We all have a version of this story.

Something happens. We get caught. We get embarrassed. And instead of owning it — we make it worse.

This week I'm recording from Miami with a true story that illustrates exactly that. It's funny. It's human. And it's a perfect example of what our saboteurs look like in real life — and what it costs us when we let them run the show.

I also get honest about my own version of this. A moment from the last few months where I let my saboteurs take the wheel — and what the real work of repair actually looked like after.

This is the kind of thing we go deep on inside Your Next Chapter. But today you get the real-life version, live from Miami, with all the mess included.

3 Things You’ll Take Away:

1. What your saboteurs actually look like in action. Not in theory, in a real story, with real consequences. You'll recognize yourself in this one.
2. What repair really requires. It's more than an apology. It's a practice. And it's something you can learn.
3. Why doing this work matters beyond you. When our saboteurs run unchecked, other people pay the price. This episode makes that very clear.

⏰ Timestamps

(00:00) What this episode is really about

(04:00) Your Next Chapter the Immersion starting April 14th

(05:00) The dessert story

(10:30) When someone gets caught and what they do next

(17:00) My own version of this and the repair that followed

(21:00) The testosterone cream, the women's group, and a lot of humility

(28:00) Why we make it worse instead of better

(32:00) Don't make a mess you don't have the tools to clean up

(36:00) The story you're telling yourself vs. what's actually true

(43:00) Saboteurs at midlife & why the patterns are already baked in

(46:00) What love does vs. what fear does

(50:00) How I actually cleaned it up

(53:00) Holy Week, the medicine wheel, and the season of emerging

(55:00) Living like someone is watching because they are

(01:01:00) When you've hit the ground & what do you do next

🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy

🌿 Instagram – @robynivy

🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com

🎧 Listen on Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com

💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com

MORE ABOUT ROBYN IVY:

Robyn Ivy sees people for a living.

A trusted coach, intuitive and fierce advocate for tree portals and a creative life, she spent over 20 years as a commercial photographer, honing her powerful skills as a witness.

Host of the Robyn Ivy Podcast, where she discusses how to be more present to our lives and create what’s next with today’s prominent thought leaders, spiritual mentors and creative guides.

Robyn mentors clients 1:1 through transitions, deep growth and meaningful change in a fun and inspiring way. Her workshops, groups and programs offer you insights and practices to live more confidently, creatively and from your truest wisdom.

You will often find her traveling in a camper van, sitting with the trees or capturing the beauty of nature. Raising her now grown sons Rook and Cole is her best work yet.

This week, I’m joined by Venita Maciel, a licensed mental health counselor and coach, the first and only clinician certified in EMBERS Menopause-Informed CBT in the US.

A Learning and Integration Facilitator at the Menopause CBT Clinic, and founder of The Empowered Mind she is here to demystify menopause for us and educate us on the journey from perimenopause to post menopause and everywhere in between.

We talk about the physical symptoms, but also the mental, emotional, and relational shifts that come with this phase of life and how often women are left trying to figure it out on their own.

Hear what’s happening to you hormonally, why so many women feel unsupported in traditional medical settings, and what it looks like to approach this season with better information, stronger advocacy, and real support.

This is a conversation about understanding what’s changing, taking yourself seriously, and having better tools to move through it.

3 Things You’ll Take Away:

1. A clearer understanding of what’s happening in your body and mind
2. So you can make sense of the changes you’re experiencing and respond to them more effectively.
3. How to advocate for yourself and find the right support
4. What to track, what to ask, and how to identify providers who are actually informed. Ps. She’s giving us handouts!
5. Practical ways to support yourself through this transition
6. From lifestyle shifts to mindset and community, you’ll walk away with options that make a real difference.

