Have you ever wondered if you could actually change how a moment feels — without changing a single thing about the situation itself?

Do you catch yourself pushing through, ignoring what your body is telling you, just to keep striving?

In this episode, I'm giving you a real example of something we talk about a lot on this show: mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and how much power you actually have over your own emotional regulation — even when the situation around you doesn't change.

I walk you through the finger exercise — a simple, in-the-moment demonstration of how our perception shapes what we believe is "true." One finger. Two fingers. And then the truth. It's the same idea behind Story A, Story B, and the truth of what's actually happening in your life.

From there, we get into how our bodies respond to the energy around us — expanding around people and moments that feel good, contracting around the ones that don't — and why so many of us were taught to ignore that signal instead of using it. I bring it home with a real mom-life example: the morning struggle of waking up my daughter, and how shifting my own energy before I even say a word changes the entire tone of our morning.

This episode is about boundaries with your own nervous system — the boundary of choosing your response instead of reacting on autopilot. It's for the mom who wants to stop pushing through her mornings on autopilot and start noticing she has a choice, in the moment, every time.

• Where in your day do you feel your body contract before your mind even catches up? What would it look like to bring a different energy into that exact moment?
• Think of one relationship or routine where you default to "Story A." What might "the truth" actually look like if you looked past the story?

• FREE Evening Reflection Page (Rewrite Your Story)
• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

P.S. Your journey is the greatest story ever told.

Start with the Awaken to the Divine Self 90-day guided journal created for ambitious moms craving more time, mental clarity, and purpose.

https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.com/journal/

Are you saying yes to everything because you feel guilty saying no — even when it's draining you?

Do you have a "trigger point" (dishes in the sink, an overflowing laundry basket) that sends your whole day sideways?

Is your nervous system stuck in survival mode because your schedule is packed minute by minute?

Today, I sit down with Billie-Jo Cochran — host of the Working Homeschool Mom podcast, mom coach, and founder of The Simplified Mom. Billie Jo shares the incredible story of adopting three kids at age 48, and how she quickly learned that chasing perfectionism for her kids was actually burning her out. She opens up about the mom guilt that came with setting boundaries — saying no to extra activities, no longer packing lunches, protecting her mornings — and how she had to work through that guilt to give her kids what they truly needed: a mom who was calm, grounded, and present, not exhausted and stretched thin.

We talk through what it really looks like to build routines that support your nervous system instead of overwhelming it — routines flexible enough to bend with real life, not rigid to-do lists that set you up to fail. Billie-Jo shares her "triggers" concept (for her, it's dishes left in the sink) and her go-to metaphor for emotional regulation: picture a water bottle being squeezed over and over until it crumples empty — that's what happens to us moms when we never refill our own cup. If you're an ambitious mom feeling burned out, anxious, or like you're failing everyone by trying to do it all, this episode is your permission slip to simplify, set the boundary, and become the present mom your family actually needs — not the perfect one you think they want.

This episode is for the working, homeschooling, or simply stretched-too-thin mom who is ready to trade burnout and control for peace, presence, and a little bit of grace.

Connect with Billie-Jo Cochran:

• Working Homeschool Mom Podcast — available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
• Facebook Group: Routines for the Working Homeschool Mom
• Instagram: @TheSimplifiedMomBC and @TheWorkingHomeschoolMom
• YouTube: The Simplified Mom
• https://thesimplifiedmom.com/strategy-session-call

Journal Prompts:

1. Where do you feel like your "water bottle" gets squeezed empty most during the week — and what's one small way you could refill it?
2. What's your "trigger point" (like Billie-Jo's dishes in the sink), and what boundary could help protect your peace around it?

• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

Have you ever wondered why you get triggered "out of the blue," even when everything in your life looks like it's going right?

Do you find yourself over-functioning — going, going, going — instead of pausing to feel what's actually going on underneath?

Have you ever confused "staying grateful" with actually avoiding your pain?

In this episode, I sit down with Penny Chiasson — a former nurse anesthetist turned board-certified hypnotist, #1 international bestselling author of Breaking the Fibro Code, and creator of the Identity Matrix Method — to talk about what happens when high-achieving women push their pain down for "just one more day." Penny opens up about the season of her life when she was caring for both of her parents, all while working a demanding job, and how "gratitude bypassing" nearly cost her everything before hypnosis helped her regulate her nervous system and reclaim her peace.

