E50: The Holidays Can Be Tough, But You're Tougher!
Let’s be real—holidays aren’t all mistletoe and eggnog for most of us. They can bring up a whirlwind of emotions, from nostalgia to sadness, and even grief. That’s why, in this very special 50th episode of the Purposeful Powerhouse Podcast, I’m diving deep into how to navigate those tougher moments with grace and resilience during this time of the year.
Here’s what you can look forward to:
- Gentle yet powerful tools to support yourself through intense emotions
- A loving reminder of what truly matters during this season—and life
- A heartfelt reflection on this journey of 50 episodes and what it means to show up, even when things feel heavy
If you or someone you love is navigating a challenging holiday season, this episode is for you. Please share it with anyone who could use a little extra love and support right now.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Reaching 50 episodes is a milestone I’m so proud of, and sharing my heart with you each week is one of my greatest joys!
Wanna kick off 2025 feeling vibrant, calm, and grounded? The Anxiety & Stress Reset is your invitation to prioritize yourself—without the overwhelm.
Through simple, science-backed techniques, you’ll learn how to release tension and build resilience in just 2 minutes at a time, so you feel energized and ready for whatever life brings.
This is not about adding more to your plate—it’s about creating space for what truly matters: your well-being. Commit to a healthier, happier you. You deserve it.
Grab your spot here: https://www.megan-nolan.com/resetjan
Please find the show notes below. Since it is a transcription there may be spelling errors and/or weird grammar. Ignore that and enjoy!
Hello and welcome to a global movement of people who care so much about how they feel that they take time for themselves every day.
I am the leader of this movement and the host of this podcast, and my name is Megan Nolan.
With 19 years in the Wellness industry, I am all about helping you to become the person that you are meant to be and live the life that you have been dreaming of.
And that's what this podcast is all about.
So let's jump into today's episode that will help you to do that.
Well, hello and welcome to the 50th episode of the Purposeful Powerhouse podcast.
Holy moly, I am so grateful.
I am so honored.
I am so proud that we have done 50 episodes.
Thank you for being part of this incredible community.
Thank you for being open to listening and learning.
I hope you found.
Some laughs.
I hope you found some insights, and I am just so deeply honored to be able to pour into you in this way.
It feels like such a gift to me, and it's really fun for me.
I hope you can tell that.
And in fact, so fun.
I'm wearing my sparkly disco ball necklace.
If you can't see me, you just heard that sound.
That's what that is.
I will wear it again on New Year's, which BTW is my birthday, but we'll get to that later.
Today we're talking about something that's near and dear to my heart, quite literally.
About how sometimes the holidays can be tough, and the important thing to remember is that, darling, you are tougher.
When you can tap into your pure essence, when you can use the tools you're learning here and that you have within you, you can be able to navigate those moments because inevitably they will come.
Right.
And that's what we're gonna talk about today.
But before we jump into that, I will let you know that this 50th episode is being sponsored by the Anxiety and Stress Reset.
We just wrapped up the first live round and.
I'm just going to side note here, let me tell you the takeaways were incredible.
For example, one of the incredible women in there, Erin, said she used the power pauses in the wild quotes, air quotes, meaning she was having a total freak out, was really feeling snappy with her husband.
And she said I'm feeling the feels.
It's time for a power pause.
That, my friend, is what this is about, of course, taking them throughout the day, but it's more about using them in the wild, in her words, which I absolutely love.
And so just sending out all the gold stars.
Because when you have the tools to cultivate that level of self-awareness in a compassionate and curious way, very important, right?
Not in the critical way, which can happen and.
Be aware of how you're feeling in each moment and have the tools to shift your inner state and cultivate calm on command in literally 2 minutes.
It's a game changer, and that is what you'll learn to do in the reset.
So you do get lifetime access when you sign up, and that means lifetime access right away.
So you know you can use them anytime when you sign up, but you also get lifetime access to all of the live rounds.
We're gonna be doing our next live live round in January, so you can jump in now, start using the tools, and then you get to be part of this incredible global community that is prioritizing how you feel and making and taking time for yourself.
2 minutes at a time.
