Your Favorite You

Think about a younger version of you who had no idea what was coming next. What would you tell her? Not to fix her or warn her, but to let her know that she makes it and it’s better than she could imagine.I recently learned that someone I know will be attending my alma mater this fall and moving into the exact same dorm room I lived in as a freshman. It got me thinking about 18-year-old Melissa, who had no idea the life I'm living now was even possible. That inspired me to write a letter to my 1991 self, which I'm sharing in this episode, along with an invitation to write one to your younger self, too.If you do write a letter to your younger self, I'd love for you to send it to me at [email protected]. With your permission, I'll anonymously share some of these letters on a future podcast episode so we can hear perspectives beyond my own.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

What happens when you shift your focus from trying to make everyone else happy to finally listening to yourself? In this episode, I’m joined by one of my amazing clients, Katie, who graciously shares how coaching helped her learn to rock the boat and transform her relationships.When Katie started coaching with me in late 2024, her goals were to get to know herself better and figure out what she really wanted. You’ll hear how Katie achieved those objectives and more, and you’ll also get a glimpse into how receiving coaching is only the beginning of an ongoing journey. There isn't a finish line where you're finally "fixed," and choosing growth every day is far more rewarding than waiting to finally arrive.If you're afraid of rocking the boat or disappointing the people around you, this conversation will encourage you to take that first step.Dr. Katie Montgomery is a busy mom to three boys, a wife, and entrepreneur. She has owned her general dental practice in the Columbus, Ohio area for over 15 years and loves the challenge of being both a clinician and business owner. She has worked with Melissa for nearly two years with the goal of being her favorite you in all areas of her life.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

I’m so excited to introduce you to today’s guest, whom I’ve known and admired for the past 25 years. I met Dr. Bonnie Pugh during residency, and we've been friends ever since. Bonnie is a pediatrician at Central Ohio Primary Care, where she also serves as president of the board of directors.I wanted to bring Bonnie on to talk about leadership and how she transitioned from just caring for patients to leading physicians and shaping the culture at COPC. Over the past two decades, Bonnie has helped build an environment that transforms the lives of both the physicians who work there and the patients they serve. She leads with both strength and emotional intelligence, which, if you know anything about high-achieving women, isn't always an easy balance to strike.Beyond her accomplishments, Bonnie is continually learning to integrate every part of herself into a life she loves. She's a doctor, leader, mentor, yoga teacher, wife, mom, daughter, sister, and one of my favorite humans. I can’t wait for you to hear this conversation.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

I named this podcast Your Favorite You because I believe your favorite version of yourself already exists within you. She's not someone you have to build from scratch—she's someone you uncover one choice at a time.For this milestone episode, I’m talking about what your favorite you actually looks like in the quiet of an ordinary life. Because after 200 episodes, here’s what I know: Being your favorite you is almost never a grand gesture. It’s not the mountaintop. It happens in small moments, on random weekdays, and sometimes without you even realizing it. It's the yes turned into a no, the bad day at work you didn’t take home with you, and speaking up when you wouldn't have before.Today, we’re exploring the tiny, sustainable, completely unglamorous, but absolutely life-changing shifts I've watched women make over and over again. Whether this is the first episode you’re listening to or the 200th, I want to say thank you, my favorite listeners. Thank you for being brave, and for doing the quiet work that nobody claps for. You are the reason Your Favorite You exists, and I’m so glad you’re here.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Feeling comfortable in your body can be challenging when so much of what you’ve learned is incomplete, inaccurate, or shaped by shame. That’s why I’m welcoming back Dr. Nina Deep to help deepen our understanding of women’s bodies and tackle questions about anatomy, the existence of the G-spot, self-pleasure, and the myths many of us have carried for decades.We explore real-life examples, but throughout the conversation, you'll hear the underlying themes of how medicine is patriarchal and the deep socialization of women to feel shame around our bodies. Change starts with education, curiosity, and learning to connect with our bodies, and it's never too late to begin.Mentioned in this episode:Ep 191: It's Called The Clitoris with Nina Deep, MDThe Disappearance of Shere HiteBecoming Cliterate by Dr. Laurie MintzCome as You Are by Emily NagoskiShe Comes First by Ian Kernerbellesa.coOMGYESninadeep.comitscalledtheclitoris.com Click HERE to get the full show notes.

We spend an extraordinary amount of our lives preparing to live them: working toward the thing, achieving the next milestone, building toward a future version of ourselves and our circumstances that will finally feel like enough.We’re so focused on the arrival, but grief—real, irreversible, stopping-you-in-your-tracks grief—has a brutal and clarifying way of revealing that the moment we’ve been waiting to arrive in is happening right now. There is no future version of you or your life that is more real or more valuable than this one.This episode is a little different. I don't have a tidy takeaway, three steps, or a framework for you to try. What I have is a sentence, and I hope something in it lands for you the way it landed for me:"But you're here now. Don't waste a minute.”Click HERE to get the full show notes.

