Political Correctness, Sovereignty, and the Emotional Cost of Language

In this episode, Raquel and Sarah dive into one of the most emotionally charged and culturally complex topics of our time: political correctness — not as a culture‑war talking point, but as a lived, embodied experience that shapes our emotional capacity, our relationships, and our sense of sovereignty.

Together, they explore:

What political correctness actually is and why it hits the nervous system

The paradox of being hyper‑aware but under‑equipped

How pronouns, language shifts, and cultural expectations affect identity and belonging

The tension between evolution and sovereignty

Identity fragmentation vs. identity wholeness

The emotional labor of navigating DEI, boundaries, and representation

How subcultures shape language, and how language reshapes the brain

The difference between honoring someone’s identity and policing others

Why millennials feel overwhelmed by constant linguistic and cultural shifts

How to hold nuance without collapsing your capacity

This episode is a grounded, honest, and deeply human exploration of how language, identity, and cultural expectations intersect — and how to stay sovereign, compassionate, and whole in the process.

The Season of Shedding: Collapse, Clarity, and Becoming More Human

In this episode, Raquel and Sarah explore the quiet, powerful season of shedding — the moment when old identities, inherited expectations, and survival‑based versions of ourselves begin to fall away. What emerges is a deeper conversation about capacity, clarity, and the emotional, spiritual, and cultural shifts shaping millennial life today.

Together, they unpack:

Why everything feels like it’s collapsing — personally and collectively

The identity unraveling that happens when the old self stops working

How the nervous system signals truth long before the mind catches up

Rewilding vs. becoming feral — and why instinct matters more than performance

The emotional cost of being first‑gen, high‑capacity, and endlessly adaptable

The grief and liberation of shedding roles, expectations, and survival patterns

What it means to build capacity from humanity, not productivity

How to trust your pace, your body, and your inner timing

Why this moment is less about reinvention and more about remembering

This episode is a grounded, nonlinear exploration of what it means to stay human in a world that keeps demanding more than we can give — and how shedding becomes a path back to clarity, instinct, and self‑trust.

Zombies, Balance, and the Fight to Stay Human

In this episode, Raquel and Sarah explore the surprising connection between zombification, burnout, balance, and the millennial search for meaning. Starting with the Haitian origins of the word zombie, they trace how a concept rooted in soul‑loss and forced servitude evolved into a modern metaphor for exhaustion, numbness, and the extraction economy we’re all navigating.

Together, they unpack:

The erasure of humanity in modern work and culture

Why millennials feel like they’re “alive but not living”

How environment shapes mindset more than mindset shapes environment

COVID as a portal that revealed how disconnected we were from ourselves

The difference between humans and humanity

Political polarization, propaganda fatigue, and the grief of losing nuance

Vampires vs. zombies — and why some archetypes feel safer than others

The Five Survival Skills for staying human in a draining world

Rewilding vs. becoming feral

Boundaries as the antidote to numbness and soul‑loss

This episode is a deep, nonlinear, emotionally intelligent exploration of what it means to stay human in a world designed to drain us — and how to reclaim capacity, clarity, and connection.

The Great Capacity Paradox

Do we actually have the capacity to do all the things we want to do?

If you’ve been feeling chronically tired, stretched thin, or like you’re constantly “failing,” you aren’t alone.

In the third episode of Capacity Conversations, hosts Raquel Sands and Sarah Liljegren dive into the “polluted waters” of modern life to deconstruct the concept of deficiency and why our current systems are designed to make us feel perpetually “less than”.

Key Takeaways from the Episode

1. Deficiency is a “Falling Away,” Not a Personal Failure

Raquel explores the etymology of “deficiency,” which stems from the Latin deficere, meaning a failing or a “falling away from doing”.

* The Reframing: A deficiency isn’t an innate lack within you. It is often a natural part of balance—choosing not to do one thing so you can focus on another.

