Today we sit with our very first guest of Season Five - therapist and bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab, who talks about what it means to “take life seriously” through intention, and why success doesn’t have to start perfectly. Her new book, The Balancing Act, is about learning the difference between “tolerable annoyance and abuse and neglect,” so we stop cutting people off for normal friction and end up lonelier. She reminds us, “we are in charge of our phone,” and sometimes the healthiest move is just not answering, without turning it into a relationship-ending talk.

What is a healthy community? Tawwab jokes about how important our interactions are, even with the baristas at our local cafe. Every interaction, especially the reliable day-to-day interactions hold value, and often can be healthier than the relationships we put the weight of expectations on.

We also elaborate on "how useful it is to know how you show up in the world" and not get pigeonholed into an attachment style. Therapy and our conversations shared within those sessions are to help us identify our patterns and why and how they show up, and create outcomes that don't align with our desires. Tawwab points out these scenarios, how they’ve shown up in her life, and allowed her to acknowledge how she’s grown.

As always, we end the episode with soul-work. Nedra offers the question: “What is your relationship with offering people grace, extending it to yourself as well?

Connect with Nedra
Website https://www.nedratawwab.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nedratawwab

Connect with Devi:
Website: https://devibrownwellbeing.com/

Substack: https://substack.com/@devibrown

Living In Wisdom Book: https://www.devibrown.com/book

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devibrown/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeplywellpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/devibrown?s=21&t=…

Merch: https://devibrown.myshopify.com/

Threads - https://www.threads.com/@devibrown

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"Take Your Life Seriously” with Nedra Glover Tawwab