Advertise on podcast: The Daily Ascent

Last November, I made myself a promise: a small spiritual note every single day, then check in and see how I feel.  In the year since, I traveled, built new things, found new homes, celebrated a big sobriety milestone, and told you about most of it while I was still in the middle of it.  Somewhere along the way, I became someone I'm much more at home being. This is the last episode for a while, and I want to end it with a story my sponsor told me about a lion. This is an episode about a year of showing up, and why we never EVER know how the story ends.  Question to carry into your day: What moment are you treating like the end of the story, when it might only be the middle? Get my weekly Love Letter and be the first to hear what's next: https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/form/iBWvc9s1CwmhAitkNvrD  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

When I first got sober, I didn't know how to pray, so I read other people's prayers off a card, morning and night. Then a teacher said four words that changed everything, and someone at a meeting asked a question I've never forgotten. And in my first year, I started keeping a box on my shelf full of my worst fears. This is an episode about prayer as a conversation, and the simple tool that helps me let go of what I can't control.  Question to carry into your day: What's the worry you'd put in your God box first?  I'd love to stay connected after Daily Ascent takes a pause - sign up for my weekly Love Letter - a little love note in your email box on Sundays: https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/form/iBWvc9s1CwmhAitkNvrD Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

For years I avoided meditation. I was scared of my own monkey mind, and my stepdad was so annoying about his practice that I swore I'd never do it.  Then, a few years into my recovery, I hit a dark time and realized I had to go somewhere new spiritually. You'll never guess who I called. This is an episode about starting a meditation practice, especially when your mind won't cooperate.  Question to carry into your day: What are you avoiding because you're scared of what you'll find when you sit still?  Sign up my weekly Love Letter - a little hug and motivation to combat the Sunday Scaries and help us stay connected: https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/form/iBWvc9s1CwmhAitkNvrD  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

In 2015, I pressed play on a recording by a woman I'd never heard of, and within minutes I was thinking, where has this woman been my whole life? That started a decade with a teacher who changed everything for me.  Then, not long ago, that relationship shifted, and I learned something about who belongs at the center of a spiritual life. This is an episode about building a circle of teachers, and trusting yourself to lead it.  Question to carry into your day: Who's in your power circle right now, and who have you made the guru?  Get my weekly Love Letter - a little hug and inspo on Sundays to help with the scaries and keep you connected: https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/form/iBWvc9s1CwmhAitkNvrD  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I have news, and I almost told it to you prettier than it is. I had a lovely version written, and when I read it back, I realized it wasn't true.  So instead I'm giving you the real reason, because if this show has stood for anything, it's rigorous honesty. This is an episode about the fear of being selfish, and what it costs us to stay in things past their season.  Question to carry into your day: What are you still carrying because putting it down would feel selfish?  Stay close after we pause - sign up for my Sunday Love Letter - a little hug from me on Sundays to help with the scaries and stay connected: https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/form/iBWvc9s1CwmhAitkNvrD    Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I went to a benefit as my friend Eileen's date, a little under the weather, and when they ran a game where the winner took home a diamond bracelet, I bought two chances and then almost handed them to Eileen because I was tired and a little scared to play in front of a room of strangers. She said okay. And then she didn't move. She looked at me, nudged me, and said come on.  This is an episode about the moment I got up off the chair, and what I almost gave away. This is an episode about how not every no is the truth, and what's waiting on the other side of the ones that aren't.  Question to carry into your day: Where are you calling it a no, when the truth is you're just tired and a little scared?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I got sick this week and had to miss an event my best friend Michelle and I had been planning for a month. Staying home was the right call.  But then, from my sickbed, I found myself arranging platters and writing Post-it notes for where everything should go, when I could have handed the whole thing over in one text.  And somewhere in the fog of that, I caught something about myself I wasn't expecting to see. This is an episode about the hidden cost of making yourself impossible to do without.  Question to carry into your day: Where have you made yourself so indispensable that you're no longer allowed to have needs?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I got invited to a small dinner this week by a friend I'd drifted from, no falling out, life just loosened us, and it touched me that she'd want me at such an intimate table.  Then we ended up in a real conversation about the drift itself, and something got said out loud that I haven't been able to put down since. This is an episode about the difference between the closeness that fades and the love that never actually goes anywhere. Question to carry into your day: Who have you been feeling bad about drifting from, who's actually just moved into your foundation and stayed?  Ready to stop starting over? Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I went on a date, and it flopped, and I was completely fine with it.  Then a friend I love said four words trying to help, and I felt myself get tight. I knew right away she meant well.  So the tightness was worth a closer look, because it wasn't about her at all. This is an episode about why our reactions to the people we love are almost always about us.  Question to carry into your day: The last time you got reactive over someone you love's life, what was it stirring up in you? Ready to stop starting over? Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I was staying somewhere beautiful on the east end of Long Island, where the cell service is so spotty it's almost a joke.  I was thriving out there, but I couldn't reach my power circle the way I'm used to, so my world quietly narrowed to the people right in front of me.  Then I came home to good service and my full circle, and a life that was already good got even better. This is an episode about connection as the thing that widens your best life, not just rescues your worst. Question to carry into your day: Where has your circle quietly narrowed, and who could you widen it back out to today, not because you're struggling, but because you're not?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I was deep in a brutal workout class, everybody shaking, and the teacher said: don't negotiate with yourself, because the minute you start negotiating, you've already lost yourself in this class.  And I about fell off the machine. Because I know that voice. It shows up at the hard part, and it's so reasonable. Do eight instead of twelve. Take this one off. You've done enough. This is an episode about why the real decision has to happen before the hard moment, not during it.  Question to carry into your day: Where in your life are you losing yourself at the negotiating table, in a decision you already made?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

