A friend said something to me a few months ago (while I was complaining) that stopped me in my tracks: “Everyone wants a village — but nobody wants to be a villager.”

And once I heard it, I couldn’t un-know it. So many of us (AKA, me!) say we want deeper friendships, stronger community, people who show up for us… yet we’re participating in a culture that prioritizes convenience, hyper-independence, comfort, and productivity over closeness. We’ve optimized ourselves out of connection. We interact with services, not people. We protect our peace so hard, we don’t even consider the needs of others. We complain about loneliness and how hard it is to make friends as adults, but most people opt out of the effort and inconvenience that comes with community and togetherness.

So today, we’re unpacking the loneliness epidemic, the friendship recession, and what modern society is getting wrong about community-building. Most importantly, we cover how to actually be a villager, even when you’re busy, burnt out, uncomfortable, or socially awkward.

We weren’t meant to do life alone. And the village you’re looking for might start with you.

If you’ve been craving deeper friendships, more support and belonging, and being a part of something bigger than yourself, this episode is your reminder that community is built through effort, presence, generosity, and a willingness to be inconvenienced for the sake of care and connection.

Tune in to hear:

• What it really means to “be a villager” (and why closeness comes at a cost)
• The role convenience culture plays in loneliness and isolation
• The mental and physical health benefits of strong social ties
• Why self-care is overrated, because healing isn’t a solo sport
• How to start building your village through consistent micro-connections
• Reciprocity, generosity, and why community is about equity, not equality
• Saying yes more, and becoming a supportive attendee
• How to avoid social burnout and people-pleasing
• How to show up as a village leader (the art of hosting and building what doesn’t exist)
• Taking social risks and dealing with rejection
• Letting yourself show up imperfectly — messy house, bad mood, and all

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Welcome to this week’s ICYMI, where we kick off the week with a quick game-changing tip from one of our guests that you might have missed.

To navigate the onslaught of January "dieting" goals and diet industry campaigns, we're throwing it back to this necessary advice from expert Abbey Sharp on the realities of bloating, why gut health matters, natural remedies for your gut and bloating, and the new face of diet culture. Tune in if you want to free yourself from the mental weight of food guilt.

Abbey is a Registered Dietitian, food writer and blogger, best-selling author, TV and radio personality, and founder of Abbey’s Kitchen. You might know her from her insanely popular Youtube channel, TikTok and Instagram, which are followed by millions of fans for her empowering nutrition facts, wellness myth debunking, and highly entertaining critiques of BS celebrity diets.

Listen to our full episode with Abbey here!

Tune in every Monday for an expert dose of life advice in under 10 minutes.

Follow Abbey:

abbeyskitchen.com

Abbey's Youtube Channel

@AbbeysKitchen

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I just celebrated my 35th birthday, and this year, instead of fearing aging or buying into the narrative that getting older is something to dread, I decided to approach this milestone with gratitude, reflection, and intention.

Aging is a privilege denied to many, and at 35, I can honestly say: I’ve never felt more like myself, and I wouldn’t want to go back to who I was at 25.

In this deeply personal and reflective episode, I’m sharing the 35 most life-changing lessons I’ve amassed about everything from confidence, mental health, and communication, to boundaries, purpose, willpower, and courage. Many of these insights were hard-earned over the last decade, and all of them have been shaped by the time I’ve spent hosting this podcast.

This episode is for anyone navigating their 30s, questioning their timeline, rebuilding self-trust, and learning how to live with more intention and alignment instead of fear.

Tune in to hear lessons including:

• Why motivation is a myth and systems matter more than discipline
• How confidence is built by keeping promises to yourself
• The importance of finding your career North Star
• An antidote to anxiety, and why communication requires emotional regulation
• Why community and relationships are essential to healing
• Using boundaries properly, ending people-pleasing, and learning to say yes and no with clarity
• The health and wellness changes that moved the needle for me
• Redefining success and how I use my time and money
• Courage over comfort… and why fear doesn’t have to disappear
• Changing paths, changing your mind, and embracing life in chapters
• Why you are NOT behind in life (there is no correct timeline!)

If any of these lessons resonate with you, I’d love to hear which one hit hardest. Comment what you connected with below, or share this episode with someone who’s navigating a similar season of life.

Thank you for being here, and for the continued gift of getting to grow up with the Teach Me How To Adult community throughout my 30s. I love you, and you’ve got this!

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Welcome to today’s ICYMI, where we kick off the week with a quick game-changing tip from past episodes that you might have missed.

If the January blues have hit and Seasonal Affective Disorder has you crashing out, we’ve got you. Winter can leave us feeling exhausted, sad, unmotivated, and plagued by insomnia, so we’re throwing it back to biohacking expert Chloe Deutscher to break down what actually helps, from light therapy and SAD lamps to sleep regulation, overcoming insomnia, and supplements that naturally support mood + serotonin.