⏰ Timestamps

(00:00) Women’s Midlife Mental Health

(11:03) Menopause Misconceptions and Frustration

(18:28) Breaking Stigma, Building Connections

(22:35) Menopause Awareness and Healthcare Gaps

(29:40) Hormones, Insurance, and Menopause

(32:27) Women’s Hormonal Health Education

(41:02) Workplace Challenges for Women

(42:15) Postmenopause: Health and Identity Challenges

(51:52) Finding Menopause-Informed Care

(56:12) HRT, Therapy, and Lifestyle Insights

(59:39) Hormonal Macros Trifecta Insights

(01:06:10) Stress, Memory, and Menopause

(01:10:45) Embrace Wisdom, Know Yourself

(01:15:25) Community, Intuition, and Support

(01:23:41) Health Essentials to Test For

(01:27:07) Normalizing Women’s Experiences

🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy

🌿 Instagram – @robynivy

🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com

🎧 The Robyn Ivy Podcast – Listen on Apple | Spotify

💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com

MORE ABOUT VENITA MACIEL:

Venita Maciel is a licensed mental health counselor and coach, the first and only U.S.-based clinician certified in EMBERS® Menopause-Informed CBT, a Learning and Integration Facilitator at the Menopause CBT Clinic®, and the founder of The Empowered Mind with Venita. Her work is centered on helping women navigate life transitions with compassion, clarity, and empowerment-especially during the often-overlooked stages of perimenopause and menopause.

Drawing from both professional training and lived experience, Venita uses a holistic and integrative approach that blends evidence-based modalities including CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and person-centered therapy. She supports women dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, identity shifts, and the emotional impact of hormonal changes, helping them build resilience and reconnect with their strengths.

Venita is deeply committed to normalizing conversations around midlife mental health and providing women with practical tools and psychoeducation so they can feel informed, empowered, and supported—not alone—during this transformative phase.

🌿 Instagram – @empoweredmindwithvenita

🧠 Website – https://www.empoweredmindwithvenita.com/

There’s something about this time of year that just feels more like the start of the New Year than January.

In this episode, I talk about the shift when winter starts to let go and spring sneaks in before you notice it. Never all at once. Just little things. Crocuses coming up one day to the next. More light. A different kind of energy.

And how that same thing happens in us.

We talk about change and the inklings of what’s next that call to us louder in the Spring. Whispers and ideas that start as a thought, or a feeling, or just a sense that something is ready to move… even if you can’t quite say what yet.

I share what I’ve been noticing in my own life, with my clients, and why this season can feel like a wiser time of year to begin again… or to at least emerge.

If you’ve been feeling a pull toward something, at a crossroads or feeling excited for more to be revealed, you’ll love this episode.

3 Things You’ll Take Away:

1. Where something is already shifting for you
2. Not what you should change. What’s actually changing.
3. How to stop overcomplicating the next step
4. You don’t need a full plan. You need to tell the truth about what you want and what you don’t.
5. A different way to start again
6. Nothing too dramatic. Definitely no perfect moves. Just a small, courageous step in the direction you’re already leaning or are about to.

⏰ Timestamps

(00:00) Spring Awakening and Intentions

(04:30) Your Next Chapter Program

(09:57) Noticing the Seasonal Shift

(11:31) Embracing Life’s Transitional Moments

(15:47) Spring Renewal and Commitment

(21:16) What Do You No Longer Want?

(22:37) Redefining Mornings and Self

(25:54) Embracing Change with Intention

(31:01) Intentional Living in a New Season

(33:08) Spring and Self-Reflection Practices

(37:16) Shifting Seasons of Life

(40:54) Embracing Aliveness and Renewal

(44:06) Your Next Chapter Program

(47:32) See You From Miami

🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy

🌿 Instagram – @robynivy

🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com

🎧 The Robyn Ivy Podcast – Listen on Apple | Spotify

💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com

MORE ABOUT ROBYN IVY:

Robyn Ivy sees people for a living.

A trusted coach, intuitive and fierce advocate for tree portals and a creative life, she spent over 20 years as a commercial photographer, honing her powerful skills as a witness.

Host of the Robyn Ivy Podcast, where she discusses how to be more present to our lives and create what’s next with today’s prominent thought leaders, spiritual mentors and creative guides.

Robyn mentors clients 1:1 through transitions, deep growth and meaningful change in a fun and inspiring way. Her workshops, groups and programs offer you insights and practices to live more confidently, creatively and from your truest wisdom.

You will often find her traveling in a camper van, sitting with the trees or capturing the beauty of nature. Raising her now grown sons Rook and Cole is her best work yet.