Have you ever finally sat down to relax, only to feel guilty about everything you should be doing instead? Maybe it's answering emails, cleaning the house, preparing dinner, working on your business, or tackling another task on a list that never seems to end.

In this solo episode of The Confident Woman Podcast, Rachel Brooks explores why slowing down can feel so uncomfortable, especially when you've spent years identifying as a high achiever, a hard worker, or the person who always gets things done.

As Rachel reflects on her own becoming journey, she shares how perfectionism can shift from our appearance and achievements into our everyday productivity, until what we accomplish becomes the way we measure our worth.

Through an honest conversation about ambition, faith, responsibility, and rest, Rachel examines the difference between godly diligence and self-reliant hustle, what happens when we begin treating peace as something we have to earn, and the invitation Jesus gives us in Matthew 11:28–30.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why resting can trigger guilt, anxiety, and the feeling that you should be doing something.
• How productivity can become another form of perfectionism.
• The difference between stewarding your gifts and trying to prove your worth through your work.
• Why unfinished tasks don't have to determine whether you've had a good day.
• Three practical shifts to help separate your identity from your accomplishments and begin practicing rest without guilt.

A question to carry with you this week:

If you accomplished absolutely nothing today, what would you say and believe about yourself?

Mentioned in this episode

The Permission Slip: A free resource to help you give yourself permission to pause and stop measuring your worth by what you accomplish.

Download The Permission Slip

Scripture: Matthew 11:28–30

Thank you for listening to The Confident Woman Podcast. If this conversation resonated with you, share it with a woman who may need to hear it, and follow the show for more conversations about faith, identity, confidence, purpose, and becoming.

Connect with Rachel Brooks at @iamrachelbrooks: https://iamrachelbrooks.com/instagram

Have you spent so long being the woman everyone depends on that you don’t know who you are outside of what you do for them?

You can be capable, independent, and successful while realizing the life you’ve built no longer reflects what matters to you.

In this episode of The Confident Woman Podcast, Rachel Brooks joins mother, author, and board-certified family nurse practitioner Chelsea Ann O’Brien to explore identity, inherited expectations, and redefining success.

Chelsea shares how divorce and motherhood challenged her priorities, drawing from her books, The Feminine Effect and The Feminine Frequency, to discuss feminine nature and receiving support. Rachel shares how grief challenged her identity, why she walked away from a working relationship, and how faith helped her open the heart she’d closed to protect herself.

What we get into

• How family beliefs shape who you think you have to be
• Why independence can be both a strength and a form of protection
• Chelsea’s perspective on reconnecting with feminine nature
• Defining your values and setting boundaries without proving your worth
• Rachel’s “just because I could doesn’t mean I should” realization
• Feeling safe, seen, and secure while learning to receive support

If you heard yourself in this

Asking, “Who am I without all the roles I know how to perform?” The Becoming… Identity Planner & Journal gives you somewhere to separate who you are from what you do and get honest about what still belongs in this season.

Begin The Becoming… Identity Planner & Journal

Create Your Own Story

Rachel continues exploring faith, identity, and the cost of proving your worth in Create Your Own Story. Subscribe for her writing on questioning the life you’ve built and deciding what comes next.

Subscribe to Create Your Own Story

New here? Start here

Connect with Chelsea Ann O’Brien

Explore The Feminine Effect, The Feminine Frequency, and Chelsea’s work: Website | Books and resources | Instagram

Connect with Rachel Brooks

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The nutrition or exercise routine that worked years ago may not feel right in midlife. How do you take care of your health when your energy, body, and everyday responsibilities have changed?

In this episode of The Confident Woman Podcast, Rachel Brooks sits down with Meridan Zerner, an award-winning registered dietitian nutritionist and wellness professional with more than 30 years of experience in preventive health. Meridan shares her approach to midlife wellness and explains why she believes a sustainable health routine should fit the person and the life she’s actually living.

Rachel and Meridan talk about how hormonal changes can affect women’s midlife experience, the place of sleep, nutrition, movement, stress management, and connection in overall wellness, and why learning what to do is only part of making a lasting change. When Rachel asks how a woman can create her own recipe for health, Meridan begins with a surprisingly practical question:

What is already going well?

IN THIS CONVERSATION

• How to reassess your habits when what used to work no longer fits
• Why Meridan recommends starting with the supportive habits you already have
• How one or two small changes can be tested and adjusted within an ordinary week
• Why rest, social connection, and asking for support belong in a fuller conversation about health
• What Meridan’s The Thoughtful 30 offers as a framework for considering new wellness habits
• How to advocate for yourself, ask questions, and collaborate with qualified health professionals

YOUR NEXT STEP

Notice one thing you’re already doing that supports your health, then consider one small change you can realistically try this week. Give yourself room to see whether it fits before adding more.

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY BENEVE

Beneve is a wellness brand Rachel uses as part of taking care of her health, energy, strength, and body in midlife.

See what Rachel is using → BENEVE

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Meridan Zerner, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD, CHWC, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, wellness coach, speaker, and creator of The Thoughtful 30: 30-Day Reset for Midlife and Beyond.

Learn more about Meridan and find her free Thoughtful 30 get-started resources: https://www.meridanzernernutrition.com

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION

This conversation doesn’t end with the episode. Rachel’s companion Create Your Own Story feature explores what happens when the way you’ve been taking care of yourself no longer fits the woman or the life you’re living now.

Subscribe and read the latest edition: https://iamrachelbrooks.substack.com

New here and not sure where to begin? START HERE →

Hosted by Rachel Brooks, author of Chasing Perfection and host of The Confident Woman Podcast.

Follow Rachel at @iamrachelbrooks: https://iamrachelbrooks.com/instagram

This episode is a general educational conversation and is not individualized healthcare guidance. Discuss personal symptoms or changes to treatment with your own qualified healthcare professional.