julesFM - What If....

Ep 88. Rebelling Was the Best Thing I Did - Vithyaa Thavapalan Part 1

What if your parents, your family and everyone around you told you that what you wanted to do with your life was never going to work, that it went against everything your culture expected of you. And what if you did it anyway. Vithyaa Thavapalan asked herself exactly that question, took that step and became the first woman of colour in the world to start her own fire investigation company. And then she went further. She paved the way for other South Asian women in Australia to grow in their own fields and built a community so they'd never have to do it alone. This is her story. 🔗 Show Notes & Links Resources and tools mentioned in this episode: https://www.vithyaa.com.au/ [https://www.vithyaa.com.au/] -  Vithyaa's website for public speaking and more about her incredible initiatives. https://www.brownbossbabes.org/ [https://www.brownbossbabes.org/] 🎙️ Record studio-quality audio from anywhere with Riverside.fm 👉 Try Riverside Free  https://riverside.sjv.io/Bnr3eq [https://riverside.sjv.io/Bnr3eq] Connect with JulesFM Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/julesfmshow/ [https://www.instagram.com/julesfmshow/] Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578036023218 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578036023218] LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jules-mundy-a10b5a33/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jules-mundy-a10b5a33/] YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@julesfmshow [https://www.youtube.com/@julesfmshow] Watch the entire interview on YouTube for the full video experience.

Ep 87. What If Happiness Isn't the Goal? My Takeaways from Dr Happy.

What does it actually mean to be happy and are we even chasing the right thing? This episode is my personal reflection on my conversation with Dr Tim Sharp aka Dr Happy, clinical psychologist, founder of the Happiness Institute, and one of Australia's leading positive psychology experts. I share my three biggest takeaways from our chat, the ideas that really resonated with me, challenged me, and honestly left me with some questions I'm still thinking about. From reframing what happiness actually is, recognising the strengths we've been taught to discount, to the practice of self compassion that Tim calls the real foundation of wellbeing. This episode is my attempt to make sense of what I heard and what it means for everyday life. Including one question I keep coming back to: what if you stopped waiting to feel worthy? Topics covered: positive psychology, happiness, self compassion, character strengths, mental wellbeing, flourishing, Dr Tim Sharp, Dr Happy, Happiness Institute, nature therapy, Lost and Found, anxiety, thriving, julesFM, What if   All of Tim’s books including ‘Lost and Found’ By Dr Tim Sharp – on Audible Website - https://drhappy.com.au/resources/ [https://drhappy.com.au/resources/] 🎙️ Record studio-quality audio from anywhere with Riverside.fm 👉 Try Riverside Free  https://riverside.sjv.io/Bnr3eq [https://riverside.sjv.io/Bnr3eq] Connect with JulesFM Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/julesfmshow/ [https://www.instagram.com/julesfmshow/] Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578036023218 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578036023218] LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jules-mundy-a10b5a33/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jules-mundy-a10b5a33/] YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@julesfmshow [https://www.youtube.com/@julesfmshow] Watch the entire interview on YouTube for the full video experience. 🧾 Affiliate Disclosure Some links above are affiliate links. If you choose to sign up or purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the show and keeps these conversations going.

Ep 86. - What If The Thing That Broke You Was Building You - Airleigh Frigo

What if the season that broke you was always the one building you? This is me thinking out loud after two conversations with Airleigh Frigo - Australian aerial skier, Olympian, and one of the most honest and self-aware people I've spoken to on this show.  For me, there were a number of things that really stood out and that I have continued thinking about. The image of Airleigh standing at the top of a ramp in Finland, physically shaking, telling herself - you either go or you go home. The idea that a bad performance is not a reflection of who you are or your lead up. And the season she described as the season for her soul - four months of injury that changed everything, not despite the stopping but because of it. This isn't a recap. It's a reflection. On what Airleigh's story is making me look at in my own life and what it might make you look at in yours. If you haven't heard Parts 1 and 2 yet they're worth it. She's something else. Until next time, what if we can.

Ep 85 - Airleigh Frigo | Part 2 The Season for Her Soul

What does success look like when the scoreboard stops being enough? In Part 2, Airleigh Frigo gets to the heart of what changed everything - not a podium finish, but four months of injury and rehab that quietly shifted her entire perspective. It was there, sidelined and still, that she discovered mental wellbeing, started looking after herself differently, and began thinking about who she wanted to be in twenty years. She went back to competition and had the best season of her career. She called it the season for her soul. Jules and Airleigh talk about the costs nobody sees from the outside - financial, physical, emotional. About learning that being deeply emotional isn't a weakness but an attribute, and what it took to stop letting her feelings run the show. About building trust in yourself through honest self-reflection. And about what comes next when the sport that defined you for a decade becomes something you step back from - with curiosity rather than fear. Airleigh's mum told her early: if you don't ask, you don't get. This conversation is about everything she asked of herself, and what she found when she finally listened.

Ep 84. — Airleigh Frigo | Part 1 The Flip or Go Home Moment

Airleigh Frigo didn't grow up dreaming of being an aerial skier. She grew up as a gymnast - and it was a flyer on a noticeboard at her local club that changed everything. In Part 1, Jules talks with Australian Olympic aerialist Airleigh Frigo about the unlikely path that took her from the gymnastics floor to the Olympic stage, and what it actually feels like when you get there. The pride of representing your country. The weight of wanting to perform for your family in the crowd. And the lows that come when the result doesn't match the dream you've been carrying your whole life. Airleigh talks about the moment that defines aerial skiing, standing at the top of the ramp, physically shaking, telling yourself you either go and flip, or you go home. About the trade-offs of being a teenage athlete - the weekends, the parties, the Christmases, the study, and why she has no regrets. And about the season she spent questioning why she was still there, and the quiet stubborn voice that told her she wasn't done yet. This one is for anyone who has ever stood at the top of something terrifying and had to make a choice.