Wrestling With Life
We are all wrestling with something – especially us twenty and thirty somethings who are navigating the most transitional, confusing, overwhelming times of our lives thus far. We’re doing so many things for the first time: getting started in our careers, living on our own, moving to new places, dating (or marrying) new people, making new friends, and asking the big life questions like, “What is the point of all of this?” And on top of all that, our generation is up against something none of our ancestors before us have ever navigated: growing up in a tech savvy world full of constant distractions. We’re more connected than ever before – yet we’re largely lacking purpose, in-person community, and faith in anything besides “quick fixes” to give us relief. Instead we’re overwhelmed with information, addicted to our phones, and desperate for a more meaningful existence. Whether you’re wrestling with your self-image, your faith in God, or your entire life’s purpose – I’m here to tell you that you are not alone and to encourage you to find both beauty and purpose in the midst of your struggle. My name is EmLed and this is the Wrestling With Life podcast :) I’m in my late twenties and spent the last few years in my “healing era” – going to therapy, reading tons of self-help books, and pouring myself into my career ambitions. This is what the modern mental health movement tells us will fix our problems, right? But my obsession with self-improvement slowly morphed into a pursuit of perfection, outperforming my competition, and total self-absorption. Funny enough, all the time I spent “finding myself” left me feeling more isolated, more insecure, and more sad than ever before. Then God brought me to my knees and opened my eyes – I can’t do life without Him. Wrestling With Life is for anyone like me who is tired of trying to play God and rely on themselves to find peace. Together, we’re gonna look to Jesus for inspiration on how to live and love and give and feel. We’ll kick perfection and control and pride to the curb and intentionally seek how God may use our pain for good. We’ll explore how we can build community and lift others up and embrace humility. And above all else, we will strive to accept our beautifully messy, limited human nature and remember that the point of life is learning to unconditionally love one another – not rise above each other. Whatever you’re wrestling with, you are not alone – let’s Wrestle With Life together. Follow @em_led11 on Instagram for more ＜3
Episodes
We are all wrestling with something – especially us twenty and thirty somethings who are navigating the most transitional, confusing, overwhelming times of our lives thus far. We’re doing so many things for the first time: getting started in our careers, living on our own, moving to new places, dating (or marrying) new people, making new friends, and asking the big life questions like “What is the point of all of this?”
And on top ...
We're back baby!! :)
In this episode, I cover:
- Why I took a break from the podcast for a few months
- How my heart has shifted during this time
- Why my old episodes are no longer available
- What you can expect from the pod moving forward & who it's for!
A lot has changed, but one thing is always gonna be the same around here: whatever you're wrestling with, you are not alone <3
What's up y'all! I've been talking to God a lot about what our generation needs to hear from Him. I've also been posting a ton of polls on my Instagram (@em_led11) to get an idea of what we're all struggling with. And PHEW.
There's a lot to unpack and talk about, but I've boiled it down to one main issue that keeps coming up again and again in all my research: our obsession with ourselves is what's making us all so miserable. Our f...
Episode two of our first series is still all about how our self-obsession is making us miserable, but now we're talking how we can find purpose and community outside of ourselves.
How many times have you heard...
- "Focus on yourself!"
- "You HAVE to put yourself first."
- "Pour all of your energy into your career right now and worry about the rest later."
These sound like innocent messages and good ideas, right? But they're a...
Let's be honest: we all wanna win, right? The argument, the competition, the promotion, you name it -- we wanna be on top.
The hardest thing to do is to choose loving someone else (especially someone you don't vibe with) over our pride. ESPECIALLY when that person is belittling you, insulting you, or straight up attacking you.
Sometimes we don't even want to love other people and would rather see them lose more than anything else. ...
The title honestly says it all. If you struggle to stay off your phone in general, you use social media WAY too much, or you constantly feel down after scrolling online -- this episode is for you.
We talk about:
- How we become what we consume
- How Satan uses social media to foster pride, comparison, and normalize things that are not normal
- How we can set healthy boundaries with social media
- How we can use social media to spread ...
We're ending S1 with a bang and keeping it so forreal about how self-improvement and self-help start out as innocent tools to help us get out of low places, but how slowly over time these things can actually end up hurting us more than they help us.
We cover:
- What self-help is
- When it starts to get dangerous
- How these tools can hurt us more than they help
- How we can bridge the gap between self-help and looking to the Lord for ...
