Have you ever been somewhere where everyone was welcoming, everyone was perfectly nice, and yet you still didn't quite feel like you belonged?

It's an interesting thing, isn't it? Because being accepted and actually feeling like you can be yourself aren't always the same thing.

That's something Urmi Hossain and I found ourselves talking about.

Urmi grew up in Italy with Bangladeshi parents and now lives in Montreal. So when someone asks her, "Where are you from?" the answer isn't quite as simple as people might expect.

And that's part of what makes her story so interesting. She's spent much of her life navigating different cultures, expectations, and other people's ideas of who she is, while figuring out what all of those pieces mean to her.

We talked about how easy it can be to get really good at fitting in. You learn to read the room, adjust, and sometimes keep certain parts of yourself a little quieter. And you might not even realize you're doing it.

But we also talked about what happens when you begin making room for all of who you are.

For Urmi, that includes her cultural roots, her career in finance, her writing and creative work, and the woman she's continued to become along the way.

What stayed with me is that belonging doesn't necessarily mean finding the right place or the right people to accept you. Sometimes it starts with allowing yourself to be all the different parts of who you are.

If you've ever felt like you fit in but still weren't quite being yourself, I think there's something in this conversation you'll recognize.

Urmi Hossain is a Canada-based author, speaker, podcast host, and finance professional. She is the author of Discovering Your Identity: A Rebirth from Interracial Struggle and hosts Stories Beyond Borders. Her work explores identity and women's empowerment, and she serves as Co-Chair of the Women in Leadership Montreal Chapter.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/urmihossain/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urmamio/

• Stories Beyond Borders: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-beyond-borders/id1831413373

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@urmihossain

• Book and more: https://linktr.ee/urmihossain

• Website: https://www.stephaniedinozzicoaching.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanie_dinozzi/

• Beyond Fine: https://www.instagram.com/beyondfinepod/

ABOUT URMICONNECT WITH URMICONNECT WITH STEPHANIE / BEYOND FINE

I Listened. I Learned. Now What?

One year ago, I sat down and hit record on Beyond Fine for the very first time, not fully knowing what to expect.

My curiosity led me into deeper conversations with women I thought I knew—and introduced me to so many more. And somewhere along the way, those conversations started connecting dots I hadn’t even realized were there.

Because “I’m fine” is often true.

It’s just not always the whole truth.

Season One became a year of noticing what can sit underneath the capable exterior.

• What happens when we get so caught up in the day-to-day of life that we stop hearing ourselves?
• When something feels off, but we just can’t put our finger on it.

• When the voice inside us gets quieter and quieter beneath everybody else’s needs, opinions, schedules and noise.

And then we slow down long enough to hear it again.

That’s where things get interesting.

Because once you hear yourself—really hear yourself—you start noticing what’s been bothering you. What doesn’t fit anymore. What you want. What you might choose differently.

And then comes the harder question:

Now what?

What do you do with what you know when your choices don’t happen in a vacuum? When there are kids, relationships, work, friendships, responsibilities—and people you genuinely love involved?

What happens when you can be grateful for your life and still want something to change?

In this Season One finale, I’m looking back at what a year of listening taught me, the conversations that stayed with me, and the question that is taking Beyond Fine into its next chapter.

Season One was about listening and learning.

Season Two is about what happens when you start doing something with what you heard.

If you’ve ever thought, “Okay… I know something needs to change. I just don’t know what to do with that yet,” this episode is for you.

You can be capable, competent, the person everyone counts on—and still have a private story that says you’re too much, not enough, difficult, disorganized, or somehow doing life wrong.

Monica Wells and I talk about what happens when the version of you everyone else sees doesn’t quite match what it feels like to be you.

We get into the workarounds nobody sees, the words and judgments that can stick for years, and what it’s like to keep adapting without necessarily understanding what you’re adapting to. We talk about motherhood, the instinct to control or fix the people we love, and how hard it can be to let go when helping has become part of how you show love.

And underneath all of it is a bigger question: what changes when you stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start getting curious about yourself instead?

Sometimes the shift isn’t about becoming someone different. It’s finally seeing yourself—and the story you’ve been carrying—with more clarity.

Something to think about:
“What have I been believing about myself that might not actually be true?”

I had a conversation with a friend recently that I could not stop thinking about.

Not because something was wrong. Actually, almost the opposite.

She loves the life she’s built. She’s grateful for it. She’s capable. And she can handle a lot.

That was the part that got me.

Because sometimes the question isn’t, Can I handle this?

Of course you can.

Maybe the more interesting question is what happens when you become so good at being the one who can.

In this solo episode, I’m talking about the quiet cost of being the capable one—and why “fine” can be a lot more complicated than it sounds.

If you’re usually the one who figures it out, you may know exactly why this conversation stayed with me.

What happens when the life you’ve built is a good one—but there are still parts of you waiting for a little more room?

Doreen Guarneri is the owner of The Look Salon & Spa, a product creator, wife, mother, grandmother, artist, horse girl, golfer—and, as this conversation quickly reveals, a woman with a lot of layers.