You have two minutes.
I know you do.
Trust me, you have twenty-four hours, but let's talk about two minutes.
So the link to join us inside the anxiety and stress reset.
Starting anytime you want, joining us for the next live round in January is in the description.
Would love to have you join us and it's a total no-brainer price for all the goodness you get in there and just go and check it out.
Reach out with any questions.
So let's get back to the 50th episode.
I feel like I've done a lot of sharing along the way, but I don't believe that this is a story that I've told you yet.
And it goes back to our theme of today's episode, which is the holidays.
Right.
And the reality of it is, is that very likely you are going to have really beautiful celebratory moments, right?
You're going to have great times with friends and family.
But for many of us, myself included, the holidays come with challenges and a lot of those challenges are can be around people that.
are not there anymore.
And loved ones that have passed, or maybe that you don't have a relationship with the way you want anymore.
And I think it's really important to really normalize the mixed bag of emotions that can happen over the holiday season, right?
And why I bring this up and where I wanted to start was thatA few years ago in 2019, so at the point of this recording, you know, whatever that is, four years ago, I'm not great at math, but yeah, I'm pretty sure it's around there.
Anyways, almost five, I guess.
Yeah.
I got a message.
I had just finished a training and I turned my phone back on and my mom had texted me a bunch of times.
She asked me to call her and she told me news that I, in my heart and soul, already knew.
My father had passed away on Christmas day, which was a beautiful day because he was a very religious man, a very, very, very dedicated, disciplined Catholic man.
And so for him, you know, that's a really special day.
But for us, it was a really hard day.
And, you know, he had had cancer several times.
He had had surgery, but the cancer had made its way into his brain.
Which is really interesting.
This is kind of a side note.
My dad was a really intellectually, highly intelligent man who himself struggled with very strong and pretty constant depression, who likely was on the autistic spectrum and was just really brilliant.
So lovely, so kind, but he.
Ended up developing cancer and he was a very large, he was a doctor, he was a neuroanesthesiologist and so he was very aware of the, you know, the process and the typical journey of cancer.
And he really just, I think in a sense.
He was very logical and he just made the decision like this is how it's gonna go.
Well, they find it here and then, you know, typically it spreads and eventually it goes here and here.
And I'm like, dad, but what about?
And there was no real room for discussion.
He was very logical.
He didn't really, you know, the mind over matter thing.
Didn't really apply.
And that's OK.
I mean, we all have our things.
But he basically told me when they did the second surgery that you know eventually it'll go-- and so logically, like as he's telling me they found cancer in his brain.
He's like, it's logical.
This is typically what happens when people have cancer.
And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, in your brain.
What?
That's removing it from your hip flexor is one thing, but from your brain?
And so it started to affect his mobility anyways.
I won't tell you the whole story, but it it was really difficult news, right?
It was really difficult news to get on Christmas.
And it's interesting because on the night of Christmas, I had actually spent some time, because I knew he was in the hospital, and I spent some time connecting to his spirit and his energy, and I could feel that there was a a passageway happening.
And it's, you know, sadly didn't get to speak to him again.
Because he had basically checked himself out from the hospital.
My dad was a brilliant doctor, not a great patient, often the case.
And despite the recommendations of all of his doctors, he left to actually go and do something that I subsequently found out about after the fact is that unfortunately, to make this a whole thing a whole lot challenging, more challenging.
My dad actually was a victim of a really deep scam.
I forget what they call it, like kind of a romantic scam.
Somebody finds people on the Internet, you know, maybe on a site and they're a bit vulnerable and you know, they do do some digging and they see he's a retired physician and then they start looking into it and they think maybe he's got some money.
And so they started seeding him along and playing him essentially and saying that it was this woman and she needed help and you know, they they built this relationship.
She would send like the most freaking, like, so, so clearly photoshopped photos of the two of them together.
And I love you and this and that.
But my dad didn't know, you know?
And it it progressed to the point where she said she needed some help that day and she left the hospital.
I mean, sorry, my dad left the hospital.
She said she, whoever she is, probably a group of whoever, who knows.
Needed some more support.