* The Systemic Root: Often, the lack is in our environment or structures, not our character. We have inherited systems of capitalism and extraction that are designed to keep us in a state of “continuous hunger”.

2. The Trap of “Hustle Culture” and Identity

In the U.S., identity is often wrapped up in professional titles. Sarah and Raquel discuss how we are conditioned to believe we should “do it all,” which Sarah identifies as a logical fallacy.

* The Natural Law: You cannot give more than you have.

* The Reckoning: Many millennials reach their 30s and realize they’ve been following a “funnel” of societal expectations without ever truly knowing themselves.

3. Reclaiming Self-Mastery and Boundaries

To possess yourself is to reclaim agency over your time and energy.

* The Power of Practice: Modern culture lacks a “practice of practice”—the dedication to honing a skill or routine (like meditation or writing) over a long period.

* The Truce: Raquel highlights that the word “trust” is rooted in the same origin as “tree” and “truce”. Finding capacity requires making a truce with yourself—accepting what you can actually do right now without shame.

4. Finding Nourishment in Nature

Sarah, a naturalist and real estate professional, emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between our modern lives and natural cycles.

* Mother Nature’s Mirror: Just as we feel burnt out, the earth is attempting to find its own reciprocity and balance.

* True Self-Care: Sometimes self-care is a bubble bath; other times, it is the discomfort of a hard conversation or setting a firm boundary at work.

The “Capacity” Action List

* Audit Your “Inheritance”: Recognize which pressures are yours and which were inherited from previous generations or systemic structures.

* Practice Personal Inquiry: Ask yourself daily: “What do I need in this moment?” Be honest and “naked” with your answer.

* Embrace the “Freefall”: Like a baby bird leaving the nest, you don’t always need to know how to fly before you take the leap. Trust that your curiosity and self-discovery have prepared you for the edge.

🎧 Listen to the Full Series: Check out our Spotify Playlist for music that is uplifting, nurturing, and nourishing to accompany your journey through these challenging dialogues.

Raquel Sands

Clarity Strategist | Writer | Systems DecoderExploring the intersection of identity, clarity, and capacity in modern life.

Sarah Liljegren

Holistic Realtor® | Nature Connection FacilitatorMapping how global events and ancestral trauma shape the nervous system and sense of self.

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Season 2 of The Clarity Shift was all about freedom, creativity, and navigating the messy middle. This wrap-up reflects on key themes, lessons learned, and what’s coming in Season 3—including new mini-series and collaborations.

What happened to the world that left an entire generation drained, overwhelmed, and under-resourced?

We move beyond self-blame and individual narratives to look at the global conditions that fractured our collective ability to thrive.

This is not about doom — it’s about context, and context creates compassion.

Why This Episode Matters

Because you cannot rebuild your personal capacity until you understand the collective wound around capacity.

This episode is designed to help listeners:

release shame around burnout

understand why they’re so tired

contextualize their emotional state

see their exhaustion as valid, not weak

reclaim agency by naming the forces shaping them

When you understand the world you inherited, you can make different choices about the world you want to build.

Every episode of The Clarity Shift is an exploration of what it really takes to change your life from the inside out. In this conversation, Gina Oliver—founder of Wave Enterprise Co. and host of Ripple FX—offers one of the clearest examples of what a true clarity shift looks like. She went from teaching third graders in Atlanta to helping women share their stories online… all while traveling the world as a digital nomad with her husband and their cat.

But the real story isn’t the travel. It’s the inner permission it takes to transition, to start over at any age, and to trust that a calling is worth following even when you don’t have the full map yet.

Today’s episode is a powerful one. I sat down with Danielle Marshall, an equity strategist and ICF-certified executive coach with more than 20 years of leadership experience across the nonprofit sector. Danielle is the founder of Culture Principles and a TEDx speaker whose work centers on leading across difference, navigating complex conversations, and building high-trust inclusive cultures. Her signature style blends compassion, candor, and deep clarity — and this conversation reflects all of that.