Life on the B Side

Episode 25: It’s a Small World Charlie Brown, and it keeps getting smaller.

Is it just me, or does life start to feel... compact as we get older? Not in a minimalist, Zen kind of way — more like, “When did my idea of a big night out become a garden centre café and a browse in B&M?”
As the world quietly shrinks — fewer last-minute adventures, more “meh, it’s too far” — I’m wondering: am I being charmed into becoming a local lifer? Or is there a chance that the next phase of life might actually expand my world again? Maybe I’m ready to rediscover the city (and myself) — with less FOMO and more comfy shoes.

Episode 24: Success on the B Side - Part 2: Beware the (W)inner Child

It’s really easy to let encouraging and supporting your child to reach their potential turn into living through them and their achievements. In doing so you can end up claiming victory for yourself while your child is left pursuing a dream that is no longer theirs.
But don’t panic! It’s never too late to let that inner child out to play…

Episode 23: Success on the B Side - Part One: Comparison is the Thief of Joy

You don’t get to this age without the odd look around to see how successful you are in comparison to others.
But wait!
Should we really be measuring our life’s success in monetary value and volume of possessions?
Even if you think you should have been more ‘successful’ in life by now (whatever that means), there is still plenty of time for some personal bests…

Episode 22: Things About Being an Adult That Are Not Fun or Sexy - PART ONE

PART ONE: Getting Your Timing Right
From talking to teenagers, sliding doors moments and bank robberies. Adulting is all about timing. And that’s not sexy. Or fun.
 

Episode 21: You are here. But where are you going? GCSEs, crazy work experiences and the continuous learning journey…

While this episode started off under the guise of being about GCSEs and real-life work experience, it ended up using the phrase ‘faecal chatter’ more than once.
All I can do is apologise for this one.

Episode 20: C*ke Sniffing Exes, Mouldy Holiday Cottages & Business Pursuits: The Sunk Cost Fallacy at (almost) 50

We all chase a dream – the dream life, the dream bod, the dream relationship, the dream bank balance! And in pursuit of these goals, we invest HEAVILY. We invest our money, our energy and our time. But sometimes the goal shifts or it just gets trickier to attain, and the amount we have already invested becomes a dead weight, anchoring us to the spot, to the dream.
“If you stop now you’ll have lost all that time / money / energy…”
News flash! It’s already gone regardless of whether you hit your target. The two occasions I called time on my investment were ultimately the most liberating and saved me money and my sanity. You gotta know when enough is enough…

Episode 19: Factory Reset Friends: What they are and why we all need one

There’s a saying - "What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while". But sometimes, what you do once in a while can have a profound effect on what you do every day.
It can be hard to reset yourself but if you’re lucky enough, you might have a Factory Reset Friend who comes along and pushes the right buttons to get you back to what was normal before normal was this.
Make sense? It will. 

Episode 18: Moments of Disconnect: Uncertainty, going back to bed and the root cause of a lack of purpose

Moments of disconnect happen to everyone, right?
Join Maria as she takes on a little exercise to identify why she can’t create a vision for her life and what the biggest barrier to discovering her purpose is.
The 5 why’s exercise: https://www.oakland.edu/Assets/upload/docs/Pawley/Lean-Enrichment-Activities/LEA---5-Whys.pdf
Good ol’ Bob Proctor for a bit of woo woo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=3w4OIypyneo&t=0s

Episode 17: Midlife: Crisis or Rebrand? Some dos and don'ts for switching it up. And how to avoid the Meghan Markle scenario.

Once the journey into midlife gets underway, one town you might visit is Crisis-ville. It’s situated somewhere near Parent Village and Invisibility Central.
Navigating your way through Crisis-ville isn’t as tricky as you might think though.
Just remember, that YOU are your map. And if you change yourself entirely en route, you are 100% bound to get lost.

Episode 16: Five Subtle Signs You’re Living Life on the B Side.

Show name change! Why?
Because I refuse to talk to myself, or a wall.
Because actually, this is just Life on B Side.
And some B sides have been known to be better than the A sides.
Not sure if you’re on the B Side? Well, if you know what a B Side is then tag, you’re it.
But just in case, here’s 5 subtle clues to help you recognise your B Side status.
You’re welcome :)