Let It Be

Most weeks Kel and Brooke sit down to chat with a topic in mind, and they have a decent idea of where the conversation will end up. Then there are conversations like today's.  They could have spoken about the things they've been learning recently, or the ways in which information has changed their points of view. Instead, they went the literal route and started off talking about school! Kel loved school and missed about 5 days in total, while Brooke was often found loitering in the sick bay, coming up with reasons why she wouldn't attend the next day.  Interestingly though, both Kel and Brooke had similar learning experiences throughout school and both needed to develop their critical thinking skills significantly as young adults.  The conversation does eventually come back to how Brooke and Kel each prefer to learn, as well as the cycles of learning they each find themselves in. Sometimes they can't get enough new information while other times you'll find them curled up in bed reading The Hunger Games for th

Brooke is a reforming perfectionist who takes issue with the idea of a 'perfect' anything, while this year Kel published a book called Practical Perfection. So when the topic of perfectionism came up recently the girls had two immediate thoughts: 1) why hasn't this come up before? And 2) this is gonna be interesting.  Recently Brooke had a big lightbulb moment, as she realised her perfectionistic tendencies had actually been holding her back. It was only when she actively began shedding the idea of perfect that she was able to make great strides in so many areas of her life that had been stuck for years.  Kelly, on the other hand, has become very adept at managing her perfectionism, rather than trying to banish it completely. She also is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the different types of perfectionism, how they affect us (and those around us) and the different strategies needed to either manage or move away from them when they become damaging. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about

 Occasionally Brooke and Kel like to take a week off their signature navel-gazing conversations and tap into a lighter, more personal topic. This week they're talking about downtime. That is, what they do in theirs, how they protect it and why family downtime is different to personal downtime (spoken like true introverts!)  Brooke recognises that it's important to be organised throughout the week in order to have downtime over the weekend, but also recommends a lowering of standards in order to take some of the pressure off.  Kelly and her family fiercely protect their weekends and she also talks about the shift her and her husband have made in getting off their laptops in the evening hours.  They also talk about their favourite TV shows, what activities they like to do in their downtime and why early mornings are the saving grace of their busy days.  It's another fun one!Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy

Today's episode is another one based on a listener email, this time from someone struggling under the weight of others' expectations.  Kelly has some fantastic insights into both how to deal with these expectations and how to frame them when we start to feel overwhelmed. As well as highly practical ways of facing up to the issue rather than letting it fester and become a bigger issue than it needs to be. While Brooke is a huge proponent of the motto, "Not my problem,"  she understands that it's undeniably more complicated than that and suggests tapping in to our priorities in order to see what we will and won't feel pressured by.  It's another curly one, and the girls have a great chat about their own experiences in managing expectations, as well as the lessons they've learnt over the years. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week Kelly received an email from a listener struggling with constant worry. And considering Kelly could worry for Australia, the girls thought this would be a great topic for today’s episode.  Brooke is more of a reformed worrier, coming to realise there is very little power in constant and obsessive worrying. She understands that there are times where it is a legitimate response but for the vast majority of her time she simply asks if worrying will help change things, and she’s discovered that the answer is more often no than yes. Kelly, on the other hand, has a whole range of strategies in place to minimise the impact worrying has on her life and she walks through some really practical suggestions for anyone who finds themselves consumed by worry.     Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooke and Kelly are often asked if they really practice simplicity in life all the time, and the answer is a resounding no. But rather than feel like a failure because of it, both Brooke and Kel quite like the idea of going against their best advice, at least some of the time. In this episode they talk about the idea of backsliding into previous bad habits and why that can actually be a good and powerful reminder of why they made changes in the first place. They also talk about how much better they are at recognising a backslide now, and why that's really the key in making long-lasting change, rather than the ability to stick with it 100% of the time. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooke has been fairly open throughout these podcasts about her struggles with confidence, and today Kel is determined to dive into the topic in more depth.  They talk about their upbringings, self-talk and possible sources of confidence (or a lack thereof) and Brooke has a lightbulb moment when Kelly talks about the difference between arrogance and confidence.  Brooke also talks about the importance of "faking it" as a way of moving forward in spite of the nasty voice inside her head, and credits that as the reason she's able to get up and create things in public every day. She also draws loads of inspiration from other creatives who openly share similar self-doubts, while still creating incredible work. It inspires her so much to realise people she looks up to struggle with the same issues, but continue to create regardless. And maybe that's the key? Hearing the voice, acknowledging it, but moving forward regardless.  Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to t