At my fifteen-years-sober party, I invited a friend from my recovery community, someone who's in the rooms but stays on the edges.  I figured he'd drop in for five minutes. Instead he showed up on time and stayed to the very end, and watching him get fed by a community he doesn't let himself have was one of my favorite moments of the whole night. This is an episode about walking away from the very thing we're aching for.  Question to carry into your day: What are you walking away from right before it could actually feed you? Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

A friend told me she was jealous of a couple at a party, and she said it like a confession, like she'd done something wrong. It reminded me of a client I had years ago, a sweet man coming out of a really dark time, who told me he'd felt awful and jealous watching his friend get married.  And I surprised him. I said, that's so exciting. It means your heart's still beating in there. It means you still want love. This is an episode about jealousy as information, not as a judgment on your character.  Question to carry into your day: What has your jealousy been trying to show you that you actually want?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I threw myself a party for fifteen years sober, and I planned every piece of it alone, right down to buying my own birthday cake. For days my friends kept asking what they could bring, and I kept saying I'm fine, I got it.  Then the day before, my spiritual advisor Stephanie asked if I was excited, and I heard myself say: I'm realizing I asked no one for help. This is an episode about why we call it strength to do it all alone.  Question to carry into your day: Where are you calling it strength to do it alone, when it's actually a door you're keeping shut?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast

I do this wild Pilates class on a crazy machine, where you can work off the front, which is the regular hard, or off the back, which is brutal. First day back this fall, the instructor had written the whole class off the back, and I wanted to see if I could do it, no modifications. I could, and I was so proud. Then I was so wrecked I couldn't work out for two days. This is an episode about the difference between the hard that builds you and the hard that just wrecks you.  Question to carry into your day: Where are you going all the way to the back of the machine, when the front would build you more?  Want to work together? Me too! Book a discovery call and let's talk about whether the Stop Starting Over System is right for you. https://link.mollycarmel.com/widget/bookings/mc-discoverycall  Let's Stay Connected:  Subscribe on YouTube Instagram: @mollycarmel Check out my Pocket Sages on my Amazon Storefront Questions or want to share your story? Email me at [email protected]  An Operation Podcast production | @OperationPodcast