Grace & Grit Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 623: Burnout, Hormones & the Hidden Mental Load w/ Jenn Pike Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

If you've been blaming your hormones for the exhaustion, mood swings, stubborn weight, and "I don't feel like myself" fog of midlife—this conversation will change the way you see what's really happening.

In this episode, Jenn Pike and I pull back the curtain on the hidden drivers behind burnout in perimenopause and beyond: overfunctioning, people-pleasing, carrying the mental load, and trying to "fix" your body while your nervous system is still stuck in survival mode.

We talk about what sustainable healing actually looks like (without perfectionism), where women give their power away in the wellness space, and simple ways to reconnect with your body when you feel overwhelmed and disconnected.

Grab Jenn's FREE Metabolic Ignition Playbook here: http://jennpike.com/metabolic-guide

#GraceAndGrit #MidlifeWomen #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #GuestInterview #MidlifeHealth

Episode 622: What Would Love Do Here? Aug 08, 2026

Show notes

My eight-month-old puppy Tilly recently chewed through my jump rope.

She has also excavated my gym bag, destroyed a hip roller, and shown zero remorse for any of it.

And I love her completely. Not one bit less.

In this episode I use that gap, between what she does and how I feel about her, to explore the concept of unconditional love. Most of the love in our lives is conditional. We have unwritten manuals that govern who gets our warmth and when. Unconditional love is something different entirely. And asking yourself the question "what would love do here?" is one of the most powerful self-leadership practices I know.

I also bring this home to the relationship that matters most: the one you have with yourself.

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 #UnconditionalLove #MidlifeWomen #SelfCompassion #RelationshipHealth #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #SelfLeadership #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 621: Energy Management Is the New Time Management Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Nir Eyal wrote that time management is really pain management.

I think there is profound truth in that.

But what I am even more passionate about these days is energy management. Because managing your time means nothing if you have no energy to spend in it.

In this episode I make the case that at midlife, most of us have more responsibility than we have ever had and less energy than we used to. If we do not put serious forethought into how we spend our energy each day, life runs us. And we end up feeling resentful, unfulfilled, and perpetually behind.

I share what poor energy management actually looks like in practice and offer three questions to ask yourself every night that will change how you approach the next day.

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 #EnergyManagement #MidlifeWomen #TimeManagement #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth #Productivity

Episode 620: A Diagnosis Is Not the Final Word Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Health is not the absence of disease.

I feel strongly about this, and I want to make the case for it today.

In this episode I share why I believe health is not binary. Your physical health being compromised does not mean your health as a whole is gone. It means one dimension is under strain. And there are other dimensions still available to you.

I have coached women navigating cancer, Parkinson's, ALS, and many other serious diagnoses. I would not have been doing that work if I believed the diagnosis was the final word on what someone was capable of. A diagnosis tells you what you are dealing with in one dimension of your health. It does not tell you who you are.

How you show up in the face of what you are dealing with is everything. That is the real measure of health.

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 #HealthMindset #MidlifeWomen #Diagnosis #DeepHealth #WomensWellness #SelfLeadership #Resilience #MidlifeHealth #IntentionalLiving

Episode 619: Health Is a Practice of Self-Leadership Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

I teach self-leadership.

I just happen to use health as the arena.

Because if you can learn to lead yourself here, you can learn to lead yourself anywhere.

In this episode I make the case that the skills required to build a consistent health practice are the exact same skills that build a successful business, a thriving relationship, and a financially stable life. The principles are identical. Only the arena is different.

If you have ever felt disciplined in one area of your life but completely unable to get it together in another, this episode is for you. Self-leadership is transferable. It is a muscle, not a fixed trait. And your body is the most honest training ground available for building it.

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 #SelfLeadership #MidlifeWomen #HealthMindset #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Consistency #TheConsistencyCode #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 618: Living YOUR Code Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

I wrote The Consistency Code to help people live more consistently.

But here is what I have learned: consistency toward what?

Before the principles mean anything, you have to answer that question.

