The Messy Middle: Why Choosing Yourself Feels Wrong (But Means You're Right on Time)

Описание: Here's what nobody tells women over 40: When you finally start choosing yourself after decades of choosing everyone else? It doesn't feel like freedom. It feels like you're breaking a rule you didn't even know you agreed to.


In this episode, I share how I wrote and published an entire romance novel before telling anyone — because choosing myself felt indulgent. We're talking about the messy middle: that disorienting stretch between who you've been and who you're becoming. If you've started making changes and you're feeling the guilt, the wobble, the "who do you think you are?" voice — this is for you.


https://joyshift.lovable.app/


This Episode Is For You If:

1. You've started choosing yourself and now you feel guilty about it
2. You keep hearing "who do you think you are?" in your head
3. The people around you seem uncomfortable with your changes
4. You're wondering if the discomfort means you're on the wrong path
5. You want to change but you're scared of losing yourself (or everyone else) in the process


Key Takeaways:

1. The messy middle isn't a sign you're on the wrong path — it's the only path
2. Your brain can't tell the difference between unfamiliar and unsafe
3. Grief and growth walk together — you can be excited AND sad at the same time
4. Their discomfort with your growth is not your responsibility to manage
5. You're not doing it wrong. You're doing it.


Five Things That Help:

1. Name the guilt out loud: "This feels wrong because it's unfamiliar, not because it IS wrong"
2. Create micro-choices that signal your new identity
3. Expect resistance — and don't interpret it
4. Borrow belief until yours grows
5. Celebrate the micro wins


Episode Timestamps:


0:00 — Why choosing yourself feels like breaking a rule


1:45 — The year I hid my writing from everyone


6:00 — Why the messy middle is supposed to feel uncomfortable


10:30 — Five things that actually help


16:00 — What's waiting on the other side


18:00 — Your practice for the week


https://joyshift.lovable.app/