This series is all about overthinking: where it comes from, why we do it, how to know if you're overthinking, and most importantly -- how to stop.
Spoiler alert: it has a lot to do with us not trusting ourselves or God.
I polled 22-35 year olds on Instagram (follow @em_led11) about their own overthinking patterns and...
- 81% say they are overthinkers
- 48% say they overthink their relationships the most
- 71% say they don't always ...
One of the biggest reasons we overthink is because we're waaaaay too focused on the final destination rather than just taking the next right step.
This episode is all about learning how to let go of control, trust yourself and your daily choices, and most importantly -- trust God in the unknown.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
48% of you guys told me via Instagram (@em_led11) that the thing you overthink more than anything else is your personal relationships. And boy do I fall into this category!
But what many of us don't realize is that the way we show up in our relationships is often a reflection of our own inner world and how we see ourselves. When we overthink our own pain, mistakes, or past trauma, we project our perceptions and judgements onto othe...
One of the biggest things I used to overthink the most was my past: ways I messed up, people I let down, things I wished I handled differently. And I know I'm not alone in this.
In this episode, I'm sharing the three biggest perspective shifts I've made in order to make peace with my past. I also explain how my relationship with God has truly allowed me to do that.
If you're feeling lots of shame over your past, you are not alone &...
The results are in: 20% of 22–35-year-olds report they overthink their career more than anything else in life. I can relate! Choosing your life's work is no small decision. But I think a lot of the problem stems from bad advice we've been given on our careers in general.
We're closing out our overthinking series by dispelling 5 major career myths that keep us overthinking, limited, and stuck when it comes to finding great purpose a...
AMAZING NEWS Y'ALL - your girl is officially an entrepreneur!! What!!
As I'm navigating starting my own business for the first time and TOTALLY being pushed out of my comfort zone, it only makes sense to start a podcast series on how to stop playing small and start stepping in faith. Right??
This is the only solo episode in the whole series, which sets the stage for interviews I'm recording with some of the most inspiring and insig...
In this powerful episode, we're welcoming the inspiring Brittany Wheeler to the mic for a heartfelt conversation about stepping into God-sized dreams with bold faith.
Brittany, host of the podcast The Brittany Wheeler Show, shares her personal journey of walking away from the career she thought she wanted, trusting God through uncertainty, and walking courageously towards the vision God called her to.
Coolest things we talk through...
Tune in to hear Wilmington local author, podcaster, and business owner, Justin Gates, share his personal journey of entrepreneurship: the highs, the lows, and the moments when trusting God made all the difference.
Whether you're a business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or someone navigating the intersection of faith and career, this episode offers honest insights, real talk about risk-taking, and a reminder that purpose and profit ...
What's up y'all! Today we’re joined by Nick Rizzo, a video marketer located in Wilmington, NC who helps local business owners get customers with Instagram!!
In this episode, Nick and I dive deep into the mental shifts required to take your business and life to the next level. Whether you're navigating burnout, struggling with imposter syndrome, or hitting a plateau in growth, Nick shares practical strategies and empowering insight...
Y'all -- put your hands together for my good friend Sam Johnson!! This convo will live rent free in my head for a WHILE because it parallels so perfectly with similar messages the Lord has been sending my way over the last few months.
Sam and I dive deep into:
- How Sam's trust in the Lord to provide has always paid off in both his career and life
- How Sam has overcome feelings of insecurity and unbelonging
- What a life of abiding...
This episode is so close to my heart you guys!!
I finally got to sit down with one of my best friends, Gillian Scott, a local Wilmington architect who recently launched Arc30 Studio. This conversation is one I’ve been craving for months and let me tell you -- it DID NOT disappoint!
Gillian has been such a steady, faith-filled presence in my life since I moved to Wilmington. Walking alongside her as we both build our own businesses ...
What's up y'all! In this empowering episode that will give you all the feels, I'm sitting down with certified leadership coach Jennifer Brown to explore the transformative concept that you are not your thoughts. Jen shares her personal journey into coaching, the pivotal mindset shifts that helped her break free from limiting beliefs, and the tools she uses to help clients take control of their mental narratives and thrive in their ...
This week, I'm sitting down with PR expert and local Wilmington community builder, Alli Rodriguez. She is the founder and CEO of ARPR and she is here to talk about the power of collaboration & community over competition in business!!
From her journey into public relations to her commitment to creating spaces where women can thrive together, Alli shares candid insights into building authentic relationships, showing up as your fu...
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