10 MINUTES TO LESS SUFFERING

Latest Episodes:

Nice or Kind? Seeing The Difference and Living From The Heart Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of 10 Minutes to Less Suffering, explore how shifting from being nice to being kind can reduce stress, support emotional healing, and create more authentic and mindful relationships. Listeners learn why niceness often comes from fear and people pleasing, while true kindness grows from compassion, honesty, presence, and an open heart.

What you will gain from this episode

• A clear understanding of the difference between nice behavior and true heart based kindness • Insight into why some relationships feel inconsistent or disappointing during stressful moments • Support for emotional healing, self trust, and clarity after confusing interactions • Tools to stop people pleasing and reduce daily stress and anxiety • Guidance for setting healthy boundaries that protect your emotional well being • Encouragement to act with more authenticity, presence, and self compassion • A calming reflection to help you connect with your heart and choose kindness mindfully • Inspiration to create relationships that feel safe, honest, steady, and emotionally supportive • Hope to live with more peace, connection, and present moment awareness

This episode is ideal for listeners searching for self help practices, self improvement tools, stress relief techniques, emotional healing support, mindful living tips, present based awareness, spiritual growth, heart centered connection, and guidance for living with more peace and clarity.

You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you are interested in my work, please check out my books, The Gift of Maybe: Finding Hope and Possibility in Uncertain Times (including a new audiobook), A Year Without Men: A 12 Point Guide To Inspire and Empower Women and my new Audiobook, Maybe Everything Is Okay, A Parent's Guide To Less Stress and Worry. Also you can check out my new Maybe Cards: A Path to Stress-Free Living or my new digital Maybe Journal.

Above all, my heartfelt hope is that this podcast has supported your journey of personal growth, helped shift your mindset, reduce stress, built emotional resilience, and brought you less suffering and more joy, clarity, and peace.

How Can We Change Our Lives When We Feel Stuck?| Overcome Fear and Trust the Unknown Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

In this inspiring episode of 10 Minutes to Less Suffering, author and life strategist Allison Carmen explores the question so many of us ask: How can we change our lives when we feel stuck, afraid, or uncertain?

Through deep reflection and real-life stories, Allison shares how embracing the unknown can open the door to transformation, healing, and possibility. You'll learn how to quiet fear, trust your intuition, and use The Maybe Practice to find hope even when life feels impossible.

If you've been struggling with stress, self-doubt, or major life changes — this episode will remind you that every moment is new and full of potential. Your dreams are real, your intuition is powerful, and the universe is waiting for you to say maybe to what's next.

Topics covered:

How fear of uncertainty blocks change
Learning to trust yourself and your dreams
Finding peace and clarity through mindfulness
The Maybe Practice for emotional resilience
Believing in new possibilities — no matter your age or past

Just Because A Thought Is Real Doesn't Mean It's True Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Our thoughts are real, but not always true. This episode invites listeners to look beyond the stories the mind creates and find freedom from worry, stress, and self-doubt. Through mindfulness and gentle awareness, it offers a path to calm and clarity in uncertain moments. Listeners are encouraged to trust that every thought can be met with curiosity and compassion, opening the way to inner peace, resilience, and a deeper sense of hope for what is possible.

Poem: Our Thoughts Are Real, But Not Always True

Our thoughts rise like waves on an endless sea, shaping the shore of who we think we are. They rush in, fierce and convincing, pulling us into stories of what might break, what might never come, what might already be lost.

They feel real because they are. They move through the body, tighten the chest, quicken the breath, stir the storm.

But truth lives somewhere quieter. It waits beneath the noise, in the still water that holds every wave. It asks nothing but a pause, a single breath, a question whispered to the mind: Is this thought true?

The unknown is not our enemy. It is the open sky that can let every cloud of thought drift by. Calm is not something we find, but something we remember.

In the space between belief and truth, there is peace. There is possibility. And there we can be, the sky, not the storm.

Do You Think Life Is Against You? Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

When life takes an unexpected turn, when a relationship ends, plans fall apart, or disappointment appears out of nowhere, it can feel like everything is working against you. But what if life is still on your side, even in those moments of heartache and uncertainty?

This podcast episode invites you to see challenges in a new way and find peace in the middle of change. When you stop believing that life is against you, you begin to open to the quiet rhythm of possibility, where healing and hope can start to grow. Even in pain there is movement. Even in loss there is life still unfolding with you.

Take ten minutes to breathe, reflect, and remember that you are not separate from life. You are part of it, and within that connection, there is always a way forward.

Poem: Life Is Still With You

When the path breaks open beneath your feet, and everything you planned disappears into air, pause. The world is still breathing with you. The sunrise does not forget your name. The wind still carries new beginnings.

Life is not against you. It moves through you, even now in every breath, in every quiet act of courage, in every small moment you choose to begin again.

Allison Carmen

Finding A Way To Step Into New Possibilities Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

When life takes an unexpected turn and leaves us heartbroken or uncertain, it can be hard to move forward. This rebroadcast is a needed reminder for us all. Once we've taken the time to feel and process those emotions, the real MAGIC begins — MAYBE, ACCEPTANCE, GRATITUDE, INNER GROWTH, and letting go of what we can't CONTROL. It's a simple yet powerful formula for finding freedom, embracing change, and creating a new life filled with possibility. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation to help you reconnect with hope and take your next step forward!

