The Daily Ascent

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 104 | Why You're So Exhausted After Doing Hard Things Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm sharing what happened after I completed a month-long EMDR intensive — and why the days that followed were some of the most important days of the whole process.

But this isn't just about therapy. It's about any time you open yourself up, give everything you have, and then judge yourself for needing to rest afterward.

Wayne Muller reminds us that we have to let the seeds we've planted get a chance to germinate, take root, and grow — and stop tearing them out of the ground to check if they've grown yet.

My friend Betsy said the thing I needed to hear: "You just did so much heavy lifting of your spirit. Of course you're tired."

Question to carry into your day: What are you not letting yourself rest from?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 103 | How to Make a Decision When You Don't Know What's Right Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm talking about the thing Harrison Ford's character says on Shrinking that made me pause the TV: "You don't know whether your choice is right or wrong until you make it."

I share why so many of us get trapped in the spin cycle of overthinking and worrying — and why worry is not a form of preparation, no matter how much it feels like one.

Eckhart Tolle reminds us that any action is often better than no action, because even a mistake teaches you something. But staying stuck? That teaches you nothing.

Question to carry into your day: What decision are you spinning on that you actually already know the answer to?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 102 | What If the Next Loving Choice Is Enough? Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm sharing what happened when a client in deep grief told me she wanted to double down on a strict food plan — and why I suggested something completely different instead.

I suggested: What if your food plan right now is just to make the next loving choice?

Megan Devine reminds us that some things cannot be fixed — they can only be carried. And that true comfort in grief is in acknowledging the pain, not in trying to make it go away.

Today's Word of the Day is Tender — because when you're in a hard season, what you need isn't more discipline. It's more kindness.

Question to carry into your day: Where are you trying to control something that actually just needs your tenderness?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 101 | How to Let Go of Resentment When You're Not Ready to Forgive Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm telling you about the night my ex walked into my meeting and turned into a brick wall.

I felt the armor go up, the rage come in, and the toxic smoke start pouring out of me.

But then I tried something I didn't plan — I started naming the truth of who he is instead of the story of how he hurt me. And my heart started to change.

Question to carry into your day: Who are you seeing as an enemy right now that you could try seeing as a thirsty person?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 100 | Why Your Hardest Patterns Are the Last to Change Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm telling you about the patch of snow on my nature trail that refused to melt — and what it taught me about why our deepest patterns are always the last to change.

Turns out, the most well-traveled path is the hardest one to thaw.

And that's not a character flaw. That's physics.

Question to carry into your day: What pattern are you judging yourself for that might just need more time and warmth to thaw?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 99 | Why the Things You Can't Control Might Actually Be Protecting You Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm giving you a Danny update! His surgery went beautifully, but now we're navigating the chaos of a joyful seventy-five-pound Lab on bed rest.

Watching him be confused by his new limitations made me think about all the times in my life when I didn't understand why things felt restricted, smaller, or wrong - and how often that turned out to be protection, not punishment.

Question to carry into your day: What are you fighting right now that might actually be protecting you?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 98 | The Prayer That Stopped Me From Chasing What I Don't Have Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm sharing a conversation I had with one of my closest friends who asked me the question everyone loves to ask: "So what's going on with the love life?"

I talk about why my answer surprised him, the dialectic I'm living right now of being completely open to love while being completely focused on the beauty of the life I already have, and the Buddhist concept of grasping that explains why chasing what we don't have robs us of what we do.

I share a prayer that has changed the way I relate to wanting, and we explore what it really means to be settled... not settling for less, but actually landing in your own life.

Question to carry into your day: What are you so focused on not having that you're missing what's already here?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 97 | How to Start When Everything Feels Too Big Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm sharing what happens when my dog Danny's third surgery sends me into full shutdown mode, and the reading from Melody Beattie's Journey to the Heart that pulled me out.

I talk about what overwhelm actually looks like for me (hint: it's not panic, it's paralysis), why looking at the whole mountain keeps us stuck, and why the only antidote to shutdown is to begin.

Question to carry into your day: What have you been putting off starting because the whole thing feels too big?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 96 | What If Being Too Much Is the Whole Point? Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm talking about the moment a coaching client said to me — half joking, fully serious — "I'm worried you're going to fire me because I'm not doing this perfectly." And why it reminded me of something my teacher Marsha Linehan taught me that changed how I do this work.

I share why so many of us believe our struggles make us unlovable, and what Tara Brach means when she says imperfection is not our personal problem — and that the trance of unworthiness keeps the sweetness of belonging out of reach.

We'll explore Linehan's principle — we don't fire someone for the problem they came in with — and why the bravest thing you can do in any healing space is stop performing and start telling the truth.

Question to carry into your day: What are you hiding because you're afraid it will make someone leave?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

Ep. 95 | You're Not Broken, So Stop Trying to Fix Yourself Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, I'm talking about the Instagram trend of calling out wellness influencers for the endless cycle of products and fixes — and the time my friend Stephanie put me on a healer ban that changed my life.

I share why there's a massive difference between growth and fixing, and how the wellness world profits from you believing you're broken.

We'll explore what it means to be whole — not perfect, not finished, but fundamentally not broken — and why that changes everything about how you approach your life.

Question to carry into your day: What are you trying to fix about yourself that might not actually be broken?

Want to chat about working together? Me too! Visit https://link.allyone.io/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall to schedule a free call about my Stop Starting Over System.

Let's Stay Connected:

Subscribe on YouTube
Instagram: @mollycarmel
Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront
Questions or want to share your story? Email me at dailyascentpod@gmail.com

An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

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