We are more connected than ever—and yet our relationships feel more strained, misunderstood, and distant than ever before.
In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Dan Sneider, licensed couples therapist and creator of The Intimacy Shift, to unpack what’s really breaking communication in modern relationships—and why most of us are unintentionally making it worse.

We talk about the invisible habits that quietly erode connection in marriages, friendships, and families…
Why trying to “shortcut” conversations actually creates more conflict, more distance, and longer emotional clean-up later…
And the small but profound shifts in listening, curiosity, and language that instantly change how people feel with you.

This episode isn’t about scripts or communication hacks.
It’s about how to be with people differently—so conversations feel safer, deeper, and more honest.

If you’ve ever walked away from a conversation thinking “That didn’t land the way I meant it to”…
If you’re tired of feeling unheard, misunderstood, or emotionally disconnected…
Or if you want relationships that feel more alive, secure, and real—

This episode will change how you communicate forever.

Because connection doesn’t come from being right.
It comes from being willing to stay curious, slow down, and actually listen.

Connect with Dr Dan Sneider at https://intimacyshift.com/ for his FREE 12-page pdf guide with his 6 Keys to Unlocking Intimate Conversations with Your Partner

Your day doesn’t go off the rails all at once.
It happens in a moment. A thought. A story your brain repeats before you even realize it.

This episode is for the woman who wakes up already tired, whose mind starts racing before her feet hit the floor, and who wonders why even “good days” can feel heavy.

Before you try to fix your life…
Before you make another big decision…
There’s a simple shift that can change the emotional direction of your entire day.

In this conversation, we slow the brain down and interrupt the invisible patterns running in the background of your life.

Jessica Rector sits down with Shavon Swain, LCSW, licensed clinical social worker and owner of The Healing Lounge, to explore why negative inner narratives feel so powerful in midlife—and how to stop letting them decide how you feel, think, and show up.

You’ll hear about:

• The thoughts that quietly hijack your mood and momentum

• Why “figuring it out” keeps your nervous system on high alert

• The #1 habit most people aren’t using that creates immediate mental relief

• How to intentionally shift a hard day—without bypassing or forcing positivity

• What it really means to sit with yourself long enough to hear what you need

This episode isn’t about thinking happier thoughts.
It’s about creating awareness, slowing down, and choosing a different internal response—one moment at a time.

Because when you change the thought, you don’t just change your mindset.
You change how your day unfolds.

Midlife can feel like standing at a crossroads—one path filled with possibility, the other paved with regrets you never meant to create. But here’s the part no one talks about: these regrets aren’t here to punish you… they’re here to wake you up.

In this episode, we’re diving into five midlife regrets most people carry quietly, the ones that hit hardest because you’ve been too busy, too responsible, or too exhausted to even notice them building.

These regrets show up in your choices, your routines, your “maybe later” moments—and they can either weigh you down or open the door to the best years of your life.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

✨Why these regrets hit so deeply—and what they’re really trying to tell you

✨How to spot the warning signs before they become part of your story

✨What you can shift right now to turn midlife into your most powerful chapter yet

If you’ve been feeling a tug, a nudge, a whisper that says, “There’s more for me than this…” — this episode is your invitation to listen.

Because midlife isn’t the beginning of the end—it’s the beginning of you finally choosing yourself.

Press play. Your best years are waiting.

Be honest for a second… are you actually living, or are youjust surviving your own life? Because for so many people in midlife, the days start to blur, the spark fades, and you wake up wondering, “When did I stop feeling excited about my own future?”

This episode pulls back the curtain on the five regrets that quietly hold midlifers back—the ones that keep you stuck in routines you’ve outgrown, choices you didn’t consciously make, and a life that feels more like maintenance than meaning. These regrets don’t appear overnight. They build in the background while you're taking care of everyone else, staying busy, and telling yourself “I’ll get to me eventually.”

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
✨Why you feel disconnected from your own life (and how to get back in the driver’s seat)
✨The small everyday choices that create BIG regret if you’re not paying attention
✨The exact shifts you can start making right now to break free from the patterns that keep you stuck

If you’re craving more—more purpose, more clarity, moreenergy, more YOU—this conversation is the permission and push you didn’t know you needed. This isn’t about blowing up your life… it’s about reclaiming it.

Your next chapter deserves a whole lot more than “justgetting by.”

Your future self will thank you.

If you’ve built a good life but still feel like something’s missing… if the days are starting to blur together… if you’ve begun wondering, “Is this really it?” — this episode is speaking straight to you.

You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. You’re not “too old,” “too late,” or past your prime.
You’re sleepwalking — and your brain is starving for something you’ve ignored for years: aliveness.

For decades, you’ve carried responsibility, shown up foreveryone else, built the career, raised the kids, kept all the plates spinning.

