The Carin CONFIDENTial

Change: the Good, the Bad & the Gooey

In this episode, we're wrapping up Season One of The Carin CONFIDENTial by talking about something every one of us will face if we decide to grow: change. It sounds exciting until you're actually in the middle of it. Changing who you are means letting go of patterns that once felt safe, sitting in the discomfort of the unfamiliar and accepting that not everyone will come with you. It can feel lonely, confusing and even a little like you're dissolving into a pile of goo (yes, we're talking about caterpillars - I'm just over here becoming a butterfly, you guys! 😅).  One more thing...in this episode, my beloved golden boy, Sonny, makes several appearances. A week after this was filmed, we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to him due to a spinal cord issue. He was the sweetest, most loving soul. I dedicate this one to him - for 7.5 years of loyal, unconditional love and the best snuggles. I know he's running free now - chasing all the tennis balls, swimming in all the pools, eating all the treats and getting all the pets. RIP, Sonny Lou - I miss you terribly and my heart will never be the same. 💥 Key Takeaways -Why personal growth often feels uncomfortable before it feels empowering -How your brain mistakes familiar patterns for safety, even when they make you miserable -What it really means to live in the "messy middle" of change -Why self-awareness alone isn't enough to create lasting growth -The difference between recognizing your patterns and changing your behavior -Why your growth can trigger the people around you -How boundaries help you make peace with people who aren't growing alongside you -Why creating a life you love starts with choosing yourself first 🔥 In This Episode, I Talk About: -Why a caterpillar's metamorphosis is the perfect analogy for personal growth -What the last two years of rebuilding my life have actually felt like behind the scenes -Why leaving familiar misery for uncertain freedom is so much harder than it sounds -How learning to embrace the quiet changed my relationship with myself -The loneliness that can come with outgrowing old relationships and making space for healthier ones -The self-awareness trap and why simply knowing your patterns isn't enough to change them -Why some people become uncomfortable when you start evolving -How to navigate relationships with people who aren't growing at the same pace you are -What this podcast has really been about all along and what I hope you'll take with you into Season Two. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608455/support] 🎤 About the Podcast The Carin CONFIDENTial is real talk about real life and better communication. This is the podcast where I say the things out loud a lot of us have only thought privately - about self-talk, relationships, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, boundaries and what it actually takes to reconnect with yourself. 🔗 Stay Connected Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach/podcasts 👉 Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: ‪@carinthecommscoach‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach] 👉 Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn: Carin Campbell Smith  👉 Join my newsletter at theconsciouscommscoach.com 👉 Interested in booking me for a speaking event or exploring one-on-one coaching? Visit my website and schedule a connection call.

Worry About Yourself

In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most exhausting things so many of us do without even realizing it: trying to manage other people's emotions - their moods, reactions, expectations, disappointment, happiness. For years, I believed it was my job to keep everyone around me happy (spoiler alert: it wasn't).  This is for anyone who's ever found themselves shrinking, overexplaining, walking on eggshells, anticipating someone else’s reactions or otherwise abandoning themselves in an attempt to control the outcome of a situation. Because here's the truth: nothing you say or do can make someone change who isn't ready and willing to. Also, realizing and accepting that it is not your responsibility to manage anyone's emotional landscape but your own might just change your life (it changed mine!) 💥Key Takeaways * Why trying to manage other people's emotions is really about control, not love * How people-pleasing often stems from a need to create safety for yourself The difference between caring for someone and taking responsibility for them * Why emotional dependence on other people's moods leaves you constantly disappointed * How trying to control others disconnects you from yourself * The role boundaries play in creating genuine emotional safety * Why growth often means accepting that some people won't like the new version of you * How letting go of control creates space to finally focus on yourself   🔥 In This Episode, I Talk About: * How a preschool teacher's advice to my son Luke unexpectedly became one of the biggest lessons of my adult life  * The ways I spent decades trying to manage other people's moods, reactions and expectations * Why I believed being a good wife meant walking on eggshells and anticipating emotions * How people-pleasing slowly disconnected me from myself and created deep resentment * The painful realization that I can't "fix" other people - including my own children * What I misunderstood about boundaries for almost my entire life * Why trying to change someone else's behavior rarely works - and what to do instead * How learning to tolerate other people's disappointment transformed my relationships * The freedom that comes from accepting that some people simply won't like you - and being okay with that   And if this episode hit home, share it with someone who spends too much time worrying about everyone else. Because one of the healthiest things you can do is exactly what Miss Lisa told four-year-old Luke: worry about yourself. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608455/support] 🎤 About the Podcast The Carin CONFIDENTial is real talk about real life and better communication. This is the podcast where I say the things out loud a lot of us have only thought privately - about self-talk, relationships, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, boundaries and what it actually takes to reconnect with yourself. 🔗 Stay Connected Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach/podcasts 👉 Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: ‪@carinthecommscoach‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach] 👉 Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn: Carin Campbell Smith  👉 Join my newsletter at theconsciouscommscoach.com 👉 Interested in booking me for a speaking event or exploring one-on-one coaching? Visit my website and schedule a connection call.

