Emma Lagerlow

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I’ll be happy when…”?

When I achieve the goal.
When I earn more.
When work calms down.
When life gets a little easier.

But what if happiness isn’t something waiting for us on the other side of the next achievement?

This week on It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by happiness researcher, educator, philosopher and author Declan Edwards - “That Happiness Guy” for such a fascinating conversation about what it actually means to live a happier life.

And perhaps surprisingly, it’s not about being happy all the time.

We explore the science of positive psychology, the PERMAH model of wellbeing, our natural human bias towards the negative and why making space for all of our emotions may actually create more room for happiness.

We also talk about the value of doing things simply because they make us feel good, escaping the “I’ll be happy when…” trap, and why prioritising our own happiness isn’t selfish.

Because happiness has a ripple effect. 🌊💙

How we feel influences how we show up in our relationships, our families, our workplaces and our communities.

One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation?

You don’t need to be happy all the time to have a happy life.

🎧 Episode 107 with Declan Edwards is available now on your favourite podcast platform.

Listen via the link in bio — and let us know in the comments: what’s one small thing that made you happy today? 💛🎙️

The Bali chapter 🤍🌴
One-on-one time, making memories together.
Bali, you were magic ✨

Have you ever looked like you were holding everything together on the outside, while underneath it all you were completely overwhelmed?

For so many women, being capable, reliable and the person everyone can depend on becomes part of our identity.

We keep going. We keep giving. We keep meeting everyone else’s needs.

And because we’re still functioning, we assume we must be okay.

But what happens when holding it all together becomes too much?

This week on It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, Counsellor and author Pam Espin| Author & Speaker founder of Beyond Purpose Therapy and author of Not Built to Break: How to Stop Surviving and Lead from Wholeness.

Pam has such a wealth of knowledge, and I loved exploring some of it in this fascinating conversation.

We talk about:

🦋 The roots and symptoms of burnout — and why it’s about more than simply feeling tired.

🦋 Women’s tendency towards self-sacrifice and what can happen when we continually put ourselves last.

🦋 Why there are no “good” or “bad” emotions — and what our emotions may actually be trying to tell us.

🦋 Pam’s Trifecta Method and the importance of looking beneath what’s happening on the surface.

🦋 Late-diagnosed ADHD in women, why it can go unrecognised for so long and what finally understanding yourself through that lens can mean.

One idea particularly stayed with me:

We weren’t built simply to survive our lives.

Maybe we don’t always need to try harder, push through or become better at coping.

Sometimes we need to become curious about what’s really going on underneath it all. 💗

🎧 Episode 106: When Holding It Together Becomes Too Much: Burnout, ADHD & Self-Sacrifice with Pam Espin is available now on It’s a Mindset.

Listen via the link in bio and let us know what resonates with you. 🎙️🦋

Sunday behind the scenes.

Laptop open. Notes everywhere. Water bottle within reach. 🤓

Getting a few things done before the week begins — and definitely not complaining about my Sunday office. 🩵

What if kindness didn’t mean always putting yourself last? 💗

This week on It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by the wonderful Sophie Bretag🧡Speaker🎤Sustainable Leadership Strategist🌈Author📚 — bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, executive HR consultant, founder of ☀️Sophie Bretag☀️The Kindness Mentor☀️ and author of The Kind Way.

This is such an open and heartfelt conversation about what happens when life asks us to slow down and reconsider what really matters.

Sophie shares her experiences of burnout and cancer, the lessons she’s learnt about boundaries and why kindness doesn’t mean constantly saying yes, putting everyone else first or forgetting about yourself.

We also talk about the many facets of HR and human-centric leadership, redefining success, and something that really resonated with me — perhaps midlife isn’t about reinventing ourselves at all. Maybe it’s about finally giving ourselves permission to become more of who we already are.

Sophie is genuinely one of the kindest, most vibrant and generous souls I know, and she has been such a beautiful supporter of me and my work. I loved having the opportunity to turn the microphone towards her and learn even more about the experiences that have shaped the woman and the work behind The Kind Way. 💗

🎧 Episode 105: The Kind Way: Burnout, Boundaries & Becoming More Yourself with Sophie Bretag is available now. Listen via the link in my bio.

📚 And Sydney friends — Sophie is launching The Kind Way tomorrow night, Thursday 13 August, at Gleebooks in Glebe! If you’d love to meet Sophie, hear more about her work and celebrate the launch of this beautiful book, head over to Sophie Bretag🧡Speaker🎤Sustainable Leadership Strategist🌈Author📚 for all the details.

Congratulations Soph. I’m so excited to see The Kind Way making its way out into the world. 💗📚🎉