How to Set Boundaries Without Guilt/Stop People-Pleasing and Prevent Burnout Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

Feeling drained from saying "yes" when you really want to say "no"? You're not alone. In this episode on setting healthy boundaries, I explore the guilt, fear, and discomfort that come with honoring your true needs—and how mastering this skill can completely transform your life and relationships.

You'll learn:

● Practical ways to stop people-pleasing and prevent burnout

● How to protect your energy and reduce daily stress

● Techniques for building respect-based relationships instead of resentment-driven ones

● Why discomfort is actually a sign you're choosing yourself

Perfect for anyone struggling with work-life balance, relationship stress, or feeling overwhelmed by others' demands.

Boundaries and Peace Affirmation

When I say yes to everything, I drift away from myself. When I pause, when I breathe, I come home again. Discomfort is not punishment. It is the feeling of choosing myself. It is the space between suffering and peace. My boundaries are love. My rest is power. My honesty is freedom. When I honor my boundaries, I return to the center of who I am. From that place, what I give is true, authentic and rare. Each time I choose myself, I return with more love to give, more calm to share, and the world feels a little more whole.

How to Stop Resisting Life | Finding Peace Through Surrender and Acceptance Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

So much of our suffering comes when life doesn't go our way. Traffic makes us late, meetings unfold differently than expected, or loved ones face challenges we can't control. In this mindfulness episode, you'll discover how our will can equal pain—and how surrender creates space for renewal.

In this episode, discover:

● Why uncertainty can become an ally instead of an enemy

● How to ease stress by releasing resistance to what is

● Practical techniques for meeting everyday struggles with more peace

● The difference between giving up and giving over to life's natural flow

Ideal for anyone dealing with control issues, anxiety about the future, or struggling to accept difficult circumstances.

Affirmation Poem:

When my will demands what life does not give, I meet the birthplace of pain. I breathe, I soften, I release.

Uncertainty is not my enemy. It carries hope, renewal, and possibility. In the unknown, I am free.

Surrender is not giving up. It is giving over. It is opening to life itself, allowing it to reshape me, polish me, make me whole again.

Here I find less stress, less suffering, and the peace of flowing with what is.

Above all, my heartfelt hope is that this podcast has supported your journey of personal growth, helped shift your mindset, built emotional resilience, and brought you less suffering and more joy, clarity, and peace.

Building Trust in Yourself | Overcoming Fear and Embracing Uncertainty Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

This episode explores how trust isn't just about people or outcomes—it's about leaning into uncertainty and engaging with life as it unfolds. If you've ever resisted pursuing a dream, applying for a job, or taking a chance because you didn't trust yourself or the future, this episode offers a new way forward.

Learn how to:

● Use the power of "Maybe" to bridge the gap when trust feels impossible

● Build resilience and courage in the face of the unknown

● Trust yourself when you can't trust the outcome

● Move forward despite fear and self-doubt

Perfect for career transitions, relationship decisions, or anyone feeling stuck by fear of failure.

Full "Maybe" Trust Affirmations

Releasing the past

Maybe the past is behind me.

Maybe what happened before will never happen again.

Maybe the past has no power over who I am today.

Trusting the present

Maybe I can handle whatever comes my way.

Maybe I am stronger than my fears.

Maybe I can trust myself right now, in this moment.

Maybe life is unfolding exactly as it should because it is.

Opening to the future

Maybe the future holds more possibilities than I can see.

Maybe the unknown will bring me opportunities I never imagined.

Maybe I will land on my feet no matter what happens.

Maybe I will trust myself over time.

Maybe the best is yet to come!

Radical Acceptance Practice | Finding Peace When Life Doesn't Go As Planned Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

Discover how letting go of resistance can bring more peace, ease, and openness to your life. When things don't go as planned, acceptance helps soften the pain, keeps you present, and allows hope for what the future may bring.

In this episode, you'll learn:

● How to practice radical acceptance without giving up

● Techniques to stay present even during challenges

● Why accepting "what is" opens doors to "what can be"

● How to release the constant story that things should be different

Affirmation:

I accept life as it is in this moment. I allow myself to feel my emotions, but I release the constant story that things should be different. In this acceptance, I find peace, even in times of challenge. I trust that the unknown future holds possibilities I cannot yet see, and I remain open to healing, to hope, and to the beauty of what may come next.

Perfect for anyone struggling with disappointment, unexpected life changes, or chronic resistance to current circumstances.

If you found this podcast enjoyable, kindly consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review. Additionally, I'd appreciate it if you could share it with your friends to spread the love!

How Fear of the Future Steals Your Joy| Overcoming Performance Anxiety Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

As I approach the one-year anniversary of my TEDx talk, I'm reminded of an important lesson about fear, uncertainty, and love. Preparing for the talk stirred up tremendous stress and anxiety—not because I was unprepared, but because I became attached to the belief that everything had to be perfect.

In this episode, explore:

● Why fear often arises when we refuse to accept uncertainty

● How to clarify your goals and separate fear from the present moment

● Ways the "Maybe practice" opens doors to creativity and possibility

● How to shift from fear into presence, gratitude, and love

Suffering often comes from clinging to fixed outcomes. When we accept uncertainty as a friend, we create space for joy and new opportunities.

Ideal for anyone facing high-stakes presentations, important events, or struggling with perfectionism and performance anxiety.

And, by the way, the talk turned out to be pretty amazing! Here is the link! https://youtu.be/Cmb8pp5_CUM?si=qclttN9usQn4bp01

If you found this podcast enjoyable, kindly consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review. Additionally, I'd appreciate it if you could share it with your friends to spread the love!

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