And so my dad left the hospital, told the doctors that he was going to do some banking.
He went home and he was found the next morning.
So who knows what would have happened if he had stayed at the hospital.
But finding out that my dad had passed and that he was a victim of this scam for a lot of money that was never recovered because he did it willingly, even though his bankers told them, like, stop, doctor, and stop.
And anyways, neither here nor there.
It was a a lot, a lot.
And so I share that with you because it was really hard.
You know, it was hard because of what happened to him and that we weren't there, but he didn't want to listen, you knowAnd so as sometimes I didn't listen and I felt guilty that I didn't listen and I was angry at these people and you know, like how did, how did he not know?
And like so many emotions, but when it boiled down to it.
I realized I was angry at myself because I didn't hear and I didn't see these signs, right?
And so I share all of that because the reminder is is that as triggering as family can be sometimes, it's so important for us to show up fully resourced.
And by resourced, I mean taken care of in yourself.
Tank topped up, if you will, so that when you go into these situations, you can be present.
You know, you can have some really deep ownership of who you are and what what works for you and what you'll like entertain as far as conversations.
And you know what you agree with, what you don't agree with, and having that strength of character and really fully embodied in your essence of who you are to be able to navigate that.
Because The thing is, we all know.
The regret is a bit of a son of a gun, right?
And when they talk to people that are on the verge of transitioning, regret is usually about things that we didn't do.
And so it's really important to think about you know when we have these moments in these family gatherings that are like really hard, that's when we get to power pause, right?
That's when we get toreally appreciate it, be present.
And that's, it's challenging, right?
Easier said than done.
But the thing is, is that, you know if there are people that aren't at the gathering that you would love to be there or that you would love to connect to, there's really beautiful ways where you can connect to their spirit and their soul.
And you know if they are still in their physical form here on this earth plane, that might bejust energetically connecting to them, maybe it's a call or what have you, but if they've transitioned on, the beautiful thing about energy and your soul and your essence, it is eternal, right?
And And it continues on and you know many different schools of thoughts and disciplines really recognize and quantum physics recognizes that there's a there's a constant nature to our energy and our soul.
even though we can't physically see them, if you connect to their energy in your heart and you really connect to that love that you have for them, there is a connection between you and them that never severs.
Even though they're not in physical 3D form, they are there and their presence is around you, right?
And And we can cultivate a relationship with them.
Even though we can't talk to them on the phone, we can stillChat with them and you might be able to hear what they say back.
Maybe you can even hear their voice, right?
Maybe you can.
You'll get a sense.
And it's like when you go into these moments and this might be like, whoa, where is Megan going with this?
But.
I think it's just important to remember that you can cultivate a deep level of self-compassion for yourself wherever you're at.
And And if you want to explore what that means to connect with these loved ones that are past or that you can't talk to anymore, and you just have these things you want to say to them, and and it's we have this ability to have these conversations and whether that'syou know, something that you do energetically or in actuality, or you write a letter that you're never going to send.
It's really important that you you find a way to give yourself the gift that you need in that moment.
And that's really what it comes back to is, you know, all of these gifts that we're giving and, you know, be present, this and that, is being present to how you feel and what you need, right?
What are you asking for this holiday season when it comes to all of this?
And when you can learn to give yourself that and literally tend and care for yourself in that way,Then that's a beautiful gift.
And that is like the ultimate form of self-care, which is the ultimate form of self-love, is that nurturing and is that way of really honoring how you feel and moving into any of the practices.
Maybe it's the conversations, maybe it's the that willingness to be vulnerable and to have a cry, or maybe it's writing a letter, like whatever it is for you, it's really important to.
Honor these feelings and witness them and hold them and give space for them rather than trying to power through.
It's just that, you know, where do you feel it in your body?
Where do you feel that sadness or that grief?
Where do you feel it in your body?
And just place your hands on your body and maybe you dialogue with that.
Or maybe you just hold the space for it and you honor it and you you breathe into it and you're really.
You're not trying to fix it.
You're not trying to get it out of you.
You're trying to.
You're not trying to.
You are integrating it.
You are allowing it to be held and reincorporate it into the wholeness of you.
