The Kick Ass Mom Academy Podcast

Does your child repeat the same frustrating behaviours over and over again? Maybe it's their angry lashing out. Or their refusal to wear winter boots when there is 2 feet of snow on the ground. Or the fact that they won't just go to sleep at 7:30 when you put them to bed. Whatever behaviours seem to stubbornly persist with your child, this podcast offers a 4-step process to get them to listen and change, in way that will also strengthen the parent-child relationship.

Do you feel like you have the same conversation with your husband or partner over and over again, but nothing changes? Maybe they even promise to change, but then they quickly fall back into their old habits. This podcast will teach you a brand-new and much more effective way to approach those conversations.

Do you think you should be more productive? Do you try to spend Saturday mornings with your family, but feel obligated to check email in between? Or do you want to do yoga, but feel obligated to vacuum the house first? This podcast describes why it feels so hard to relax and enjoy life, and how to let go of the need to be constantly productive.

Are you doing something new and hard? Navigating life with a new baby? Starting a new job or project? Leaving a marriage and rebuilding your life as a single woman? This podcast will tell you what to expect as you navigate this change. Having realistic expectations for yourself and the process will help you be resilient in the face of inevitable challenges.

Do you feel like your time is not your own? Like you say ‘yes' to things when you want to say no? And then you end up feeling stressed out and resentful of your commitments? In today's podcast, you'll learn how to create a sense of FREEDOM around saying ‘no'… Even when it means saying no to something you value, in favour of something you value more.

Do you have someone in your life who likes to correct you? Who constantly thinks you're doing it wrong? Does it annoy the hell out of you? Here's a strategy for letting go of the frustration and annoyance and learning to feel calm and peaceful in the face of constructive feedback.

Do you ever feel guilty watching Netflix? Or saying no to an invitation, just because you feel like doing nothing? Don't. Western culture tells us more productivity (and “more” in general) is better. But that's just a made-up story. There are lots of cultures who value a slower pace of life. Where leisure is a virtue. And the truth is, there are lots of benefits to slowing down.

Jane's journey to self-love began when her boyfriend left her in university. She unknowingly believed that she was lovable only if a man loved her, and she felt so worthless that she was considering suicide. Since that low point in her life, she has learned the skill of loving herself, independent of external validation. In this podcast, Jane and I swap stories about our low points and share the concrete tools that helped learn to love ourselves.

Do you ever think to yourself, “My kids are acting like spoiled brats!” This podcast offers concrete strategies for teaching kids to be more grateful. Teaching gratitude can be especially challenging in a world where kids have access to anything they want quickly. So, I also offer tips for encouraging gratitude in a world of over-consumption.

Do you feel like some aspect of your life just doesn't ‘fit' the way it used to? Maybe you're clinging to a career or relationship that no longer fits? Or you're just kinda doing what you've always done, but knowing it doesn't jive with who you want to be? In this podcast, learn how become someone who is constant evolution. Learn to stop fearing change – even in your core values – and, instead, allow yourself to evolve and grow authentically.

You have many unique strengths, and you will bring your best to the world when you capitalize on those strengths. You even have hidden strengths. These are the sneaky strengths that lie in areas of yourself you probably beat yourself up for. In this podcast, I'll help you see, and harness, the value in ALL of your weirdness.

You are programmed by society (and evolution) to fixate on your short-comings. When we hit motherhood and there are way more balls to juggle (and drop), this negativity bias throws our insecurities into high gear. In this podcast, you'll learn how to re-balance your self-concept by taking stock of your awesomeness and re-interpreting your short-comings.

Do you have a goal that you know you should do, but you just don't feel like it? Exercising in the mornings? Volunteering in your community? Finding a new job? This podcast describes the 3 potential drivers of low motivation, and what to do about them.

Last week, gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from several events in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Some have criticized Biles for letting her team mates down or sending the message that quitting when you're stressed is OK. To them I say: Did she quit? Yep. Did she disappoint her teammates? Maybe. Is that a bad thing? Fuck no. Here's why, and how the same applies to your life.

We all know that school yard bullying has detrimental effects on the receiver and must be dealt with assertively. But how exactly should you approach the situation if you learn that your child has behaved as the bully? This podcast will describe how you can deal with your child firmly, respectfully and in a way that addresses the actual root cause of their bullying behaviour.

Is your self-confidence fragile or situational? Do you feel great about yourself when your boss gives you positive feedback, but feel overcome with insecurity when overthink that comment you made in the last meeting? This podcast will teach you a concrete strategy for creating more resilient self-confidence. (A subject you can learn to master in my Calm, Confident Mom program.)

