Grace & Grit Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 643: The Art of Receiving Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

I am very good at giving.

I spent a long time being terrible at receiving.

And I have come to understand that the inability to receive is not humility. It is a wall. And it keeps love out just as effectively as it keeps pain out.

In this episode I share the story of my friend Colleen volunteering at my first retreat and what happened when I finally said yes to being supported. What I discovered completely reframed how I think about receiving. When I refuse it, I am not protecting anyone. I am denying the people who care about me the opportunity to love me. And I am denying myself the experience of being loved.

I also name the three things that typically sit underneath the inability to receive: vulnerability, worth, and control. And I offer a simple practice for beginning to let care in.

Ready to go deeper? Grab my book, The Consistency Code: A Midlife Woman's Guide to Deep Health and Happiness, at https://theconsistencycode.com

#GraceAndGrit #ArtOfReceiving #MidlifeWomen #SelfCompassion #Vulnerability #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #RelationshipHealth #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 642: The Inner Critic at Midlife Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

There is a voice that most of us know intimately.

The one that says you are not doing enough, not being enough, not achieving enough.

At midlife, that voice often gets louder.

In this episode I share my own evolving relationship with my inner critic, including how I have learned to stop trying to silence her and start turning her questions back around. When she asks why I am not doing more, I have learned to answer: why not me? Why not this version, this season, doing things the way I am doing them?

I also explore the reframe that has helped me most, treating the inner critic not as an enemy but as information, and share research on why self-compassion actually outperforms self-criticism when it comes to motivation, resilience, and performance.

Want everything in one place? Join me on Substack for real talk, deeper insights, and the community you didn't know you needed — at https://courtneytownley.substack.com

#GraceAndGrit #InnerCritic #MidlifeWomen #SelfCompassion #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Mindset #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 641: How to Make Your Journaling Practice Richer Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Journaling is not about filling pages.

It is about going somewhere you have not been before.

And the quality of where you end up is almost entirely determined by the quality of the question you start with.

In this episode I reframe journaling as a practice of radical self-inquiry rather than a diary or a gratitude list. I share a collection of less obvious questions worth sitting with, including what am I pretending not to know, what feeling do I keep avoiding and what is it trying to tell me, and what story am I telling about this situation that may not actually be true.

I also offer practical ways to build the habit so it actually sticks. What you get out of journaling is largely what you bring to the depth of the question and the honesty of the answer. It is not always fun. It is revealing. And that is the whole point.

Want to keep going? Download the first chapter of The Consistency Code for FREE at https://graceandgrit.com/freechapter and take the first step toward the health and happiness you deserve.

#GraceAndGrit #Journaling #MidlifeWomen #SelfAwareness #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth #JournalingPractice

Episode 640: Rest or Story? How to Tell the Difference Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Do you actually need rest right now?

Or is rest the story you are telling yourself to avoid doing the thing?

These are two very different situations. And knowing the difference might change everything about how you approach your days.

A client of mine recently brought this question to me. She said she always feels like she needs to rest, no matter what, and she was starting to wonder whether that was a real need or a habit of avoidance so normalized she could no longer tell the difference. That is one of the most self-aware questions someone can ask.

In this episode I share how to distinguish genuine depletion from resistance, what real rest actually feels like on the other side, and why committing to just ten minutes is almost always the most honest move you can make.

Ready to go deeper? Grab my book, The Consistency Code: A Midlife Woman's Guide to Deep Health and Happiness, at https://theconsistencycode.com

#GraceAndGrit #RestOrStory #MidlifeWomen #SelfLeadership #Motivation #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Resistance #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 639: Woman of Grace & Grit: Lindsey Sills Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Lindsey Sills is living proof that consistency isn't about perfection—it's about practice.

In this episode, we talk about redefining health beyond weight loss, building non-negotiable habits that anchor you, and navigating "off track" moments with acceptance instead of shame.

Lindsey shares the mindset shift that helped her stay steady through multiple seasons of life and the powerful moment she realized her work was paying off emotionally, not just physically. Expect inspiration, practical perspective, and a more compassionate definition of success.

Want to keep going? Download the first chapter of The Consistency Code for FREE at https://graceandgrit.com/freechapter and take the first step toward the health and happiness you deserve.

#GraceAndGrit #ClientStory #MidlifeWomen #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Transformation #MidlifeHealth #GuestInterview #SelfLeadership #Inspiration

Episode 638: Learning to Love the Hallway Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

There is a space between who you have been and who you are becoming.

