"Think positive" is the most common advice in self-help. It's also one of the most damaging. In this episode, Monique breaks down the science of why forcing positivity actually makes things worse, what toxic positivity really does to us, and what to do instead. Drawing on her own journey and decades of happiness research, this is the conversation you wish someone had had with you years ago.
The Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic. But the advice we keep hearing — "get out more, join a club, be more social" — isn't working. In this episode, Monique explores the crucial difference between isolation and solitude, why introverts experience loneliness differently, and why you don't need more friends. You need deeper ones.
I was mid-song, spotlight on me, when Chuck Berry waved me off the stage — and in two seconds flat, my brain went straight to: it's me, I'm not good enough. In this episode, I share what that moment taught me about why we take things personally and why it has absolutely nothing to do with weakness. I walk you through three practical tools to help you stop letting other people's storms become your story.
I spent years trying to override my emotions — pushing past the anxiety, dismissing the anger, powering through the sadness — until I finally stopped and listened to what they were actually trying to tell me. In this episode, I share that turning point and what I discovered about the real purpose of our emotions. Your anxiety isn't a malfunction, your anger isn't a problem, and your sadness isn't weakness — they're all messengers. And when you learn to listen to them instead of fight them, everything changes.