024: Your Permission to Pause

What if the most productive thing you could do right now is step back?

In this final episode of Season 1, Mandi Casey challenges the belief that your value is tied to your output and invites you into a different way of leading—one rooted in presence, rhythm, and intentional choice.

Through personal stories and honest reflection, she explores the tension so many high-performing women feel: the pull between building something meaningful and actually experiencing the life they’re working so hard to create.

This episode is both a permission slip and a leadership challenge. A reminder that rest is not a reward. It’s part of the strategy.

Mandi also shares why The MindHER Podcast is pressing pause and what to expect when it returns for Season 2 in July 2026.

Reflection Questions:

• Where am I measuring my worth by how much I produce?
• What might shift if I allowed myself to be fully present in this season?
• What am I missing because I won’t slow down enough to experience it?
• Where can I intentionally pull something back right now?

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Transcript

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You're listening to the Mind Her Podcast, where mindset, leadership, and personal growth come together to help you create a life and business you truly love. I'm your host, Mandy Casey, and I'm gonna need you to pull out a pen and paper for today's episode because you're about to give yourself permission to do something today that I have a hunch you have been putting off for quite a while. I want you to raise your hand. If you were taught to measure your level of commitment by your output, maybe you measure success by productivity and results. Your value is measured in your volume. If that is you and you have your hand raised, know that you are not alone. I have been experiencing a lot of friction around this concept lately because I was raised to think the same thing. What's interesting to me is that I look back on my life, there are seasons when I have been the most successful financially and experientially, meaning I had the most fun, enjoyed the most adventures, had the most money in my bank account. During those seasons, I was actually letting productivity take a back seat. I'm curious, have you ever experienced that? If you haven't, you are missing out, and that's exactly what we're gonna talk about today. And I want you to lean into this concept of letting productivity take a back seat. Now, if you've been listening for any amount of time to the podcast, you've probably picked up that I am a dreamer. I have huge plans for my life and my business and the impact and legacy that I want to leave on the world around me. And with big dreams, can come a relentless pursuit, a chasing, if you will. And I've been known to do that. Trust me, it is not foreign to me. But I've also learned to trust that what's meant for me won't pass me by. And I want you to know that that's true for you as well. There's a book I mentioned on last week's episode when I was chatting with Jennifer Sice. It was The Power of Now by Eckert Tole. In the book, Eckhart talks about how our psychological suffering lives almost entirely in our relationship with time, in arguing with what has already happened, or anxiously rehearsing what might happen in our mind. The only moment, Eckhart reminds us, is the present moment. Your past is a memory and your future is a prediction. So I'm really curious how much of your current reality, your current life are you missing because you're caught up in your head about the past or the future. Even when I coach others to ask themselves this question, I have to periodically check in with myself to see if I'm following my own methodology. It was apparent to me the other day when my husband was joking about how he doesn't play pickup basketball now that he's in his 40s. You see, my 18-year-old niece was playing basketball with some friends last week and she broke her foot, which really stinks because she's a senior in high school, and so she is going through her banquets and her prom on crutches and with a scooter, and it's just miserable. But he jokingly told her that that's why he comes home and sits on the couch to binge watch Netflix after work. This way he protects himself from breaking something and ending up on crutches. Because let's be honest, we don't recoup as quickly in our 40s as we did when we were in our 20s or even teens, right? And I know my husband was joking, but his words really stuck with me. People, myself included, more times than I'd like to admit, come home and we park ourselves on the sofa, watching other people live lives on a screen in the wall. All the while we're missing out on our own lives. Like it's this oxymoron that I can't seem to get out of my head, and it's really tripping me up, you guys. I think about it like this. I'm watching TV, whether it's reality TV or it's just a show that I'm entertained by. Like I'm watching these people walk through their life on TV and I'm being entertained by it, and yet outside my doors, my very life is passing me by. I think the reason it's tripping me up so much is because when I chose to leave the corporate world almost a decade ago, very few people really knew the heart behind my decision. You see, I worked for a really incredible company that had incredible benefits, so my choice to leave really seemed irrational to a lot of people. But the truth was that my job in marketing for the telecom industry was to tell consumers that they needed to stay home and binge watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones or whatever the, you know, hot show was of that season. That just didn't sit well with me. I didn't want people to sit on their couch when there was so much life to be lived and experienced. And then to hear a similar sentiment from my husband almost a decade later, it felt like the universe was trying to get my attention. Where had I got so busy chasing something that I forgot to experience the here and now? You guys, that's not the woman I aspire to be. And I have a hunch that you don't aspire to be her either. Here's what I know to be true: everything that is alive operates in seasons. Every living thing has a rhythm of expansion and rest, and nature doesn't apologize for it. You know, trees, they don't hustle through dormancy in the winter. Fields don't produce year-round without a cost and it taking a toll. You see, the most fertile ground is often the ground that was allowed to lie and rest for a season. When I think about how and where I spend my time, I like to think in rhythms. There are seasons where my family will take a front seat, absolutely. And there are seasons when work is my number one priority. Recognizing the season that you're in and honoring it, it's one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and those that you lead. I'm in a season right now that is asking something very different of me. It's asking me to slow down, to be present, to let some things breathe while I give my full attention