Welcome to the 13th episode of the Woman Uncaged Podcast with Laura Gates-Lupton and Linda Katz! In this episode we talk about how necessary it is to center our own happiness and success, in order to be uncaged, and how difficult that can be in heterosexual relationships.

"What I’m asking women to do is to center their own happiness and center their success in a way that is radical. And probably going to be deeply destabilizing for their relationships.” Lyz Lenz

We explore and discuss:
-How do we center our own happiness and our success, in the context of relationships?
-What does this mean for our partners?
-How do we find freedom in the context of our relationships?
-The metaphor of keeping our own candles lit.
-How do we create a sense of wholeness for ourselves?
-What role does self-defining play?
-Why the notion of "stolen moments" and "guilty pleasures" piss us off!
-How do we still value relationships and also center our own happiness?
-How do we know what we most want and claim that?
-How do we split the load (both visible and invisible) with our partners without phrasing it as "asking for help?"

Linda talks about setting up her life in a way that furthers her goals and what she loves.
"And the truth is, if your doing so rocks the boat, then you are in somebody else's boat. You're not the captain of your boat." ~Laura Gates-Lupton

Laura tells the story of the time she confused her family with her Mother's Day plans.

We mentioned (and recommend):
This American Ex-Wife by Lyz Lenz
Virginia Sole-Smith's Substack: https://virginiasolesmith.substack.com/p/is-heterosexual-marriage-a-diet

How about you? Where do you struggle with this? What have you figured out that works for you? What terms do you use instead of "asking for help?" We'd love to hear from you. Email us: womanuncagedpodcast@gmail.com

~Linda's website: https://singingbirdcoaching.com/ ~Laura's Monday Money Missives: https://www.dearlaura.net/letters