When Rest Feels Wrong

n this episode, we’re talking about something that seems to be an epidemic among women—and honestly, a lot of men too: Why is it so damn hard to sit still? Why do so many of us feel guilty when we rest? Why do we tie our worth to productivity? And why does doing absolutely nothing for 15 minutes feel harder than running around all day doing ALL the things? Spoiler: If you’re constantly in motion, there’s a good chance you’re running from something - and for most of us, it's big emotions we don't want to feel. 💥 Key Takeaways - Why so many of us tie our self-worth to productivity and achievement How constant motion can become a socially acceptable form of emotional avoidance - The connection between busyness, control, and unresolved feelings - Why women are often rewarded for overfunctioning—and the cost of that pattern - How resentment builds when you give everyone else what you never give yourself - Why self-care has nothing to do with bubble baths and everything to do with self-awareness - The surprising ways your inability to slow down impacts your communication and relationships - How learning to sit still can completely change the way you experience your life 🔥 In This Episode, I Talk About: - How a Lainey Wilson song unexpectedly became the inspiration for this episode  - Why I spent years feeling worthless anytime I wasn’t being productive - The cultural conditioning many of us received growing up that linked achievement to worthiness - How staying busy helped me avoid difficult emotions and uncomfortable truths - The role control plays in perpetual motion and overfunctioning - Why so many women become trapped in cycles of doing, giving and resentment - How a lack of boundaries with yourself creates chaos everywhere else - What self-care actually means (hint: it’s not face masks and spa days) - The people who may resist your growth when you start prioritizing yourself - The unexpected freedom that comes from finally being okay spending time alone. And if this episode hit home, share it with someone who struggles to relax without feeling guilty. Because your worth isn't determined by how much you accomplish. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do...is sit still.    Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608455/support] 🎤 About the Podcast The Carin CONFIDENTial is real talk about real life and better communication. This is the podcast where I say the things out loud a lot of us have only thought privately - about self-talk, relationships, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, boundaries and what it actually takes to reconnect with yourself. 🔗 Stay Connected Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach/podcasts 👉 Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: ‪@carinthecommscoach‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach] 👉 Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn: Carin Campbell Smith  👉 Join my newsletter at theconsciouscommscoach.com 👉 Interested in booking me for a speaking event or exploring one-on-one coaching? Visit my website and schedule a connection call.