We spend so much time talking about how to achieve success—how to work toward it, how to stay motivated, and how to push through the tough parts—but we don't talk nearly enough about what happens when success actually arrives. And on the flip side, what happens when you've been riding high and then things get hard again?Success can be just as destabilizing as struggle. And when you're used to succeeding, struggle can feel catastrophic in ways that are out of proportion to what's actually happening. Both of these experiences point to the same underlying issue: identity. What happens when your external circumstances stop matching the internal picture you have of yourself?Today, we're exploring both sides of that equation because I've lived both sides of it, and chances are, you have too.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

What if you thought about boredom not as a problem you need to fix, but fertile ground from which insight, self-knowledge, and genuine rest can grow?Think about this: When you have an unexpected opening in your day—a canceled meeting, an hour with nothing scheduled, or a to-do list that's actually manageable for once—what does it feel like? For some of you, there is an exhale of "oh, thank goodness." For a lot of you, there was something closer to a low-grade panic: a quick mental scramble to fill the space and to find something productive to do.​In this episode, I talk about what boredom actually is, why so many of us are uncomfortable with it, and what we lose when we never allow ourselves to experience it. Because making friends with a little more stillness can help us reconnect with ourselves, our creativity, and the version of us that's been waiting for room to breathe.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

When was the last time you did something to take care of yourself and actually felt better after? Not just distracted or temporarily relieved, but genuinely, truly better.We have a cultural obsession with self-care. The idea is everywhere—on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and Instagram—yet so many of the things we call self-care are actually ways of numbing. Today I’m unpacking the difference between the two and explaining why real self-care often looks different from what we expect.And let me be clear: there is no shame in numbing. We’ve all been there. My goal is to help you recognize the difference so you can make intentional choices about how you care for yourself. Real self-care is one of the most loving, radical, important things you can do, and it is a foundational part of becoming your favorite you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

My nice little life—morning walks, easy Saturdays, and time with the people I love—would not be possible if I were still seeking validation and gratification from things outside of myself.Today I’m talking about a book that helped me put that into perspective. In We Are the Luckiest, Laura McKowen writes about getting sober, but the book is not really about alcohol. It's about the ways we leave ourselves and all the things we reach for—food, wine, our phones, approval, people pleasing, pretending—when what we actually need is to come home to who we are.The reality of being an actual person with needs and limits can feel uncomfortable and uncertain. But in the ashes of the things that don’t serve you, you find the version of yourself that you’re meant to be.Mentioned episodes:Ep 3: Tell People Pleasing to Suck ItEp 32: My Relationship with AlcoholEp 43: FreedomEp 54: Accept YourselfEp 61: We Are ALL Fucked UpEp 70: You Can't Hide From YourselfEp 97: Meeting YourselfEp 123: Becoming Your Own Best FriendEp 133: Stop Rejecting Yourself for AcceptanceEp 138: Radical HonestyEp 145: Living in IntegrityEp 149: 7 Years Without Alcohol — A CelebrationClick HERE to get the full show notes.

Today, I’m doing something I’ve never done before on this podcast: I’m dropping you into the middle of one of our group coaching calls.We had about three weeks left in the current group container when this was recorded, and as we wind down, I offer coaching to anyone who’s having difficulty deciding whether they want to continue or if they feel complete for now.As I coached them through their decisions, these women shared the most beautiful things about themselves, the group, and the work we’ve done together. It was such a good conversation that I wanted to share it with all of you, and everyone on the call previewed the episode and gave me permission to do so. I am endlessly proud of the work I get to do, of these incredible women, and of their commitment to getting to know themselves better.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

When you try to rest—genuine rest, not productive rest, strategic recovery, or resting to recharge—what do you hear in your head? Maybe your mind immediately starts firing back with thoughts like: you’re wasting time, other people are working right now, or you haven’t earned this.Those voices are not the truth. They are parts of you shaped by systems that were never designed with your well-being in mind. In this episode, I’m unpacking why rest can feel so uncomfortable for high-achieving women and exploring how rest itself can become a powerful act of resistance through the lens of Tricia Hersey's Rest Is Resistance.Rest is about reconnecting people to who they were before grind culture convinced them their worth was tied to how many things they could check off a list. We’ll begin unraveling those beliefs so you can rest unapologetically, luxuriously, and often—not because you’ve earned it, but because you are a human being and human beings need rest.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

If you think back to all of your years of formal education, was the clitoris ever mentioned, let alone discussed or explained? For most of us, the answer is no. My guest today is here to talk about why that matters and what we can do to correct it.Dr. Nina Deep is an award-winning physician and a nationwide speaker who has built an entire mission around one radical idea: that women deserve to understand and know their own bodies. She's a board-certified internal medicine doctor and has run her boutique medical spa, Nina Deep MD Aesthetics, for over 20 years. Nina is also the founder of a speaking platform, It's Called the Clitoris.In this episode, Nina shares why naming our body parts correctly is important, how women can better protect themselves medically, and why embracing yourself as a sexual being can be so powerful for women.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

