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.

You were born with intuition.

The question isn't whether you have it. It's whether you've learned to hear it — and whether you trust it when you do.

This week I'm going deep on one of my favorite topics. What intuition actually is, how it shows up differently for different people, and how to start working with yours in a real and practical way.

I also talk about where people get it wrong — including some things I wish more women knew before they go opening themselves up to just... anything. There's a difference between trusting your inner knowing and doing things you're not trained for. We talk about both.

This is the kind of work we go deep on inside Your Next Chapter. But this episode is a good place to start.

3 Things You’ll Take Away:

1. How you personally receive intuition. Do you hear it, see it, feel it, or just know it? Understanding your own channel changes everything.
2. Where intuition is safe and where to be careful. Your inner knowing is always safe to trust. Opening yourself up to everything else is a different conversation.
3. How to practice it. When you're most receptive, what conditions help, and why effort is the one thing that will shut it down.

⏰ Timestamps

(00:00) Intuition, self-trust, and why this matters right now

(02:00) Your Next Chapter — starting April 14th

(06:00) Growing up intuitive — Robyn's earliest memories

(08:00) Where faith and intuition intersect (and why it gets tricky)

(11:00) The divine dialogue — prayer, contemplation, and the unseen

(15:00) Intuition as a natural sense — not a scary thing

(23:00) Clairaudience, clairvoyance, and the many ways we receive

(27:00) How to find your channel — where and when you're most receptive

(30:00) Why some places shut your intuition down

(32:00) When to be careful — and what "just opening up" actually means

(39:00) The protective side of intuitive work

(43:00) Where we start inside Your Next Chapter — low stakes, high trust

(46:00) You can't effort your way to intuition

(54:00) Why this skill matters especially right now

(56:00) Ask Me and My Intuition Anything — monthly live event

🔗 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

Join Your Next Chapter at robynivy.com/next

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.

🎙️ Episode 179: Commitment, Consistency, & the Real Work of Change

It’s easy to make a resolution. Staying with it is the real work.

This week I’m sharing a real example from my own life: What I am learning about change through recommitting to my fitness routine and realizing what it actually takes to follow through on change. This is a real reflection on how it’s going, what gets in the way and keeps me moving towards my goal. I know you’ll relate.

We talk about what helps change stick: making clear agreements with yourself, reducing decision fatigue, leaning on community, and tracking what’s actually happening instead of relying on motivation. And what to do when you look at your planner and realize your “pretty consistent” habits aren’t as consistent as you thought.

Hear about my new Clarity Sessions and the upcoming Your Next Chapter immersion, and why learning how you personally move through change might be one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

If you’ve been trying to change something in your life but keep starting over, this episode will help you get honest, practical, and moving again.

3 Things You’ll Take Away:

1. Clarity about what you’re actually committing to
2. Vague intentions rarely create change. Clear agreements with yourself do.
3. What actually helps you follow through
4. Accountability, structure, and removing extra decisions make habits much easier to keep.
5. Progress without beating yourself up
6. Track what’s real, experiment a little, and adjust when life inevitably interrupts your plans.

⏰ Timestamps

(00:00) Clarity, Change & Intuitive Growth

(04:29) Mastering Change Through Sisterhood

(07:59) Overcoming Decision Fatigue at the Gym

(11:45) Accountability and Personal Change

(13:16) Finding a Workout Routine

(19:26) Strength for Life’s Challenges

(22:12) Embracing Growth and Commitment

(24:04) Growth Through Support and Reflection

(27:50) Finding Your Right Fit

(32:43) Balance in Community Spaces

(36:56) Slow Down and Recenter

(39:58) Progress, Reality, and Adaptation

(41:42) Commit, Progress, Achieve Goals

🔗 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.

We were buried under three feet of snow here in Rhode Island, and while I was sitting inside with a sinus infection and nowhere to go, I kept thinking about Charlie.

Charlie was a stray. Skittish. Half-wild. She started showing up in my backyard years ago. I fed her. Gave her shelter. Eventually set up a heated bed outside. She hovered at the threshold for a long time, close enough to see the warmth, unwilling to step into it.

Until something happened.

In this episode, I tell the full story-how survival instincts protect us, how resistance can keep us circling the very thing we want, and how sometimes it takes a “life quake” to finally let ourselves come inside.

A few episodes back we talked about preparing for storms. This one is about what happens when you’re already in one.

We talk about ego. Self-protection. Accepting help. The slow build of trust. And the shift from surviving alone to belonging somewhere.

Because surviving keeps you alive.

Belonging changes your nervous system.

3 Takeaways for you:

• Notice where you’re hovering outside what you say you want.
• Where are you close to warmth but still holding back?
• Survival mode can look like strength.
• Hyper-independence and control may be old protection, not present power.
• Receiving care is a practice.
• Belonging asks you to soften and let yourself be supported.

Timestamps

00:00 90-Day Growth and Transformation

08:41 Building Bond With Stray Cat

15:32 Rescuing and Caring for Charlie

18:09 Survival Amid Life’s Quakes

24:25 Healing, Trust, and Survival

27:22 Finding Warmth in Resistance

33:27 Finding Hope Amidst Fear

43:09 Facing Change and Uncertainty

44:10 Embracing Change and Self-Discovery

52:08 Seeking Change, Facing Fear

55:59 Embracing Change and Belonging

01:00:59 Take Care, See You Soon

🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy

Join Your Next Chapter Starting March 19th www.robynivy.com/next

🌿 Instagram – @robynivy

🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com

🎧 The Robyn Ivy Podcast – Listen on Apple | Spotify

💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com

💌 → Hop on the email list for soulful updates + invites

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.

In this episode, I’m talking about gifts: the ones you were born with (like them or not) and the ones you’ve cultivated over time.

I share more of my own story here: growing up as a Christian with legit intuitive prowess, apprenticing spiritual teachers across many traditions, learning the real work of mediumship, and learning how to carry spiritual abilities in a practical, grounded way.

We talk about my gifts and yours. How intuition is both a gift and a skill, protecting your gifts, and why using what you’ve been given is both an honor and a responsibility.

I also reflect on indigenous stewardship, bridging more universal spiritual ideas with Christian faith and language, and what it means to contribute in uncertain times.

Your gift may not look mystical. It may be patience, the best sloppy joe’s this side of Detroit or public speaking, crocheting, listening or leadership.

Whatever it is, it’s not accidental. And it’s not meant to sit unused. This episode can help.

3 Takeaways for you:

• If a strength has been consistent in your life, it’s not a coincidence.
• It’s yours to use, share and offer up. Stop treating it like it’s optional.
• Intuition can be strengthened.
• You trust yourself by listening, acting, and setting boundaries not by waiting to feel certain.
• Your gifts create impact when you use them.
• Keeping them small keeps your influence small. Using them changes things.

Timestamps:

00:00 Discovering Your Unique Gifts

07:43 Natural Gifts and Learned Skills

14:18 Learning Trust and Decision-Making

21:26 Channeling Sessions and Universal Questions

23:49 Guidance on Spiritual Communication

31:58 Indigenous Wisdom and Stewardship

36:38 Bridging Spiritual and Christian Beliefs

41:09 Feedback, Intuition, and Boundaries

48:54 Using Gifts to Help Others

50:20 Connecting with Ancestors for Guidance

59:15 Intentional Community and Shared Messages

01:02:44 Sharing Intuition and Connection

01:06:03 Creating the Next Thing

🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy

🌿 Instagram – @robynivy

🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com

🎧 The Robyn Ivy Podcast – Listen on Apple | Spotify

💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com

💌 → Hop on the email list for soulful updates + invites

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.