What if you’re not broken—just exhausted from trying to be palatable?

In this deeply honest January episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley opt out of "New Year New Me" and fix-yourself culture that tells women they’re perpetually unfinished. As part of our Goals, Not Resolutions series, we’re challenging the idea that growth has to come from self-criticism, endless healing, or constant self-editing.

Ashley shares what she’s not fixing this year—from her sensitivity and emotional depth to her need for rest, her changing opinions, and her refusal to romanticize resilience. Together, we unpack the Fix-It Industrial Complex, the wellness-to-self-help pipeline that disguises self-rejection as empowerment and rewards women for being manageable, agreeable, and “easy.”

This episode is for the high-achieving woman who’s tired of interrogating every reaction, questioning every boundary, and shrinking herself in the name of growth. If you’ve ever wondered whether healing has turned into another performance—or felt both relief and grief at the idea of stopping—this conversation will feel like a deep exhale.

Listener takeaway: You don’t need to be fixed. You need permission to stay.

✨ In this episode, we explore:
– Why January fuels self-improvement pressure and self-worth anxiety
– The cost of constant self-editing and emotional self-surveillance
– Sensitivity, fatigue, and emotional depth as data—not flaws
– Why “being palatable” is not the same as being powerful
– How to name one thing you’re not fixing this year

If this episode resonates, share it with the woman in your life who’s exhausted from becoming.

High heels. Higher standards.

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Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast

Thank you for listening, lovelies!

January doesn’t have to be about reinvention.
It can be about regulation, steadiness, and coming back to yourself.

Join us for our Goals, NOT Resolutions Series in this quietly rebellious episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Ashley and Heidi dismantle the pressure to “start over” in January and offer a radically calming alternative: stabilization instead of transformation.

If you’re feeling tired, slow, emotionally tender, or resistant to becoming a “new you,” this conversation will remind you that nothing is wrong—you’re not behind. You’re right on time.

We explore why January 1st is not nature’s New Year, how women’s bodies operate on cyclical—not linear—energy, and why winter is biologically designed for rest, consolidation, and nervous system repair. This episode is a balm for burnout, a counterpoint to hustle culture, and an invitation to stop abandoning yourself in the name of self-improvement.

Inside the episode:

• Why reinvention is over-marketed to women—and who profits from it
• How winter, menstrual cycles, and lunar rhythms support slowing down
• Why stabilization is a power move, not a failure
• The difference between chaos and true momentum
• What it looks like to choose a baseline instead of a breakthrough
• How to decide what you’re not changing right now—and why that’s wisdom

This is a grounded, feminist take on goal-setting, self-trust, and honoring your capacity—especially if you’re burned out, sober curious, navigating depression or anxiety, or simply done with “New Year, New Me” energy.

You don’t need a breakthrough.
You need a baseline you can actually live inside.

Because January isn’t about setting the ceiling.
It’s about setting the floor.

✨ You’re not starting over. You’re staying with yourself.

Support the show

Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast

Thank you for listening, lovelies!

This New Years Eve ditch the dramatic resolutions and enter 2026 with clarity, confidence, and champagne. 🥂 In this vibrant New Year’s episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley redefine what it means to set goals in a way that ambitious, growth-minded women actually achieve. If you’re searching for “personal growth,” “personal development goals,” or “how to set meaningful goals,” this episode is your fast track to success.

We kick things off with a heartfelt year-in-review, sharing the highs, lows, lessons, and glow-ups of 2025. Then we launch into why goals beat resolutions every time and how strategic goal-setting can transform your health, career, wealth, relationships, and lifestyle. This episode is perfect for women who want intentional personal growth, actionable goal planning tips, and a dash of celebratory glamour to start the year right.

Inside this episode you’ll hear about:
✨ Why resolutions fail and grown-woman goals work
✨ A step-by-step goal-setting framework for 2026
✨ The five goal categories that elevate your life with intention
✨ Personal stories on growth, resilience, and self-confidence
✨ How to leave self-doubt, chaos, and comparison behind
✨ Champagne intermissions (Non-alcoholic for the sober-curious), CEO energy, and setting goals that stick

If you’re ready to step into 2026 with strategy, style, and purposeful personal development, press play and start your year the HHHS way—because real growth is about goals, not resolutions. 🍾

Happy New Year, and cheers to women with high heels and even higher standards.

Support the show

Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast

Thank you for listening, lovelies!