The Women's Agenda Ambition Report reveals women want to develop communication, empathy, resilience and adaptability in 2023, but these are skills women already excel at. What women truly need isn't more skills but permission—permission to set boundaries, focus on themselves, rest without guilt, and anchor in their authentic identity.

• Communication: women need directness, not diplomacy—learning to speak up without apologising for taking space
• People-pleasing dampens our ability to communicate effectively, despite women being incredibly articulate
• Empathy: women already bleed empathy as emotional barometers—they actually want to be understood themselves
• Women need to develop discernment and stop taking on excessive responsibility for others' emotions
• Resilience: women don't lack resilience, they're exhausted from demonstrating it constantly
• Learning to rest without guilt and put down emotional burdens is the real skill needed
• Adaptability: women are tired of shapeshifting to meet everyone's expectations
• True adaptability comes from anchoring into your authentic self, not reactive changing
• The future of female leadership needs women who are unapologetically whole
• Reclaiming your energy, rediscovering your voice, and trusting yourself are the real skills

The real skill under all of this is you need to come back home to yourself. You need to reclaim your energy. You need to rediscover your voice, learn to trust in yourself. The future of female leadership does not need more polished perfection. We are not broken and we do not need fixing. What we really need is women who are unapologetically whole.

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

Ever noticed how your entire body tenses when asked to play or make a mess? Our recent Joy Challenge at the Balance Institute revealed a fascinating pattern: ambitious women often experience massive resistance to activities without tangible outcomes. The pushback was palpable - "Play? I don't have time!" or "Make a mess? I spend my life cleaning up messes!"

This resistance stems from a deep-rooted identity where our worth has become inextricably linked to productivity and achievement. From childhood, we've learned that value comes from doing, producing, and maintaining order. We've been conditioned to believe the narrative that if we're not being useful, we're not worthy of belonging. This creates a fascinating contrast between control and curiosity, where our white-knuckling grip on schedules and outcomes leaves no room for spontaneity, connection, or creative flow.

What's really happening underneath this resistance is fear - the primal fear that if we're not useful, we'll be excluded from the tribe, threatening our very survival. This podcast challenges you to intentionally do something without purpose - to make a mess, to play without outcome, to follow your intuition rather than your to-do list. As you begin stepping into this space of purposeless joy, watch what unlocks in your brain and life. Your nervous system will resist, but in that resistance lies the opportunity for true freedom and balance. What might happen if you put down control, even for just a moment, and embraced the beautiful mess of being human?

To view the Transcript from this week's episode, visit our Balance & Beyond Podcast webpage: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast/2025/106

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

We often know exactly what we need to do to improve our lives, yet fail to follow through despite our awareness. This common pattern stems from becoming chemically addicted to emotional states like guilt and shame, creating barriers that prevent us from making positive changes.

• Recognising when we give others advice we need ourselves
• Understanding how our brain prioritises survival over happiness
• Breaking the cycle of guilt and shame that weighs us down
• Learning why comfort zones are actually emotional addictions
• Reframing fear as a positive sign of growth and expansion
• Developing strategies to push through discomfort toward joy
• Creating new meanings for the fear response when making changes

If this resonated, share it with a friend who needs to hear it today, and don't forget to subscribe to Balance and Beyond for full episodes and more of these bite-sized breakthroughs.

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!