What do you feel when you hear the word complete? Not failed, abandoned, lost, or broken–complete.The friendships that have run their course–that were real, meaningful, and good, but are no longer active parts of your life–are complete. And that word matters, because it doesn’t mean they were failures or that you’re a bad friend. It means the friendship did what it was meant to do in the season it was meant to be in, and now it’s finished. Like a good book, a perfect meal, or a chapter of your life you wouldn’t trade, even though it’s over.In this episode, we’re talking about the guilt and grief that can come with complete friendships, and how to give yourself permission to let some friendships be exactly what they were without it meaning something terrible about you or the other person. When you have that permission, you create space for the friendships that are meant to stay and the ones you haven’t found yet.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

When was the last time you truly celebrated something you accomplished? Not a quick “yay” before moving on or a fleeting moment of relief before you started on the next goal, but a real moment where you paused to let yourself feel proud.If you can't think of an answer, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common and quietly devastating patterns in brilliant, high-achieving women. We move from finish line to finish line, already focused on what’s next before we’ve even taken a breath.Today, I’m talking about what happens when success feels like nothing—or worse, when it doesn’t even register because you’ve already moved on. And I’m giving you simple ways to pause, celebrate yourself, and reconnect with the version of you who’s living this life.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Have you had a moment like this recently? You’re doing the work, making progress, and feeling proud of yourself, then your brain swoops in to criticize you for not doing it sooner or for how far you still have to go.This is common for everyone. But here’s what I want you to consider: if your best friend told you she’s been doing well and taking care of herself, would you respond with, “It’s too bad you didn’t do this sooner”? Of course not. You would never say that to someone you love, but we say it to ourselves all the time without even blinking.Today, I talk about that critical inner voice and what we can do about it. You don’t need a perfectly articulated internal dialogue. You just have to show up for yourself the way you would show up for someone you love.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Is there an idea that’s been tapping you on the shoulder? Something you keep saying you’ll get to, and then you don’t? Today, I get to tell you about something I did. Not something I’m planning or thinking about, but something I actually followed through on.In this episode, I’m sharing the full journey of giving my TEDx talk, from the idea that wouldn’t leave me alone to the moment I stepped onto the stage, and what it actually felt like to finally do the thing. I also talk about what happened when it didn’t go perfectly, and how I made space for my disappointed parts to exist right alongside the parts of me that felt deeply proud.Being your favorite you means looking at the thing that keeps calling to you and deciding not to ignore it anymore. And it means letting every part of you come along in the process.Click HERE to read the full show notes.

How many of you are holding back your brilliance because of one thought your brain offers—usually in a moment of fear—that you accept as fact without ever questioning it?Today, I’m sharing a personal story about something that pushed me right up against that kind of thinking. I was selected to speak at TEDx UTD, and I was thrilled—until I realized what no one had fully emphasized: there are no teleprompters. No notes. Just you, a stage, and a fully memorized talk.My brain immediately offered the thought, you can’t do this. And for a moment, I almost believed it. But here’s the thing: belief may not do the work, but it allows the work to begin. I had to be willing to consider the possibility before I could take a step toward making it happen. This episode is an invitation to look at what beliefs may be holding you back and not let them stop you from finding out what you’re actually capable of.Click HERE to read the full show notes.

How often are you so close to the thing you’ve been working toward—the breakthrough, the answer, the “yes”—and you give up just before it arrives? I’ve watched brilliant women get right to the edge of something life-changing and turn around because it got uncomfortable, took longer than expected, or they couldn’t see what was on the other side.In this episode, I’m talking about tenacity and what it actually looks like in real life. The version of you you’re becoming can feel far away, especially when you’ve been on this journey for a while. And that voice telling you to give up? It’s not wisdom. It’s fear in a trench coat pretending to be wisdom.Tenacity touches every area of your life. So if you’ve been working and waiting, and you’re starting to wonder if it’s worth it, I want to invite you to stay just a little bit longer. Because you might be closer than you think.Click HERE to read the full show notes.

When was the last time you booked a haircut, a massage, or something else just for you? Do you remember the moment of relief right after you hit confirm or hung up the call, when you felt good even though nothing had actually happened yet? You hadn’t gotten the hair cut or seen the result, yet something shifted the moment you decided.That’s anticipation, and it's one of the most underrated and underused tools available to us. Today, I explore what the act of looking forward to something has to do with the work of becoming your favorite you. If you’ve been on the fence about doing something for yourself—something meaningful that could genuinely change how you move through your life—I want you to hear this episode before you spend one more day waiting. Because the good feeling doesn't have to wait. It starts the moment you decide.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

