The PurposeGirl Podcast: Empowering women to live their purpose with courage, joy, and fierce self-love.

Women's depression is an epidemic. Women suffer depression at much higher rates than men, and more than half of women believe that it's normal for women to feel depressed. And, I've struggled with my own anxiety and depression for years. In today's episode I discuss a number of reasons why women are more clinically depressed than men, including hormones, role confusion, dislike of our own bodies, the wage gap, exhaustion from trying to do too much, losing ourselves to the needs of others, rumination, and more. And for each of these I share a new way of looking at it, or a suggestion of something we can do to manage it more successfully. Women are multi-faceted beings, and I talk about the different parts of us that make up who we are in all of our beautiful complexity, and why it's so important to our own happiness and flourishing to embrace these different aspects of our nature. So what can we do to combat this epidemic of depression among women? We must decide that we deserve better (#wedeservebetter #purposegirl), and we must commit to learning the science of women's happiness for ourselves, for our daughters, for our communities, and for the world at large. And once we learn it for ourselves we must commit to teaching these tools to others. I'm passionate about doing something big here to combat women's depression, and I'm looking for women to join me in it. I'm looking for women who want to learn the science of women's happiness for themselves and who will then teach it to others. I want to learn from this group of women about what they see as the reasons why women struggle with depression. I want to collaborate with them. With you. If this appeals to you, please email me (carin@carinrockind.com) and tell me that you want to be a part of this advisory group, that you want to discuss these issues and take action! And as I often do, I end with a few Purpose Power Tools. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

Emiliya is my personal role model in business, a woman truly living on purpose and making her decisions from her heart. She's a very successful and accomplished entrepreneur, and she comes from a background with a real set of challenges that she needed to overcome, making her success even more impressive. Emiliya shares her personal and business journey that led to where she is now, leading a B-Corp focused on increasing human flourishing around the world, and why flourishing and vitality are so important to her. She discusses the concept of personal mastery, in particular striving for personal mastery of her own body. This personal quest is informed by her ongoing education into human flourishing in its many components, and in turn this informs her own work with others through The Flourishing Center and elsewhere. Increasing one's own vitality can start in many ways, but Emiliya feels very strongly that foundational to everything else is providing your body with adequate sleep. Honoring your body's need for sleep instead of seeing how much you can do with as little sleep as possible is a must if you wish to truly flourish. We discuss the critical role that movement – and a variety of movements instead of the same exercise or movement over and over again – plays in our vitality. There are evolutionary reasons for this, and there is a measurable process that takes place in our brain when we engage in a variety of exercises and movements that positively impacts our brain functions. Emiliya explains the connections between physical activity and production of the hormone BDNF, which helps the neurons in our brain communicate better, as well as increased interconnectedness in our neural networks. Emiliya talks about the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) that she co-created and leads through The Flourishing Center (and for which I'm an instructor), why she started it, what makes it so special and applicable to so many facets of society, and why there's such a genuine need for this training. CAPP is taught in 14 cities all over the US in Canada, and if you'd like to learn more about CAPP you can go to GetCertifiedInPP.com. (For an added discount on your registration, use the code carinr27 for $100 off!) To learn more about Emiliya and how to work with her, you can go to emiliya.com, and click on Contact at the bottom. I end with our Purpose Power Up Play Round, which I love to do with my guests! It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

We all have a dark side, we all feel dark, heavy emotions like anger and grief, and as women we've been told to keep a lid on our darkness. Nice girls don't curse. Nice girls smile a lot. We shouldn't "get emotional." But that's all nonsense. The darkness is a part of who we are; we can't have the light without the darkness. And if we try to suppress these difficult feelings, if we try to stuff them down and ignore them, they bubble up and explode, and they usually explode at someone near us, maybe our loved ones. Emotions need to be expressed. They represent a part of you that wants you to pay attention to it, and we need to give them voice and space so we can move through them. Emotions aren't good or bad; every emotion is valuable because it gives us information. Even the more challenging emotions tell us that we desire something, or that something is missing, or that we need something. Emotions can be our best teachers because they reveal what we truly value, and when we know what we value we can act on this. I share with you new and healthier ways of viewing your emotions, the "good" and the "bad" ones, what you can do with the challenging emotions, and what can happen to you if you handle these emotions improperly or try to suppress them. And I end with three Purpose Power Tips. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

