Bad Pancakes Podcast: The Messy Middle Looks Good on Us
- tremontij
- Mar 21
- 3 min read
Six Months of Growth, Community, and Becoming in Real Time
There's a version of growth we love to talk about. Polished. Inspiring. Wrapped up with a lesson learned and a quote you could put on a mug.
And then there's the version we're actually living.
Messier. Slower. Still very much in progress.
This episode of The Bad Pancakes podcast is about that version.
Listen on Spotify:
What Happens After You Say Yes?
Six months ago, the Women's Empowerment Summit brought together a group of women who were ready for something more. More honesty. More alignment. More of the life they kept saying they wanted.
But the summit ended. Real life picked back up. And the question became: now what?
This panel conversation—with women who were in that room—dives into what it actually looks like to keep going when the inspiration wears off, and the work begins.
Rachel and I sat down with Nicole Persing-Wethington, Jamie Medler, and Jesika McAteer to chat.
Growth Does Not Happen in Isolation
That's not a motivational poster. It's just true.
It happens when you're seen by someone who won't let you shrink. When you're challenged by someone who believes in the version of you that you're still catching up to. When you have spaces where honesty isn't just tolerated—it's the whole point.
This group is proof of what intentional community can look like in practice. Not perfect. Not always easy. But real in a way that actually moves the needle.
Tune in from Apple Podcasts:
The Messy Middle Is Where the Work Is
We talk about transformation like it's a destination. Like one day you'll arrive, fully formed, finally done.
But most of life is lived in the in-between. The becoming. The part where you don't fully recognize yourself yet, but you know you're not who you used to be.
In this conversation, we get honest about:
Navigating major transitions—career shifts, divorce, motherhood, identity
Learning to sit with hard emotions instead of sprinting past them
Letting go of the need to rush the outcome
Slowing down enough to actually feel your life while you're in it
The messy middle isn't a detour. It's the path.
Joy Is a Practice, Not a Prize
Here's the shift that hit hardest: joy isn't something you find when everything's finally figured out. It's something you choose, over and over, in the middle of the chaos.
The small moments. The glimmers. The ones that disappear if you're moving too fast to notice them.
Cherish the good ones. Not someday. Now.
Confidence Comes After the Step, Not Before
Let's kill the myth that you need to feel ready before you move.
Confidence is built through doing—not through waiting until you feel worthy enough to try. You take the step before you feel ready. You survive it. You take another. That's the loop.
We see it throughout this conversation: women stepping into new chapters, new roles, new versions of themselves—not because they had it all figured out, but because they moved anyway.
What We Are Learning In Real Time
No one in this conversation has it all figured out. That's not the point.
The point is doing it anyway—learning, practicing, and choosing growth even when it's uncomfortable:
Slow down. The process is the point.
Feel your emotions—don't just manage them.
Celebrate milestones, even the small ones.
Take action before you're sure.
This Is What Growth Actually Looks Like
Not linear. Not always comfortable. Not Instagrammable on the hard days.
But real. And shared. And worth every bit of the mess.
If you've been waiting to feel ready—this is your reminder: you don't have to be finished to begin.
🎧 Part 1 of a two-part panel conversation. Part 2 will air on Friday, March 27.
If this hit home, share it with someone who's in their own messy middle. None of us are meant to do this alone.
Comments