Chloe is a chemical engineer who has dedicated her career to the intersection of science, consciousness, and mental health. She’s the co-founder and the CEO of Liquid Culture, a biotech company focused on novel fungi manufacturing and developing innovative products for optimal wellbeing. She shares her actionable tips, knowledge, and experience in the fields of biohacking, mental health, and psychedelics on her popular TikTok account, where she empowers people to overcome mental health challenges like ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

Listen to our full episode here.

Tune in every Monday for an expert dose of life advice in under 10 minutes.

For advertising and sponsorship inquiries, please contact Frequency Podcast Network.

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If traditional goal-setting feels exhausting, rigid, and not your jam, this episode will help you reimagine how you plan your life in 2026.

We’re diving into The Odyssey Plan, a powerful life design and goal-setting framework developed at Stanford University as part of the Designing Your Life curriculum by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.

It’s the ideal method for anyone who feels burnt out by traditional goal-setting, overwhelmed by decisions, or scared of choosing the “wrong” path.

Instead of forcing yourself into one narrow future, the Odyssey Plan helps you imagine multiple possible lives, reduce fear-based decision-making, and set goals that actually align with your values, energy, and curiosity — not just productivity or external pressure.

Tune in for a creative and science-backed way to reset and design goals you can actually stick to.

Listen in for:

• Using Stanford Life Design principles to set meaningful goals without burnout
• Create three different life paths instead of committing to one rigid plan
• Set intentions for 2026 that feel exciting, flexible, and realistic
• Reduce fear of “making the wrong choice” and embrace curiosity-driven planning
• Prototype and test future goals before fully committing
• Turn long-term life vision into actionable goals you can start this year
  

Download the Odyssey Plan template.

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We're back! Happy New Year and welcome to today’s ICYMI, where we kick off the week with a quick game-changing tip from one of our guests that you might have missed.

As we navigate the realities of our New Year goals and resolutions throughout January, we have the key ingredients to actually making them stick... a framework for structuring your dreams and implementing impactful goals from the master of goal-setting and planning, the force behind Passion Planner, Angel Trinidad.

Listen for mindset shifts that will get you in motion, and how to cultivate the kind of relationship with your goals that will unlock deep manifestation.

Angel is the CEO and founder of Passion Planner, an all-in-one paper life coach, which has helped millions of people plan their goals and their lives. They have built a devoted global community of people who swear by their planners and journals.

Listen to our full episode with Angel here.

Tune in every Monday for an expert dose of life advice in under 10 minutes.

Get started on Passion Planner

Follow Angel on Instagram

Follow Passion Planner on Instagram

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Between the holiday parties, family dinners, office events, and end-of-year gatherings... the holiday season can be a lot. (Even for extroverts like me.)

If you’ve ever felt socially drained, awkward, anxious, or stuck in mind-numbing small talk during the holidays, I gotchu. This episode will hook you up with powerful conversation starters and questions you can keep in your back pocket to help you navigate social situations with confidence, steer conversations away from awkward topics and political landmines, and actually feel connected to the people around you.

Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, cutting back from relying on drinking at parties, or just tired of endless small talk, learning how to ask better questions is one of the most underrated communication skills you can have.

Research shows that the best communicators ask up to 20 times more questions than the average person... and that people consistently underestimate how much others crave meaningful conversation. So don't worry about making it weird... thoughtful questions aren't awkward, they're impactful.

✨Tune in to hear about:

• The most interesting and fun conversation starters
• Why asking good questions releases oxytocin and builds closeness
• Questions to avoid small talk, create real connection, and bond the room
• Reflection questions to spark meaningful year-end conversations
• Forward-looking questions for intentions, growth, and the new year
• How to redirect uncomfortable topics with boundaries and grace
• Why curiosity is the ultimate hack for social confidence and overcoming social anxiety

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Welcome to today’s ICYMI, where we kick off the week with a quick game-changing tip from one of our guests that you might have missed.

Spending can be hella stressful heading into the holiday season, and if you're struggling with debt or with setting up realistic financial goals for the coming year, this is a must-listen reminder for overcoming financial stress and toxic money patterns.

A healthy money mindset is the missing ingredient for a lot of people's financial security. So we’re throwing it back to this sustainable financial advice from finance coach Nicole Stanley on dealing with debt, setting realistic money goals, and her own journey to get debt-free.

Nicole Stanley is the Founder & Head Financial Coach of Arise Financial Coaching. After battling crippling financial anxiety in her early twenties, Nicole enrolled in her first personal finance course and made changes to go from 30K in debt to building over a quarter-million in net worth for her family at age 27. Arise Financial Coaching has now served over 600 clients and has been featured in TIME, Yahoo Finance, & CNET.

Listen to our full episode with Nicole here.

Tune in every Monday for an expert dose of life advice in under 10 minutes.

Follow Nicole:

On Instagram: @arise.financial.coaching

Arise Financial Coaching

Sign up for our monthly adulting newsletter:

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