Does taming your to-do list feel petrifying? So overwhelming that you can't even bring yourself to start? This week's podcast describes a simple process for clearly articulating the causes of your overwhelm, and simply converting them into solutions. (This exact topic was something we coached on this week in The Kick Ass Moms Facebook group. If you'd like peer input and coaching on something in your life, join us in Kick Ass Moms. It's totally free! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thekickassmoms)

Do you feel mentally foggy? Unfocused? Lost in your own scattered thoughts? Welcome to the inescapable reality of motherhood! This week's podcast describes strategies for: (1) creating quick focus in a period of mental clutter, (2) doing a deep clean-up of mental clutter, (3) proactively avoiding mental clutter in the first place. Because the cleaner you can learn to keep your brain, the better it will serve you.

Are you facing a new situation that's got you stumped? Confused? Stuck? Maybe it's a new assignment at work. Maybe it's a new phase your kid is going through. Whatever it is, this podcast will help you see how believing ‘I don't know' is actually an artificial way to cut yourself off from the answers you already have. And how to create true confidence in your ability to figure it out.

I've just created a Facebook Community (called Kick Ass Moms – you should join us!) As I wrote the rules for the group, I realized that they are essentially the same as the Golden Rules for a happy life and loving relationships. This podcast describes the Golden Rules – and invites you to join a fun and supportive community of women who live by those rules.

Are you stuck in indecision about something? Are you pretty sure you know the right choice, but you keep looking at the damn tradeoffs and thinking, “Maybe this is the wrong choice?!” This podcast is for you. Learn how to embrace that even the best choices can come with painful tradeoffs. And you can still proceed with confidence (and a dash of sadness.)

Do you value firm rules and work ethic, and find yourself ‘ruling with an iron fist' as you enforce firm expectations with your kids. You can actually maintain those same firm expectations, and enforce them with kindness. It will make parenting much more fun. Here's how.

Being ‘in your own head' takes you out of the present moment. You can't focus on what's happening in the moment if you're focusing on your thoughts. It's one or the other. If you'd like to get better at living in the moment, this podcast describes how you can use your physical senses to bring you quickly back to reality.

Do your kids ever shriek, and throw toys in a fit of rage? Or crumple into a pile of tears because the ear they drew on their cat doesn't look the way they wanted? It can be a startling experience. This week's podcast describes how to connect to your child in this moments, and help them calm their big emotion.

Society tells us that success = more. More money. More learning. More professional achievement. More weight loss. Oh, and the faster you get there, the better. But what if that was wrong? What if the opposite was true? What if slow was better? And allowing ourselves to follow life's ebbs and flows? What if you could actually get much further by going slow and steady. Here's how that's true.

Do you feel pressure to fit the mould at work? Like there's a ‘right way' to write that report? Do the budget? Teach your class? Are you trying hard to follow the rules, but feeling restricted and resistant? I've spent the last 2 years feeling like that in my marketing. Recently, I decided to throw the rule book out the window and leverage my unique skills to market in a way that's uniquely me. And it's had amazing results. I'd encourage you to do the same.

Did having kids introduce you to rage you didn't know you had? Me too! Here's the thing about anger. It's not intrinsically bad. Your anger is actually giving you a useful message. The key to handling anger constructively is learning how to listen to and decode it.

Do you yell at your kids more than you'd like, then beat yourself up for it? In this episode, you'll learn how to have self-compassion when you yell. And how to turn your yelling into a chance to model healthy ‘cool down' and reconciliation behaviours.

Do you wish you felt happier more of the time? Here are two things you can do to get there.

Do you have a strong-willed child, or feel like there's a constant sense of power struggle between you and the kids? This week's podcast will teach you how to de-escalate those struggles, without compromising on your household rules.

If there's one thing that makes parenting simpler, it's having your own parenting compass. To do this, you simply define the traits you want your kids to have as adults. Then, when tough situations arise, you can ask yourself, “How can I use this situation to help teach those traits?” This question will guide your decisions and grow your parenting confidence.

How many times each day do you say to yourself, “you should really do X?” How do you feel when you think that? Motivated to do that thing? Probably not. This week's podcast describes how “shoulding” on yourself sucks the motivation out of even the most authentic of goals, and offers an alternative approach to boost motivation.