Kelly talks this week about her goal of living a life without regret, which brings about a really interesting conversation about what regret looks like, what things are worth regretting, and specifically, the moments that both Brooke and Kel have regrets about.  Both ladies share some of those, and also how they manage to move past them. Acceptance, apology, forgiveness (of ourselves as well as others) all come in to play, and it's a fascinating look at how each of them process those gut feelings of having screwed up.  On the flip side they also talk about the regret of doing nothing, or of not having tried, and both agree that the biggest regrets they have are often tied up in inaction or fear, rather than trying and failing. Which really is one of the best takeaways from this episode - it's better to have tried and failed than not tried at all!  (Of course, there is some dreadful dancing that Brooke very heartily regrets too.)  Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subs

Brooke and Kelly have discovered that one of the pitfalls of having existential, navel-gazey conversations every week is the very real risk of appearing overly earnest. So while these weekly chats are definitely a highlight, in today's episode the girls talk about something they both love dearly - books! Not only do they discuss what genres they enjoy reading and which they avoid, but also the where and how of reading too. Brooke is now a strictly physical book in the hand type reader, while Kel is happy with her iPad with the occasional real book. Brooke also talks about her complete lack of self-help reading these days (is self-help book burnout a thing? It should be) and Kel pleads with Patrick Rothfuss to JUST. RELEASE. HIS. NEXT. BOOK. Kelly and Brooke share a love of dystopian fiction, and fangirl over Hugh Howey and his Wool trilogy for a while, before leaving with a list of comfort reads that they both routinely come back to. Some of those are pretty surprising, and most not the slightest bit comforta

As expert navel-gazers, Kelly and Brooke can sometimes seem a little serious, so when a listener wrote to Kelly and asked us about her personal fear of becoming too serious, it seemed like a good topic to discuss.  Unsurprisingly, Kelly and Brooke come at this from different angles, with Kelly talking about her desire to be respected and taken seriously, while Brooke realises she wants essentially the opposite - to be thought of as funny and carefree.  They do share the same advice on how to avoid the trap of over-earnestness and becoming THAT person at the dinner party though, and the endlessly useful suggestion that people are really thinking about us far less than we think they are anyway. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooke is just home from an amazing Canadian adventure with her family and is ready to hit the road again soon - this time for much longer. Kelly, on the other hand, talks about the challenge of leaving behind her daily routines when travelling and why she gets the most out of a trip when she's prepared ahead of time. Both Kelly and Brooke love travel and the opportunities it brings, so it's interesting to hear their different perspectives, particularly when they end up with a very similar philosophy - that of slow travel. They also talk about the benefits of travelling like a local, avoiding the historical site burnout of constant touring, and why they both love setting up a home base and exploring a region in-depth rather than being on the move every day or two. This is definitely a lighter look at letting it be, and one that just might get the wanderlust burning!Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf

Kelly starts this week's episode with a gorgeous poem by Portia Nelson and the girls dive right in to a conversation about what it means to be honest with ourselves. As usual, they go deep, never knowing entirely where they will end up. In this show they talk about the stories they tell themselves (about themselves) and how they both need to balance their self-awareness with a big dose of chill - because constant existential angst is tiring!  Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Both Kelly and Brooke have big problems with the notion of living a 'balanced' life, as it adds several layers of stress and expectation to lives that already feel full to the brim with 'shoulds' and 'have to's'.  Plus, as Kelly talks about, trying to find a work/life balance forces us to compartmentalise our lives - and it's incredibly tough to live intentionally when we're too distracted trying to keep the weight balanced evenly across all segments of our lives. Brooke is a big proponent of the idea of tilting rather than balancing, and she talks about how she applies it to her daily life, and how tilting stops the feeling of overwhelm. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a society, we are obsessed with the idea of finding happiness. In today's show Kelly and Brooke talk about what they see when they envisage happiness, and whether it's possible or desirable to aim for that level of face-splitting joy every day.  They also talk about the difference between contentment and happiness, and how their views on both of those things has changed as they've gotten older (and wiser? Maybe?)  Kelly also works through a list of 10 specific behaviours that attribute directly to our happiness, and it's interesting to see the different perspectives Kelly and Brooke bring to this list:   Let go of the need for specific outcomes Define your own success and happiness Commit 100% to the things that make you happy Be grateful for what you already have Say "I love you" more Have hobbies directed toward your dreams Dont wait til tomorrow for what you can do today Do something every day that terrifies you Put the important before the urgent Forgo the good to pursue the bestHead over to http://www

Brooke and Kelly have lived mostly comfortable lives, relatively speaking. But they have both also grappled with uncomfortable situations, realisations and periods in time. But we so often go to great lengths in order to avoid discomfort, so in today's episode we ask why. Why do we avoid discomfort? Or DO we avoid it? Brooke tends to run into the unknown while Kel likes understanding what's ahead, but does this carefree/cautious approach apply to when things feel hard too? The girls also discuss whether our modern fixation with comfort and convenience is costing us opportunities for growth and learning. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If Brooke is asked one question more than any other, it's this: "How does living a simple life actually simplify life? It looks a lot like hard work!" In today's show, Brooke and Kelly look at this idea of simple, slow living and the reality of it, as opposed to the #simpleliving we see on social media. They talk about the importance of understanding why we want to slow down and the values we want to live by as a result, as well as offering some super practical ways to simplify life that don't involved farms or chickens or colour co-ordinated neutrals. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A listener tweeted in a few weeks ago and asked us about the "facade of being OK" and why we all struggle so much with the notion of coping, or rather, Not Coping. After both experiencing post-natal depression, the idea of just coping was central to both Kelly and Brooke making it through each day, but it also kept them trapped in this cycle of needing to have it all together for fear of looking like a failure. Today's episode really dives in to what coping means to them and why it's a difficult behaviour to change. Brooke and Kelly are both copers and talk about where that mechanism stemmed from, how it serves them, and importantly, how it doesn't serve them. They also talk about the fear and ego tied up in admitting we're not OK, and the permission to actually be just OK. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it actually mean to "have it all"? And why are we almost killing ourselves to try and achieve it? Brooke and Kelly look closely at a recent post on the modern idea of "having it all" and it turns out it hits a little too close to home. Why are we killing ourselves to try and achieve this "all"? And what does it look like anyway? The girls look at how to extricate ourselves from the harmful ideal of a successful life and the ways in which they both appear to have it all, versus the reality. Kelly particularly goes deep into what it actually takes to maintain her work, family and home life and why it's not all it's cracked up to be. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode could not be any more perfect for Brooke (unless it was about the Walking Dead). In this show, Kelly and Brooke take a good look at clutter and their relationship to stuff. Why do we accumulate stuff at such a rate? How can we learn to let go? Do we, in fact, want to let go? It's a thoroughly modern problem to own too much stuff, but it's one so many of us face. Today Brooke and Kelly both talk about their thoughts on stuff and clutter, as well as some really practical suggestions for how to best start dealing with it, letting go and getting free. Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ignorance is bliss - or so they say. But what happens when we realise we've actually been the ignorant ones? When we see we've been making judgements and assumptions about people when we have no right to?In today's show Brooke talks about her realisation that being a judgemental person had cost her happiness, friendships and connection. She also talks about how advice from her mum has helped turn it around.On the flip side, Kelly and Brooke also talk about how quick we are to feel judged, when in fact we're simply facing a difference of opinions.Head over to http://www.letitbe.fm to learn more about Kelly and Brooke and subscribe to the show! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.