My daughter turned two this month. I watched her eat her birthday cake with zero regard for the mess, completely absorbed in the moment, not thinking about what was next. Just entirely, joyfully present. And somewhere between the frosting and the candles, I thought about how we all used to know how to do that, and somewhere along the way, every quiet moment became a to-do list.
This episode is one of the most personal things I've ever shared on the podcast. It's about a miracle pregnancy I didn't see coming, the season of life that shaped it, and the deeper question underneath all of it: when did we stop asking ourselves what we actually want?
What You'll Learn
✅ Why the fourth trimester puts your wants in a drawer — and why so many of us forget to take them back out
✅ How borrowed wants from social media and comparison quietly replace our real ones
✅ Why adjusting your wants to fit your current season is strategy, not failure
✅ The I Want Practice: a simple quarterly exercise to reconnect with what's actually yours
✅ What watching a two-year-old can teach a high-achieving mom about permission
Chapters
00:00 Birthday Cake Presence
00:43 Podcast Welcome Setup
01:21 IVF Panic Turning Point
03:23 Letting Go And New Life
04:46 When Wants Change
05:32 Motherhood Survival Mode
07:27 Borrowed Wants Pressure
09:12 Seasons And Realistic Goals
11:19 Village Support Constraints
13:08 Quarterly I Want Practice
16:17 Toddlers Teach Desire
18:44 Homework And Closing
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ABOUT ME
I'm Vanessa, the therapist who helps high-achieving adults become the best version of themselves, not just at work, but in the rooms that matter most. I host the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, named the #1 Latino Mental Health Podcast in 2026 by Feedspot. I believe the people who give everything to everyone else deserve to stop surviving and start living intentionally.
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Free to Be Mindful Podcast episodes are for educational purposes only and should not be considered as or substituted for therapy or professional help from a licensed clinician.