Because if we bypass that and we ignore it, then that actually.
Severs it in a way and it becomes even more of an issue because we're resisting it.
And so when you just hold the space for that, like, you know, it's kind of, you know, maybe you've heard me say it's the Bunny in the in the woods analogy of like if you're walking in the woods and you see a little tiny Bunny and it's, you know, it's hurt its paw, you're not going to be like toughen up, Bunny.
It's the holidays.
Let's have a good time.
No, you're going to be.
Gently picking up that little Bunny and you're going to tend to that little Bunny and maybe you're a vet and you can fix his paw or maybe you take it somewhere or the humane society or whatever.
Or you're like, oh, you just have a little stick in your paw.
You'll be OK, I'll take it out, you know, clean it up, you know, you would tend to it.
And that's what we get to do with ourself, is that that practicing so that we can practice the the three C's, right?
And the three C's are compassionate curiosity.
So be curious about how you're feeling from that lens of compassion.
And as you do that, you will find that you can really get centered in your heart because you tap into that natural quality of the heart.
The natural quality of the mind is to be critical and negative.
The natural qualities of the heart, which is why we feel these deep levels of feelings that you do is.
compassion and love and joy and gratitude.
Those are the natural qualities of the heart.
So when you're centered in that, when you're connected to that, then you have that level of connected awareness.
And that's so powerful because that connected awareness gives you clarity.
It allows you to reallyDrop into that place of center so that you can see things clearly.
You're able to give yourself what you need in that moment.
And it's not necessarily just coming back to calm, it's coming back to a state of regulation, right?
If you're noticing that you're really wound up, or you're really upset, or you're shutting down with sadness, it's tending to that, tending to the bunny, if you will.
And in case you got lost there, you're the bunny.
You're the bunny, okay?
And so that's it, is that I really wanted to show you how to lean into that moment and explore it in a different way, right?
And and we have all these expectations of, oh, I should be over this by now.
Oh, it's been five years or whatever, you know, and and they're not in my life.
This is so frustrating.
Why do I have to cancel my plans?
It's the thing about life is that.
As much as we have these societal expectations, these, you know, familial roles that we play and all of that, it's so important to remember that you're doing all of these things.
You're listening to this podcast, you're doing your practices, you're taking your power pauses so that you can truly.
Show up for yourself.
And they're not just boxes that you're checking because, you know, somebody told you that you should do that.
You're doing it because of how it makes you feel.
And when you notice that you're feeling a way that needs some love and is asking for some support, that's what we get to do.
And it's almost like that's the gift of the holidays, because there's typically a lot of opportunities to do that.
It's a thin line between laughing and crying, isn't it?
Yeah, it is.
It is sometimes, right?
And so it goes the other way.
You know, it's it's sometimes a thin line between crying and laughing.
And so the important thing to remember is to practice that level of self-compassion.
And, you know, yes, the holidays can be tough, but you're tougher.
That's more just of a clever name, but you're tough because.
You have these tools.
You're tough because you have this awareness.
You're tough because you're willing to do the challenging things that a lot of other people aren't willing to do.
And that's really badassJust going to say it.
OK, that's really incredible because a lot of people shy away from stuff like that.
And I'm proud of you.
I'm really, really proud of you.
So the thing is, is that.
When you find yourself in that moment of whatever challenging feeling might arise, that's a powerful way for you to hold it, literally, is to locate where it is on your body, in your body, excuse me, and bring your attention there, and close your eyes if it's safe, and just breathe there, and bring your arms in close, so it's almost like you'regiving yourself a little hug at the same time.
And so just send your breath and your love into that area.
And then I want you to give yourself a hug.
So either cross your arms across your chest, or maybe you you know hook onto the opposite side of your shirt or tank top or bra strap if you happen to have one on, and just hold across your body and snug your arms in close, and let's take some breaths.
If you're driving, obviously hands on the wheel, please, and just breathe.
And that's really such a powerful way to self-soothe is through this self-touch.
And so I really honor you as you navigate this journey of this beautiful thing called life.
And I reallyI'm proud of you.
I'm proud of your strength.
