Roll With The Punches

Winter punched me in the face this week, and it got me thinking about all the things that influence who we are, how we feel, and how we show up.
In this solo riff, I unpack the sneaky invisible shit steering the ship... from food, movement, recovery, stress, and hormones, through to the people we spend time with, the information we consume, and the environments we put ourselves in. I share why winter and perimenopause have forced me to get a lot more deliberate about my energy, why a yoga class reminded me how noisy life has become, and why cleaning up your social media feed might be one of the most underrated mental health strategies going around.
I also dive into tribe, belonging, accountability, novelty, and why sometimes the fastest way to change your mood, mindset, or momentum is simply to change what you're exposing yourself to.
Turns out, we might not control everything that influences us... but we can absolutely influence the things that influence us.
SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this ep Bobby and I wandered through ambition, expectations, creativity, performance, fear, trauma responses, authenticity, and the strange ways we can get in our own way. We talked about what happens when life gets chaotic, why some people thrive in a crisis but freeze over the smallest decisions, and how often we're trying to be who we think we're supposed to be instead of who we actually are.
We also explored why detaching from outcomes can sometimes make us more effective, why creativity doesn't respond well to force, and why some of the biggest breakthroughs happen when we stop trying so bloody hard.
As always with Bobby, we started somewhere sensible and ended up deep in the weeds of human behaviour, identity, and what it means to show up when life gets messy.

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

Why are so many of us are unknowingly blocking ourselves from feeling loved whilst desperately trying to chase it?
Harry Reis is a renowned social psychologist and Professor at the University of Rochester who has spent decades researching love, intimacy, vulnerability, and what actually makes humans feel connected. He recently co-authored the book 'How to Feel More Loved' with Sonja Lyubomirsky, who is one of the world’s leading happiness researchers. Ripper collab right there, huh!
We spoke about online dating checklists, social media validation, the weird performance of modern identity, AI relationships, conflict, growth, and the fear most of us carry that if people really knew us… they’d leave. Harry also dropped one idea worth pondering... that love isn’t just romance. It’s belonging... it's being seen, understood, valued, and safe enough to be fully human around other people.
There’s also a lot in this one about the tension between comfort and growth too. Why relationships that never challenge us don’t actually deepen us. Why rupture and repair matters. Why conflict isn’t failure. And why the things that shape us most are usually the hard conversations, awkward truths, and moments where we stop hiding behind the polished version of ourselves.
Also… we somehow ended up talking about robot partners, Star Trek, and whether AI could ever replace human love. So, there’s that...

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

Bloody hell… this one smacked me right in the chops.
Stephen Jenkinson (my favourite guest, just quietly) is back on the show and this conversation was nothing like the others… and somehow also exactly like the others. We talked about Parkinson’s, terror, identity, regret, suffering, joy, and what happens when the bloke who helps people understand death and life gets blindsided by his own brutal reality.
There were moments in this chat where I genuinely forgot to breathe. Stephen spoke about the collapse of certainty, the illusion of control, the strange grief of losing parts of yourself while still being alive… and whether we’re actually supposed to remain the same person forever.
We got into regret, awe, suffering, old wounds, childhood survival, dancing with trembling hands, and the active pursuit of joy. Not happiness. Not comfort... Joy.
This isn’t a neat conversation with tidy answers. It’s raw, confronting, beautiful, deeply human… and as it always is with Stephen, it's honestly one of the most important chats I’ve had.
Enjoy, legends.
SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
STEPHEN JENKINSON
Website: orphanwisdom.com/
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Maryellen MacDonald, she's joining me in this ep and we're talkin' about talkin'. Turns out talking isn’t just about getting words out… it sharpens how we think, helps us regulate emotions, and even slows cognitive decline.
We got into why talking is actually hard work (even if it doesn’t feel like it), why Gen Z are low-key avoiding it, and why retirees might be losing more than just social connection when conversations drop off.
You might leave this ep feeling inclined to start naming your emotions. Not just feel them, not just react to them… actually put words to them. As simple as it sounds, generally most of us humans are pretty average at that, and learning to do so makes all the difference.
Also… we covered journaling, self-talk, conversations with strangers that turn into something weirdly meaningful… all of it matters more than we think.
Moral of the story… stop just consuming. Start talking. Even if it’s just to yourself.

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