The Lulu Essey Podcast
Welcome to The Lulu Essey Podcast — a raw, unedited space for honest conversations about building a life that feels deeply aligned with who you truly are.
Here we explore the full spectrum of well-being: mental fitness, emotional resilience, authentic confidence, and the courage to create a life on your own terms. Through lived experience and evidence-informed approaches, you'll discover that transformation is truly an inside job.
Each episode offers practical tools and tiny, consistent steps for navigating anxiety, uncertainty, and life's challenges. You'll learn how to build confidence from within, find calm in chaos, and deepen connection with yourself and others — one small, powerful action at a time.
Come as you are — no judgment, no quick fixes. Because creating a meaningful life isn't about perfection; it's about progress with self-compassion, acceptance, and the willingness to embrace both light and shadow on your journey.
The Lulu Essey Podcast
How to Love People You Disagree With (Without Losing Yourself)
IS POLITICS DESTROYING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS? Navigating ideological differences, setting boundaries with love, and staying connected without betraying your values.
The table went silent. The air got thick. One comment about a politician, and suddenly, connection fractured. If you're losing relationships over beliefs right now, you're not alone. And this episode is for you.
Inspired by Brené Brown's work on belonging, this conversation explores how to stay in relationship with people you fundamentally disagree with, without compromising who you are or what you believe in.
What you'll discover:
- The crucial difference between protecting your dignity vs protecting your comfort
- How to set boundaries that protect the relationship AND yourself within it
- Why belonging to yourself first changes everything about navigating disagreement
- The hard line: when ideological differences become harm, not just discomfort
- How to hold both love and conviction at the same time
- Why echo chambers create their own kind of loneliness
- How personal relationships are the microcosm for larger societal divisions
Powerful Quotes:
"We're losing relationships over beliefs. Not because we don't love each other, but because we don't know how to hold both conviction and connection at the same time."
"If someone denies my humanity -or the humanity of people I love -that's not a difference of opinion. That's harm. And I don't negotiate that boundary."
"There's a difference between 'I can't be around someone who doesn't believe I deserve rights' and 'I can't be around someone who voted differently than me.' One is about safety. The other is about comfort."
"True belonging doesn't require you to change who you are; it requires you to BE who you are." - Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: When beliefs tear us apart
02:15 - The dinner table moment: navigating political division in real time
04:01 - When ideologies become more important than people
05:36 - My personal story: loving family I disagree with
06:27 - Setting boundaries without cutting people out
08:11 - Self-reflection: Hard boundary or closed-mindedness?
09:32 - Belonging to yourself first (Brené Brown's wisdom)
11:11 - The question: Do I need them to agree with me or love me?
12:09 - From dinner tables to nations: the microcosm of division
13:12 - The inside job of staying grounded in your values
14:35 - Holding love and conviction simultaneously
This episode is for you if:
- You're losing relationships over political or ideological differences
- You're struggling to navigate family dinners or friendships across belief divides
- You need permission to protect your peace without cutting everyone out
Join the Conversation:
Share this episode with people in your life who are navigating these tensions right now.
Reviews and ratings help more people find these conversations when they need them most.
Resources Mentioned:
📖 Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
This is an inside job. Share this episode with those you love. 💛
Subscribe on YouTube for more content.
Let's Connect:
https://www.luluessey.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luluessey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucille-marie-essey/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lulu.essey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lulu.essey/
Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap – https://www.luluessey.com/freetool
Thank you for being here. You are enough. ✨