to what's right in front of me. And I want you to hear that because I think there are so many of you listening that are probably in a season that's asking the same thing. And you've probably been ignoring it. So consider this your permission slip. So, with that, I want to tell you what's happening with the podcast right now, and I want to share it with you in the same directness that I'd want someone to give to me. This episode right here is the season one finale of the Mind Her podcast. You guys, we have produced 24 episodes, and this has brought me the most insane amount of joy. I had someone ask me last week what I'm loving most in my business right now, and I said the podcast without hesitation. So we are coming back. I want to just full stop tell you that right now. We will be back in July, probably late July, with all new episodes and some surprises that I'm genuinely excited to share with you. But let me tell you how my life looks right now, because I have a hunch some of you are living in this same season. I have two nieces graduating in the next couple of weeks. I have some family milestones that I've been looking forward to for years. There is travel, some personal and some for work, that requires me to actually show up and be fully present. And then behind the scenes, I'm lining up new guests, evaluating what season two will look like, and making some shifts that I want to get right before I bring them to you guys. So I'm not taking a sabbatical from work, and the minder company is not going anywhere. My coaching practice, my content, the work that I do with women in the room, that will continue. What I'm doing right now is making a conscious choice to let the podcast take a step back so that presence can take a step forward. And that distinction matters to me. I refuse to be the person who is just trying to get to June. Have you ever said that? Have you ever thought to yourself, like, if I can just get to the end of the week, things will slow down. If I can just push through this season, it will get better. I'm done with choosing between heart and hustle. And you don't have to make that choice either. We've talked a lot on recent episodes about time ownership. I loved that definition that Jennifer Seiss gave us and really how you can use your calendar as a tool. So let me ask you directly, where can you pull something back, even if it's just for a season, so that you can get back to living? I've been using the brick lately, and I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but it is this cool little brick that basically turns your Apple phone, maybe an Android too, into a paperweight. I absolutely love it because I am the first to hit ignore on my time limits on my Apple phone. Whatever I want to get onto different apps or scroll social media. But what I love about the brick is if I try to use an app that has been locked, it says get back to living. And you guys, that's exactly what I want you to do. If you've been listening to this show for any part of season one, I have some sense of who you are. You are a woman who cares deeply about her work, about the people she leads, and about the life that you are building for yourself and for your loved ones. You are someone who is probably really good at pushing through, who has learned to function at a really high level even when you're running on fumes. And you're probably someone who hasn't taken a real day off in longer than she'd care to admit. I want you to know that I see you. And I'm gonna say something to you that I wish someone had said to me earlier and more often. You, my friend, are allowed to rest. You are allowed to pause. You are allowed to step back from something, even something you love and something that you're building in order to be fully present somewhere else. Rest is wisdom. Pause is a strategy, and choosing to honor a season of presence over a season of production is the kind of leadership that doesn't make a highlight real. It's not what we see on social media, but it is the kind of decision that can sustain you for the long road ahead. So wherever you are, if something has been asking you to take a breath, if there is a person or a moment or a season in your life that is asking for more of you than you've been giving it, this is your permission slip. Write it out full stop, give yourself permission. You don't have to justify it or announce it, you don't have to make it make sense to anyone who is not living your life. What I want you to ask yourself is this what am I missing? Because I won't slow down enough to actually be in it. That question shifted something inside of me, and I hope it does the same for you. So before I let you go, I want to tell you what you can expect because I want to reiterate that the Mind Her podcast will return in July, and I am so genuinely excited about season two and what it's gonna look like. I am in conversations with guests already, and I cannot wait to bring them into this space. They are women who lead in ways that will challenge you, inspire you, and give you language for the things that you've been feeling but probably couldn't name. I am also taking time to evaluate our format and the cadence and some of the ways that I want to expand what we're doing here. I want season two to be an elevation for myself and for you. So if you are not already subscribed, do that now, wherever you listen, so that you don't miss the moment we're back. I want you to get that notification. And in the meantime, come find me. I'll be active on Instagram. The Mind Her Company is continuing to work in the background. And if you've been thinking about coaching or getting into a room with women who are serious about their growth, this is a great time to reach out. This pause is the beginning of what's coming next. So I'm gonna close season one in the way that I love to live my life with gratitude and intention. Thank you for being here. Thank you. I'm gonna get choked up, you guys. Thank you to every guest who trusted me with their story, their expertise, their time. Thank you to everyone who has shared an episode or sent me a message or told a friend you have built this podcast right alongside me, and I don't take that lightly. Season one has shaped me in ways that I will forever be grateful for. And the conversations in this space have stretched me in a really, really great way. I'm walking into this pause full of ideas, full of gratitude, and in great anticipation of what's coming next. So before I go, I'm gonna leave you with this challenge. And I want you to actually do it, not just think about doing it while you drive and forget it by the time you park. Take one thing off your plate this week that you've been carrying out of obligation. I know we've said that, we've said that, we've said that, but seriously, put it down and notice what happens when you create that space. That's the practice, that's the work. And I'll see you in season two. Until then, take care of yourself, take care of your people, and honor the season that you're in. I'm sending you so much love and gratitude.