299. Fun Filter: Deciding What Lights You Up (Co-Released with Dr. Melissa Parsons)

A conversation about living through a "fun filter." What does it looks like to let joy, ease, and alignment guide our decisions instead of obligation, striving, or outdated beliefs?

A special co-released episode with Dr. Melissa Parsons, fellow retired pediatrician, coach, and kindred spirit.

Together, we reflect on our own transitions out of pediatrics, how we've redefined success, and the freedom that comes when we allow ourselves to change, grow, and choose what lights us up. We also share honest moments about parenting adult children, reimagining purpose, and how sometimes the most meaningful transformations begin when we stop pushing and start listening. If you've been wondering what gets to be "enough," this episode offers a gentler compass.

In this episode, we explore:

• What a "fun filter" is (and what it isn't)

• Redefining success after leaving a long-held identity

• Why we don't have to earn rest, joy, or white space

• How change can be a sign of being fully alive

• Letting alignment and impact coexist

Pearls of Wisdom

• Choosing what's fun is not frivolous and can be freeing.

• You don't have to earn rest, white space, or joy.

• Change doesn't make you flighty because it means you're alive.

• Fun and impact can coexist.

• "Enough" isn't a milestone; it's a mindset.

Reflection Questions:

What currently feels fun, easy, or light in your life?

Where might you be holding onto old definitions of "success" or "productivity"?

What might open up if you trusted fun as a valid reason to say yes—or no?

Resources & Links:

• Enjoy these Mindful Yoga Classes about Fun

• • Playfulness + Connection + Flow = Fun Mindful Yoga with Jessie Mahoney

  • Breathe in Fun, Lightness, and Love. Exhale Stress and Anxiety. Mindful Yoga to Explore Ease.

• Coaching: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching

• Retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats

• Speaking/Workshops: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking

• Dr. Melissa Parsons: melissaparsonscoaching.com

• Listen to Melissa's podcast, Your Favorite You: www.melissaparsonscoaching.com/podcast

• Melissa Parsons, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician, who practiced in Columbus, Ohio for 22 years, retiring in 2021. She became interested in coaching in 2017, recognizing that she liked her life, but she did not love it, and could not figure out why. Coaching helped her create a life she never dreamed possible. Melissa started her business, Melissa Parsons Coaching, in May 2020, and she has not looked back since, except to help other amazing women learn to love themselves and their lives, too! Melissa hosts a popular podcast called Your Favorite You,. She runs a group coaching program by the same name for small groups of women looking to become their favorite versions of themselves, often by treating themselves as they would a best friend.

Disclaimer: Nothing shared on the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.