We cannot live our purpose, our best lives, if we are not also focused on our own pleasure. Today we're talking about your fun, your pleasure, so you can be the happiest you have ever been. We all have such busy lives, and far too many of us don't make our own enjoyment of life a priority. I've certainly been guilty of this. I get so busy with work and family and all sorts of obligations that I can forget to do things that give me pleasure. And this is a serious issue, because doing things that bring us pleasure is actually very important to our own health and well-being! What do pleasurable experiences have to do with the part of our brain that has to do with creativity, trusting and connecting with others, and warding off stress? Amazingly, brain scans show that this region is lit up when we experience positive emotions! Pleasure isn't a nice-to-have; it's a must have! Most women I know put their own desire for pleasure last, they put it after the needs of others, and when they do take some time for themselves they feel guilty. But this needs to stop. We must value our own pleasure and take responsibility for making sure we experience a good amount of pleasure in our lives. This can be taking dance breaks in the middle of the day, laughing and being silly with girlfriends, or something sexual. Feeling pleasure has clearly identified positive effects on a number of systems in our bodies, and it's not only easy to incorporate into our daily routine, it has positive impacts in a number of areas of our lives. In this episode I discuss the importance of sexual pleasure in our lives, the importance of being comfortable with and embracing our desire for sexual pleasure, and our responsibility for our own pleasure, sexual and otherwise. I also recommend Regina's Thomashauer's book, Pussy: A Reclamation; here's a link to it at Amazon. And I end with three Purpose Power Tips about how to increase the pleasure in your life. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

Living a life guided by purpose depends on self-love. Being kind and gentle and compassionate with ourselves is so important, and yet, it's so difficult. Self-love is a practice, and it's something we need to develop. We often treat others with great love and resist treating ourselves the same way, but it's critical that we do this as part of our self-care. In today's episode I interview Stacey Hoffer, Self-Love Guide, and we discuss the importance of self-love, why it's so hard for so many of us, and what we can do about it. Self-love is a path, a practice, and a choice. Stacey breaks this down and shows how we can overcome our old patterns and our upbringing and increase our own self-love. Stacey also talks about her 6-part course, Raising Children to Love Themselves (the next one starts May 1), in which parents, guardians, or other caregivers learn practical, fun, and easy ways to weave self-love into their interactions with children. Click here to learn more about the course! And to learn more about Stacey Hoffer, go to SoulAlignmentLiving.com, or email Stacey (Stacey@PathOfSelfLove.org). I end today's podcast with three Purpose Power tips around self-love. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

Lots of us have dreams that we'd love to realize, goals we'd love to achieve, but taking action on them is often so daunting that we never actually get started. Sound familiar? If so, then you're going to love this episode, in which I interview Miisa Mink, Founder and Chief Doer at the Driven Woman Network. Driven Woman is a micro-networking group where women keep each other accountable and support each other as they accomplish their goals. Driven Woman is a safe environment for women to share, be vulnerable, exchange ideas, give and receive support, and celebrate each other's victories. If you happen to be in an area in which Driven Woman is available and this resonates for you, you should definitely check them out! If you're not, no matter! In this interview Miisa discusses a number of valuable ideas around taking action, including: Announcing your dreams Joining – or creating – a sisterhood The benefits of a fallback plan Driven Woman's 3 components of doing A step in the wrong direction is better than no steps at all Miisa and I also talk about a retreat that we're leading in Mykonos, Greece, at the end of September, with several other amazing women, and as of the taping of this podcast, there are still some spots available. You can learn more at LightFromTheDawn.com. And to learn more about Miisa Mink, go to DrivenWoman.co.uk. I end with a Purpose PowerUp speed round of quick questions that I'll ask every guest on this podcast. Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), leave a 5 star rating, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode, and download the episodes! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

We all have dreams. Sometimes, though, we tell ourselves that our dreams are ridiculous or frivolous or just too far-fetched to bother trying to make happen. I've certainly done this myself with a number of dreams in my life, and when I've suppressed and ignored my dreams I've just made myself miserable, sometimes without even understanding where my unhappiness was coming from. But I'm committed to listening to my dreams and making them a reality, and I want to help you to do the same. A big dream of mine has been to live in NYC. I lived there for several years but I was giving up on my dream by leaving there to come to Philly, and ever since it's been eating at me. I had all sorts of reasons why I couldn't live in NYC, and yet, it was still a burning dream of mine, and by denying this dream I ended up feeling small. I had to figure out a way to get past this and bring my dream to life. I also talk about the "fear brain," the part of us that tries to keep us safe, that means well but inhibits our willingness to take chances, to take risks, and often, to go after our dreams. Our fear brain tries to stop us before we even get started on something new, and we all have this. It's biologically hard-wired into us, and for good reasons having to do with evolution and self-preservation, but it doesn't serve us anymore. I share with you how I handled my fear brain regarding my dream of living in NYC and made this particular dream come true! It's important to think carefully about two of the words we use here: Dreams and desires. The word "dreams" has some baggage that I address, and I explain why I prefer to use "desires." I also teach a strategy around asking a different question as a way to get past a roadblock and make the shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, which is key to actualizing your desires, and I discuss the importance of visualization – why it works and how to do it properly. I end with Purpose Power Tips, which I offer at the end of every episode. Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and review, rate, subscribe to, and download this podcast! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

