Latest / Healthy Boundaries for Moms| Christian Life Coach / EP 41: Why Simplifying Is Your Missing Piece

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EP 41: Why Simplifying Is Your Missing Piece · Healthy Boundaries for Moms| Christian Life Coach

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  Have you ever noticed that when life feels overwhelming,
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  our first instinct is to add something?
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  A new planner, a routine, a new app, a new goal.
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  Maybe it's a new commitment. And we're just thinking that if
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  we can get a better system, then life will finally feel manageable
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  again, right? But what if the answer isn't adding more? What if the
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  answer is simplifying? Because every time I simplify
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  something in my own life, I notice the same thing happens.
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  I breathe a little bit deeper and my shoulders start to relax and
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  my mind feels less clutter and I have more peace.
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  And ironically, I usually accomplish more because
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  my energy isn't scattered in 10 different directions.
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  So today I want to talk about adopting a simpler lifestyle,
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  not because less is always better, but because making room for
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  what matters most brings us peace.
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  If you're tired of people pleasing, caring too much,
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  and wondering why peace still feels so hard to hold onto,
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  you're in the right place. Hi, I'm Lori, mom,
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  former people pleaser, and your boundaries coach. Here we talk
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  about how to protect your peace, set healthier boundaries, and get
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  clear on what actually matters so that you can build a life that
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  feels lighter, calmer, and more satisfying.
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  So let's stop the chaos for a minute, moms, catch our breath, and get into
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  this next episode.
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  Hey friend, welcome back to Healthy Boundaries for Moms. I am your host,
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  Lori Grimes, and I am so glad to be back and recording with
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  you guys. I know we had this little unexpected break last week
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  because there were some technical difficulties that I had to get figured
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  out, but we're back and I'm excited to spend a little time with you today.
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  So over the last couple weeks, one word has just
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  kept coming to my mind: simplicity.
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  It is something that I realized that whenever life
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  starts to feel like chaotic or stressed,
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  overwhelming, the thing that brings me the most relief isn't
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  finding another life hack, it's simplifying.
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  I think our brains And our bodies, and especially our minds and
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  our souls, they're all just looking for a chance
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  to exhale. You know, to drop our shoulders,
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  to slow down, and to know where to place our attention.
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  Because when everything feels important, it's hard to
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  know what actually is deserving of our energy and
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  our attention. So Jesus speaks directly to this
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  in Luke chapter 10. 41-42. And it says,
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  but the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset
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  about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only
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  one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will
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  not be taken away from her. So I love how gentle Jesus
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  is with Martha. He doesn't go right to shaming her.
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  He doesn't start to tell her how she's failing. He's just
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  pointing out that she's carrying many things when only a
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  few things are really needed. And I love that there's only
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  a few things that are needed. And I wonder how often we
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  are like Martha. We're not doing bad things per se,
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  we're just doing too many good things. And sometimes we've complicated
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  what God intended to be simple. So lately
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  I've also been thinking a lot about the minimalist lifestyle. So I don't
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  know if you've heard of this lifestyle. But before you tune me out, I'm not
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  saying we all need to own like 10 things or live in
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  some perfectly white and black house and
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  we have like one coffee mug. That's not what I
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  mean. What I'm talking about is adopting the principles of a
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  simpler life. Maybe that means just owning fewer things because
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  less clutter creates more peace in our minds.
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  And maybe it's about simplifying your schedule, your routines,
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  or your finances, maybe even your commitments,
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  or just how your home is set up. Maybe it's your health plan,
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  or even the expectations you've put on yourself.
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  Minimalism at its heart is just asking one simple question: is
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  this adding value to my life, or is simply— is this
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  simply just adding weight? Because every possession would requires
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  a little bit of our attention, right? It requires us
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  to clean it or find a place for it, take care of it.
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  Every commitment is asking for some of our time, right? So every time
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  we say yes, we have to say no somewhere else.
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  And every unfinished project occupies our mental space.
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  I mean, have you ever started a project and then it's just weighing on you
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  every time you think about it because you're like, oh, I have to get that
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  done? And every unrealistic expectation is
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  stealing from our peace, like it's eating
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  away at our peace. And little by little, all those things become heavy.
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  And maybe that's why simplifying starts to feel like such
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  a relief. It's like taking this weight off our shoulders.
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  It's giving our minds and our bodies and our souls permission to
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  breathe again. So I think simplifying our lives
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  starts even deeper than just say cleaning out a closet?