“Don’t rock the boat.” Have you ever heard this in relation to a career move, a family dynamic, or something you knew wasn’t right? Most women have been absorbing this message since we were very young, and for many of us, that voice is still quietly running the show.In this episode, I’m unpacking how the internal voice that tells you “don’t rock the boat” formed in the first place. Together, we’ll explore how to unravel the conditioning that may have protected you as a child, but is now keeping you small as an adult.It can feel scary to rock the boat. Sometimes it truly isn’t safe, but often that voice isn’t responding to present danger—it’s reacting to old information. The world doesn’t need us to be quiet when we have the safety to be loud. It needs women who can recognize the difference and choose consciously, not just to become our favorite versions of ourselves, but to help shape the kind of world we actually want to live in.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Today, I’m talking about doubt: the sneaky, shape-shifting, very convincing part of us that has probably cost us more than any failure we’ve actually experienced.Many of us were taught to fear failure, so our protective parts learned to keep us safe by hesitating, overthinking, and second-guessing. But failure is not your enemy—it helps you learn and decide what to do next. Doubt is what keeps you from trying at all.The parts of you that doubt are trying to protect you, and you can have compassion for them while still choosing to move forward. In this episode, I’ll walk you through four common flavors of doubt, why they feel so convincing, and how to work with the protective parts behind them so you can take imperfect action anyway. Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Do you ever catch yourself responding to your child in a way that stops you cold? I work with so many brilliant, self-aware, deeply caring women who are doing everything they can to be good moms—including investing in coaching and doing their own healing work. And yet, there are patterns so deeply ingrained in our nervous system that they surface without us even realizing it.In this episode, I share three stories about women doing the difficult and courageous work of breaking generational patterns. These women are parenting their children differently than they were parented, and in doing so, they are learning to parent themselves as well.When we heal ourselves, we change more than just our own lives. We change the trajectory for our children and the generations that will follow. This is how chains get broken, one imperfect, compassionate moment at a time.Click HERE to read the full show notes.

The words we use to talk to ourselves and about ourselves matter enormously. They shape our relationship with ourselves and determine whether we approach our growth with kindness and openness or with cruelty and shame.When I hear the word “discipline,” my whole body clenches. I hold my breath, my shoulders rise up to my ears, and I often feel the urge to roll my eyes. I want to explore this today because my reaction isn’t just a personal quirk or stubbornness. So many of us have a complicated relationship with this word, and it’s worth talking about.For years, I believed I needed to be more disciplined—that if I could just control myself better, be stricter with myself, and demand more, then I would finally be enough. What most of us actually need isn’t more discipline. It’s more compassion, more tenacity, more intention, and more self-trust. Today, we’ll talk about how to give yourself those things so you can live as your favorite you, and leave harmful words in the past if you choose to.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

When you’ve spent your whole life trying to fit in, it can feel wildly vulnerable to let yourself stand out. In this conversation with Dr. Manuela Powell, we talk about what happens when “different” stops being a problem to solve and becomes a truth you can build a life around.Manuela shares her journey from cancer surgeon to life coach to business builder, and how a season in Hawaii helped her separate who she is from what she does. We explore the difference between fitting in and belonging, why so many high-achieving women think they “should” be able to do everything alone, and how standing out can become your superpower in work, relationships, and the choices you make next.Dr. Manuela Powell helps doctors skip the overwhelm, tech headaches, and DIY rabbit holes that usually come with building an online business. The Doctor’s Pivot is her fully done-for-you, concierge-style service that takes care of everything, from websites and branding to systems, content, and strategy, so her clients can finally stop spinning their wheels and start moving forward.She works with physicians who know they want more, but don’t know where to start (and definitely don’t want to drown in YouTube tutorials or 17 conflicting opinions from the internet). Dr. Powell brings together everything she’s learned from years in medicine, entrepreneurship, and coaching to create something completely custom. That might include CRMs, social media, podcast setup, you name it. Her clients focus on vision and decisions while she handles the rest. Think of it as “business in a box,” but completely outside the box—and tailored to you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

If you’ve been struggling with the state of the world lately, you’re not alone. I’m feeling the weight of what’s happening in our country and how people are being treated. In this episode, I’m sharing the parts of me that are showing up in response to all of it, because I’m guessing some of your parts are loud right now, too.You might notice an angry part that wants to scream and stomp her feet, or a hopeless part that wants to hide under the covers. Maybe there’s a righteous part that won’t stop fighting, a sad part that’s mourning, a shameful part spiraling about privilege, or even a hopeful part that quietly keeps showing up. They’re all valid, and sometimes they all want your attention at once.It can be overwhelming, but my message today is that it’s okay for all of these parts to be here. You don’t have to pick one. You don’t have to have it all together. You don’t have to be inspiring or productive right now. You just have to be human, and when you have the capacity, you can choose one small way to show up—for yourself or for someone else. That’s enough.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

