you're actually taking breaks, days off, time off. It all starts with one little simple break.

Cynthia 57:07

I love that so much. And I felt very seen and very heard and automatically back in my corporate life. Where I felt like and I was, you know, just the same thing. I'm like, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. And even though your beautiful brain, as you listen to this, might tell you that's not possible to take a break. You are worth it.

SPEAKER_01 57:35

And I would add that the universe whispers until it screams, because I did not listen for years, and then guess what? 65-pound weight gain, the migraines every day for years, the back pain, the chiropractor being miserable. Like the universe will get the methods to you.

Cynthia 57:52

So your body will send you the receipt.

SPEAKER_01 57:56

Yeah, and if right now your your mind is telling you, I can absolutely not take a break, from with the most love in the entire world, now is exactly when you need to take a break. Everything else will wait. We think everything is an emergency and it's not.

Cynthia 58:14

Back to your comment about the obituary. Yeah. Nothing out there is that important that it can't wait.

SPEAKER_01 58:28

No. And our house comes first because then we can do everything else we want to do.

Cynthia 58:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:34

And you know, I mean, I've done classes before where people are like, oh, I'm just I just want to be more mobile and this and that. That starts now. We have to start taking care of ourselves now. This is someone who's getting in retirement and just want to be, but like we have to do that work now before we get to retirement. Like we want a body that's healthy that can allow us to do things.

Cynthia 58:53

Yes, a thousand times, yes. And because I'm further along in my journey than you are, Mary, I'm taking your advice seriously because it matters. I want to be able to show up for myself when I'm 95.

SPEAKER_01 59:05

Right.

Cynthia 59:06

So what I do today matters.

SPEAKER_01 59:09

Yes.

Cynthia 59:11

Okay. Anyone listening, you need to be in Mary's world. She is the best human, one of the best humans that I know in my entire universe of people. Mary, tell them where they can find you, how can they work with you? How can they enter your orbit?

SPEAKER_01 59:26

Yeah. So it's Mary Ocon Coaching, LinkedIn, Instagram, anything like that. And then um, I work with clients one-on-one. So we can either deep dive into human design where you let me know what's going on in your life, I can look at your chart and give you wonderful things to work on, and then we promise up, or I work with clients one-on-one. There's obviously a little bit of human design in there too, if someone wants it. Um, but we coach, we work on all things mindset, self-care, and authenticity, so you can achieve your goals. And a big part of what I do with clients is helping them like show up for themselves, keep them on track. So no matter what life throws at them, they're always taking care of themselves, they're always focused on their goals. And we're working through all the background stuff that comes up along the way in any growth process. Um, that's not always the funnest to do alone. And support has made all the difference in my life, and that's why I'm here to help others.

Cynthia 1:00:14

So well, and I just had the privilege of having a human design. I have never gifted myself, even though I've played with human design, I have never given gifted myself a reading. And I did with Mary, which is when I knew she needs to be on this podcast. Because I also will say that even if you have awareness of human design, what Mary offers is different. She goes beyond, I mean, of course, she can deliver all of the aspects if it's new to you, but also what I really appreciated was her ability to mirror back to me insights about myself, about my specific design, and how I can serve my clients in a way that's much more me than if I hadn't had the reading. And it was just incredibly valuable. I cannot I cannot say enough great things about Mary. And I'm gonna share all that in a newsletter. So fun. I offer I offer that just as a as an acknowledgement to the wisdom that you bring in a human design context.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Yeah, it's super fun to see. There's something that just happens with me when I actually get to dig into someone's chart and know what's going on with them, and then help them find some clarity in what they're going through. And it's it's always so fun. And I get to learn so much more about human design and the person and help them um succeed in whatever way they're looking for.

Cynthia 1:01:48

So I have learned so much by having you here, Mary. I have learned about the importance of focusing my mind. I have learned to question what my mind tells me. I have learned that safe space is incredibly important for someone to really begin to be authentically themselves.

Breaks Burnout Recovery And Closing

Cynthia 1:02:10

And I have also learned that creating space to come to a neutral ground is really important, as well as steps to support myself if I'm experiencing burnout in the moment. And I want to say thank you so much for your energy, your wisdom, your experience and your guidance. But above all, thank you for being you.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:43

Thank you. Thank you for being you. That's the whole point of all of us here. We're here to do us and share gifts with the world.

Cynthia 1:02:50

Thank you so much. Yes, before you go, I have two invitations for you. But first, I want to say thank you again for spending this time with Mary and I. If today's conversation resonated with you and you're curious about human design, don't forget about Mary's incredibly generous generous offer. She's created this special human design package exclusively for listeners of this podcast. Uh and it's normally $550 US dollars. Uh but until August 7th, 2026, you can use the code July50 to receive 50% off, bringing the investment down to 275 US. You will find a link, a discount code, and all the details in today's show notes. And second, if this conversation stirred something in you, if you have found yourself thinking, yes, that's me, or you're carrying a decision, a challenge, or simply a longing to feel more connected to yourself, I want to personally invite you to something I have uh recently brought my focus and attention back to. But it is called the porch light, and it takes place inside of my free community be the light. I sent out an email to all of my email subscribers last Friday, and I shared with them that growing up when the porch light came on, you knew that it was time to come home. It meant someone was waiting for you, that you belonged up there. And that's what I hope the porch light becomes. So every second Thursday, I open the virtual door for an hour to an honest conversation, reflection, coaching, and connection. There is no presentation, no agenda, just a space where you can arrive exactly as you are. Our next gatherings are July 9th, July 23rd, and August the 6th. Bring a challenge you are carrying a decision you are trying to make, a celebration if your heart is full, or simply come and listen and be in the company of people who are learning to trust themselves a little more. The community is completely free to join. You will find all the information in today's show notes. And once you have joined, simply click on the events and RSVP for the porchlight gathering that works best for you or all of them. The porch light is on, and I would genuinely love to welcome you. Take care and make it a great day. I hope that you're walking away feeling more aligned with your true self, more confident in the choices ahead, and ready to leave the safe path behind, knowing you've got everything you need within. Remember, the journey to you isn't about finding one perfect direction. It's about trusting yourself enough to explore all of it. If you're ready to dive deeper, join me for the next episode and don't forget to subscribe so that you never miss the next step on your path. I invite you to join my mailing list at www.cynthia JamesonCoach.ca, where we'll deepen our relationship and you can claim your copy of your inner compass, a guide to charting your course to authenticity. Until next time, stay unfiltered, stay true, and most importantly, stay you.