Know Thyself

The scariest question is often the quietest one. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you? I’m taking a pause between guest conversations to sit with self-awareness, identity and what it means to truly know yourself beneath the masks, the roles and the expectations. 

I reflect on seasons that can shake your sense of self, medical retirement, becoming an empty nester and the subtle shifts in a long-term relationship when the house gets quieter. When the titles fall away and the routines change, it can feel unsettling, even if life looks “fine” from the outside. I talk about why we keep busy, why sitting with ourselves can feel so uncomfortable and how solitude like day-after-day walking can force honesty in the best and hardest ways. 

We also get practical. I share simple tools for reconnecting with your inner voice such as five minutes with a cuppa before the day starts, journalling to spot patterns of behaviour and driving in silence to hear what your mind is really saying. I leave you with four powerful prompts to ponder, including where you’re people pleasing, where you’re not being fully honest with yourself and what you’d change if you trusted yourself more. 

If you’ve been feeling disconnected, stuck or like you’re living on autopilot, hit play and take this moment with me. Subscribe, share it with someone who needs a breath and leave a review so more everyday warriors can feel seen and supported.

Thanks for listening in!

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Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

Guests are responsible for the accuracy of the information they choose to share and speak from their own personal experiences and perspectives. While every effort is made to provide a respectful and supportive platform for open conversation, the host accepts no responsibility or liability for the statements, opinions, advice, claims or recollections expressed by guests during a...

Transcript

Welcome And A Quiet Pause

Trudie Marie 0:00

This is Everyday Warrior Moments. Thank you, truly, for being here and for choosing to subscribe and support the podcast. It means more than you probably realise, and it allows me to keep creating these conversations and this space. This is a quieter moment between our guest episodes, a place to slow things down, to reflect and to take a breath. These episodes are just me, sharing thoughts, lessons, and gentle reminders as I continue to walk in my own journey too. So wherever you are right now, whether you're starting your day, ending it, or somewhere in between, let's take a few minutes together. Welcome to another episode of the Everyday Worry Moments, and thank you for being here.

Knowing Yourself Under The Masks

Trudie Marie 0:53

Today I want to talk about something simple. Simple but not always easy. It's about knowing yourself. And not the version of you that the world sees, but the version of you underneath all of that. Underneath all the masks. For a long time I did not realize how disconnected I was from myself. Because on the surface, it honestly looked like I had it all together. I had roles, structure, and identity. I was a police officer, a wife, and a mother. But it was when those roles started to shift, or be taken away as it was, I realized something that I'd never really sat with before. Who am I without all of that? And this was really confronting for me. Being forced into medical retirement from the police force, becoming an empty nester because my children had left home, hiking the Bibleman track as an everyday warrior or an everyday woman myself, and just being in those spaces of who am I really inside of all of this? Because it all changed.

When Roles Shift Or Fall Away

Trudie Marie 2:12

Because it doesn't always have to be in those big dramatic ways. Sometimes it's in the quieter moments. You know, those nights where you realize as you're folding up the washing that you're folding up washing for less people because the kids have grown up and left home. Or when you're sitting to dinner with your partner because the relationship changes over time, and with no other children or anything to distract you, or careers have changed, then so does the relationship. It could be when your work no longer fulfills you and you're wondering why you're in the position you're even in. Or just when life feels different. Maybe you've come home from a holiday and you're feeling really unsettled and you can't understand why. But instead of asking who we are, we often just keep doing. We keep busy, moving forward, keep distracted. Because honestly, sitting with yourself feels really, really uncomfortable.

Walking Alone With No Distractions

Trudie Marie 3:21

And for me, that changed when I had the space, the time, when I was walking the Bibbleman track day after day, one step at a time. There was nowhere to hide, there was no one to turn to, there was no noise or distraction. It was just me. And it was in these moments that I really had to think about everything, every part of my life, whether it was my career, my relationship, being a mother, every past aspect of me. And sometimes sitting in that uncomfortable because you cannot run away from your own thoughts, it was bloody hard. The truth is this is where I actually got to grow. It's how I started to process information and look at patterns of behavior and how my life had really gone. It was also in these moments that I asked, what did I want out of life? And through it all, what really mattered to me? And this is where it starts.

Small Honest Questions That Matter

Trudie Marie 4:35

Knowing yourself doesn't have to come from that big breakthrough aha moment. Sometimes it just comes from small moments of really being honest with yourself. It's asking those questions. What feels right for me and what feels really off? Where am I saying yes when I really want to say no? Where am I people pleasing? And where am I staying quiet? And inside of that, where am I staying quiet when I really want to speak up? I've said yes so many times in my life when I didn't want to say no. I've stopped talking or using my voice, especially inside of my police work. And I've definitely done things out of obligation, not when it felt good for me. And I think we can all relate to this. But honestly, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Simple Ways To Hear Your Voice

Trudie Marie 5:38

It can start really simply by taking five minutes in the morning as you drink your cupper to just acknowledge what's going on in your head as you've woken up in the morning. Like what thoughts are there left over from the day before or the night before? Maybe it's sitting and writing a few thoughts down and putting pen to paper really allows you to process what's going on inside your head. Or maybe it's driving to work or driving home where you sit in silence in the car instead of having music or a podcast on, so that you can really just acknowledge your thoughts and see what your little voice inside your head is actually saying. Sometimes it's not about doing more, it's just about creating the space to listen. Because somewhere inside, your voice is still there. You've just buried it under all of the noise. And honestly, the more you listen, the more you come back to yourself.

Four Prompts To Build Self Trust

Trudie Marie 6:48

So now I want to leave you with a couple of questions to ponder. And you don't need to answer them straight away. It may just take you sitting with them. So number one, who am I when no one else is watching? Two, what do I actually want in this season of my life? Three, where am I not being fully honest with myself? And last but not least, and perhaps the most important one, what would I change if I trusted myself more?

Breathe, Rise, And Share Forward

Trudie Marie 7:35

So as I leave you with these questions, I want you to take a deep breath in and let it go. Come back to yourself. And remember, everyday warriors don't give up. They continue to rise. Thank you for being part of the Everyday Warrior community and for supporting the podcast. It really means a lot. If something in this episode stayed with you, I invite you to share it. A message, a post, a simple recommendation. It helps more people feel seen and supported. And don't forget the Everyday Warriors podcast is always there for deeper conversations and real stories from around the world. Take care and I'll see you again in the next moment.