If you've ever felt lighter in your life after removing someone from it — this episode explains why.

Barb & Michelle get real about the 5 signals that it might be time to cut someone out of your life — and why knowing the signals is only half the battle. This episode covers the guilt, the fantasy that people will change, the sunk cost of long relationships, and how to actually do it in a way that doesn't consume the next five years of your life.

Barb speaks from experience — including her own 33-year untangling — and Michelle brings the practical, modern perspective on why even empathetic, self-aware people stay in relationships that cost them everything. This is the episode for anyone who already knows what they need to do but can't seem to let themselves do it.

What You'll Learn:

• The 5 specific signals that a relationship is costing you more than it's giving
• Why the apology is often the manipulation — not the resolution
• How to tell the difference between sunk cost and real love
• Why being "the bigger person" is sometimes just being controlled
• How to release someone from your life without needing to hate them first

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There are conversations every parent knows they should have — and most of them never do. In this episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, mother and daughter go deep on the exact things they wish someone had said to them before life had to teach them the hard way.

From family alcoholism surfacing after a 15-year-old's first drunken night, to growing up with two alcoholic parents and never once hearing 'I love you' — Barb and Michelle trace how silence passes down through generations, and what it actually takes to break that chain. This one is for every parent afraid to say the hard thing, and every adult child who's still waiting to hear it.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why 'protecting' your kids from hard truths usually means protecting yourself from discomfort

- How to create a safe space so your child actually comes to you — without fishing or manipulating

- The HALT tool (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) and how to make it a natural part of family life

- What to do when you've already said something that closed your child off — and how to repair it

- Why you don't need the perfect moment — and how to let hard conversations unfold naturally

From psychiatrist and author M. Scott Peck's famous opening line in The Road Less Traveled: "Life is difficult." Rather than seeing this as pessimistic, Barb taught Michelle that accepting life's challenges is one of the greatest pathways to peace, resilience, and emotional freedom.

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult ―once we truly understand and accept it― then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

- M. Scott Peck

Don't wait for the sit-down talk. The moment is already here.

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Comedian Jessi Cruickshank joins Barb and Michelle backstage at Lynn University for a raw, funny, and unexpectedly emotional conversation about motherhood, performance, anxiety, and becoming the women their mothers raised them to be.

From professional perfectionism to internet criticism, the conversation moves from hilarious behind-the-scenes moments into deeper reflections on identity, mindfulness, and the pressure women carry in public and private life. Jessi opens up about the comment she never forgot, while Barb and Michelle unpack what they inherited — and what they had to unlearn.

In this episode:

• Why perfectionism quietly controls so many women

• The emotional cost of always performing “fine”

• How humor and mindfulness actually serve the same purpose

• The parenting lessons they resisted most

• Why confidence is usually built through embarrassment

Learn how to stop performing perfection and start connecting honestly.

Connect with Jessi:

Follow her on Instagram & Facebook: @jessicruickshank

Follow her on TikTok: @jessicruickshanktok

Check out her Evening Club Tour: jessicruickshank.com/tour

Listen to her podcast: https://tr.ee/u6WMhIAnoi

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What happens after the book tour ends, the championship is won, and the calendar goes blank? Michelle opens up about the unexpected emptiness she felt after her biggest accomplishment, and Barb reveals something she has never experienced: a void. This mother-daughter conversation uncovers why success can feel like getting fired, what it means to live like you are running out of time, and why the quiet after the loud season might be the most important chapter of all.

This episode dives into the generational divide between pushing through and pausing, the difference between rest and avoidance, and how two very different people navigate the same transition. Whether you just graduated, finished a big project, ended a season, or closed a chapter you poured everything into, this conversation will help you understand why the void is not a problem to fix but a space to fill on your own terms.

What you'll take away:

• Why achieving your biggest goal can feel like getting fired overnight
• The generational difference between 'keep moving' and 'feel your feelings' after a big moment
• How Barb's micro-transitions throughout the day prevent her from ever hitting empty
• The connection between running out of time, grief, and never allowing a void
• How to recognize when sitting in the void becomes productive reflection vs. staying stuck

Don't let the quiet after the loud season convince you that the best part is over. Learn how to make the space count.

💬 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.

🎙️ Hosted by:

• https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
• https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community⬇️

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/

Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/

🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

0:00 — Intro: Michelle's post-book-tour void

0:58 — Welcome to Life Happens with Barb and Michelle

1:14 — It's bigger than a book: any major milestone

1:45 — Indiana football national championship & the "now what?"

