Life Happens* cover art

Life Happens*

Life Happens*

By: Michelle R. Williams and Nick Hirst
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About this listen

Life has a habit of interrupting your plans — sometimes quietly, sometimes all at once. And you don’t always want advice or answers, you just want to know you’re not the only one trying to make sense of it.

Life Happens* is a weekly lifestyle podcast built around honest conversation. Psychology student Michelle R Williams and media veteran Nick Hirst come together from two very different generations to talk about modern life as it’s actually lived — with uncertainty, confusion, hopes and ambitions along the way.

With warmth, banter, humanity and insight, they don’t pretend to have it all figured out, instead they explore how it feels when life doesn’t go as planned.

Because life happens*

*but you can too!

linktr.ee/lifehappens.podcast

2025 Michelle R. Williams and Nick Hirst
Personal Development Personal Success Social Sciences
Episodes
  • #17 Too Many Choices or Too Few? Does More Freedom Make Decisions Harder?
    Mar 17 2026

    Would you rather have one guaranteed good option or five uncertain great ones?

    In this episode of Life Happens* (*but you can too!), hosts Michelle R Williams and Nick Hirst explore the psychology of choice and decision-making.

    From choosing schools and careers to navigating everyday life decisions, they discuss whether modern life offers too many choices — and whether that freedom actually makes us happier or more anxious. They also compare today’s decision-making pressures with earlier generations, when life options were often far more limited.

    Plus, you can test your own decision-making style with a quick quiz and see where you fall on the spectrum of cautious vs spontaneous decision-makers.

    🎧 Listen now to explore whether more choice really leads to a better life — or simply harder decisions.

    Decision-making style quiz:
    https://www.buzzfeed.com/natalyalobanova/deicison-making-style-personality-wuiz

    Photos from Nick’s Luxembourg trip:
    https://undercoverofthewriteluxembourgreview

    You will find everything about Life Happens* here:

    https://linktr.ee/lifehappens.podcast

    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • #16 The Age You Are or The Age You Feel? Subjective vs Mental Age Explained
    Mar 10 2026

    You know your chronological age — just count the candles on your last birthday cake. But is that how old you actually feel?

    In this episode of Life Happens*, hosts Michelle R Williams and Nick Hirst explore the fascinating psychology of subjective age — the age we perceive ourselves to be.

    Originally, the concept of mental age was used to measure intellectual development. But researchers are increasingly interested in subjective age and how it connects to physical health, mindset, social engagement, and even longevity.

    Michelle and Nick — representing two different generations — compare their own subjective age test results, and the answers might surprise you.

    🎧 Listen now as they discuss ageing, identity, and how society shapes the way we think about getting older.

    Before you light the candles on your next birthday cake… you might want to find out how old you really feel.

    Life Happens*but you can too!

    You will find everything about Life Happens* here:

    https://linktr.ee/lifehappens.podcast

    And here’s the link to the online test you can take to fine out your subjective age as talked about in the episode: https://www.idrlabs.com/subjective-age/test.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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    45 mins
  • #15 Do We Remember Our Lives Accurately? Memory, Identity & the Stories We Tell Ourselves
    Mar 3 2026

    Do we remember our lives as they really happened — or do we quietly edit the past to make it more coherent, meaningful… or even dramatic?

    In this episode of Life Happens* (*but you can too!), hosts Michelle R Williams and Nick Hirst explore the psychology of memory and how it shapes our identity.

    Michelle reflects on 21 years of memories, while Nick has decades to draw from — yet it’s Nick who claims the earliest memory, dating back to age two. How reliable are early memories? And do the stories we repeat about ourselves become who we are?

    You’ll also hear practical memory techniques to improve recall at work, school, and especially in exams — plus Nick’s unforgettable story of interviewing Ozzy Osbourne in Los Angeles.

    🎧 Listen now to rethink how your memory works — and whether it even needs to be accurate to matter.
    Life Happens* — but you can too!

    And here's the link to Nick's website with a picture of him and Ozzy together...

    https://theshapeofrain.wordpress.com/about/

    You will find everything about Life Happens* here:

    https://linktr.ee/lifehappens.podcast

    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
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