I am joined by my dear friend, Louisa Jewell, expert on self-doubt and self-confidence, author, professor, speaker, and founder of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. Louisa starts out by explaining why some self-doubt can actually be a good thing. Chronic self-doubt, self-doubt when there really is no justification for it, when it's holding you back, this is when something needs to be done about it, when it needs to be released. Louisa also addresses confidence, and in particular the action-oriented type of confidence called self-efficacy. In addition, Louisa and I discuss how self-efficacy relates to positive self-fulfilling prophecies. Self-doubt and self-worth differ greatly between men and women, and Louisa shares her own theories as to why women tend to have more self-doubt than men, and what women can do about it to combat their own self-doubt. She introduces Peace at 6, So What?, and some tools to start shifting one's own beliefs from "I can't" to "I can!" by gathering supporting evidence. Our brains naturally possess a negativity bias, and we discuss ways to combat that. Building one's competence is a great way to build your self-confidence, and there are always baby steps that you can take to build your competence. Break your goals into smaller, manageable tasks as a way to get started and start to feel success and forward progress. Finally, Louisa and I discuss the socially-constructed nature of self-doubt, and how to handle the naysayers so they don't feed into your self-doubt. I end with Purpose Power Tips, which I offer at the end of every episode. Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), and make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

Every single one of us was born for purpose. Research shows that when we're younger, our search for purpose can be an exciting adventure, but after a certain age this same search can lead to an increased incidence of anxiety and depression, and even suicidal tendencies. More and more, people are seeking lives full of meaning, lives in which they're making a difference, and for a growing number of people this becomes even more important than increased salaries. As Abraham Maslow explained over 50 years ago in his Hierarchy of Needs, once we've satisfied our basic needs, the final, highest need is that of self-actualization, giving of ourselves to something larger, inner fulfillment. Short-term happiness only goes so far; we need something deeper and more long-lasting. We need purpose. For me, knowing my purpose has helped me weather a number of incredibly difficult personal experiences. Even on the crappiest of days, I know my life has greater meaning, and that's the knowledge that I want you to have as well. One of the reasons that our search for purpose is so hard is that we're thinking about it all wrong. I clear up a number of misconceptions about purpose and introduce a new way of thinking about it that opens us up to a whole new world of possibilities. In addition, the words we use when discussing and thinking about purpose is often part of the problem, and I provide you with a new vocabulary around purpose. This isn't just a semantic change, but reflects a much deeper truth about purpose that we all need to understand. By teaching you the basic ideas of what purpose is, and what it isn't, I help you get on the path to uncovering your own purpose. I end with Purpose Power Tips, which I offer at the end of every episode. Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), and make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!

There's an epidemic of unhappiness among women, many of whom seem like they've got everything going for them but are still deeply unhappy. Whether you're dealing with a mid-life, third-life, or quarter-life crisis (yes, those are real!), women at all ages are struggling to figure out how to be happier. We're less happy, on average, than our counterparts thirty years ago. We have more than we've ever had, and still we're not happy. What is going on? This is where the field of positive psychology comes in, to provide answers to questions like, "What makes us truly happy? What makes life worth living? How can we flourish? How can we make intentional choices in our life to move from "OK" to "great?" I offer a little background and context for the field of positive psychology, which underpins a lot of what I share with you. I discuss Barbara Fredrickson's theory of micromoments of positivity as well as the negativity bias that we all possess, and how these shed light on our own efforts to be happier. I talk about our biological set points for happiness and how much of our happiness is actually within our control: It's probably more than you think, and this provides us with a huge opportunity to take concrete actions steps to increase our own happiness! I point out a wide range of ways in which you can take control of your own happiness, some small and some large, some easy to do and some much more challenging, but all within your grasp. There IS a lot we can do. The research on people who are truly flourishing shows that there are six aspects of happiness: PERMA-V. I introduce these 6 components and will go into greater depth in upcoming episodes. I end with Purpose Power Tips, which I offer at the end of every episode. Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter. It would really mean a lot to me if you would go to iTunes and leave me a review (hopefully a great one!), and make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode! And please spread the word and help our community grow! May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life. Bye for now!