The Problem With Perfect

What are the habits you need to start in your 20's to stay healthy later on in life? This episode gives you three tips to start living a healthy lifestyle now so you can thank yourself later.
HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS
(08:13) how to not develop destructive habits in your 20’s that will carry out in the rest of your life.

(16:29) How to come up with a wellness plan for your life

(20:31) How to create an exercise routine if you hate working out.

(25:45) How to think about your health long-term.

How do we define masculinity? In this episode, we will do a deep dive into what it means to be "manly," why it's stereotypically harder for men to open up and be vulnerable with other men, and how to leave toxic masculinity in the dust.
The Cliff notes
(07:04) How do you define trauma?

(07:56) The difference between small t trauma and big t trauma

(11:00) How trauma impacts your day-to-day life.

(15:55) How do you define masculinity?

(32:22) How men can have deeper conversations with other men

(35:09) Masculinity and porn

(39:20) Can masculinity be on a spectrum?

(42:52) How can women help men be more vulnerable

All About Eli
Eli is a Social Work therapist (LCSW )who has worked in a psych hospital, intense outpatient clinic and currently works in a group and private practice in queens.

He created ELIvation and became a therapist to fill a need and create a modern outlook on mental health to create a more digestible and relatable view on mental health to help those in struggling times and add some extra inspiration and motivation into everyday life.

Eli has been featured on Kelly Clarkson show, IVF Warrior, Fruitful, Breaking Taboo and on multiple podcasts ranging from parenting, relationships, mental health, and infertility.

His main goal is to help people on their journey to add support, care, empathy, expertise, and insight.

He runs events, seminars, and individual coaching on topics from mental health awareness, public speaking coaching, relationship coaching, and confidence-boosting.
Follow Eli on Instagram at @eliweinstein_lcsw and @thedudetherapist

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence says these are three examples of unalienable rights given to each of us by our Creator.
So, what does it mean to pursue happiness? And how do you know when you've achieved it? How do you know if and when you're happy?
It's a simple question that's not so simple to answer. Maybe that's why the internet is full of posts like these:
Six Ways to be Happy
Seven Happiness Boosters
Eight Happy Nutrients
Nine Tips to Feel Happy
Top 80 Happiness Podcasts to Follow in 2021
In this episode, we ask ourselves this meaningful question, as well as explore how to know if you're happy and how to become happier. Join us for this personal and transparent conversation and in doing so, hopefully you'll become... happier!
Show Notes
2:00 Back together and live from the loft, Rachel talks about a new life change she's experiencing.
4:45 Ever wonder how we come up with podcast topics? Listen here for the behind the scenes WHY for this episode.
8:30 How do you define happiness?
12:00 Are we as Christians blowing off the happy question and not taking it seriously for our own well-being and for the benefit of those around us?
15:00 Still trying to decide whether or not you're happy? Take the quiz we took and let is spur your thinking.
https://www.oprah.com/spirit/take-the-happiness-test-quiz_1
17:00 Do you find the joy in the journey or do you play the IF, THEN happiness game?
20:00 Listen here to hear how Rachel sees the definition of happiness evolving as life unfolds.
23:00 Are you waiting for MORE and BETTER to be happy? If you made a list of what you need to be happy, would it look like ours?
28:45 Listen here for Robin's suggestion for the one activity that would make us all happier.
30:00 To learn more about the Authentic Happiness Theory, go to https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/martin-seligman-psychology/.
36:00 Are you being transformed by this one thing every day?

As believers, we know we are created in God’s likeness and as such are called to reflect his image. But that isn’t always what we really want to do, is it?
Unlike Jesus, we struggle to forgive and extend grace. We aren't curious to go have a meal with someone different than us. We don’t want to be selfless and our work to go unnoticed and we don’t like it when our love for others to come with a cost.

Instead - since we are being honest with ourselves - we simply want to be God. We want to be the one in control and not need anyone or anything.

Matt May joins Robin on this episode and we explore the ways this desire for self sufficiency shows up in our lives and in doing so, how it actually keeps us from experiencing the joy of relationship with God and those around us. As always, Matt’s insight is profound and he’s beautifully transparent about how his cancer taught him the value of interdependence.

SHOW NOTES:
Co-host: Matt May, son of co-host Robin and two-time cancer survivor. Matt holds an English degree from Truman State University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Education degree. For more on Matt's story, visit www.RobinMayMinistries.com. or on Facebook.

Conversation based on Chapter 4 of the book None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why That's a Good Thing) by Jen Wilkin
7:00 Is independence the same as self-sufficiency? How are they connected?
9:00 God needs nothing from us. Why is this a good thing?
13:30 Listen here for the connection between asking for help and experiencing whole living.
18:30 Are you making this life-giving activity a priority in your life?
23:00 Matt admits he didn't want everyone to know he was a cancer survivor and this is why.
25:00 The lie the world tells us about doing life alone.
30:00 Each one of us have this special thing. Are you curious enough to find it and learn from it?
31:30 Do you find yourself consistently anxious and overwhelmed? Listen here for important, practical wisdom about how to overcome it.
34:00 Listen here for why Matt calls his cancer a "saving grace."
38:00 Are you waking up and asking God this question?
41:00 Matt hasn't ever been angry about getting cancer. But he was angry with God about this thing and the experience changed him to see "I am not on my own in my pain."
46:00 How is Matt's health as he's passing his four-year cancer anniversary?

Wondering what PMDD is after reading the title? You're likely in good company. Although Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) affects between 3 and 4 million women in the US, it is still a relatively unknown disorder that is often misdiagnosed.
To help us understand what PMDD is and how it impacts women and their families, Marybeth Bohn joins Robin for this important episode. Marybeth's daughter, Christina, battled PMDD for more than a decade before Marybeth helped lead doctors to her diagnosis. This episode gives listeners a front-row seat to a young woman's struggle and a mother's worst nightmare.
Special Guest:
Marybeth Bohn has been advocating for PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) since she lost her daughter, Christina Elizabeth Bohn, to suicide in 2021 due to the disorder. The thought of others suffering as her daughter did for 10 to 15 years before receiving a correct diagnosis motivates Marybeth to keep speaking out. She speaks publicly about PMDD to increase awareness and to reduce the time in getting an accurate diagnosis. She has spoken at the University of Missouri, Postpartum Support International Climb Out of the Darkness Walk, Missouri House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Reform, Women’s Mental Health Conference at Yale, NIH Prevention in Focus Webinar, and many other venues. In 2023, she worked with the Missouri State Legislature to pass a bill for having an annual PMDD Awareness Day on October 2nd, which is Christina’s birthday. Missouri is the first state in the U.S. to officially have a PMDD Awareness Day.

Marybeth serves as vice president of the Board of Directors for the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) and has actively served as a PMDD Champion. After Christina's death, Marybeth retired from the University of Missouri to focus on increasing awareness of PMDD.
To learn more about PMDD, go to the presentation Marybeth mentions in the show:
https://www.prevention.nih.gov/education-training/prevention-focus-webinars/it-more-pms-learn-about-pmdd