In this short, solo episode I unpack one of my favourite quotes by Anaïs Nin — a line that has stuck with me since the first time I heard it and has continued to evolve with me ever since.

“We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.”

We talk about how this actually shows up in real life — the days when everything and everyone feels irritating, versus the days where nothing seems to touch you. Why the same situation can feel wildly different depending on what’s happening inside you, and how your beliefs, moods, memories and blind spots quietly filter your entire experience of the world.

This isn’t about blame or pretending life is always fine. It’s about noticing what keeps repeating, what’s triggering you, and asking better questions instead of outsourcing responsibility to the moon, other people, or bad timing.

A gentle but uncomfortable invitation to look at your filters — and what they might be asking you to pay attention to.

This conversation is for two kinds of people:

The ones who love a little woo-woo deep dive but quietly use it to avoid reality aaaand the ones who don’t believe in any of it — astrology, energy, manifestation — and honestly just think it’s all a bit much.

In this episode, I’m joined by Linda Willow Roberts for a grounded, practical conversation about how tools like astrology, Human Design, Lunar cycles and energy work are meant to be used — not as answers, not as excuses, and not as something to outsource your thinking to.

We use the lead-up to Lunar New Year and the Fire Horse year as a real example of this:

how collective narratives, energetic cycles, and “this is what this year means” language can either become insight… or a very neat way to avoid taking responsibility for your own choices.

We talk about:

• Why “the universe” isn’t responsible for your decisions

• When spiritual modalities become bypasses instead of mirrors

• How scepticism can actually be an asset, not a limitation

• Using systems as reference points, not rulebooks

• Integrity, self-analysis, and personal responsibility as the real work

• Why insight without action changes nothing

• Living deliberately instead of reacting — whether you believe in energy or not

This isn’t about believing harder.

Just a conversation about how humans use frameworks — spiritual or otherwise — to understand themselves better, make cleaner decisions, and stop repeating the same patterns under different labels.

https://lindawillowroberts.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/Willowswayoflife

2026: The Year of the Villain

Let’s get one thing straight: this is not about being a dickhead.

It’s about being done contorting yourself to keep everyone else comfortable.

In this episode, Mel introduces 2026: The Year of the Villain and the five commandments that will probably offend your inner people-pleaser and quietly liberate the part of you that’s been exhausted from over-explaining, over-analysing and over-managing everyone else’s feelings.

At some point in your life, you will be the villain in someone else’s story.

Not because you’re cruel.

But because you chose yourself.

We unpack:

• Why you can’t control how people see or receive you (no matter how “nice” you are)

• Why analysing, understanding, and labelling doesn’t actually change the situation

• How anticipating other people’s reactions disconnects you from your own direction

• The difference between being a villain and being a dickhead (important)

• And why the villain isn’t a punishment, it’s feedback

This episode is for those who are tired of ducking, weaving, scripting conversations in their head, and shrinking their truth to keep the peace.

Because villains don’t destroy stories.

They shape the hero.

🎧 Prefer to read? The companion Substack article is linked here.

00:00 Welcome to the Her Advantage Podcast

00:44 Introducing '2026 Year of the Villain'

01:06 Foundational Concepts for the Next 12 Months

02:16 Embracing the Villain Energy

05:42 The Difference Between a Villain and a Dickhead

06:49 Commandment 1: You Cannot Control How Others See You

10:14 Commandment 2: Analyzing Doesn't Change the Situation

12:56 Commandment 3: Understanding Why Doesn't Make It Easier

17:42 Commandment 4: Anticipating Their Next Move

20:59 Commandment 5: You Don't Get to Call Someone Else the Villain

26:01 The Villain Shapes the Hero

26:59 Final Thoughts: Embracing Both Sides of Yourself