233 - Redefining Self-Love: Loving Yourself Enough to do Hard Things | Life Happens Podcast
Life Happens with Barb & MichelleShow Notes
Self-love isn’t always soft, easy, or comfortable—sometimes it means giving yourself the tough love you’ve avoided and finally doing the hard things. Growth happens in the moments we choose courage over comfort. 💫 This week on Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re answering your questions about self-love and how to build a strong foundation within. With envy, self-doubt, comparison, and self-judgment at an all-time high, this conversation offers a gentle, grounded guide for breaking through the noise and cultivating real confidence. 💬 Barb opens up about the power of positive self-talk and how it helped her heal from perfectionism and years of self-doubt. 💬 Michelle shares her personal experience with envy and how understanding the root of it transformed her relationship with herself. ✨ Episode Highlights • Cultivating Real Self-Love: How to act with compassion even when your mind is filled with negative thoughts. • Releasing Tough Love Habits: Identifying when you’re bypassing your emotions and learning to honour your true self-love language. • From Envy to Self-Satisfaction: Recognizing comparison, interrupting the negative narrative, and rewriting your internal dialogue. • Navigating Singleness: It’s okay to feel disappointment—while still choosing joy, connection, and fulfillment in your life today. Remember: You don’t need to earn your self-love. There is nothing you must prove or achieve to be worthy of kindness, compassion, and care. 🌸
USA TODAY and INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 📖 Michelle’s new book Dear Friend is out now! A daily companion with 365 reflections to help you cultivate self-love, clarity, and inner peace. 👉 Order your copy here: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg 💛 Episode Topics:
Releasing self-doubt and constant self-criticism
Cultivating kinder, more loving self-talk
Letting go of judgment, comparison, and the urge to “fix” yourself
Finding genuine satisfaction and love for your life as it is
Navigating singleness with confidence and self-worth
💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one. 📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕 NEW MINDFULNESS MUG 💕 PMPL x Uncommon Goods This isn’t just a mug—it’s a daily pause, a moment to breathe, and a gentle reminder to come back home to yourself. Each sip becomes a mindful reset, with year-round reflections delivered straight to your mug. Make self-care simple and meaningful. Shop your mug here: https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/daily-mindfulness-interactive-qr-mug 🎙️ Host by:
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More from Life Happens with Barb & Michelle
“It’s not about you needing to be fixed. It’s about you needing to understand that you already are worthy.” - Barb Self-love, toxic relationships, and feeling overwhelmed: these are just a few of the topics in this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, where the mother-daughter duo are back with one of their favorite formats, a Q&A from their community. Barb shares how she gets through difficult family gatherings, from volunteering for the grocery run to taking the grandkids out for ice cream. Michelle reflects on Scott Peck’s line that life is difficult, and how once you accept that, it can take the edge off when someone rubs you the wrong way. They then get into how to build self-love and how to keep it even when it feels like life is knocking you down.
"I'm okay with people having their opinions … but I'm not okay with them saying it's the only way." – Barb
"People are walking around asking, 'Is it okay if I'm just me?'" – Cory Allen
In today’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by writer, speaker, and advocate Libby Ward, author of Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself. In a deeply moving and vulnerable conversation, we talk about the realities of modern motherhood, including the mental load, overwhelm, the pressure to do it all, and what it takes to let go of perfection. Together, Libby, Barb, and Michelle explore the hidden roots of rage, overstimulation, and people-pleasing, unpacking how childhood trauma and hypervigilance make setting simple boundaries feel like a matter of life or death. Libby shares her candid "Granola Bar" story, a pivotal moment of maternal rage that forces her to confront her limits and explains why genuine repair and self-compassion are the true keys to breaking generational cycles. From validating our children's experiences to unlearning the myth of the "perfect mother," this episode offers an honest, hopeful blueprint for reconnecting with your authentic self.
On this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by Kelly Rizzo, host of the podcast Comfort Food and widow of beloved comedian Bob Saget. In this vulnerable conversation about grief and loss, Kelly shares the deep love she had for Bob, the heartbreak that followed his death in 2022, and how she continues to manage her relationship with grief and the trauma she experienced processing such a loss in the public eye. Kelly also shares her personal experience of finding love again after loss, how she knew she was ready to date again, and also talks of her personal experience of choosing to live child-free. We felt such a beautiful connection with Kelly in this episode and we hope you love it as much as we do! Episode Highlights: Grief after sudden loss while grieving in the public eye The trauma of grief, PTSD, and the blessing of sharing your story to help others Finding love again and the importance of not settling in relationships Choosing a child-free life and breaking free from societal expectations