Roll With The Punches

I loved this one! Elaine Lin Hering is all about silence. Not the peaceful, meditative kind. The learned kind... The kind where you know exactly what you want to say… and then don’t.
We talked about why 'just speak up' is crap advice, why some of us are post-processors who realise what we think three days later, and how hinting is not the same as being clear. Apparently 'Are you hungry?' is a yes or no question. Who knew.
It’s not about saying it perfectly or getting the response you want. It’s about choice. Am I choosing to stay silent, or is silence choosing me?
And yes, we absolutely unpacked my internal rage spiral over rice... That I don’t even like. Because it’s never about the rice.
If you’ve ever swallowed something that mattered, told yourself a story instead of having the conversation, or realised three days later what you wish you’d said… this one will land.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: www.testartfamilylawyers.com.au
ELAINE LIN HERING
Website: Elaine Lin Hering – Unlearning Silence
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I sat down with Andrew 'Atto' Atkinson, nearly 29 years in Victoria Police and a lifetime of stories that sound like a Netflix series but come with very real scars. We talked about the covert surveillance work that had him breaking into houses, planting listening devices, tracking cars, heart racing, sometimes while the occupants were still home. High risk. High reward. Calculated, but never casual.
Then we moved into the part people do not see.
Atto was deployed as a UN peacekeeper in East Timor and Iraq. He was stabbed in East Timor and that moment set off a chain reaction. Lifelong medical complications. PTSD. Cancer. Chemo. A brain tumour diagnosis. Joint replacements. And years of complete denial because back then you just did not talk about your mental health. You punched on.
Work was his purpose, his tribe, his happy place. It was also the thing he hid behind. Leaving the job meant losing belonging, losing self, losing structure. And that loss can be brutal.
We talked about self-blame, about the 'bucket filling up' until it overflows, about how healing really began when he stopped pretending he was fine. And yesssss, we talked about Sophie, his service dog funded through DVA, trained to detect seizures five minutes before they hit. Absolute superstar.
SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: www.testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I waited eight months to get Scotty Douglas strapped into the hot seat here at RWTP HQ, and doesn't he have some stories to tell!
We went from Paris kitchens where he got dressed down by French chefs, to running a café with brown paper bag accounting and zero tax literacy, to cooking breakfast for the Dean who took a chance on him and changed the trajectory of his life.
Scott’s story is a wild and rambunctious ride. Chef to advanced life support paramedic. Service industry to service industry. From plating swordfish with beef cheek sauce to doing CPR in suburban lounge rooms.
We talked about ego and humility. About the shock of discovering not everyone in your dream profession is exceptional. About loving the chaos. About failure when failure means someone dies.
We unpacked the assault that changed everything for him. The moment confidence turned into hypervigilance. The reality that helping comes at a cost. And that desire to 'win' a resus.
This one isn’t just about paramedicine. It’s about identity, purpose, and what happens when the thing you love also wounds you.
If he plays his cards right, we might just get him back to share some of the wilder stories I've heard...

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: www.testartfamilylawyers.com.au
SCOTT DOUGLAS
Website: horatio-jones.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This conversation hit a little differently.
Vicki Scott joined me to talk about slowing down, perspective, and what really changes when life punches you square in the face. After being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, Vicki found herself navigating not just treatment, surgery, and survival, but the unexpected emotional aftermath that nobody really prepares you for.
We talked about the pressure we put on ourselves to achieve, prove, and keep pushing, even after something life altering. About identity, perfectionism, and the uncomfortable realisation that sometimes the hardest thing isn’t fighting, it’s learning how to stop striving and actually live.
Vicki shared what cancer taught her about toughness, legacy, community, and why being kind and genuinely supporting others matters more than titles, achievements, or ticking boxes. This is a conversation about resilience without the shiny Instagram version. The messy middle. The quiet aftermath. And the courage it takes to choose presence over proving.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: www.testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tania Khazaal works in the family estrangement space, and she came in hot with a message a lot of people will hate at first… but probably need to hear.
Is today’s therapy language and our feeds flooded with social media buzzwords creating the perfect permission slip to cut people off before we’ve actually learned how our nervous system works, how to communicate properly, or how to stop making everyone else the villain in our story?
Tania shared her own story of cutting off her mum 'in the name of healing', then realising resentment without a path forward is a dead end. We went deep into one of my favourite conversations, the nuance between fault and responsibility, rupture and repair, why 'boundaries' are being used like brick walls instead of self-respect, and how being triggered is often a sign there’s more healing to do.
We also unpacked the long game of rewiring patterns, how repair happens when you stop defending yourself and start listening, and when estrangement is actually necessary.
Basically, this episode is for anyone who wants better relationships, less emotional fragility, and more personal power, without pretending any of it is easy. For some, it’ll be a game-changer. For others, it might feel confronting. Either way, it’s an epic, honest conversation about tough dynamics most people avoid.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: www.testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TANIA KHAZAAL
Website: taniakhazaal.com
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.