I’m bringing you a conversation with my friend and fellow retired pediatrician-turned-life coach and retreat host, Jessie Mahoney. Jessie and I share a lot in common, and this episode grew out of how we both navigate our relationships with ourselves, our families, and the ongoing question of how we decide what to say yes to.We talk about decision-making through the lens of what would be fun, yoga, parenting, and what it means to have more white space on your calendar. Life isn’t always fun—and it doesn’t have to be—but there’s something powerful about paying attention to what makes you feel alive and lit up. We’ve found that fun is often where we show up and shine the brightest, and this episode is an invitation to explore your favorite version of you through that fun filter, too.Dr. Jessie Mahoney is a pediatrician-turned-coach, speaker, and yoga and mindfulness teacher. She helps thoughtful, high-achieving women trust what makes them come alive. Her work centers on using a “fun filter” to make decisions with more ease, honesty, and alignment—especially during challenging seasons of parenting young adults, career pivots, intimate relationships, and leadership transitions. Through one-on-one coaching, small group coaching, and Pause & Presence retreats, she creates spaces for people to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with joy, clarity, and meaning. Her approach is practical, deeply human, and grounded in the belief that fun, when paired with self-trust, can be a wise and transformative guide. She hosts a popular podcast called Healing Medicine, teaches free yoga on zoom and YouTube, and hosts incredible coaching, yoga, mindfulness and culinary medicine retreats at Nicasio Creek Farm in Northern California.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by Dr. Erica Bove to share her personal story and her journey of founding an organization to help women thrive through infertility. You’ll hear how Erica created Love & Science Fertility after feeling disconnected from clinical medicine so she could focus on guiding women to reconnect with their bodies and trust their inner wisdom.Erica also shares her personal story of going through a divorce and how she made the decisions that led her to become her favorite version of herself, both personally and professionally. We talk about how change doesn’t always require a catastrophic event, and how paying attention to what no longer feels aligned can be enough to pivot your life.Erica Bove, MD, is a double board-certified OB-GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist (REI) physician at the University of Vermont. She is also the CEO and founder of Love and Science: Thriving Through Infertility.  She has a keen interest in marrying an evidence-based approach with intuitive knowing in the context of a trusting relationship. She empowers women physicians and professionals to build their families with confidence, self-compassion and community. Her mission is to heal and support the healers and to create a legacy she is proud of.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

As I’m preparing to go pick up my new puppy, Frank Costanza Parsons, I’m using this episode to share a eulogy of sorts for my sweetest dog, Barney Stinson Parsons. Before I fall in love with Frank the Tank, I want to honor Barney Boo and the almost thirteen years he spent teaching my family about unconditional love and the benefit of caring about another living creature at least as much as we cared about ourselves.I debated writing all of this out and sharing it with you, and I'm so glad the part of me that wanted to tell Barney’s story won out over the part of me that wondered if it would be helpful to anyone but me. If you’re listening while missing a pet of your own, I hope you feel a little less alone.Click HERE to read the full show notes.

If time—not money—were the measure of wealth, would you be rich? This powerful question comes from my friend and colleague, Dr. Kristine Goins, whom I heard speak at the Physician Coaching Summit in November. In this episode, she joins me to share her wisdom about the true wealth of time.So many of us are taught that money is our most precious resource, and we spend our lives trying to accumulate more of it so we can enjoy spending it someday. Kristine offers the powerful reframe that time is actually even more valuable. Today, you’ll hear how it’s possible to live into this idea, and how doing so can change your life.Dr. Kristine Goins is a board-certified integrative adult & pediatric psychiatrist and digital nomad. Having served in several healthcare settings and various leadership positions within academic centers, Dr. Goins has witnessed firsthand the impact that burnout, stress, and work-life imbalance can have on physicians’ lives. Motivated by a desire to make a difference, Dr. Goins founded Nomad MD, where she helps burned-out doctors replace their income abroad and build freedom-first careers.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

In this episode, I’m so excited to talk with three amazing physicians about their book, It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way: A Physician’s Guide to Radical Self-Care. Robin Beardsley, Risa Adams, and Elizabeth Parsons join me to explore what it looks like to get curious about yourself and the parts of you that help you function and succeed in your role.While this book is written by physicians for physicians, its insights reach beyond one profession. Many high-achieving women experience burnout, a loss of purpose, or a longing to feel more alive. If any of that resonates, this conversation offers a lens for understanding how different parts of ourselves can both help and hinder us–and how that knowledge can help you live as a favorite version of yourself.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure to speak with another one of my new friends whom I met at the Physician Coaching Summit earlier this month. Dr. Tasha Faruqui is a fellow pediatrician, public speaker, medical advocate, and author. She’s here today to talk about her beautiful book, Keep Your Head Up: A Mother’s Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief, and how anticipatory grief shaped her journey as both a parent and a physician.We explore what it looks like to parent while navigating anticipatory grief, how Tasha learned to trust her intuition as a guide, and why her family stopped waiting for things to change before allowing joy.  Pursuing joy on purpose can help you hold grief and joy at the same time—and even anticipating joy can be just as meaningful as the moment itself.Inspired by her father, a doctor and surgeon to an underserved rural community, Dr. Tasha Faruqui joined the National Health Service Corps following her graduation from medical school. Her plan was to take over her father’s practice once her commitment was complete, but this was diverted when her second daughter, Soraya, was born with a rare, little-known genetic disorder that remains largely a mystery thirteen years later. Tasha’s focus then shifted to pediatrics, with particular attention to advocacy and support for parents of medically complex children and those with a limited life expectancy. Today, she regularly brings her dynamic message of fierce and loving hope to medical students at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the top pediatric medical facility in the country, Make-A-Wish events, and her Instagram community (@thefaruqui5). Her debut memoir, Keep Your Head Up: A Mother’s Story of Chasing Joy in the Face of Grief, was published by Jossey-Bass in September 2025. Tasha was named a top doctor by Cincinnati Magazine in 2022, 2024, and 2025.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

