The Unspoken Cycle with Leah Vaughn

306: The Unspoken Wisdom: Driven By Feelings

I recently had a difficult conversation with a friend about a decision that she made…and quickly came to regret.  And she said to me, “I wish I hadn’t acted on my feelings”.  I understood exactly what she meant.  We’ve all been there done that…questionable actions or choices fueled by intense emotions.  Why is this even a struggle?  Because we are emotional beings by nature. AND as women, we also have intricately woven webs of hormones flowing through our bodies that influence our emotional state…this can be a tricky recipe for less than favorable emotional decisions. Join me on today’s episode of The Unspoken Cycle podcast as I explore the complexity of acting on our emotions and talk about healthy and effective ways that we can validate our feelings while avoiding impulsive emotional reactions that often lead to regret.

305: The Unspoken Gamble: The Truth About IVF

After 3 long years of trying to grow our family to no avail, my wife and I were at what we thought was going to be the end of that grueling road.  Embryo transfer day arrived and our hope quickly blossomed into excitement and anticipation for our little ones who we just knew were nestling snuggly into my womb…until we got the call, “Your pregnancy test is negative, I’m sorry but your transfer wasn’t successful.”  Those words still sting, and our hearts still long for what we thought was…and what we desire so much to be.  IVF brings so much hope and happiness to couples like us all the time, but this wasn’t OUR time.  And the grief that it brought into our lives wasn’t what we were prepared for.  Join me on today’s episode of The Unspoken Cycle Podcast as I talk about my journey with IVF, the irony of the hope it restores AND diminishes, and how we can nurture our hearts back to a place of hopefulness again.

304: The Unspoken Reminder: Wear Your Courage, Believe In Your Strength

Wear your courage, believe in your strength…what does that even mean? It means that today you’re in need of a reminder that you ARE a badass woman!  It means that your courage is greater than you acknowledge it to be, and it means that your strength is profound.  It means that I understand what it’s like to feel weak, defeated and consumed by life’s hurts, challenges and monotonous days and that we MUST give ourself credit, and grace, where it’s due.  Join me on today’s episode of The Unspoken Cycle Podcast as we are reminded of the incredibly strong, courageous women we are and as we celebrate every bit of badass we are intended to be.

303: I'm Your Mother, Not Your Friend: The Unspoken Bond

As a mother I want to nurture my daughters, teach them, guide them, love them and send them off into the world as strong, independent women who build their own tribes filled with close friends that they can turn to when life gets tough.  And I believe that it is my responsibility as their mother to be their parent, NOT their friend.  Unpopular opinion?  Probably!  Can these two roles be intertwined? Absolutely!  Yet, there’s a disturbing trend that I see today that blurs the line between what our children need in a parent and what our children need in a friend.  And today, I’m here to put my two cents in!  Join me on today’s episode of The Unspoken Cycle podcast, as I explore the bond of the bestie child.

302: The Unspoken Struggle: Work From Home Woes

For many people,  COVID opened the door to a major shift in the ability to work from home.  I'm one of those people.  I quickly realized that I had all of the tools and equipment needed to create a cozy space in my home to get my work done, rather than have to trek into the office every day.  Then I relocated far away from my flagship office...and here I am today with the work from home woes.  It takes a great deal of discipline, consistency and routine to "enjoy" working from home...in my opinion.  And it's seriously just not that enjoyable. Join me on today's episode as I share my common struggle, and love-hate relationship, with having the ability to work from home...and as I also share what's working for me now (spoiler alert: it involves getting OUT of the house!).