This conversation is for the ambitious mama who feels like she's holding it together on the outside while something quietly builds underneath. We dig into how the subconscious mind forms our patterns before age seven, why emotional regulation starts with recognizing what your body is actually telling you, and how mindfulness — of the thoughts you consume, the stories you repeat, and the identity you're building — changes everything. Penny also walks us through what boundaries really are (hint: it's not an ultimatum, it's a decision about what you're available for) and how self-compassion is often the missing piece before a boundary can ever hold.

If you've ever felt like you're "too much" for setting a boundary, or like your ambition is a mask for something you haven't addressed yet, this episode is your permission slip to get curious about what's really going on beneath the surface — so you can become a more present mom, a more grounded leader, and a woman who trusts herself again.

Connect with Penny:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penny.chiasson
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/penny.chiasson.7
• Resonance 2.0 (Penny's beginner-friendly program on understanding your feelings) - $11 Limited Time
• Hypnosis Secrets Unlocked - 2 day event

Journal Prompts from This Episode:

1. When you feel triggered "out of nowhere," pause and ask: What is this feeling actually about? What pattern from my past might be showing up right now?
2. Think of a relationship where you've wanted to set a boundary. Ask yourself: What am I actually available for — and what am I not available for anymore?

• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.kit.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

If you've ever ended the day exhausted despite checking off every single box, this episode is for you. I'm unpacking why so many of us ambitious moms carry the weight of everyone else's world — and why true freedom starts with mindfulness, nervous system regulation, healthy boundaries, and emotional regulation as a present mom.

• Who am I when life doesn't go according to my plan?
• Have I connected my worth to how much I accomplish or how much I carry for everyone else?

I get real in this episode about something I think every ambitious mom quietly craves, whether she realizes it or not: freedom. Not a productivity hack. Not a time-management trick. Real freedom — from carrying everyone else's load, from believing you have to hold it all together, from measuring your worth by how much you get done in a day.

I share personal stories, including the moment I watched my three-year-old nephew make his own PB&J and realized how much I wanted my own kids to trust themselves the same way — even if that meant a forgotten suitcase or two. I dig into why we take on so much mental load in the first place, and how my own burnout forced me to stop managing life from the outside and start paying attention to what was happening on the inside — my thoughts, my emotions, and my nervous system.

This episode is for the mom who feels like she's the one holding the entire household together and is starting to wonder what it would take to set some of that down. Inside, I talk about the connection between control and identity, why boundaries aren't really about time management, and how practicing mindfulness and tuning into your body's signals can help you become a calmer, more grounded, more present mom — without needing everything to go according to plan. My hope is that by the end, you walk away with a felt sense of permission to loosen your grip and receive more peace, more support, and more of what you've been striving so hard to create.

Mentioned in this episode:

• FREE Evening Reflection Page (Rewrite Your Story)
• Awaken to the Divine Self Journal - Your story is the greatest journey ever told.

Journal Prompts from this episode:

1. What am I currently carrying that was never actually mine to carry?
2. The next time my shoulders tense up or my mind starts racing, what story am I telling myself about the situation — and what's actually true?

• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.kit.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

How do burnout and anxiety show up for high-achieving women, and how do you know when it's time to face them?

What's the hidden block that keeps so many ambitious moms from ever starting — or from taking their business to the next level?

I am so excited for you to meet Paige Figueroa, owner of Mom Boss Freedom — a coach, podcaster, and serial entrepreneur whose story mirrors so much of my own journey. Paige spent eight years as a teacher before becoming a mom to twins, one of whom faced a life-threatening condition before birth. That season — pregnant, working full-time, driving to doctor's appointments multiple times a week, and eventually spending three months in the NICU — became what Paige calls her "dark night of the soul." It's also where her real work began.

In this conversation, Paige and I dig into how she found small pockets of time (sometimes just 30 minutes a day) to build a freelance copywriting business while raising six-month-old twins, and how that eventually gave her the confidence to leave teaching for good. But we don't stop at the highlight reel. We go deep into the burnout and anxiety underneath it — the toxic productivity so many of us as ambitious women were taught was normal — and how mindfulness, nervous system support, and real boundaries were what actually changed things for her.