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  I think it starts with our contentment because if
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  we're always chasing the next thing, we'll just never feel like what
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  we have is enough. We'll always want something more.
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  We're always going to want more money or possessions, maybe more
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  experiences, more vacations, or a bigger house, a better car,
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  a better job, maybe more fun activities or accomplishments.
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  We may even be looking to be more productive. But the problem is,
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  is there's just always going to be another more,
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  right? Like the finish line just keeps moving on us.
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  And that's why Jesus gives us this warning.
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  In Luke 12:15 it says, then he said to them,
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  watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
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  Life does not consist abundance of
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  possessions. So Jesus isn't saying possessions are wrong.
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  He's just reminding us that life isn't measured by what we
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  own or have. Our joy isn't found in accumulating
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  more. Our peace is definitely not found in having
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  the newest or the best thing out there. So then
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  listen to what the writer of Hebrews says. So Hebrews 13:5
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  says, Keep your lives free from the love of money and
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  be content with what you have, because God
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  has said, never will I leave you,
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  never will I forsake you. So I love that connection. Being content
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  is because God is with you, with us.
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  Our contentment isn't rooted in finally getting that thing
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  we've wanted. It's rooted in knowing the one who
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  never leaves us. So when we stop chasing more,
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  we get to enter into enjoying what we already have,
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  and we notice the blessings that we've been overlooking.
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  We become better stewards of what's sitting right
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  in front of us, and we trade comparison for
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  gratitude, and that creates peace in our lives. So there's
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  another verse that has really challenged me. So Hebrews
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  12:1 says, therefore, since we are surrounded
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  by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
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  everything that hinders and the sin
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  that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance
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  the race marked out for us. Notice it doesn't just say to throw off
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  sin. It also says to throw off everything that hinders.
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  So some things aren't sinful, they're just heavy
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  and they are distracting us and they no longer are serving
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  and this current season of life. So maybe one of
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  the most spiritual things we can do is ask, what am I carrying that
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  God never asked me to carry? I say that one a lot in this podcast
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  because I think it's a question that continually comes
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  up that we need to be checking ourselves daily and weekly.
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  So this week I want to challenge you to simplify one area
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  of your life. Maybe it's cleaning out one drawer,
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  or maybe it's just saying no to one commitment that
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  you think you want to make. Maybe it's deleting apps you don't need or
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  choosing one simple meal plan for the week. Maybe it's just turning off your
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  notifications and clearing out some space mentally for you.
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  Or maybe it's spending less time scrolling and more
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  time sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee or iced
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  tea, something that is relaxing. Or maybe it's just letting go
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  of one unrealistic expectation that you've placed
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  on yourself. Ask yourself, what is adding value to
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  my life and what is just adding weight?
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  So friend, I don't want you to think that peace comes from finally knocking
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  everything off your to-do list. I think peace is coming from knowing
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  what doesn't need to be done. I don't think joy comes
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  from always having more or attaining more, getting more.
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  I think joy grows when we are learning to be content
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  with what God has already entrusted to us. And contentment
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  is what leads to simplicity, and simplicity is
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  what is creating the margin in your life. And then margin allows
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  us to be present in our lives. And when we are present,
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  we begin to notice the peace that has been there
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  all along and is available to us. So my prayer for
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  you this week is that you'll find that one area of your life to simplify,
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  not so you can do more, but just so that you can live more intentionally
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  and more peacefully and more gratefully and the
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  more fully present with the people and the purpose God
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  has given you. So I hope this episode has inspired you to
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  try out this minimalist mindset and that
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  maybe it will help you to simplify some things and to
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  really find some contentment and joy in your life.
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  Hey friend, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so,
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  would you take 30 seconds and go join our free Facebook page
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  at Healthy Boundaries for Moms? That's where we go deeper,
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  share what's actually working, and support each other in real life.
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  I will also share some great tools and tips to help you
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  along this journey. I have also included a link to sign up for our
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  brand new weekly newsletter in the Facebook group.
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  Don't forget to hit follow and leave a quick review on Apple.
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  It really lets me know that this podcast is helping you.
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  More importantly, it helps more women find this podcast.
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  Now go say no to something that's stealing your peace and say yes
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  to something you actually need. And I'll meet you back here in the next episode.
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  Alone at the edge of the universe, humming a tune
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  for merely dreaming we were snow.
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  A siren sounds like the goddess who
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  promises endless apologies of And
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  only she can make it right.
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  So things are different tonight.