Balance & Beyond

We challenge three myths about work life balance and show a practical way to define it for yourself. Growth, connection, and health can coexist when you use leverage, not longer hours, and treat balance as an ongoing practice.

• myth one: there is no single formula for balance
• defining balance by personal fulfilment and season
• myth two: balance does not block career progression
• tools that compress hours into outcomes
• shifting from time spent to influence and clarity
• myth three: balance is a journey, not a destination
• three pillars: fulfilling work, present relationships, vibrant health
• simple check-ins to rebalance through change

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And don't forget to subscribe to Balance and Beyond for full episodes and more of these bite sized breakthroughs
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

Ever felt strangely exhausted even when your life looks organised on paper? We dig into the quiet force shaping so many choices: the avoidance of discomfort. Not the dramatic kind, but the subtle, anticipatory flickers—a tight chest in a meeting, a delayed email reply after you set a boundary, the micro-pauses that make you want to smooth everything over. We trace how early praise for being helpful and reliable trained a deep habit of over-responsibility, and how corporate cultures double down on this by rewarding vigilance and punishing mistakes.

From there, we connect the dots between perfectionism, people pleasing, procrastination, and over-preparing. They look different on the surface, yet they share one engine: keep discomfort away. The result is the duck-on-the-pond life—calm above, frantic paddling below. Decisions slow down as we chase 95 percent certainty, energy gets siphoned into managing reactions, and even simple choices feel dense with risk. We unpack the critical mix-up between safety and comfort, and how the nervous system over-corrects by flagging everyday stress as danger.

What changes everything is tolerance. Not fake bravado or recklessness, but the skill of holding uncertainty without shutting down. We talk about building inner safety so your prefrontal cortex stays online when stakes feel high, and we use Barack Obama’s “51 percent certainty” as a practical anchor. With tolerance, boundaries simplify, decisions get cleaner, and energy returns—not because life softens, but because you stop organising around avoidance. You learn to feel a hard moment and move anyway, trusting you can re-decide on the other side.

If this resonates, hit follow, share it with a woman who needs it, and leave a quick review to help the show reach the right ears. Then tell us: what “good enough” decision will you make today?
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

We challenge the myth that life will settle and explore how to build steadiness, set boundaries, and choose yourself even when everything stays messy. Practical tools help your nervous system stand down so you can find focus and joy in small, real patches of time.

• the illusion of the clear runway
• how constant bracing exhausts your nervous system
• boundaries around time, emotion and care
• practical micro-rest and micro-focus anchors
• acceptance as a path to faster adaptation
• choosing yourself without perfect conditions
• reframing this season as the real season
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

Four weeks to calm, focus, and clarity: Register for Leverage today (starts Friday 6th February!)
When control stops working, what actually builds credibility? We open the door to a different kind of authority: the capacity to stay present, honest, and steady when the ground is moving. Instead of chasing the illusion of certainty, we show how vulnerability becomes a practical leadership skill that strengthens trust, speeds learning, and sets a clear path through chaos.

We unpack the old model of leadership built on control, polish, and having all the answers, and why it’s faltering in a world defined by complexity and rapid change. Then we offer the alternative: being human on purpose. That means dropping the masks that drain your energy, acknowledging what you don’t yet know, and pairing that honesty with a simple plan for testing, measuring, and iterating. You’ll hear concrete language you can use with your team, ways to set boundaries without apology, and how to admit mistakes without slipping into defence or self-critique.

The heart of this approach is your nervous system. We explore how to stay calm in the mess, decouple identity from outcomes, and avoid the traps of oversharing or performative toughness. Expect practical strategies to reduce over-functioning, move from perfection theatre to real influence, and model a culture where learning happens faster because truth is safe. In a world where AI can mimic polish, your imperfect, present, accountable leadership is the advantage.

If the old playbook feels heavy and you’re ready to lead with clarity and courage, this conversation is your next step. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s levelling up their leadership, and leave a review to tell us the one mask you’re ready to drop.
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

A small shift can change the whole day. We explore how novelty inside structure calms the nervous system, restores agency, and brings back breath without blowing up a perfectly good life.

• triangle sushi as a metaphor for context and experience
• the squeeze of routines as school and work resume
• why structure is not the enemy, sameness is
• environmental micro changes that reset your nervous system
• practical ideas to reclaim agency within constraints
• designing novelty to avoid subconscious self sabotage
• closing reminder to let life hit different by choice

If this resonated, share it with a friend who needs to hear it today
And don't forget to subscribe to Balance and Beyond for full episodes and more of these bite sized breakthroughs
Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!