Paige now helps ambitious women, especially present moms, build aligned businesses and expansive lives through identity-based transformation and nervous system-aware coaching. If you've ever felt qualified but unworthy, ambitious but exhausted, or like you're managing everything on the outside while falling apart on the inside — this episode is for you. We talk candidly about mom guilt, the fear of being judged for stepping into a new identity, and the practical tools — from thought work to EFT tapping to honoring your capacity — that help you build a business (and a life) that actually feels safe in your body.

This episode is for the mom who is quietly holding it together while wondering if she's allowed to want more — and who is ready to learn what real emotional regulation and boundary-setting can do for her business, her family, and her peace of mind.

Connect with Paige Figueroa:

• • Instagram: @MomBossFreedom
  • Podcast: Mom Boss Freedom Podcast — available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
  • Success Recalibration Ritual (Paige's guided journaling + tapping tool for redefining success in your nervous system): https://stan.store/MomBossFreedom/p/get-the-success-recalibration-ritual
  • Book a clarity and connection chat with Paige: https://calendly.com/mombossfreedom/clarity-and-connection-chat

Journal Prompts from This Episode:

1. Where in my life am I confusing being busy with being aligned — and what would it feel like to release the toxic productivity I've been taught is "normal"?
2. What is one boundary I could set this week to honor my capacity, so my nervous system can finally feel safe enough to slow down?

• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.kit.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

P.S. Your journey is the greatest story ever told.

Start with the Awaken to the Divine Self 90-day guided journal created for ambitious moms craving more time, mental clarity, and purpose.

https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.com/journal/

Are you saying yes to everything at work while quietly saying no to your friends, your husband, and your own peace?

If your performance review told you that you're "stretched thin", would you see it as failure — or as the wake-up call it's meant to be?

What would it look like to lead from mindfulness and boundaries instead of proving your worth through doing more?

I am so excited to bring you this conversation with Raquel Ita, because her story mirrors mine in so many ways. Raquel spent over 15 years climbing the corporate ladder in operations leadership and somewhere in the middle of all the achieving, she lost herself. Today she's the host of Setting Boundaries in Corporate, and she helps faith-centered professional women reconnect with who they are.

In this episode, we go deep on what it actually looks like when the corporate ladder starts to cost you more than it gives you. Raquel opens up about a season where she was serving on six committees on top of a full-time job and leading a team of seven — and how that slowly eroded her joy, one yes at a time. We talk about the performance review that changed everything for both of us, what it felt like to sit with the discomfort of "meeting expectations" instead of exceeding them, and how that discomfort became the doorway to real mindfulness and clarity.

If you're the ambitious mom who's the go-to person at work, who says yes because you genuinely want to help but ends the day mentally exhausted and disconnected from your people — this episode is for you. Raquel walks us through how she found the courage to set boundaries with her boss, what emotional regulation actually looked like in that process, and why the discomfort of disappointing someone is so much smaller than the cost of disappearing from your own life.

Connect with Raquel Ita:

• Setting Boundaries in Corporate podcast — wherever you listen to podcasts
• Raquel's free Facebook group for women navigating boundaries in corporate Facebook Public Page - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565430254038 Facebook Private Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2808006476242265
• Raquel on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/raquel.ita.llc/

Journal Prompts:

1. Look at your calendar this week and pick one thing you said yes to out of guilt, obligation, or fear of disappointing someone. Ask yourself: does this still make sense for who I am right now — or for the person I'm becoming?
2. Where in your life have you been saying yes to everything work asks of you, while quietly saying no to the people and things that actually fill you up? What would it look like to flip that this week?

• Become an Insider and receive weekly emails with early bird access - https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.kit.com/insider
• Join our private Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ambitiousmomsupport
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thedivineselfbyjosie/

With love and gratitude,

Josie Anderson

P.S. Your journey is the greatest story ever told.

Start with the Awaken to the Divine Self 90-day guided journal created for ambitious moms craving more time, mental clarity, and purpose.

https://thedivineselfbyjosieanderson.com/journal/