It is not comfortable. It is not certain. And it is not optional.

I call it the hallway.

In this episode I explore what liminal space actually is, why midlife is by its very nature a liminal season, and how I have had to learn to stop treating the hallway like a crisis and start treating it like a classroom. I used to hate not knowing what was next. I wanted certainty and guarantees and forward momentum.

Now I am learning to trust that what is supposed to emerge from this space will emerge in its own time. And the quality of what begins on the other side is often directly related to how honestly and patiently you inhabit the in-between.

Want to keep going? Download the first chapter of The Consistency Code for FREE at https://graceandgrit.com/freechapter and take the first step toward the health and happiness you deserve.

#GraceAndGrit #LiminalSpace #MidlifeWomen #Transitions #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth #TrustTheProcess

Episode 637: Your Relationship with Capacity Aug 23, 2026

Show notes

A lot of women tell me they have a healthy relationship with their capacity.

And then I look at their schedule.

Those two things do not always match.

In this episode I draw a clear distinction between enduring and thriving, and make the case that a healthy relationship with capacity starts with getting radically honest about the resources you actually have available right now. Not the ones you wish you had. Not the ones you had five years ago. The ones that are genuinely present today.

I can tell a tremendous amount about a woman's relationship with capacity by how her schedule is built. Overcommitting is not ambition. It is often a delusional relationship with what is actually possible. And the cost of that delusion lands in the body, the relationships, and the quality of everything she is trying to do.

Ready to go deeper? Grab my book, The Consistency Code: A Midlife Woman's Guide to Deep Health and Happiness, at https://theconsistencycode.com

#GraceAndGrit #Capacity #MidlifeWomen #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #EnergyManagement #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth #Boundaries

Episode 636: Things Putting Life in My Life Right Now Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

I often say that health is answering the question: how much life do you have in your life?

Today I want to get personal and answer that question myself.

In this episode I share what is genuinely infusing my life with more aliveness right now. The Montana seasons and how much easier it is to be outside. My puppy Tilly, who makes me laugh out loud a dozen times a day and who was such a gift in the season of losing our Great Dane Sully. Befriending cardio in new ways, including jump rope and movement with friends. Savoring the time I have left with my dad and with my son before he leaves home. Evening walks and real conversations with my husband.

And turning 50 in February, which feels surprisingly exciting rather than daunting.

This is a lighter episode. I hope it prompts you to make your own list.

Want everything in one place? Join me on Substack for real talk, deeper insights, and the community you didn't know you needed — at https://courtneytownley.substack.com

#GraceAndGrit #LifeInMyLife #MidlifeWomen #Joy #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Gratitude #MidlifeHealth #IntentionalLiving #Turning50

Episode 635: New Level, New Devil Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Every time you elevate your life in some way, the problems do not go away.

They change form.

My mom used to say it to me when my son was small: little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems. She was right. And the same thing is true in business, in health, in every arena where you are growing.

In this episode I explore the concept of new level, new devil and why understanding it is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself from discouragement. When you are first building a health practice you focus on one thing. The longer you are in the arena the more you understand how everything is connected. You start wishing for the simplicity of being a beginner. And I want to offer you a reframe: that nostalgia for simpler problems is actually evidence of how far you have come.

Want to keep going? Download the first chapter of The Consistency Code for FREE at https://graceandgrit.com/freechapter and take the first step toward the health and happiness you deserve.

#GraceAndGrit #NewLevelNewDevil #MidlifeWomen #Growth #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Mindset #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 634: Close the Chapter Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Not every chapter of your life is supposed to run on forever.

And the chapters that have ended are not asking you to grieve them indefinitely.

They are asking you to close them, honor them, and walk into what comes next.

In this episode I lead with the invitation to close rather than the grief of ending, because I see too many women lingering in chapters that have clearly concluded and paying a real health cost for it. The open loop of an unfinished chapter takes up psychological and emotional bandwidth whether you realize it or not.

I also share what closing a chapter with intention actually looks like, and why the space it creates is often where the most important next things begin.

Ready to go deeper? Grab my book, The Consistency Code: A Midlife Woman's Guide to Deep Health and Happiness, at https://theconsistencycode.com

#GraceAndGrit #CloseTheChapter #MidlifeWomen #LetGo #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Transitions #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

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