I’m excited to be joined on the podcast by one of my dear friends and a fellow physician coach, Dr. Shideh Shafie. Shideh brings so much wisdom, humor, and honesty to this conversation, and I loved having the chance to explore how she lives with intention across medicine, parenting, work, and personal growth.Today, we dive into understanding the practice of sovereignty and how it differs from freedom. Sovereignty isn’t about being completely untethered from your life. It’s about choosing, with intention, where you focus your energy and attachments. We discuss how women often lose their sense of sovereignty through cultural conditioning and caregiving, and how reclaiming it doesn’t always require doing less. When you shift to making decisions with more awareness and self-trust, you create more space to become a favorite version of yourself.Dr. Shideh Shafie is a board-certified emergency physician and high-performance coach who helps leaders and high achievers live and lead without breaking. Through her work, she blends neuroscience, conscious leadership, and behavioral psychology to help people transform the way they experience stress, success, and connection.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

In this episode, I am thrilled to bring you a conversation with another incredible guest. I’m joined by Dr. Rashmi Schramm, a board-certified physician and coach who helps people connect with the highest version of themselves. After hearing her speak about expanding consciousness at the Physician Coaching Summit, I knew I wanted to invite her to share her approach to awareness and coming home to who we truly are beneath all the shoulds and expectations.We talk about why it’s so hard to expand your consciousness when your life is full of doing, and how even a little white space can open the door to deeper awareness. Rashmi explains what expanded consciousness actually means, how practices like meditation, yoga nidra, and even the therapeutic use of psychedelics can support it. More than anything, our conversation is a reminder that your favorite you has always been there, waiting for you to make enough room to finally meet her.Dr. Rashmi Schramm is a board certified family physician, an embodied performance coach, retreat host and meditation teacher. She is the host of the Inner Peace and Power podcast. Rashmi helps busy women to tap into their own inner peace and power so they can live more energetic and fulfilling lives. She offers group and private coaching programs in addition to hosting transformational in person retreats twice a year. Click HERE to get the full show notes.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Yolanda Bogaert, a physician and coach I met at the Physician Coaching Summit. Yolanda shares her journey through academic medicine, burnout, and an MS diagnosis, and how being a mom to a neurodivergent child has reshaped her understanding of identity and what it means to show up as your authentic self.We explore Yolanda’s philosophy of “detached attachment,” a way of parenting and healing rooted in letting go of outcomes and focusing on emotional co-regulation and safety. You’ll hear how she learned to support her autistic son from a place of compassion and how doing her own emotional work created the foundation for his growth and her own.Yolanda Bogaert, a clinical kidney doctor for over 20 years, was the Dr. Mom who tried to fix everything - until active multiple sclerosis and the complexities of raising her autistic son called her to redefine what strength and connection look like. She transformed her life using an intuitive wellness approach, and the detached-attachment model was born along with a blueprint to living your life fully without burnout. Today, she helps medical and professional moms move from overwhelm and guilt to clarity, energy, and a sustainable, shame-free self-love. A life that honors you, not just the roles you’ve had to carry.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

"Having your own back" means choosing yourself, trusting yourself, and not abandoning yourself when things get hard or when other people disapprove. It means being on your own team, being your own advocate,and being your own best friend."Having Our Own Backs" was the theme of this year’s Physician Coaches Summit at the Civana Resort and Spa. There were 32 physician coaches gathered together, and I'm still buzzing from the experience. To start the summit, we went around and shared how we have our own backs. What I heard was so powerful, so diverse, and so permission-giving that I knew I had to share it.In this episode, you’ll hear the wisdom of my fellow physician coaches–their words about what it means to have your own back. My hope is that you'll get curious about how you can have your own back, or if you don't yet, be inspired by what's possible when you decide to always back yourself up.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Becoming your favorite you includes knowing how to find your calm, especially in the hurricane of life. This is difficult for so many of the brilliant women I work with, not because calm isn't available, but because it’s not their usual territory.Does this sound like you? You’ve spent most of your life in motion; always doing, achieving, producing, and managing. Simply being may not be something you’ve had much practice with. Calm exists within you, but perhaps you're unsure what it looks like or how to access it.In this episode, I share what it means to find your calm and center, what it actually feels like in your body, and how to practice going there as often as possible. Because once you find it, everything—your stress, your decision-making, your creativity, your relationship with yourself and with others—can shift.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

