Watch the podcast, above, or listen below. 

This week, I am joined again by my friend and colleague Sarah Baillie, N.D. to talk about the practical steps women can take to avoid hitting an emotional rock bottom in midlife. Research suggests that most people are at their unhappiest in their forties, but that this continues to improve as they age.

Sarah and I believe there are ways to speed that process up!

As more of our clients come to us looking for support in pro-actively making their midlife easier and happier, we have identified five key areas women can address to help create space for themselves during the time in their life when their energy and happiness are statistically at their lowest. 

Whether you’re preparing to head into the bottom of the u-curve of happiness, or if you’re already there, these suggestions can help you and the people around you create more peace and joy in your life.

Topics include how to cut back on your to-do list,...

 Watch the podcast, above, or listen below. 

Today I talk with Jay Fields, an educator, coach, and author who has taught the principles of embodied social and emotional intelligence to individuals and organizations for twenty years.

If you’ve ever wondered how to get better at sitting with your emotions, instead of drinking, eating, or scrolling to escape them, Jay’s got the practical three-step solution.

We discuss the importance of feeling your emotions instead of “fixing” them, and how learning to do this using Jay’s approach allows us to respond instead of react, which in turn leads to deeper, more meaningful connections and personal relationships.

Topics include:

- how people-pleasing arises from a common childhood blueprint (“never make anyone else feel uncomfortable”)

- how trying to “fix” an emotion instead feeling and accepting it can lead to overwhelm and burnout

-...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

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Today’s conversation around the value of meaningful female friendships in midlife is especially poignant for me and my co-host Sarah as colleagues who have also become very good friends over the course of the last few years.

We discuss how picture-perfect social media feeds can often lead to comparison and feelings of inadequacy, and how that can keep women from reaching out when they need more connection. 

But with midlife there’s a sense of coming home to oneself, and with that, a level of honesty that can make women finally feel they can admit when things are imperfect. Being able to build these deeper, more vulnerable friendships nurtures our energy.

Midlife is also a time when many women feel they now also have time for themselves, and these high-value friendships that could have been put on the back burner while they were prioritizing their family’s growth. 

If you have a story...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Michael Amster, M.D., is the co-author (with Jake Eagle, LPC) of The Power of Awe. Dr. Amster is a pain management specialist and awe researcher who teaches at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. He’s also a long-time meditator and yoga instructor. He joins host me to share what he and Jake discovered a few years ago about the amazing power of “micro-dosing awe” and how the simple practice they teach can impact almost every area of your physical, mental, and emotional health.

In this episode, Dr. Amster defines “awe” and distinguishes it from other emotions like gratitude, discusses the three types of awe and how we know we’re experiencing them, and shares the quick 5 to 15-second A.W.E. Method that he developed with Jake Eagle at the start of the global pandemic. 

He goes on to explain the incredible results their formal awe research studies have generated and the science around...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

In episode 101, I talk to Mary Byers, an author, speaker, and coach who helps organizations and individuals set priorities and develop winning focus. Mary shares her experience with her “One Word Year” experiment. She has let one word guide her each year for the last decade, and she explains how that’s helped her to concentrate on what’s most important, simplify her focus, and improve her life.

Mary and I discuss the power of this practice and Mary provides guidance on how to pick a word, how to let it guide you, and when to abandon it. I explain the impact of feelings-based goals v. behaviour-based goals and the importance of flexibility when it comes to permanently changing habits and thinking. I also share my “one word” for the new year and how it came to me after I became an empty nester earlier this fall.

The “One Word Year” is a wonderful alternative to making a laundry list...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Karen Furneaux is a 3-time Olympian, 2-time World Champion, and the winner of 9 medals at the World Championships over her 20-year professional sprint kayaking career. Karen is now a published author, a broadcast analyst with CBC, and a professional speaker. 

I talk to Karen about the lessons she learned through her lifelong dedication to her sport, and how she’s using that learning to motivate others as a speaker and stay resilient after retiring from competitive kayaking.

We discuss how to set meaningful and achievable goals, the connection between wellness, mindset, and performance, the role of alcohol in wellness (including a funny anecdote about the Beijing Olympics), and how to build resilience and avoid burnout.

FREE REWIND 5-Day Drink Less Challenge: www.wendymccallum.com/challenge

More about Karen: www.ipromiseperformance.com

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Ladies and GENTLEMAN: We have our first official male guest on the Bite-Sized Balance Podcast!

Chase Chewning is a health coach and host of the popular wellness podcast Ever Forward Radio, and he’s also no stranger to burnout. Chase joins me to share his personal story of multiple burnouts & recovery and what he’s learned along the way. 

Chase and I talk about the differences between men and women’s burnout, the warning signs, the importance of self-care for men (and what that word really means), and how to support someone you care about who is nearing or in burnout.

Got a guy in your life you love (partner, brother, dad, or son) with a lot on his plate? This is a very timely topic given the increase in burnout rates during the recent pandemic, so don’t skip this one!

Find out more about Chase here: https://chasechewning.com/

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Guest Ally Garber, successful career woman, mom of two, and lover of running, shares her personal story of mental health challenges, alcohol dependence, and recovery -- with honesty, insight, and a great sense of humour.

Ally and I discover we have a lot in common in terms of our shared stories, including the decision to stop drinking during the last year of a parent’s terminal illness.

This easy conversation includes a new take on “mommy wine culture”, a discussion of the pitfalls of moderation, advice for sober-curious “gray-area drinkers”, and the unexpected joys of becoming alcohol-free.

Want to start exploring your relationship with alcohol? Maybe drink a little less? No need to commit to anything, start with my FREE 3 video series, here: www.wendymccallum.com/myths

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

A simple practice of mindfulness can go a LONG way to preventing the signs and symptoms of burnout.

In this episode, I explain five proven ways a simple meditation, gratitude &/or mindful breathing practice can help to simplify your life, free up time for self-care and reduce your stress in the process.

Tune in to this short episode for some powerful motivation to start slowing down and incorporating some more mindful moments in your day!

For more tips and strategies, follow me on Instagram or Facebook @wendymccallumcoach. 

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

There's also a new Bite-Sized Balance Episode today, and it's a really special one. 

My sister Meg and I share our recent experiences in the “sandwich”- raising a herd of teens while caring for a dying parent.

The last few years of our Dad’s degenerative condition included a medi-vac flight home from Florida, a grueling touch-and-go 4-month hospital stay, a year of around-the-clock in-home care, and our Dad's eventual passing two years ago. 

We share our most important lessons learned around navigating the care system, supporting each other and our mom, protecting our own wellness and fulfilling our many other responsibilities as parents and business owners in the process.

While there were lots of tough moments in those few years for our family, there were also so many unexpected gifts, including lots of very funny stories, many of which we share in this episode. 

...