2:44 — Barb's reaction: the joy of the unexpected

3:51 — Michelle's book journey and the feeling of the drop-off

7:39 — Barb never felt a void — a generational contrast

14:35 — What is rest? Defining it differently for everyone

21:32 — Vulnerable question: does living like you're running out of time come from grief?

24:28 — How will you know when you've done what you came here to do?

38:32 — Barb's Italy trip: sometimes the transition is fast

41:01 — Closing reflections & takeaways

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Mean people are everywhere right now and the data confirms it. In this episode, Barb and Michelle unpack why cruelty seems to be escalating, breaking down the different types of mean people we all encounter and what actually drives their behavior. Barb shares a raw, personal story about being screamed at in a parking lot while her mother was dying in hospice, and what that moment taught her about judgment, control, and the stories we never see.

This conversation goes deep into narcissism, spiritual bypassing, the difference between empathy and giving someone a pass, and how to stop carrying what was never yours in the first place. Whether you are dealing with a cruel stranger, a toxic family member, or your own tendency to absorb other people's behavior, this episode gives you a practical framework for protecting your peace without losing your compassion.

What you'll take away:

• Why the shift from "thinking it" to "saying it" is fueling a cruelty epidemic
• The grocery store moment that reveals how we all judge without knowing someone's story
• How to shift from asking "why are they like this" to "what can I do right now"
• What a real narcissist looks like and why they genuinely cannot change
• The practical difference between forgiving someone and simply being done with them

Don't let someone else's cruelty become the story you carry. Learn how to set it down.

💬 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! 💕

🎙️ Hosted by:

https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/

https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community ⬇️

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/

Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/

🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

✨ Available Now✨ Order Dear Friend to receive daily doses of clarity, hope, and heartfelt encouragement.💌 https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

📘 Go Deeper with Dear Friend

If this episode resonated with you, you may also love Michelle’s USA TODAY bestselling book, Dear Friend, a daily reflection companion designed to help you reconnect with your inner voice, honor your needs, and find clarity and strength one day at a time.

Because resilience doesn’t begin with changing your circumstances.

It begins with strengthening your relationship with yourself.

And that may be the most important relationship you’ll ever build.

👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt

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You've read the books. You've tried the meditation. You've done the journaling, the breathwork, the therapy. So why do you still feel stuck?

In this episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, master well-being educator Devi Brown joins the conversation for one of the most honest discussions about healing we've ever had. Devi spent years teaching wellness to athletes, executives, and thousands of students through her Deeply Well podcast and her work at Chopra Global. Then her own life fell apart... and she discovered that everything she'd been teaching wasn't enough to save her.

What she built from that breaking point became her book Living in Wisdom... a completely different approach to healing that doesn't start with fixing yourself. It starts with being brave enough to actually meet yourself. This conversation goes beyond surface-level wellness and into the real, messy, uncomfortable process of becoming whole.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why "doing the work" can still leave you stuck... and what's actually missing

- The difference between surface-level wellness and true well-being

- What "Complex Lived Experience" means and why it changes how you think about your pain

- Why Devi's 8-step healing process starts with grief, not gratitude

- What it looks like to live in wisdom on an ordinary Tuesday... not just during a retreat

If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and still not feeling better... this episode is going to change how you think about the entire journey. Devi's book Living in Wisdom is available now in paperback (as of TODAY).

📍0:00 Introduction & Wellness Industry Overview

1:11 Welcoming Devi Brown

2:11 Healer Burnout & Passing the Torch

10:17 Creators, Art & Living for the Work

17:31 Music, Consciousness & Cultural Roots

18:13 Bridging Generations & Staying Curious

26:10 Navigating Uncertainty & The Shift from Hope to Faith

33:36 Freedom After Divorce

39:20 Surface Wellness vs. Real Healing

40:47 The Wellness Industrial Complex

59:38 Truth Telling & The Personal Healing Path

1:05:38 Closing Reflections & Where to Find Devi

Connect: @DeviBrown @DeeplyWellPodcast

Read: "Living in Wisdom" DeviBrown.com Now Available!

Substack: https://substack.com/@devibrown

The Deeply Well Podcast is available on:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3n5hEIV…

Youtube: @devibrownwell-being

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