Emma Lagerlow

What if the wellness industry has been selling women the wrong story about midlife?

That we need to optimise more.
Track more.
Supplement more.
Exercise more.
Eat better.
Sleep better.

And somehow, amongst all of that… feel better too.

This week on It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by author, speaker and naturopath Susan Hunter for a fascinating conversation about why more isn’t always better when it comes to our health.

Susan believes Gen X women have spent years being told that wellbeing is something else to perfect, manage and optimise.

Her alternative?

Less overwhelm. More clarity.

And a shift towards seeing our health not as another measure of how well we’re performing, but as a source of energy and creative power for the second half of our lives.

It’s a philosophy Susan explores in her newly released book, The Health Edit.

In this conversation, we explore the wellness messages women have absorbed over the years, why constantly adding more may not be the answer, and what can happen when we become more discerning about what we actually need.

We talk about stepping away from the pressure to constantly optimise ourselves and approaching this stage of life with greater clarity, intention and trust in ourselves.

Because perhaps midlife doesn’t need to become another self-improvement project.

Perhaps it can be an opportunity to edit — to question what we’ve been carrying, keep what genuinely serves us and let some of the rest go.

🎧 Episode 109 with Susan Hunter is available now on It’s a Mindset.

Listen via the link in bio — and we’d love to know:

What’s one thing you’re ready to do less of?

Happy Father’s Day 💙

Looking through old photos for this post reminded me just how many different chapters of family life we’ve lived.

Little kids, bigger kids, family holidays, Christmases, grandparents, great-grandparents… and somehow those little people in the old photos are now almost all grown up.

I feel very grateful for the dads and father figures who have been part of our story — for my dad, for my hubby and for the generations who came before us.

And watching my partner with our four over the years has been pretty special. From carrying little kids around the snow to heading off snowboarding with two of them this week. 🥹

Family changes. Relationships change. Life moves through so many different seasons.

Today I’m just feeling grateful for the love, memories and people who have helped shape ours.

Happy Father’s Day to the dads, grandads, father figures and all those remembering someone they love today. 🥰

Who are you without what you do?

Without the job title.
The achievements.
The roles you play.
The expectations you’ve spent years trying to meet.

Who are you, really?

It’s one of life’s biggest questions — and it’s at the heart of this week’s episode of It’s a Mindset with author, speaker and coach Dion Elliott Jensen 🎙️

For much of Dion’s life, his identity and sense of worth were intertwined with achievement, career, status and the roles he played.

Then life began dismantling so much of what he believed defined him.

And he found himself facing a confronting question:

Who am I when everything I thought defined me is gone?

What followed wasn’t a journey of reinvention, but one of remembering who he already was.

In this conversation, we explore Dion’s philosophy:

“I am who I am, not what I do.”

We talk about identity and authenticity, the roles and masks we can accumulate throughout our lives, and what can happen when we become curious about who exists underneath them.

We also explore the power of journaling and writing as a cathartic practice, the importance of approaching ourselves and others with curiosity, and Dion’s fascinating perspective on love — including why he believes it’s okay for love to sometimes be a one-way street.

Perhaps our greatest transformation doesn’t always come from becoming someone new.

Perhaps sometimes it comes from letting go of who we thought we had to be. 💫

🎧 Episode 108: Who Are You Without What You Do? Identity, Love & Conscious Living with Dion Jensen is available now on It’s a Mindset.

Listen via the link in bio — and we’d love to know:

Who are you, beyond what you do?

There’s something really special about watching a room slowly soften. ✨

The conversations quieten. Shoulders drop. Breathing slows. And for an hour, there’s nowhere else to be and nothing else to do.

My next Soulful Sound Immersion is on Wednesday 23 September at True Woo, Cronulla — an evening of sound healing, meditation and deep rest designed to help you step away from the noise and reconnect with yourself.

If you’ve been craving a little space to simply pause, I’d love to have you there. 🤍

Wednesday 23 September | 6:30–7:30pm
True Woo Studio, Cronulla
$30 + booking fee

✨ Book via the link in my bio.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I’ll be happy when…”?

When I achieve the goal.
When I earn more.
When work calms down.
When life gets a little easier.

But what if happiness isn’t something waiting for us on the other side of the next achievement?

This week on It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by happiness researcher, educator, philosopher and author Declan Edwards - “That Happiness Guy” for such a fascinating conversation about what it actually means to live a happier life.

And perhaps surprisingly, it’s not about being happy all the time.

We explore the science of positive psychology, the PERMAH model of wellbeing, our natural human bias towards the negative and why making space for all of our emotions may actually create more room for happiness.

We also talk about the value of doing things simply because they make us feel good, escaping the “I’ll be happy when…” trap, and why prioritising our own happiness isn’t selfish.

Because happiness has a ripple effect. 🌊💙

How we feel influences how we show up in our relationships, our families, our workplaces and our communities.

One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation?

You don’t need to be happy all the time to have a happy life.

🎧 Episode 107 with Declan Edwards is available now on your favourite podcast platform.

Listen via the link in bio — and let us know in the comments: what’s one small thing that made you happy today? 💛🎙️