The Real Work with Maggie Sterling
Maggie Sterling
Can't stop overthinking, emotional eating, or numbing out? You're not broken—you're disconnected from your body. The Real Work helps women break chronic stress, anxiety, and burnout by addressing root causes, not symptoms. Host Maggie Sterling combines neuroscience and nervous system regulation to help you stop self-abandonment, build self-trust, and feel safe in your skin. No toxic positivity—just practical tools for rewiring your brain, regulating emotions, and coming home to yourself. Deep transformation for women ready to stop escaping and start living.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 3, 2025 • 31min
12 - Stop Healing. Start Living.
Feeling drained from endless self-improvement? Discover why the cycle of constant healing can actually keep you stuck. Shift your focus from fixing to creating new experiences that help heal your nervous system. Engage in real-life connections instead of online interactions for more effective emotional safety. Maggie suggests stepping back from social media for a quick reset and emphasizes the importance of hands-on activities, like baking, to foster creativity and joy.
Oct 27, 2025 • 29min
11 - How to Change Before You Hit Rock Bottom
Most people only consider change when desperation hits, but what if you could change from inspiration instead? The discussion dives into why waiting for a crisis makes transformation so much harder. Explore the balance between surface changes and deep inner work, and discover the importance of feeling your emotions rather than numbing them. Maggie emphasizes that modern comforts can weaken our resilience, urging listeners to embrace discomfort to foster growth. It's about making transformative choices before reaching that critical point of no return.
Oct 20, 2025 • 22min
10 - Why You Keep Quitting Your Habits (And How to Make Them Stick)
Struggling to stick to your habits? It’s all about mindset, not discipline. Chasing perfection and arrival points creates pressure and burnout. Instead, view habits as self-alignment with who you’re becoming. Consider course corrections over rigid streaks and learn to see failures as information rather than shame. Dive into your identity by asking who you want to be and create meaningful habits. Embrace the boring, repetitive choices that lead to transformation, and choose habits that align intentionally with your best self.
Oct 13, 2025 • 19min
09 - How To Actually Heal Your Nervous System
Ever felt stuck in anxiety despite logical reassurances? The body doesn’t respond to words; it reacts to sensations. Discover why traditional methods often fail and explore three powerful techniques to reset your stress levels. Engage with nature to find safety, limit phone use to reduce micro-stress, and tap into creativity to anchor yourself. Learn to show your body calm before relying on verbal comfort. This fresh approach could transform your chronic stress into a sense of safety.
Oct 6, 2025 • 39min
08 - 4 Ways To Challenge Your Negative Self-Talk
Explore the harsh reality of negative self-talk and its origins in childhood programming. Discover how these damaging thoughts shape your identity and influence your habits. Learn practical techniques to catch and challenge these inner voices early on. Maggie introduces Byron Katie's method to dismantle assumptions, emphasizing the importance of separating fact from story. With tools to calm the nervous system, reparent yourself and foster a kinder inner voice, this conversation sheds light on transforming self-talk into a supportive dialogue.
Sep 29, 2025 • 45min
07 - The Real Secret to Self-Confidence
Dive into the secrets of genuine self-confidence and discover why it often eludes high achievers. The conversation reveals how overthinking, people-pleasing, and perfectionism undercut true self-trust. Explore the distinction between performing confidence and feeling it from within. Learn why chasing external validation can trap you in a cycle of self-doubt. With insights on nervous system regulation and the power of action, this discussion is a game-changer for anyone looking to build unshakeable self-trust.
Sep 22, 2025 • 1h 4min
06 - How to Stop Letting Other People Ruin Your Day
This discussion dives into how triggers reveal our internal beliefs, not just external actions. It highlights the primal nervous system responses that make rational thought challenging when we're fired up. The hosts introduce top-down and bottom-up approaches to emotional regulation, emphasizing the importance of taking personal accountability. They also explore how personal narratives shape our triggers and offer practical strategies for shifting our perceptions and reactions to gain emotional power.
Sep 15, 2025 • 46min
05 - How I Used Meditation To Change My Life
Struggling to see real change? Discover why meditation and self-help tools often fall short in this engaging discussion. Experts reveal common mistakes that sabotage progress and challenge the notion of who’s truly responsible for your healing. Explore how meditation can shift your mindset and help you make intentional choices. The conversation emphasizes the importance of aligning tools with your unique energy and life, rather than conforming to cookie-cutter methods. It’s time to take control and embrace personal transformation!
Sep 8, 2025 • 33min
04 - Decompressing Without Coping Mechanisms
Feeling overwhelmed after a long day? You're not alone! Unpacking the 'pressure cooker' effect, the discussion dives into why our brains crave quick hits of dopamine through snacks, screens, or drinks. They distinguish between mere numbing and true decompression. Learn how decision fatigue impacts willpower and the importance of embracing urges without judgment. Plus, practical tips for intentional transitions from work mode to relaxation. It's all about asking what your body truly needs and reclaiming control over coping mechanisms.
Sep 4, 2025 • 27min
03 - Symptom Chasing and How To Actually Heal From Anxiety
The discussion dives into the concept of symptom chasing, revealing how fixating on anxiety symptoms can actually deepen anxiety. Maggie explores the emotional needs that drive compulsive behaviors like overeating and phone usage. She emphasizes the importance of acceptance over frantic fixing, suggesting that allowing anxiety to exist diminishes its power. The conversation encourages living intentionally, even when symptoms persist, and highlights the significance of understanding the underlying reasons for anxiety rather than simply seeking quick fixes.
