Ever catch yourself sounding one way in a meeting and another with your people—and wonder which version is “real”?  In this conversation, Darius Moore invites us into his story of growing up in a military family, moving between rural West Tennessee and corporate rooms, and learning how to code switch without losing himself. Through Darius’s lens, you’ll notice what it’s like to meet people where they are and stay rooted in who you are—navigating life’s gray areas, the messy middle, and the tension of holding multiple truths. You’ll hear how presence can disarm assumptions, how language shapes identity and belonging, and why love—as Darius puts it—can be a guiding code for how we show up in hard spaces. If you’ve wrestled with “Am I adapting to be understood—or disappearing to be accepted?”, this episode offers authentic conversations that build emotional intelligence, self-compassion, and emotional resilience for real-life transitions. Come for the story; leave with grounded perspective on decision making in complex rooms, practicing both/and thinking, and choosing connection over performance in your ongoing personal growth journey. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

Do you ever feel torn between wanting control and craving freedom—between anxious overthinking and playful spontaneity? This episode names that tension and shows you how to work with it. Nikki P sits down with educator, speaker, and improviser Emma Supica (founding Executive Director of Unscripted) to explore how improv lowers the volume on anxiety without pretending it isn’t there. We dig into both/and thinking for real emotional intelligence, navigating transitions, and meaningful personal growth—with simple tools for emotional clarity, decision making, and emotional regulation when life feels like the messy middle. You’ll learn how to hold mixed emotions and navigating gray areas with self-compassion, practice “yes, and” to communicate with more authenticity, and reframe failure as data so healing isn’t linear—it’s grounded, honest progress. Emma shares playful, research-backed ways to build emotional resilience, give yourself permission to feel, and bring presence and creativity back to relationships, work, and everyday life transitions. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Get connected with Emma - Learn more about Unscripted or follow them on Instagram - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

Do you ever feel split between “I need to know everything” and “I cannot take one more alert”? This episode is for the ones living in the gray—where duality, paradox, and mixed emotions collide with real life. Therapist-turned-storyteller Nikki P sits down with curl specialist and activist Liv Paige (Curl Coven) to talk about activism without burnout: how to care deeply about change and protect your nervous system; how to pick a lane, set boundaries, and practice emotional regulation; and how to engage locally (calls, emails, donations, volunteering, community care) with clarity and self-compassion. We name the messy middle, unpack political overwhelm, and explore why even hair can be political—challenging Eurocentric beauty standards while building inclusive community. You’ll hear practical ways to stay informed without spiraling, rest without guilt, and return with purpose; plus scripts for calm conversations across differences, so relationships can be a bridge, not a battlefield. If you’re navigating transitions, feeling both hope and fatigue, or craving emotional intelligence tools that honor nuance, this conversation helps you feel your feelings, choose your focus, and take the next doable step—because life isn’t either/or; it’s both. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Follow Liv on Instagram or visit her salon website - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation Resources  - GoVoteTN, Call or visit 211 if you are ever unsure where to turn for support - TN Justice For Our Neighbors, TN Justice Center, TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition  - Oasis Center Nashville, Nashville Launchpad, Trans Aid Nashville - Tennessee Equality Project, Music City Migra Watch - Second Harvest Food Bank, Nashville Food Project, Open Table Nashville - Oasis WIC/SNAP Emergency Needs, Open Table Winter Supply Needs  

Sitting in the unknown can spike anxiety and second-guessing. Today we use emotional intelligence to stay steady while navigating transitions. Why does uncertainty feel unbearable—and why is it also where growth happens? In this solo episode, Nikki shares practical ways to build capacity in the messy middle: naming mixed emotions, separating gut wisdom from fear, and creating space to process before you act. You’ll learn how to tolerate ambiguity, set gentle boundaries with your inner fixer, and make clearer decisions when you truly don’t know yet. Real tools for real life—because it isn’t either/or; it’s both. You’ll learn: - A simple script to give yourself permission to “not know yet” - How to spot the difference between intuition vs. avoidance - A framework to sit with mixed emotions without spiraling into overthinking If this helped: rate/review on Apple Podcasts, share with a friend, and follow the show so you never miss an episode. Resources & Links: - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

If “stop doing that” isn’t changing behavior, try this: teach tiny replacement skills for real emotional regulation. I n this episode, Nikki P sits down with board-certified behavior analyst Mandy Grass (The Family Behaviorist) to make the messy middle of parenting feel doable. You’ll learn how to spot the function of a behavior, what to say in the heat of a meltdown, and simple replacement behaviors kids can actually use—without abandoning connection or your boundaries. We cover: - The “function first” lens: attention, access, escape - Exactly what to say: “I’ll be happy to help when…” (firm + caring) - Replacement > reprimand: asking for help, tolerating delays, taking turns - Siblings & competition for attention (and how to defuse it) - When to coach later vs. teach in the moment - Building resilience and self-compassion (for you, too) If you’re juggling big feelings, tiny humans, and zero bandwidth, this conversation offers grounded scripts, realistic expectations, and small changes that lead to calmer days. Resources & Links:- Get connected with Mandy Grass, The Family Behaviorist - Follow Mandy on Instagram - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