In this episode, you’ll hear a conversation with one of my beloved friends from residency, Dr. Dominique Williams. Dominique specializes in obesity medicine, and we talk about obesity as a chronic diagnosis, what GLP-1 medications are and how they function in the body, and the narratives so many of us carry around taking medication for obesity.You may remember my recent episode where I talked about my relationship with my body and my own biases against taking medication for my diagnosis of obesity. Today, Dominique and I revisit those biases and gently dismantle the idea that “willpower” should be enough to treat obesity. We talk about why oversimplified stories don’t serve us, and why a more nuanced, holistic approach that considers your history, health, and what you really need in partnership with a trusted clinician can make all the difference.Dr. Dominique Williams is double board-certified in Obesity Medicine and Pediatrics. She is a dedicated educator and clinician with more than 20 years of experience in person-centered care, holistic mentoring, and curriculum development. In addition to her clinical work, she has been a mentor to medical students and resident physicians and serves as Adjunct Faculty at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dominique has publications on the topics of nutrition, person-centered care, mentoring and medical education. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, Doctor of Medicine from Wright State University School of Medicine, and Master of Public Health in Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  Dominique currently serves as medical director at a global healthcare company. She resides in Columbus, Ohio with her husband of almost 20 years, Clement, and their teenage son, also named Clement, but don’t call him Junior. Her love languages are crocheting and quilting.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Today, I’m joined by four of my incredible group coaching participants: Krystin, Erin, Colleen, and Prerana. Even though these women are in different stages of life, they all share the common thread of being physicians. You’ll hear how that shared background created a sense of safety and understanding, and how group coaching can still be deeply effective for anyone, no matter their profession.These women offer a glimpse into group coaching, sharing their biggest takeaways and explaining how the opportunity to relate to other women can enhance the overall coaching experience. Group coaching provides connection, compassion, and practical tools you can carry forward. I hope this conversation inspires you to consider how this kind of shared growth could support you on your own journey to becoming your favorite you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

I’m honored to bring you a conversation with one of the incredible people who has helped me learn to support my clients–and all of you–in a new and exciting way. Anna Gartshore is a psychotherapist and a lead trainer at the Internal Family Systems Institute, who brilliantly guided me and many other therapists, social workers, and counselors through IFS training this past summer.In this episode, we explore what it means to have everything you need to heal already within you, and how embracing the multiplicity of the mind and learning to listen to different parts of yourself can bring more ease and clarity to your life. Anna explains self-energy, offers examples that highlight how each part of us may work, and shares a simple exercise to help you begin recognizing and befriending your own inner parts so you can lead from a more grounded place.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

So many of us think we need to be perfect before we can help anyone. We think our Instagram post needs to be profound, our podcast needs to be polished, or our coaching needs to be life-changing. Because we're waiting for perfection, we never start—or we start and then immediately stop ourselves, second-guessing everything, making it so hard that it's not even fun anymore.We're afraid we'll put ourselves out there and no one will care, or maybe even worse, that someone will care enough to criticize us. That fear feels protective, but it’s really just keeping us hidden. And the cost of staying safe, but small, is steep: the people who need our help never get it. The world doesn’t receive our gifts because we're waiting for a readiness that probably will never come.In this episode, I give you permission to share your gifts before you're ready. You don’t have to be at the top of the mountain to help someone who's at the beginning of the trail. Someone out there needs exactly what you have to give. You may not be perfect—no one is—but you have lived, learned, and grown, and that’s more than enough.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

You're at your kiddo's soccer game, but you're scrolling through work messages. You're in a meeting, but you're mentally making your grocery list. You’re on vacation, but you’re thinking about what you’re missing at home.Does this sound familiar? You’re constantly thinking about what’s next, trying to do everything and be everywhere at once. Not only is that an impossible standard, but believing you should meet it leaves you feeling like you’re failing everywhere instead of being fully present anywhere.In this episode, I talk about why work-life balance is a myth, why it's making us miserable, and what to aim for instead. Finding an alternative to balance starts with being honest about where you are and giving yourself permission to be there. When you do, you begin to live more in alignment with your favorite you—in whatever season of life she’s in.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Resentment usually shows up as a low-level annoyance, something small that you tell yourself isn’t a big deal. But when ignored, it can build into a bigger issue that you can’t simply brush off, such as serious strain on your relationships or tension at work. But the way to stop that from happening isn’t by pushing your resentment down, it’s by listening to what it’s trying to tell you.​What are you feeling resentful about right now? Maybe your job is draining you, or you're in a relationship that seems one-sided. Or maybe it's the way someone leaves dirty dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher. Whatever it is, your resentment isn't a problem. It's your inner wisdom trying to get your attention, guide you toward what you need, and protect you from continuing to abandon yourself. The real problem comes when you ignore it, judge it, or tell yourself you shouldn't feel it.​In this episode, I share examples that highlight how resentment shows up and how you can identify what it’s actually trying to tell you so you can take small steps toward relief, self-trust, and stronger relationships.​Click HERE to get the full show notes.

