This month is a very special month for The Wellness Journey Podcast as we celebrate our first birthday and launch Season 5 which is all about life lessons. This season is completely different from any other as we are joined by exceptional individuals sharing their personal journeys and insights.
If you could sit down with your younger self, what would you say? What guidance would you offer? What do you wish you learned sooner?
In our first episode, Suzanne and I opened the season by sharing our own personal life lessons. Mine was something that’s taken years of growth, reflection, and healing to fully understand:
“Prioritise how you feel over how you appear”
Growing up and even well into adulthood, I have spent too much time worrying about how I looked and what others thought of me. Hair done, makeup on, clothes just right, smile fixed in place, behaving in a way that is socially acceptable. From the outside, I looked fine but on the inside I was anxious, lacking in confidence and self-worth and disliked what I saw in the mirror. I was playing a role rather than living a life that truly belonged to me.
And it started young.
As a teenager, I heard phrases such as “You’re just hormonal,” or “It’s your time of the month” whenever I felt emotional, upset or angry. Those words taught me to ignore my feelings and dismiss them as irrational or inconvenient. I learned to push my emotions down rather than let them out or uncover the root cause.
So I got better at pretending. Smiling when I felt sad. Looking “well” even when I was completely out of sync with myself.
But it wasn’t just about physical appearance. It was about approval.
I realised I was making choices, not just in how I looked, but in how I behaved; based on what others might think. Trying to be the “good girl,” the people-pleaser, desperately seeking their approval. I played the role that society, family, or friends expected of me, often at the expense of what I truly wanted or needed. Because somewhere along the way, I believed that being accepted and avoiding criticism was more important than being me.
But the truth is: how you feel matters. It’s not something to suppress, dismiss, or shape to fit someone else’s expectations. Your emotions are messengers. Your intuition is valid. Your desires are allowed.
That shift, from appearance to alignment, from surface to substance, from approval to authenticity, is what true wellness is all about. Letting go of the limiting beliefs I held about myself and releasing the need for external validation was transformational.
Life becomes way more joyful when you truly love and accept yourself as you are – and feel free to show up unapologetically as your authentic self.
If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to tune into the new season of The Wellness Journey Podcast and reflect on your own life lesson. What would you tell your younger self?
Let me know in the comments or find us on Instagram and share your story.