In this episode I make the case that getting radically clear on your values and standards is not optional. It is the only foundation from which meaningful consistency can actually be built. Without it, you are being disciplined toward things that were never truly yours to begin with. You are chasing rainbows.

I also share the questions worth sitting with to start building a code that is genuinely yours at this age and stage of life. Not someone else's definition of health or success. Yours.

This episode is also a direct invitation to join me on Substack, where every Tuesday I go live in something called The Code, a behind-the-scenes look at how I apply these principles in my own life in real time. You can join me here https://courtneytownley.substack.com

#GraceAndGrit #TheConsistencyCode #MidlifeWomen #Values #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #IntentionalLiving #LiveYourCode #MidlifeHealth

Episode 617: Stop Arguing for Your Brokenness Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

We are all building a case for something every single day.

The question is whether you are building a case for what you are capable of, or a case for why you cannot.

In this episode I name the ways we argue for our own limitations, often with impressive precision. We have evidence. We have history. We have a courtroom's worth of justification for why change is not available to us.

I also speak to the label trap, the way certain words or diagnoses can become the closing argument in a case for brokenness rather than the door that opens inquiry. I have coached women navigating cancer, Parkinson's, and ALS, and I would not have been doing that work if I believed a diagnosis was the final word on what someone was capable of.

You can argue for your possibility or your limitations. You cannot do both at the same time. This episode challenges you to choose which case is worth building.

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 #Mindset #MidlifeWomen #SelfLeadership #Possibility #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #OvercomingLimitations #GrowthMindset #IntentionalLiving

Episode 616: It's Time for a Season of Grit Aug 02, 2026

Show notes

There are seasons in life that ask you to rest.

And then there are seasons that ask you to rise.

I have been living in the first one for a while. And I can feel the second one coming.

In this episode I talk about what a season of grit actually is and what it is not. It is not punishment. It is not grinding yourself into the ground. It is the deliberate decision to turn the dial of discipline up in a specific area of your life, knowing that you will be a little more tired and a little more sore, and making that trade consciously because you know what is on the other side.

I also speak directly to the woman who has been extending herself too much grace for too long. Not every season of ease is recovery. Sometimes it has quietly become avoidance. And this episode is the nudge to notice the difference and turn the dial.

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 #SeasonOfGrit #MidlifeWomen #Discipline #SelfLeadership #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #Consistency #IntentionalLiving #MidlifeHealth

Episode 615: What You Put Up With Is What You Become Aug 01, 2026

Show notes

I read something recently that stopped me cold.

The idea was this: you don't become what you aspire to. You become what you tolerate.

I have not been able to stop thinking about it since.

In this episode I explore how the standards we keep, or fail to keep, quietly shape the life we are actually living. What we tolerate in our relationships, our work, our habits, and our own inner dialogue is not neutral. It accumulates. It becomes us.

I also share why midlife may actually be the perfect season to get radically honest about this. As estrogen and progesterone decline, our ability to chemically buffer stress changes with them. The irritability and shorter patience that so many women experience in this season may not be a malfunction. It may be your biology turning up the volume on something that has always needed your attention.

The takeaway is simple and worth carrying with you: stay wildly curious about what you are tolerating and why.

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 #Tolerance #MidlifeWomen #SelfLeadership #Perimenopause #RaiseYourStandards #WomensWellness #DeepHealth #MidlifeHealth #IntentionalLiving

Episode 614: The Goal You Think Is Impossible (Is the One Worth Chasing) Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

What if the goal that scares you most is the one that's most worth pursuing?

Not because you're guaranteed to achieve it.

But because of who you'll become in the process.

In this episode, I revisit a concept I've taught for years: impossible goals. The goals that require you to grow beyond your current identity, habits, and comfort zone.

Using my decade long journey of writing The Consistency Code as an example, I share why the pursuit of a meaningful goal often matters more than the outcome itself.

You don't need certainty.

You don't need guarantees.

You just need a reason that's bigger than your fear.

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 #ImpossibleGoals #MidlifeWomen #GoalSetting #TheConsistencyCode #SecondAct #WomensWellness #SelfLeadership #DeepHealth #GrowthMindset

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