How often do you catch yourself saying, “I don’t have time”? Maybe you’re “too busy” for rest, exercise, or figuring out what you actually want—even though when there’s a work deadline or a family emergency, you somehow always manage to fit it in.I know how easy it is to say those words without questioning them. But after years of coaching brilliant, capable women who tell me they simply “don’t have time” to take better care of themselves, I’ve learned that the problem is almost never actually about time.In this episode, I talk about the real stories we're telling ourselves when we say we don't have time, and I share practical tools you can use to decode your own time stories. So much becomes possible when you start telling yourself the truth about time, because becoming your favorite you doesn’t require more time, just honest time spent on what truly matters to you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Have you ever been around certain people and felt instantly at home–like you could exhale and completely be yourself? I’ve been thinking about that profound sense of belonging as I prepare for my group coaching program to start up again, and today I share the magic that happens when women with similar values come together to do the tender work of becoming our favorite versions of ourselves.I work with women who share core values like belonging, growth, community, freedom, connection, and kindness. Even though I expect it, I’m still amazed and touched by the healing that unfolds when they share their struggles and triumphs and witness each other’s growth.In group coaching, women come to realize that everyone’s journey is unique and that there is no one right way to grow. They witness one another finding their own answers, trusting their own wisdom, and making choices that fit with the life they want. Intentional communities for growth and healing are powerful spaces for change that help you move even closer to being your favorite you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Intelligence isn’t just something we measure with IQ tests or celebrate in school—it goes beyond intellect into the wisdom we gain from our emotions and our bodies.Our society tends to focus on intellectual intelligence without recognizing the importance of emotional and somatic intelligence. That’s why so many intellectually brilliant people can solve complex problems, but struggle to recognize when they’re overwhelmed or when their boundaries are being crossed.In this episode, we explore these three types of intelligence, the differences you may see in your life if you gave them equal attention, and practical ways to start developing them. The goal isn't to be less intellectually capable, but to find balance and access all of the wisdom available to us. Because becoming your favorite you means becoming wise in every way a human can be.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

What’s something you believe is “just the way you are”? Maybe you tell yourself you're just not a morning person, not good with technology, not creative, or always running late. We tend to cling to these “fixed” identities, but what if I told you that none of them have to be permanent?In this episode, I discuss something that may shift how you perceive yourself and your potential: the power of flexibility. Your brain is capable of creating entirely new patterns, habits, and ways of being throughout your life. When you stop believing you’re “just the way you are,” you open yourself up to so many more possibilities.Flexibility doesn't mean throwing away all support or pretending you don't have limitations. It means staying curious about the version of yourself you're becoming while still honoring where you are right now.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

As with most women, my relationship with my body has been a complicated one. Until recently, I never truly felt comfortable in my own body. I have yo-yoed with my weight for most of my adult life, and I carried old beliefs about my body that started in childhood. In this episode, I share how my relationship with my body has evolved throughout my life, and the changes I have made in the past year that have completely shifted how I feel.Many of you are brilliant, high-achieving women who excel in your careers, show up powerfully in your families, and lead with confidence. Yet when it comes to your relationship with your body, you might feel stuck or defeated. But your body struggles don't negate your brilliance. They don't mean that you're weak or you're lacking willpower, but often that you're carrying around old beliefs about your body that you formed when you were younger.If I can change the way that I see and live in my body, you can too–and it's never too late to start. At the age of 52, I am finally able to love being in my body. Your body is your home for this one beautiful life, and it deserves your love, care, and partnership in becoming a favorite version of you.Click HERE to get the full show notes.

Many of the brilliant women I coach are high achievers in their careers, yet they often feel lost when it comes to their finances. Why is it that so many smart, capable women feel like they struggle with money?​Today, you’ll hear the amazing wisdom of my friend and coaching colleague, Keina Newell. Kenia is a financial coach who prioritizes meeting her clients where they are and helps them heal the shame they carry around money.Through her business, Wealth Over Now, she shows people that it doesn't have to be all or nothing when it comes to spending and saving. It’s possible to build wealth, save money, and pay off debt simultaneously. In this episode, Keina and I discuss the origins of money shame, the cultural narratives that hinder women's financial progress, and offer practical advice for building financial confidence.Keina Newell works with hardworking and passionate single women who need help creating clear financial goals so they can save more, pay off debt, and stress less about money. When Keina graduated from college, she was in $75,000 of student loan debt. Cue all the overwhelming feelings that flood in when you have a mountain of debt staring you in the face. She got out of overwhelm and found clarity when she started having weekly money dates with herself. Money dates were what helped her find ways to save money and pay off debt at the same time, buy her first home before the age of 30 and pay off $75,000 of student loan debt shortly thereafter. When she is not coaching, Keina is spending quality time with friends and family and encouraging herself to go to CrossFit!Click HERE to get the full show notes.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re being “too soft” on your kids, consider this episode your permission to stop worrying. Think about what you want your relationship with your kids to look like when they’re adults. Do you want them to call when they’re struggling, include you in their lives, and let you know their real selves? That starts now with how safe you make it for them to be human in your presence.Most of us have been told that we need to toughen our kids up for the real world–that if we don't challenge them, they'll be weak. But what if being soft is actually the strongest thing we can do for them? ​The world will challenge your kids plenty. When they can come to you with their failures without fear of judgment, and feel valued even when they’re imperfect, the refuge you provide is much more valuable than any “lesson” you could teach them with your disappointment. Today, we’ll talk about how your fierce love and support are more than enough to raise an amazing human.Click HERE to get the full show notes.