Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

One of the main reasons we turn to alcohol is to help us let our hair down--to laugh a little more easily, to be a little more uninhibited, to be more fun. BUT, having a drink is not the only way to loosen up and have fun!Let’s talk about other ways to take an oil can to the creaky spots in your psyche without relying on a glass of something to provide it for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this re-broadcast, I interview Michelle Smith, a TEDx speaker, author, podcaster, mental health and addictions counselor and founder of Recovery is the New Black, about how to tell if your drinking has become unhelpful, or maybe even harmful. Come hear why Michelle says that the opposite of addiction is connection, and why she's having more fun as a sober person than she's ever had before. (This episode is not all doom and gloom, as the title might suggest!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this re-airing of an interview I did with Sarah Kate of Some Good Clean Fun, we explore why alcohol is so heavily marketed to women, why drinking less is a rebellious choice in our society, and why alcohol is a feminist issue. Don't worry, we don't get strident. :) It's just that, you think AA and you think schlubby dudes in a basement. Just like with medical care, women have their own unique experience of alcohol and it's time we talked about it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm taking a week off from new episodes this week and re-airing a series I did last summer on re-thinking drinking. It is, after all, Dry January--in other words, a natural time to be thinking about drinking less, or not at all.This week, let’s just see what’s ready to be seen in terms of our relationship to alcohol. I am NOT here to preach or proselytize, I promise! This is a judgment-free zone!! Let's just take a look, together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've heard the advice to put on your own oxygen mask first, and that you can't give from an empty cup (I've said this myself many times, including on this podcast). But I've been re-thinking this. Because, first of all, you don't have to have your shit together in order to help someone else. And second, being of service raises your own energy. So how do you balance self-care with helping others? It's kind of like making a smoothie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though wanting to be of service seems like a noble idea, it’s pretty easy to have an attitude that makes you more of a pain in the butt than an actual source of help. Here are three ways of thinking that are going to block you from actually helping--and a different goal to keep top of mind when seek to be of service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I’m talking with Rabbi Daniel Cohen, who serves at the largest modern orthodox synagogue in New England in Stamford, CT. He’s the author of "What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone? Cultivating a Life of Legacy." He has been a rabbi for over 30 years, meaning he’s had hundreds of end of life conversations and delivered thousands of eulogies which gives him a unique perspective on life.I wanted to talk with Rabbi Cohen about how to find the courage to shift your comfort zone to include standing up for what you know to be right, and to expand your tolerance for risk in a way that inspires you to step up and be of service.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are SO many people and causes that are in need of help that it can be overwhelming, trying to decide how to give back without overextending yourself. If you get involved in every cause or try to help every person that needs it, it’s easy to end up getting overwhelmed and not actually being that much help.Today I’m sharing a strategy I’ve learned that makes giving back easier–so that you can do it in a way that lifts you up instead of wears you down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being of service isn’t just a noble thing to do, or something to tick off on a list of things that make you a better person. It’s actually beneficial to you too, primarily because it gets you into a higher level of energy. Not energy as in what my grandmother used to call pep, but energy as in your vibe and how you show up in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Warning: Deep thoughts about comfort zones ahead! In which I argue that maybe what you've become comfortable with isn't actually all that comfortable--it's just familiar. And how making changes that make SEEM like they're taking you out of your comfort zone are actually leading you to someplace where you are truly at ease. (And how to deal with the discomfort of the unfamiliar while your comfort zone recalibrates.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices