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Chasing Brighter Podcast: Choosing Real Over Perfect

Chasing Brighter Podcast: Choosing Real Over Perfect

By: Jessica Colarco and Kelly Fox
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**2024 PODCAST OF THE YEAR WINNER: BEST FEMALE HOSTED PODCAST**
Welcome to the Chasing Brighter podcast; created as a guide to living brighter, more connected and real. Because real is the new perfect.

Are you ready to embrace the next chapter of your life with confidence and excitement? Whether you’re looking to reinvent your career, improve your health, deepen your relationships, or find your true purpose, Chasing Brighter is here to help.

Join us each week as we bring you inspiring stories, expert interviews, and actionable tips to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of midlife. From wellness and personal growth to connection and beyond, we’ve got you covered.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Hygiene & Healthy Living Parenting & Families Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships
Episodes
  • Superwoman Diaries #6: Managing the Mental Load of Sports Season
    Mar 16 2026

    How do you stay sane when life’s logistics feel like a full-time job?

    Spring sports season has officially arrived — and with it comes the schedules, carpools, tournaments, gear bags, snacks, and the endless coordination that somehow lands on parents’ calendars.

    In this candid Superwoman Diaries conversation, Jessica and Kelly talk about the very real mental load of parenting during busy sports seasons. From last-minute tournament schedules to figuring out transportation when schools can’t bus athletes, the logistics alone can feel like a second job.

    Jessica shares what it looks like navigating high school baseball with unpredictable game times, travel tournaments, and feeding a teenage athlete who needs actual meals, not just snacks. Kelly reflects on how sports commitments shift once kids reach high school — and how families often have to build their own support systems through carpools, communication, and flexibility.

    But beyond the logistics, this episode highlights something deeper: how parents take care of themselves during high-demand seasons of life.

    Because when the calendar is packed and the mental load is high, staying organized and protecting your own energy becomes essential.

    Jessica shares how she’s approaching this season proactively — prioritizing sleep, asking for help, adjusting her work schedule when needed, and finding small ways to stay grounded.

    And if you’ve ever wondered why certain organization systems work for other people but not for you, Jessica and Kelly also introduce a fun way to find out: their Organizational Style Quiz, designed to help you discover systems that actually fit your personality and lifestyle.

    In This Episode, We Talk About
    • Why spring sports season can feel overwhelming for parents
    • The hidden mental load behind teenage athletics
    • Navigating transportation, carpools, and unpredictable schedules
    • Feeding teenage athletes (hint: snacks won’t cut it)
    • The shift from club sports to high school athletics
    • Why self-care matters even more during busy seasons
    • How understanding your organizational style can make life easier
    Takeaway

    Busy seasons are inevitable — but burnout doesn’t have to be.

    When life gets full, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s support, simple systems, and taking care of yourself while you care for everyone else.

    Want more inspiration for organizing your life this spring? Sign up for the Chasing Brighter newsletter and take our free Organizational Style Quiz to discover simple systems that work for your real life.

    👉 Visit https://chasingbrighter.com/newsletter/ and subscribe

    Connect With Us:

    • 🌐 Dive deeper on our blog post ChasingBrighter.com
    • 📲 Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for giveaways, insights, and behind-the-scenes fun.
    • Get our Newsletter!! Newsletter - Chasing Brighter

    high school sports, parent tips, transportation challenges, self-care, tournament logistics, high school schedule, youth sports, parental stress management

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    10 mins
  • What Have You Outgrown? Letting Go of Emotional Clutter
    Mar 12 2026

    What if the thing weighing you down isn’t your schedule or your closet… but an identity you’ve already outgrown?

    Sometimes the heaviest clutter in our lives isn’t physical — it’s emotional.

    In this episode of Chasing Brighter, Jessica and Kelly explore the idea of emotional clutter: the roles, identities, expectations, and coping strategies we once needed but may have already outgrown.

    Because choosing real over perfect doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes it means letting go of the version of yourself you worked really hard to become.

    Together, Jessica and Kelly talk about how perfectionism, over-functioning, people-pleasing, and even certain dreams can quietly become emotional clutter over time. What once helped us survive may no longer help us thrive.

    Jessica also introduces the concept of Internal Family Systems (IFS) in a simple, approachable way — exploring how different “parts” of us (like the overachiever, the fixer, or the over-analyzer) try to protect us. The goal isn’t to eliminate those parts, but to gently reorganize who’s driving the car so our compassionate, grounded self can lead.

    Through personal stories about parenting, productivity, consumerism, and decision fatigue, Jessica and Kelly reflect on the roles and habits they are learning to release — and how doing so has created more space for presence, connection, and joy.

    Because sometimes the most powerful reset isn’t organizing your life better.

    It’s giving yourself permission to evolve.

    In This Episode, We Talk About
    • Why emotional clutter can feel heavier than physical clutter
    • Signs you may have outgrown an identity, role, or habit
    • The difference between coping strategies that helped you survive vs. ones that help you thrive
    • Internal Family Systems and understanding the “parts” of yourself
    • Letting go of over-functioning, perfectionism, and external validation
    • Analysis paralysis and decision fatigue in a world of too much information
    • Parenting with presence instead of constant productivity Reducing consumerism and aligning spending with values
    • Creating space for play, connection, and real life moments

    ✨ Want more inspiration for organizing your life this spring? Sign up for the Chasing Brighter newsletter and take our free Organizational Style Quiz to discover simple systems that work for your real life.

    👉 Visit https://chasingbrighter.com/newsletter/ and subscribe

    Chapters

    00:00 Choosing Real Over Perfect

    05:31 Untangling Coping Strategies

    10:39 Embracing Authenticity and Self-Confidence

    16:47 Reflecting on Identity and Freedom

    Connect With Us:

    • 🌐 Dive deeper on our blog post ChasingBrighter.com
    • 📲 Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for giveaways, insights, and behind-the-scenes fun.
    • Get our Newsletter!! Newsletter - Chasing Brighter

    emotional clutter, letting go, personal growth, internal family systems, self-awareness, emotional health, identity, self-care, mental health, self-improvement

    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
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