I'm proud of your dedication.
I'm proud of your willingness.
I'm proud of that desire to learn and grow.
I'm proud of you.
I know it isn't easy.
I know it's not easy sometimes.
And I really honor that.
And I know that the holiday can be a button pushing, triggering extravaganza, and especially when grief is involved.
And grief isAn emotion that is a reflection of the amount of love that you had for someone or for a relationship, right?
It's a mirror.
And so think about that of the the depth of sadness that you might feel.
It's balanced by the amount of love that you had.
And what we can really just do is when we're feeling that sadness, hold the space for that and feel yourself just breathing and reconnect to that love, right?
And.
Again, take that or leave that, but that's sometimes gives me peace.
Sometimes, no, I'm not gonna lie, but sometimes it gives me the peace I'm looking for when I experience grief and sadness about my dad.
And so that's what I wanted to share with you today.
I'm really grateful.
I am so, so grateful.
This is such an incredible milestone for this podcast, for this show, and really honored to be able toBe part of your journey.
I know it ain't easy.
The ups, downs, all the rounds, they're real.
And that's why it's so important to have the tools to think on purpose and move your body on purpose and show up on purpose in that that deep connection to your true self, the essence that is you, so that you are fully embodying that.
You are anchored in that.
That is who you are, whether you're feeling amazing and happy and light and joyful, or you're grieving and you're sad.
It's an authentic expression of you.
That is your essence.
And that's what we need now more than ever, right?
And that's what this movement is all about, is helping you to activate that within yourself so that it is where you live from.
It's where you make your decisions from.
It's who you are.
And that feels really good to me.
That feels really empowering to me to be able to share that with you.
And so,Again, if you haven't already, you can check out the Anxiety and Stress Reset.
We'd love to have you join us for that.
And it really is a stepping stone into my world that will give you these tools to do everything we're speaking to here and to really have that level of support and accountability and the practices that allow you to truly.
Have a calm and clear mind, have a strong and healthy body, have a vibrant and radiant and joyful heart, and live the life that you are meant to live.
That's what this work is.
That's what my work is.
That's what my purpose is.
And it is a movement, and I am proud to be leading it.
And I am proud and honored and grateful, deeply, deeply grateful to have you as part of this.
So sending you all my love.
Thank you so much.
50 episodes.
I'm doing a happy dance I'm sparkle peacock waving I love and appreciate you so much.
I am so grateful.
I just, yeah, I'm gonna stop now 'cause I said everything I need to say other than I am deeply, deeply, deeply grateful for you and this.
Ability to share these tools and to connect with you every week.
So if you haven't already, please share this with a friend.
Please, if you know somebody that's going through it for the holiday season, please, please, please share this episode with them because that's what this is about, right?
Ram Dass, you know, I met him a couple times.
We talked about that last episode.
He had a really great quote that I think is a perfect wrap on this episode, he said.
We're all just walking each other home.
I might cry a little bit.
Did you hear Bailey a little woof?
It was like a sleepy wolf.
He literally punctuated that so beautifully.
We're all just walking each other home.
And what does that mean?
It means we're side by side in this journey that is life.
And the more that we can support each other, the more that we can stand beside each other, the more that we can honor each other, the more that we can really celebrate each other.
laugh together, cry together, all of it is the work.
It's the work.
We're all just walking each other home.
And what's home?
That place of deep remembrance of the fact that you are loving awareness, and you are a vibrant expression of life, and you deserve everything that you desire, and everything that you see for yourself is coming for you, and that place, that home, that essence, that truth,That's where we're going.
So I'm gonna end there.
Love you a lot.
Happy 50th episode of the Purposeful Powerhouse podcast.
We'll see you soon.
Take good care.
Mwah.
Thank you so much for listening.
I hope you really enjoyed this episode and got a lot out of it.
Please let me know what landed for you by taking a screenshot and sharing your takeaways on your Instagram stories.
Make sure to tag me @iammegannolan for a shout out and future episodes.
And don't forget to grab all the goodies that we mentioned during the episode because you're gonna love them.
So all the links are in the show notes.
So until next time, cheers to you living on purpose every day.
