Big Stuff With Danielle Colley

How to Stop Living Under Other People’s Expectations

Danielle Colley Season 1 Episode 21

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A listener wrote in feeling completely torn apart by the weight of expectations. Family expectations, societal expectations, and the brutal “shoulds” we place on ourselves.

In this How Are You Really? episode of Big Stuff, Danielle unpacks what it costs us when we say yes to someone else’s vision… and no to our own. Whether your dream is travelling the world, changing careers, choosing not to have kids, leaving a relationship, studying later in life, or stepping out of the role everyone assigned you, this episode is about reclaiming your one big, bold, beautiful life.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why expectations are often rooted in love (and still feel suffocating)
  • The difference between aligned choices vs paying the imaginary debt of expectation
  • Why you’re not choosing between two options — you’re choosing between two identities
  • The #1 regret of the dying (from The Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware)
  • How to share your truth with love, ask people to trust you, and stop abandoning yourself

If you’ve been feeling “confused,” this might be the truth:
You’re not confused about what you want, you’re questioning whether you’re allowed to want it.

People will be okay if you live your own life… but will you be okay if you don’t?


00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:15 Listener's Dilemma: The Weight of Expectations

03:53 Unpacking Family and Societal Expectations

08:19 The Importance of Self-Permission

11:30 Living True to Yourself: Lessons from the Dying

15:06 Navigating Personal Choices and Expectations

22:26 The Role of Self-Worth and Success

30:26 Final Thoughts and Season Wrap-Up


Connect with Danielle:

See her website -
https://daniellecolley.com.au/

But the Chocolate Bar Life book - https://www.thechocolatebarlife.com.au/buy-book

Find her on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamdaniellecolley/ 

Connect on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/IAmDanielleColley/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

Watch on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@iamdaniellecolley 

Check out her substack - https://substack.com/@iamdaniellecolley?utm_source=user-menu