The Road Back Home

Silly season is upon us & for many, this also means enduring the increased stress & anxiety that often accompanies the holidays. We discuss the common stress triggers & offer you our best tried & true ideas to help you navigate it all with more ease and joy. Whether your challenge is tricky family dynamics, towering expectations or managing your own energy, we discuss creative ways to reduce holiday pressures & develop your own self-care plan to support you through it all. If you need inspiration for staying centered & creating space for yourself amidst the chaos, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to help you enjoy a more peaceful holiday season..We'd love to hear from you, come on over to our ⁠SUBSTACK⁠, share your feedback & subscribe to receive episodes straight to your inbox.Music Credit: ⁠Holes⁠ by Bradley James Grace. .#holidaystress, #selfcare, #familydynamics, #boundaries, #copingstrategies, #anxiety

June Curtain joins Amanda for a conversation that will completely redefine how you think about kindness - and why you might have given up on it for all the wrong reasons.You've tried being kind. You've bent over backwards for people. You've given until it hurt. And what did you get? Taken advantage of. Unappreciated. Burnt out.So you decided kindness doesn't work. People don't deserve it. You're done.Plot twist: What you were doing probably wasn't kindness at all.Meet June Curtain:Founder of "Snámhaí Sásta" (The Happy Swimmers) in Spanish Point, ClareDaily sea swimmer who found healing in the ocean after losing her husband to suicideDaughter of renowned Johnny Burke (who gave Brendan Grace his first gig)A woman who embodies kindness so completely, it's infectiousWhy Kindness Matters: "Nobody escapes this life without walking a step in pain. Nobody."We don't wear badges announcing our struggles. You pass hundreds of people daily who are barely holding it together. Your kindness might be the only softness they encounter all day.Follow Snámhaí Sásta on Instagram.

"I know I should leave this WhatsApp group because it's draining me, but what if they think I'm a terrible person?"Sound familiar? Amanda breaks down the exhausting pattern that's probably running your life without you realising it.You stay in conversations that drain you because you don't want to seem rude. You keep saying yes when you mean no. You override your instincts because you're terrified of disappointing someone.Here's the uncomfortable truth: You've been programmed to believe other people's comfort matters more than your own integrity.Want to go deeper? Download the free guide "5 Signs You're Unconsciously Choosing Chaos Over Serenity" HEREThis pattern is just one of the five - and they're all connected.

After 16 years of iterations, false starts, and "almost there" moments, Amanda finally reveals what's been trying to be born through her all along.You know that feeling when you've been trying to solve the same problems for years? Reading every self-help book, listening to every podcast, trying every method, but nothing sticks?Here's what no one tells you: Information isn't transformation.In this deeply personal episode, Amanda traces the journey from her first business attempt in 2009 (Girlwise - helping 8-13 year old girls) all the way to today's revelation. Spoiler alert: It was always the same thing trying to emerge.The game-changing moment: A client says "I wish I was an alcoholic" and suddenly everything clicks.Recovery wisdom works for EVERYONEYou don't need to qualify for transformationThe principles that can transform ANY lifeAmanda breaks down how to transform draining patterns without abandoning who you are. You're not giving up caring - you're learning to care WITHOUT depleting yourself.Real-life proof it works: The €35 lipstick that got crushed under her car wheel. Old Amanda would have lost her sh*t. New Amanda shows up a different way. This episode is for you if... You're tired of being at the mercy of your emotions and circumstancesYou want to respond to life instead of constantly reactingYou're ready to admit your way isn't working and you need something betterYou don't want to wait until everything falls apart to access transformationBig announcement: The Road Back Home Podcast is becoming The Serenity Project to align with this new offering.Download the FREE guide "5 Signs You're Unconsciously Choosing Chaos Over Serenity" at www.theserenityproject.ie

School taught you that creativity, individuality and questioning authority were problems to be solved. But in today's world? Those are the exact skills that make you unstoppable.Laura Canavan Hayes joins Amanda for a raw conversation about everything the education system got wrong - and how to reclaim what they tried to strip away.In this deeply personal episode, Amanda and Laura unpack:What uniforms are actually about The rebellion that led Laura from banking to acting (via the dole queue)How Amanda's dad's "scrappiness" became her entrepreneurial superpowerThe moment Laura realised she could "be many things" instead of picking one laneLaura's journey: From painting maintenance sheds in rebellion to walking away from a six-figure banking job to pursue acting and why a particularly demoralising "failure" was actually perfect preparation.Amanda's realization: At almost 50, she's finally learning what it actually means to "apply herself" The game-changer: What if everything you were told to suppress to "survive" in the world is exactly what you need to thrive?The permission slip you've been waiting for: You can be many things. It's never too late to pivot, create, or claim your space in the world exactly as you are. Connect with Laura & claim her free e-book 'Six tips for a Healthy Home' HERE. LAURA'S INSTAGRAMBIOWEAVER INSTAGRAMMentions: The Artist's WayMarian Williamson Quote from her book 'A Return To Love' .Subscribe on⁠⁠ ⁠SUBSTACK⁠ for BONUS tools & resources..Music Credit:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Holes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ By Bradley James Grace