My Secret Weapon for Better Conversations

In this episode, I’m talking about something every single one of us has experienced…walking away from a conversation replaying it in our head thinking, “Welllllll that did not go how I planned.”  As a professional communicator, I wish I could tell you I always nail hard conversations. I absolutely do not. Sometimes I overexplain. Sometimes I shut down. Sometimes I react emotionally and let the “K” in Carin come all the way out. And afterward? The rumination Olympics begin. But lately, I’ve found a secret weapon that’s been helping me communicate more intentionally, process emotions more clearly and stop getting trapped in my own internal chaos. That tool is AI. 💥 Key Takeaways - Why emotional conversations almost always go sideways when ego takes over - How overexplaining is often a symptom of needing to feel understood or safe - The real reason you replay conversations over and over afterward - Why most communication problems actually start internally before the conversation even happens - How fear, assumptions and emotional stories shape your tone and energy - The difference between observable facts and the meaning your brain assigns to them - Why not every emotional reaction requires a confrontation - How AI can help you process conversations, identify blind spots and communicate more intentionally - Why you still have to “be the human” when using AI for communication 🔥 In This Episode, I Talk About: This one is part communication coaching, part nervous-system reality check and part accidental PSA about turning 49  - How I mentally rehearse difficult conversations before they happen - The ways my communication tends to break down when I’m emotional or triggered - Why my need to be understood used to lead to massive overexplaining - What rumination after conversations is actually doing to your emotional state - The role ego plays in failed communication and reactive behavior - How I separate facts from emotional assumptions before deciding whether a conversation even needs to happen - The exact way I’ve been using AI as a neutral thinking partner to process situations and prepare for conversations - Why AI is an incredible tool—but absolutely cannot replace nuance, discernment, or self-awareness - Details about my first live online workshop teaching people how to use AI to communicate better in real life More info on my AI workshop here: https://theconsciouscommscoach.com/#section06 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608455/support] 🎤 About the Podcast The Carin CONFIDENTial is real talk about real life and better communication. This is the podcast where I say the things out loud a lot of us have only thought privately - about self-talk, relationships, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, boundaries and what it actually takes to reconnect with yourself. 🔗 Stay Connected Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach/podcasts 👉 Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: ‪@carinthecommscoach‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach] 👉 Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn: Carin Campbell Smith  👉 Join my newsletter at theconsciouscommscoach.com 👉 Interested in booking me for a speaking event or exploring one-on-one coaching? Visit my website and schedule a connection call.

Boundaries

In this episode, we’re talking about the thing I spent most of my life not having…boundaries. Not fake boundaries, not “you need to change” ultimatums…real boundaries - the kind where you change what you’re willing to tolerate and participate in. Because here’s the hard truth: if you don’t have boundaries with yourself, you’ll struggle to have them with anyone else. And if you’re exhausted, resentful, overextended, emotionally reactive and wondering why your communication keeps going sideways…there’s a really good chance boundaries (or lack thereof) are part of the problem. 💥 Key Takeaways - Why boundaries are about your behavior - not controlling someone else’s - How people-pleasing quietly destroys self-trust and confidence - The connection between overfunctioning and resentment - Why overexplaining is often an attempt to create emotional capacity in someone else - How fear of disappointing people keeps you disconnected from yourself - The uncomfortable truth: some people only liked access to you - not you - Why boundaries feel terrifying at first (especially if you were raised without them) - How small acts of self-trust build the confidence to hold boundaries with others - Why boundaries dramatically improve communication and relationships 🔥 In This Episode, I Talk About: This one is deeply personal because learning boundaries completely changed my life: - The realization that I thought boundaries meant telling other people what to change - Why I constantly said yes to things I didn’t actually want to do - How overfunctioning at work, in relationships, and emotionally drained me for years - The ways I betrayed myself to avoid conflict and discomfort - What growing up afraid to disappoint people did to my nervous system and identity - Why so many women in our generation struggle to say no - My thoughts on Gen Z, workplace boundaries, and why they might actually be getting this right earlier than we did - The small shifts that helped me stop abandoning myself and start building confidence - How boundaries opened space for me to finally know who I actually am. if this episode hit home, send it to someone who needs permission to stop abandoning themselves. Because sometimes the most powerful thing you can say… is “no.” Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608455/support] 🎤 About the Podcast The Carin CONFIDENTial is real talk about real life and better communication. This is the podcast where I say the things out loud a lot of us have only thought privately - about self-talk, relationships, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, boundaries and what it actually takes to reconnect with yourself. 🔗 Stay Connected Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach/podcasts 👉 Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: ‪@carinthecommscoach‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@carinthecommscoach] 👉 Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn: Carin Campbell Smith  👉 Join my newsletter at theconsciouscommscoach.com 👉 Interested in booking me for a speaking event or exploring one-on-one coaching? Visit my website and schedule a connection call.