But somewhere along the way, your spark faded — not because you failed, but because you stopped feeding the part of you that needs novelty, joy, adventure, connection, and possibility to feel fully awake.

This episode is your reset button.
We’re diving into the science behind why you feel restless, disconnected, or numb — and how to flip that switch back on. You’ll learn how your brain responds to new experiences, why routine quietly drains your energy, and how even the smallest “yes” can reignite your motivation, curiosity, confidence, and joy.

This isn’t about changing your whole life.
It’s about waking up to the one you still have — and making the next chapter the most alive one yet.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✨Why your brain craves novelty — and how new experiences instantly boostmotivation, mood, and energy
✨How routine keeps you stuck in emotional autopilot (and why that’s why youfeel so disconnected)
✨Three simple “micro-novelty” shifts you can use today to wake up your brain and reignite your spark

If you’re ready to stop drifting… stop settling… stop feeling like a spectator in your own life… then this episode is your invitation to finally say YES again.

The next chapter isn’t written.
It’s waiting for you to wake up and create it.

If you’re tired of watching time fly by… if you keep whispering “someday” to the dreams you’ve tucked away… and if a small part of you is terrified you’ve waited too long to live the life you really want — this episode is your wake-up call.

You’ve spent decades carrying responsibility, taking care of everyone else, holding the world together. But now the noise is quieter, and the truth is louder: you want more. More joy. More connection. More aliveness. More YOU.

This episode pulls you out of autopilot and shows you exactly how to stop postponing your best experiences. You’ll learn why “someday” is the biggest trap stealing your excitement, how to reconnect with the desires you’ve buried under years of obligations, and how to finally turn your dreams into actual plans.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✨ Why the “someday” mindset drains your energy and steals your time — and howto break out of it today
✨How to identify the three types of dreams every person needs on their LifeList (Joy Dreams, Growth Dreams, Impact Dreams)
✨Three simple, practical steps to take ONE dream off hold and turn it into areal experience THIS year

If you’re ready to stop drifting through the same days and start filling your life with moments you’ll actually remember, this episode will light the path. And you’re going to want to share it — because once you get this spark back, you’ll want everyone you care about to feel it too.

What if everything you believe about who you are… isn’t thewhole truth?

You know those moments — the ones where you catch yourreflection and barely recognize the woman staring back? The one who used to laugh louder, take chances, wear bright lipstick, say yes more often? Somewhere along the way, she got buried under responsibility, routine, and the need to“keep it all together.”

But she’s still in there.
And sometimes, it takes something as small — and as messy — as a box of blue hair dye to bring her back to life.

In this episode, I’m sharing what happened when I tried todye my hair blue (spoiler: it didn’t turn out blue at all) — and how that simple act turned into a mirror for how we lose ourselves, hide behind expectations, and forget that who we are has nothing to do with how we look.

Because here’s the truth: your reflection isn’t your identity. The essence of you doesn’t live in your hair, your age, or yourreflection — it’s in your courage, your curiosity, and your willingness to say yes to yourself again.

You’ll discover:

💥 How to separate your identity from your appearance — and finally feel confident no matter whatstares back from the mirror.

🔥 Why discomfort is the secret doorway to rediscovering yourself — and how to walk through itwith grace (and maybe a little laughter).

🌙 The one question that will reconnect you to your essence — the real you that’s been waiting beneath the layers of “shoulds” and “used to be.”

If you’ve been craving something more — more aliveness, more self-trust, more you — this episode is your invitation to stop believing the mirror and start remembering who you’ve always been.

You know that voice that whispers, “What will peoplethink?”
The one that stops you from signing up for that class, trying something new, or saying yes to what you really want?

Yeah… that voice has been running the show for far too long.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about what happens whenyou finally stop letting the fear of judgment decide how big you get to live.

I’m sharing my own experience walking into a pole dancing class — nervous, stiff, totally out of my comfort zone — and how it cracked me open in ways I never expected.

This isn’t about pole dancing; it’s about permission.
It’s about remembering who you are when you stop performing for the world and start participating in your own life again.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How to stop waiting to feel confident — and instead, create confidence by doing the thing that scares you.

2. Why the fear of judgment is mostly a mirage — and how to quiet the inner critic that keeps you stuck and second-guessing.

3. What opens up when you step out of your head and into your life — the joy, the laughter, and the deep sense of aliveness you’ve been missing.

If you've been craving something more — more courage, morejoy, more you — this episode is your invitation to stop watching life from the sidelines and start yes to yourself again.

Be sure to share this episode with someone who has let fearof judgement run their life, relationships, or career for too long.
Download our free 5 Micro Brave Moves that will help you build more courage at SayYesExperience.com/courage