What if two truths are real at the same time? Author, speaker, and mental health advocate Reggie D. Ford joins Nikki P to unpack the bothness of healing—how love and anger can coexist, why reframing your words rewires your brain, and what changes when you feel emotions in the body, not just think about them. You’ll learn a simple “6 vs 9” visual to navigate conflict, practical ways to get unstuck from survival mode, and language shifts that support personal growth without toxic positivity. We also talk grief, identity, and boundaries—how to protect yourself and still honor love. In this episode: - The “six or nine?” perspective shift for both/and thinking - Reframing language to build emotional resilience - Body-based practices (somatic check-ins, micro-regulation) - Boundaries that protect you while keeping your heart open - How grief, trauma, and hope can coexist during transition seasons If you’re navigating life’s gray areas and messy moments, this conversation meets you with grounded tools—and permission to feel everything. Resources & Links:- Get connected with Reggie D. Ford - Follow Reggie on Instagram - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Ketamine therapy sounds promising—but stigma, safety, and “what actually happens?” keep you stuck. If meds/therapy haven’t helped, here’s a personal growth–aligned roadmap. Nikki P sits down with licensed marriage & family therapist Liz Perez, LMFT to demystify ketamine-assisted therapy—from medical screening and dosing to the real work of integration. You’ll learn who it may help (treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, complex PTSD), what a session looks like (prep, eye mask, music, ~1 hour under medication), and why integration turns insight into lasting change. They also cover risks, red flags, and when ketamine is not appropriate—plus how modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, EFT, and parts work pair with KAT to accelerate healing. If you’re curious and cautious, this grounded, both/and conversation gives you clear next steps without the hype. Educational only—not medical advice. Always consult a qualified medical/mental-health professional. Resources & Links:- Get connected with Liz Perez, LMFT - Learn more about Journey Clinical - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

When your body keeps crashing and the system keeps saying “you’re fine,” how do you keep going? In this raw, honest conversation, we explore navigating transitions from confusion and dismissal to hard-won clarity. Grace Steele shares how months of terrifying episodes, ER visits, and “it’s anxiety” finally led to diagnoses of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and cranio-cervical instability (CCI).You’ll hear the messy middle—fear and hope, limits and progress—and the practical steps that moved her forward: symptom tracking, self-advocacy, finding the right specialists, and pacing recovery. We talk dysautonomia basics, why standing can spike heart rate, what “autonomic storms” feel like, and how to hold both grief and gratitude while you heal.You’ll learn:- How Grace went from dismissal to diagnosis (POTS + CCI)- What to document, what to ask, and how to build your care team- Why healing isn’t linear—and how to protect your emotional resilience in the gray areas- Ways friends can actually help (and what not to say) If you’re in the messy middle—seeking answers, learning to trust your body, and trying to hold both hope and heartbreak—this episode will meet you with empathy, clarity, and next steps. Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both. Resources & Links:- Resources, supplies, and ways to get involved - Follow Grace on Instagram - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube  

Khalil Ekulona joins Nikki P to unpack inspiration over ambition and what it means to live in the gray where joy and sorrow can coexist. From wisdom learned from elders to choosing presence, curiosity, and community, Khalil shares personal stories of loss, growth, and becoming—reminding us that balance isn’t about certainty, it’s about bothness.

Paula Stone Williams on gender, faith, and belonging—an honest, nuanced look at duality, self-compassion, and navigating life’s gray areas.

Refugee to belonging: Abdikadir Mohamed on identity, safety, and resilience—an honest look at gratitude, grief, and life’s gray areas.

Divorce & fresh starts: honest conversations, relief and grief, and tools for the messy middle—so you can rebuild with self-compassion and emotional resilience.

Permission to pause: rest, boundaries, and the messy middle—self-compassion and emotional resilience for navigating life’s gray areas.

Dawn Stone on mentorship, microaggressions, and the messy middle—authentic leadership tools for navigating life’s gray areas without losing yourself.

Menopause stories with Susie Beaumont: perimenopause, HRT, self-advocacy, and the messy middle—with emotional complexity and healing isn’t linear.

Loving difficult people: boundaries, grace, and emotional complexity—tools for the messy middle of relationships without losing yourself.

Adult friendship in the messy middle—grief, growth, boundaries, and authentic conversations for navigating life’s gray areas.

Helping work without losing yourself: burnout, boundaries, secondary trauma, and real tools for emotional resilience in the messy middle.

When everything feels heavy: grief, gratitude, and self-compassion in the messy middle—tools for navigating life’s gray areas without toxic positivity.

Youth group, faith, and fear—found family, spiritual deconstruction, and the messy middle of belonging, doubt, and emotional resilience.