Do you have an insecurity (or multiple) that you try your best to ignore, but it seems to eat at you? Here's a process you can use to look an insecurity in the eye and convert it into deeper self-alignment, self-confidence and peace.

Do certain people just make your blood boil? Do you wish you could stay calmer, because you don't like the person you become when you're angry? But you're also unwilling to live with their behaviours? This episode is for you. Learn how to use compassion for a difficult person as a way to stay calm and grounded, while still pursuing your needs with conviction.

Is there something you want to achieve, which is totally different than who you've ‘always been'? Your past can feel like a big pile of evidence that your current behaviours are just an intrinsic and unchangeable part of you. That's not true. This podcast will teach you how to re-interpret your past, and then start defining yourself by your future potential.

Do you have a hard time connecting with others? If you find it hard to express yourself comfortably, or you find yourself dissatisfied by the social interactions you do have, this podcast is for you. Walk with me as I unpack my own feeling of social disconnect and create a new mindset around relationships that helps me feel and act in more connected ways.

Other people's success can either intimidate you - or inspire you to reach higher, because you know that if they can do it, you can too. In this week's podcast, I describe how to borrow other people's success to prop up your own confidence.

I'd like to introduce Angela Greco. Over the past year, I've had the privilege of coaching Angela as she transitioned through a job change, COVID, and another job change. In this podcast, Angela describes her challenges over the past year, and how coaching allowed her to find stability and direction by trusting her values.

Someone said to me this week, “I feel like I should have my shit together.” It got me thinking about what having one's shit together means. I don't think Webster's dictionary offers this definition, so I made my own. I think it means: (1) embracing that you will periodically fall apart and there's nothing you can to do change that, and (2) holding yourself accountable for picking up the pieces when this happens. As an example, this episode gives an honest look at a recent situation where I fell apart, then put myself back together. Oh! And I've provided a worksheet you can use to get your own shit together too!

Do you have a change (big or small) you've been dreaming of? Are you scared? Worried you might fail? On this week's podcast, Nicole Haney and I talk about how fear of change is so normal, and how she built the courage to quit her job and become an entrepreneur.

Have you ever thought, “The expectations are so high… there's no way I can do this?” Guess what – you don't have to. Seriously. This podcast will push your thinking around the expectations moms take on from society and feel pressure to conform to, including unrealistic expectations around remote learning.

Do you ever hide your opinions, afraid to ripple the water? Society paints a picture of women as nurturers and peacekeepers, who subordinate their own needs. But we can choose differently. And can teach our daughters differently. We can teach them to embrace their own voice.

Do you get heart palpitations when you think about getting your kids out the door in the morning? This episode is for you. Learn how to set up your morning routine to incentivize your kids to get themselves ready on time – and preserve your own sanity.

This week's podcast describes 6, specific strategies you can use to reduce most types of children's misbehaviour long-term. All strategies are grounded in Positive Discipline, an approach to parenting that's based in the work of psychologist, Alfred Adler.

Does your kid act like an asshole sometimes? You're not alone. Learn how to tell what's driving your child's behaviours and get 4, psychology-based tips for addressing common misbehaviours at their root cause.

Do you tell yourself you shouldn't be unhappy because someone else has it worse? Stop it. Your pain is legitimate and you amplify the pain by telling yourself you should be happier or more grateful. Instead, just allow the pain to exist alongside the holiday joy. There's room for both.

Do you find yourself struggling to stay calm when your child is defiant, whiny, hitting or otherwise misbehaving? This podcast describes a strategy you can use to generate patience during times of misbehaviour.

Do you find your mind spinning about work on your commute home? Or worse, do you stress about work when you're trying to be present with your family? This week's podcast describes how to calm the stress quickly, so you can leave work at work.

Self-criticism means judging your imperfections and striving to rectify them. At best, self-criticism makes self-improvement painful. At worse, it makes us want to avoid areas of our lives that we genuinely want to improve, because facing them is painful. You can also choose to pursue self-improvement from a place of loving and accepting who you are now. Do this, and you'll turbo charge authentic self-improvement and feel amazing on the journey.

Do you have a difficult boss? Maybe s/he expects evening email responses, makes urgent, last minute requests, or sucks at showing appreciation. If your boss has you feeling insecure or angry at work, this episode will teach you what's going on behind your emotion and how to get back to a place of inner peace at work.

Since the time our first child is born, we begin the ongoing process of re-negotiating our priorities. With less time to go around, who will get our time? Who won't? And with the process can come guilt about what we are de-prioritizing. This episode will teach you how to release that guilt in a healthy way.