We talk about what happens to those layers while we’re raising children, building careers and businesses, caring for people, and simply doing what needs to be done. They don’t necessarily disappear. Sometimes they just move farther out of view.

For Doreen, those pieces show up in stories about riding horses through Cold Spring Harbor as a girl, artwork her own children didn’t know she had created, returning to golf and surprising everyone—including herself—and the career she knew she wanted from the time she was little.

We also talk about the deeper work behind The Look: not simply helping someone look different, but creating a place where people can connect, exhale and walk out feeling a little better than when they came in.

But the heart of this conversation comes back to something very simple: wanting to live. Wanting to have fun. Wanting to make room for the pieces of yourself that are still there. Doreen talks about recognizing those parts again and choosing to pay attention to them while she has the opportunity.

This isn’t a conversation about being unhappy with the life you built. It isn’t about throwing everything away or becoming someone new.

It’s about noticing what is still alive in you—and giving it some room.

Doreen’s invitation to the woman listening is simple: get quiet for a minute. Remember the things you once loved. Notice what comes back to you. It might be something you want to return to, something you want to share, or even something you have always wanted to try.

And maybe the question is simply: What do I want to make room for now?

Come as you are. Leave feeling more like yourself.

For more information on The Look Spa & Salon : Salon | The Look Spa Salon | United States

What happens when one missed deadline, unanswered message, changed plan, or difficult conversation becomes evidence about who you are?

In my last conversation with Sarah, we talked about rhythm—and the reality that life will interrupt it. The deeper question is not whether you will drift from the plan. It is what you decide that moment means about you when you do.

In this solo episode, I explore the difference between what actually happened and the story we immediately attach to it. I share what changed when I stopped telling myself, “I failed to record,” and recognized the more honest truth: I made a choice, and then I returned.

You’ll hear:

• why one moment can quickly become a judgment about your identity
• how to separate facts from assumptions and old interpretations
• why perfect execution cannot be the measure of your worth
• how self-trust grows through your willingness to return
• three questions that help you pause, choose again, and take one grounded next step

Because self-trust is not built by never drifting.

It is built by believing you can always find your way back.

This episode also introduces the thread behind my upcoming conversation with Doreen: the artist, athlete, dreamer, and curious woman whose different layers did not disappear when life became full—they simply shifted out of view.

Beyond Fine creates spaces where women can hear themselves again.

Come as you are. Leave feeling more like yourself.

Follow the podcast and share this episode with someone who may be using one moment as evidence against herself.

Website: beyondfinepod.com
Instagram: @beyondfinepod

What if creativity isn’t about being artistic—but about hearing yourself more clearly?

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Sarah Kelly Noderer, visionary artist, educator, and founder of Heartspace Gallery & Studio in Cold Spring Harbor, New York.

Sarah shares how grief, motherhood, and years of holding space for other people slowly pulled her away from her own creativity—and how finding her way back to art helped her reconnect with herself.

Together, they explore intuitive art, self-trust, inner knowing, and what happens when we stop trying to create, live, or choose in ways that look right to everyone else.

You’ll also hear:

• Why creativity has nothing to do with being “artistic”

• How a leap of faith led Sarah to open Heartspace

• Why feeling drained can be a sign that something no longer fits

• How even a few quiet minutes can help you hear what you already know

• The surprising story of an intuitive image, two grandchildren, and two pink flamingos

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt disconnected from herself, unsure what comes next, or tired of forcing her way forward.

Sometimes the spaces that change us don’t look like healing spaces at first. Sometimes they look like an art class, a quiet morning, a studio, or a conversation that helps you remember what it feels like to be you.

Connect with Sarah and Heartspace

Visit Heartspace Gallery & Studio

Follow Heartspace on Instagram

Connect with Beyond Fine

Follow @beyondfinepod and share this episode with someone who may need a little more space to hear herself again.

Have you ever started something because it felt right — before you knew what it would become?

In this episode of Beyond Fine: The Other “F” Word, Stephanie sits down with Janelle Brooke, owner of Coastal Creative Studio & Events, to talk about community, connection, creative beginnings, friendship, and what happens when we follow something before we can fully explain it.

Sometimes the most meaningful things do not begin with a perfect plan. They begin with a conversation, a simple yes, and the feeling that something matters.

This is a conversation about letting something unfold, trusting the next right step, and remembering that clarity often comes after we begin — not before.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Coastal Creative Studios began• Why the space became more than an office• Taking a leap before you feel ready• Wedding morning prep and why space matters• Creativity, motherhood, business, and wearing many hats• Faith, loss, and finding community• Why rhythm may matter more than balance• Building your own roadmap when no one hands you one

Learn more about Coastal Creative Studios
Follow Coastal Creative Studios: @coastalcreative.studios
Follow Janelle :@janellebrookephotography

Follow Beyond Fine: @beyondfinepod

If you know someone who is building something, starting over, or trying to trust the next step, share it with them.