Episode Player
Ep. 59 - The Sweetest Devotion - Why Self Care Isn't Selfish Kathy Washburn
The Self Investment Project with Kathy Washburn | Emotional Wellness, Midlife Reinvention & Reclaiming Your Authentic Self
You’ll also love…
- Ep. 21 - No Time for Self Care – How About Becoming Self Full with Elinor Harari
Turn “self-care guilt” into self-full choices that fuel real presence and energy. - Ep. 30 - From Self-Sacrifice to Fulfillment: Healing Emotional Patterns with Kathy Washburn
Retire the good-girl script and replace martyrdom with self-partnership and agency. - Ep. 36 - Shifting Self Care From Obligation to Inspiration with Amy Burnie
Ditch the checklist—build tiny, nourishing practices that actually stick.
Kathy reframes devotion from self-sacrifice to self-sustaining care—the kind that makes your love more present, your boundaries clearer, and your life feel like it actually belongs to you. She unpacks the research on self-compassion (hello, burnout prevention), introduces the oxygen mask principle, and shares why “being the good girl” often creates hidden resentment and disconnection (the “smush”). You’ll leave with simple, sustainable practices to move from people-pleasing and emotional suppression to emotional wellness, midlife reinvention, and authentic living.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- Self-Devotion vs. Self-Sacrifice — why caring for yourself first sustains genuine care for others.
- Burnout Prevention through Self-Compassion (Dr. Kristin Neff) — how kindness to self increases emotional availability and reduces caregiver burnout.
- The “Smush” (from Unbound) — when your words say “I’m fine” but your body says “I’m not,” and how to dissolve the contradiction.
- Self-Fullness (Tal Ben-Shahar) — integrating selfish and selfless into a sustainable model of care.
- Six Pillars of Devotion + Micro-Practices — consistency, releasing what depletes, attentive self-awareness, reverence, self-serving choices, and perseverance (with habit stacking and the “My needs matter also” cue).
Subscribe to Sense of Peace (Kathy's Substack) today!
RECEIVE the attention you need to reconnect with your purpose. Click here to learn more about individual coaching with Kathy!
If this resonated, the most generous thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it. One share grows this community more than any algorithm.
Follow the show on your favorite platform, and come find me on Substack at senseofpeace.substack.com — that’s where the deeper conversation lives.
And if you’re ready to stop just listening and start doing this work — visit kathywashburn.net. I’d love to talk with you.
Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it.
#SpreadMadLove