People Pleasing Is the Highest Form of Lying

Season 2 Episode 2: People Pleasing Is the Highest Form of Lying.If "I'll just do it" is your default — at home, with the kids, at work, in your marriage — this is the conversation that's going to wreck you in the best way.Marla Mattenson is Hannah's longtime coach, friend, and one of the most quietly brilliant people she's ever worked with. Former math teacher, doula, body worker, executive coach, and a meditator with 23 years and 23 ten-day silent retreats under her belt. In this episode, Hannah brings you the Marla Greatest Hits — the small, simple shifts that quietly rewire how you communicate, how you set boundaries, and how you stop bleeding yourself dry trying to keep everyone else comfortable.We get into consent in everyday relationships, the difference between a clean yes and a "mushy yes," why people pleasing is technically lying, and the nervous system regulation tools (red, yellow, green) you can actually use the next time you feel agitated, stuck, or about to snap.This one is layered, tender, and weirdly practical. Stay till the end — Marla's takeaway is the line you're going to want on your fridge.Timestamps:- 01:22 — Meet Marla Mattenson: coach, math teacher, doula, body worker- 04:34 — The gift of consent: stop vomiting your truth on people- 05:41 — Clean yes vs. mushy yes (and why we don't proceed through mushy)- 07:05 — Considering the landing: how is what I'm about to say going to land- 10:24 — Where your consent is being trampled and you didn't know it- 12:01 — Lack of consent is the beginning of resentment building- 12:50 — How to practice consent with your kids (and your teen step-kid)- 14:41 — Consent as a micro tool that softens the whole road ahead- 21:22 — Asking is now a good time at work, on calls, with your husband- 22:30 — Suppressed words show up in your jaw, neck, and headaches- 23:00 — The audio note hack: get it out, send it later, build intimacy anyway- 24:24 — How consent eliminates people pleasing- 25:51 — Marla's most famous line: people pleasing is the highest form of lying- 29:20 — Lying as a spectrum: white lies all the way to malicious deception- 30:32 — Nobody wants to think of themselves as a liar — but here's how to catch yourself- 37:20 — Suppressed yeses become rage: how marriages rupture from the inside- 39:30 — Why divorce can look like a personality break (it's not — it's the volcano)- 42:14 — Nervous system 101: red, yellow, green and fight, flight, freeze, fawn- 45:04 — Feeling safe in red is intimacy. Feeling unsafe in red is collapse.- 52:58 — Marla on Vipashana: 23 years, 23 silent retreats, observing without reacting- 54:59 — Owning your sensations, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as yours- 1:00:00 — Marla's free nervous system training (linked below)- 1:05:05 — Get into nature, feet in the dirt, cold water on the back of the neck- 1:07:15 — Marla's one thing for the women of divorce land: you're doing it perfectly- 1:09:50 — Even your messy choices and mistakes are working for goodMentioned in this episode:- "Vipashana" silent meditation tradition- The Gottmans (relationship research)Connect With Marla:Free training: ethicalsalesinstitute.com Follow her on Instagram and LinkedInhttps://www.instagram.com/marla.mattenson/linkedin.com/in/marla-mattenson-08613195Thinking about divorce in Texas? You don't have to figure it out alone.Hembree Bell Law is a Texas family-law-only firm built for high-functioning women who want to end their marriage well — with clarity, integrity, and a real plan for what comes next. Schedule a confidential consultation at (http://HembreeBell.com)Considering divorce but not in Texas or not ready to file? Start here.My Confident Divorce is Hannah's free community for women considering divorce. Access free coaching, private groups, preparation documents and so much more! Head over to (http://MyConfidentDivorce.com)