130: Permission to Play Creative Breaks

130: Permission to Play Creative Breaks

You can run a business, raise a family, keep the lights on, and still feel like something essential is missing. For us, that missing piece is often play: the kind that loosens the straitjacket, cracks the mind open, and lets your real self breathe. So we’re claiming it out loud: creativity isn’t a talent you’re born with or without. It’s your birthright, and it shows up everywhere once you know how to look. We talk about what creativity actually is (making, bringing forth, growing), why “I’m not creative” is a story worth retiring, and how creative collaboration includes everything from gardening with nature to building communities and curating experiences that change people. We also share the unexpected places creativity lives, like taking a scooter ride with no plan, turning your home into a sanctuary, sending a song to a friend to spark connection, or making space for ideas to arrive instead of forcing them. Then we get practical about creative breaks: why your brain needs room to wander, how consumption can crowd out creation, and how routines like artist dates from The Artist’s Way or simply leaving your instrument out of the case can make creativity inevitable. We also dig into the mental health side, including why creative activities can reduce stress and anxiety and help you feel more grounded and alive. If you’re ready to stop waiting until you’re “good” and start making room for what lights you up, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs permission to play, and leave a review so more people find the creative reset they’ve been missing. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

129: Mid Year Reset

You blink and suddenly it’s mid-year. If your goals feel stale, your calendar feels crowded, or your motivation feels like it quietly slipped out the back door, we’re here to say: you can restart whenever you want, and you don’t need anyone’s permission. We talk through how we actually do a mid-year reset in real life, not just on paper. On the business side, we break down why a professional review matters before fall, how frameworks like EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and the 12-week year create clarity, and why choosing one to three priorities beats chasing ten “important” projects. We also dig into the difference between real strategy and survival mode, and how a 60 to 90 day view changes the decisions you make every week. On the personal side, we get into redirects that happen when life happens: health shifts, financial surprises, relationship changes, and training realities. Sam shares the decision to move a 100-mile race goal, not abandon it, plus what alignment and timing really look like when you’re protecting your body and your happiness. We also unpack “capacity” as the hidden variable in goal setting, how to build it, and why accountability communities keep long goals present. If you’re ready for a clean reset and a stronger second half of the year, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reboot, and leave a review with the goal you’re choosing next. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

128: Sex Hormones

If you’ve ever been told hot flashes are “just part of aging,” we’re calling that out for what it is: an incomplete story that keeps women stuck in unnecessary suffering. We sit down and get brutally practical about the hormones most people reduce to sex and reproduction, even though estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone influence your brain, mood, sleep, joints, muscle, bone density, cardiovascular health, and day-to-day drive. When ovaries start to go offline, the swings can feel like a roller coaster, and it can start earlier than you think. We break down what each hormone does, what “estrogen dominance” can look like, and why progesterone often shows up in the conversation as the calm and sleep-supporting counterweight. Then we go straight into the most misunderstood one right now: testosterone. We talk about the real-world care gap women face, why some clinicians still hesitate, and why other countries are far more comfortable treating it. Sam shares her personal journey through hysterectomy, outdated medical guidance, and the long road back from feeling depleted, plus what she wishes she had done sooner. We also map out the major treatment paths people actually use: patches, oral progesterone, creams and gels, pellets, and targeted options like vaginal estrogen or vaginal DHEA that can be a game changer for tissue health and recurrent UTIs. We explain why labs can be a snapshot in time and why symptom tracking and patient feedback matter so much, especially when your goal is to optimize rather than just survive. If you want deeper learning, we name the experts and shows we trust, including Dr Stacey Sims, Dr Vonda Wright, Cynthia Thurlow, Dr Kelly Casperson, Dr Sharon Malone, and Dr Mary Claire Haver. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the memo, and leave a review so more women can find this conversation. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

127: Serotonin Dopamine-Happiness Hormones

Dopamine isn’t your brain’s “treat.” It’s your brain’s chase signal, and once you see that clearly, a lot of modern life makes uncomfortable sense. We talk through why dopamine spikes show up in everything from social media and gambling-style algorithms to shopping, porn, vacation planning, and signing up for big challenges and why the hit often lives in the anticipation, not the payoff. That same chemistry can fuel ambition, learning, and courage, but it can also carve deep compulsive loops when the reward is uncertain and always one swipe away.  Then we shift to what regulation actually looks like. We share practical ways to stabilize dopamine and reduce the crash: consistent exercise (not necessarily extreme), lowering inflammation with better nutrition, using morning light to support circadian rhythm and cortisol timing, and building daily social connection through small “micro-moments” with real humans. We also lean on a trauma-informed lens: the better question isn’t “why the addiction,” but “why the pain,” and we explore how noticing urges early can keep a pattern from becoming your normal.  Serotonin rounds out the picture as the steadying force behind mood, satiety, bonding, and sleep rhythms, with a big spotlight on gut health since most serotonin is produced in the gut. We close with some of the most underrated tools for nervous system regulation: pets, nature, awe, and wide-open views that bring you back to rest-and-digest when life gets chaotic. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s stuck in a loop, and leave a review. What habit will you try first? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]

126: Forgiveness - Why Its Not About Other Person

Forgiveness has a branding problem. People hear the word and think it means letting someone off the hook, pretending harm didn’t happen, or walking back into a relationship that still isn’t safe. We don’t buy that. We frame forgiveness as an intentional release of resentment and blame that loosens the restriction around your heart and gives your nervous system a chance to exhale. We dig into what forgiveness is not: it’s not justice, it’s not denial, and it’s not reconciliation. We talk about severity and why nobody gets to judge what “should” hurt you, plus why forcing a confrontation can be a slippery slope. Then we shift into the real cost of holding on, how anger becomes “glasses” you wear all day, and how memory and rumination keep replaying old footage in the brain. We also name the upside that’s possible when you choose healing: post-traumatic growth, stronger boundaries, clearer communication, and a life that feels lighter. The biggest turn is self-forgiveness. We get honest about shame, guilt, cultural and religious conditioning, and the survival habit of turning pain inward. We lean on self-compassion as the bridge and offer simple practices you can try today: journaling prompts, cleaning things up directly when it’s appropriate, writing yourself a love letter, and letting movement and nature help your body release what your mind keeps gripping. If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with someone who needs relief, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one thing you’re ready to set down today? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2290567/fan_mail/new] Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.instagram.com/everydayawesomeproject] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject [https://www.facebook.com/everydayawesomeproject] Linktree for ALL THE THINGS: https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject [https://linktr.ee/everydayawesomeproject] Website/About Us: https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/ [https://everydayawesomeproject.com/about-us/]