Episode 27: Re-evaluating Relationships: Who Still Deserves a Seat at Your Midlife Table?
Who's sitting at your midlife table? And do they still belong there?
This episode explores the sacred work of re-evaluating relationships when your tolerance for performance evaporates and protecting your energy becomes non-negotiable.
Picture a table—your table. It's intimate, with just a handful of seats. The people sitting there have ongoing access to your energy, your heart, your time. They are your inner circle.
Now ask yourself: Who's sitting at your table right now? And more importantly, do they still belong there?
At midlife, something shifts. Death stops being theoretical. Roles that organized your identity for decades dissolve. Your capacity for pretending evaporates. The weight of maintaining performances becomes unbearable. And suddenly, re-evaluating who gets intimate access to your life isn't optional, it's survival.
In this episode, we wade into the tender, complicated, necessary work of relationship re-evaluation.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
Why midlife specifically demands this sacred stewardship
- The accumulation of decades of performance, the reality of mortality, and why your tolerance for inauthenticity evaporates
What a "seat at your table" actually means
- The difference between being kind to people and giving them intimate access to your life
Signs a relationship no longer deserves a seat
- From your body's warning signals to the performance tax you're paying to maintain connection
Boundaries vs. Endings: How to tell the difference
- When a relationship can be saved with better boundaries and when it needs to end entirely
How to handle the crushing guilt
- Understanding the difference between appropriate guilt and conditioned guilt, and why choosing yourself isn't selfish
What moxie looks like in relationship re-evaluation
- How to be clear and honest without being cold, harsh, or cruel
- Creating space for new, aligned relationships
- The uncomfortable transition period and how to recognize relationships that actually nourish you
PERSONAL STORIES SHARED:
Social media reconnections that revealed who's willing to grow with you versus who wants you to stay small
Work friendships that didn't translate outside the office, and why that's okay
What happens when you finally stop abandoning yourself for the comfort of others
This episode is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment.
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DISCLAIMER: This podcast may cause sudden outbreaks of truth-telling, boundary-setting, and unapologetic self-expression. Side effects include losing people who preferred you silent.