Becoming You with Suzy Welch – Details, episodes & analysis

Fear of the unknown gets plenty of attention. But an even deeper fear lurks beneath it: the fear of what might happen if we truly understood ourselves. In Part II of the Be Not Afraid series, your host Suzy Welch explores why self-knowledge can feel so threatening — and why so many people instinctively avoid it.  The episode begins with a revealing experiment: Suzy once asked her colleagues to anonymously write down the first word that came to mind when they saw her name appear on their phones. Most responses were predictable. One was not. The word was “machine.” That moment opens a larger conversation about values — how difficult they are to see clearly, and why powerful forces constantly distort them. Suzy explains the four dynamics she calls the Four Horsemen of Values Destruction: Expectations, Expedience, Events, and Economic security. Along the way, she responds to a listener who admits she’s afraid to take The Values Bridge assessment for one simple reason: she worries the results might reveal that her life is far from aligned with what matters most. The fear is understandable. But the data tells an interesting story: almost no one is perfectly aligned with their values — and yet understanding that gap can be the beginning of real freedom. Because the truth about ourselves can be uncomfortable. But avoiding it comes at a far greater cost. And sometimes, the moment we finally face it brings something we’ve longed for: relief. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package. You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fear of the unknown gets a lot of attention. But the deeper fear — the one that quietly shapes our careers and lives — is something else entirely. The fear of knowing ourselves. In this first episode of a three-part series on fear and self-discovery, your host Suzy Welch explores why so many people avoid looking closely at who they really are — and what they truly want. Drawing inspiration from the iconic film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Suzy examines the psychological reality behind what researchers call information avoidance: our tendency to avoid truths that might force us to change. She tackles a question from podcast listener Katie, who took a brave step after decades of professional success: a sabbatical to reassess her life and career. Now she faces a dilemma many people share — should she admit that she took a sabbatical on her resume, or hide it from potential employers? This episode kicks off a three-part “Be Not Afraid” series on the courage it takes to change your life from the inside out. Because the truth is simple: If you don’t stop to ask who you are… life will eventually force the question. And the sooner you ask it, the better. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year, we make New Year’s resolutions. And every year…we break them. But why? In this episode of Becoming You, your host Suzy Welch takes on one of the most universal – and quietly painful – rituals of the calendar year, and explains why New Year’s resolutions almost never work…unless you understand what’s really driving them. In the Becoming You methodology, that’s called the Authenticity Gap: the distance between the values you hold and how much you’re actually living them. That ache you feel, the sense that you’re “fine, but not quite fine,” that’s where New Year’s resolutions come from. A values disconnect. Drawing on exclusive data from Becoming You’s Values Bridge digital assessment, Suzy breaks down why the average person is walking around with a 27% authenticity gap (and what that number means), which values tend to cause the biggest riffs for people, and why your resolutions might be making your Authenticity Gap worse.  Along the way, Suzy shares deeply personal stories, from a family resolution tradition that still hurts to remember, to a hairdresser’s very honest shopping confession. Plus, Suzy explores what it really means to live an A-plus life in a world that often pulls us away from ourselves. And yes…finally…Suzy explains her lifelong crush on Pitbull. If you’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution that didn’t stick, this episode will give you a completely new way to make your goals for the year ahead. So stick with Suzy for 30 minutes. This one might actually change your year. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Career success, life success – you want them, but here’s the thing, they will remain ever elusive until you know your aptitudes. Don’t bolt! We know that word sounds like jargon. Or like pure academic BS. But aptitudes are real, and you have very specific ones, and knowing what they are can and will change your life. Take it from Suzy, who in this week’s gasp-worthy pod (yes, just wait and see) tells us how she learned that very lesson the hard way. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christmas is supposed to be joyful. Magical. Simple. So why does Becoming You host Suzy Welch feel so…troubled…by Santa Claus? This week on the podcast, Becoming You is celebrating Christmas with a conversation about one of the most misunderstood of the 16 values in Becoming You’s Values Bridge system: Cosmos.  Cosmos represents religion or spirituality—not any specific religion, but the degree to which faith shapes how someone experiences the world. And here’s what the data tells us: Cosmos is the most polarized value there is. You either have it…or you don’t. Suzy does. In this episode, she explores what it’s like to live as a high-Cosmos person in a largely Santa-forward, faith-agnostic culture—especially at Christmas. Why suppressing your #1 value can be exhausting. Why faith can feel disconcerting to people who don’t share it. And why understanding this value—whether it’s yours or not—may be one of the most important acts of respect we can offer each other. Along the way, Suzy shares her own unexpected faith story, why she almost left Cosmos out of the Values Bridge entirely, and what Christmas means to her.  This is not a sermon. It’s not an argument. And it’s definitely not a typical holiday episode. It’s an invitation: to understand a value you may not share, to see the people who hold it more clearly, and to consider whether the greatest gift this season might be learning how to honor each other’s differences—with compassion, curiosity, and a little grace. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special episode of Becoming You, your host Suzy Welch does something few mothers-in-law would dare to do: she cold-calls her daughters-in-law and asks that question – Am I a good mother in law? Suzy is joined by clinical psychologist and relationship expert Dr. Tracy Dalgleish, author of You, Your Husband & His Mother, for an honest, deeply human conversation about values and family. Together, they ask: What does a good mother-in-law really look like? Why do the holidays so often expose unspoken power dynamics and values conflicts? And how does insecurity – especially in family systems – cause us to lose curiosity, shut down, and stop asking the questions that actually build connection? Dr. Tracy explains why staying curious about a daughter-in-law (or any new family member) is one of the most important – and hardest – skills to develop, and how inquiry can replace control without sacrificing your values.  They also explore whether couples can thrive with differing values and why sometimes the healthiest move isn’t pulling harder on either side, but dropping the rope entirely and accepting that not everyone in your family will see the world the way you do. Suzy shares a moving story about her son and daughter-in-law – a seemingly simple moment – that reveals what it really means to face family pressure together. This episode is for anyone navigating in-laws, holidays, or family tension, and wondering how to stay true to themselves without losing the relationship.   Find Dr. Tracy Dalgleish https://drtracyd.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drtracyd/?hl=en The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What makes a relationship truly work? Is it chemistry, shared interests, or something deeper – something that holds when life gets complicated? In this special installment of Becoming Us, where host Suzy Welch applies the Becoming You values methodology to couples, Suzy sits down with media and reality TV personality Sam Feher and her boyfriend William Hayden, co-founder of the startup Bags. Together, they explore how aligned values create the real foundation for a strong, lasting partnership. Using the proven, data-driven Becoming You values framework, Suzy helps Sam and William illuminate exactly where their values naturally align and where meaningful gaps appear. They dig into one of their biggest value contrasts: Cosmos, the value of faith, which sits at the very bottom of Sam’s list but in William’s top tier. They discuss navigating conversations about religion and spirituality with respect instead of friction. And they unpack the reverse dynamic with Belonging – a core value for Sam, but one of William’s lowest – complete with a hilarious story about a competitive game night that revealed exactly what Belonging looks like in action for them as a couple. Throughout the conversation, Suzy shows how understanding these contrasts through The Values Bridge can turn potential conflicts into opportunities for connection. And she also reveals the “green flag” of all green flags: the one value Sam and William rank nearly identically – and how that shared priority quietly strengthens their relationship every single day. This episode is a masterclass in how clarity about your own values – and your partner’s – can turn “me” and “you” into a thriving, unstoppable “us.”   Find Sam on Instagram and CAPS LOCK podcast Find William's company, Bags The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Only 11% of Americans rank family as their #1 value. That's not a guess. It's data from nearly 100,000 respondents of The Values Bridge—the largest values data set ever compiled. On this episode of Becoming You, host Suzy Welch breaks down the research from Becoming You Labs behind her widely discussed Wall Street Journal op-ed, "For Americans, Family Comes First—Or Does It?" And she's brought in the perfect person to help make sense of it: renowned family therapist Vienna Pharaon. What The Values Bridge reveals about family challenges nearly everything we've been told about what matters most—and raises profound questions about how we're actually living our lives. That's why this conversation feels so personal—and important. Suzy and Vienna explore: Why our childhood experiences and the messages we absorbed growing up shape our values more than we realize. The values that consistently outrank family, like self-care and flourishing. How to honor your real values and design a life around them—without the guilt that comes from not living up to others' expectations. This conversation isn't about whether you love your family. It's about understanding what genuinely drives your choices, your energy, and how you spend your days. If you've ever felt guilty for not wanting to go home for the holidays, or wondered why you don't feel about family the way you think you should—you're not alone. And this conversation will help you understand why.   Where to find Vienna Pharaon: Workbook: https://viennapharaon.com/wound-workbooks-opt-in/ Quiz: https://1wsm6geg69z.typeform.com/to/d981R7Cl Website: https://viennapharaon.com Instagram: @mindfulmft Facebook: MindfulMFT TikTok: mindfulmft The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Thanksgiving, Becoming You community. This podcast exists to help you think deeply about your purpose—and today, our host Suzy Welch is doing exactly that in one of her most reflective episodes yet. Before turning to the four things she's happily thankful for right here and now, Suzy examines three significant mistakes she's only grown grateful for over time. A highly specialized (and utterly impractical) college major. Her painful first marriage. A spectacular termination. Three consequential missteps—and the wisdom each eventually revealed may not be what you'd anticipate. This is an unusually candid conversation. The path to purpose, it turns out, isn't always paved with achievements. Sometimes it's forged through the decisions we initially wish we could undo. This Thanksgiving, we're sitting with the paradox of gratitude—for the detours that redirected us, the lessons that only time could teach, and the unexpected places where meaning takes root. Happy Thanksgiving. Let's keep becoming us, together. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's time once again for a mailbag episode of Becoming You, in which host Suzy Welch tackles three "I feel stuck" moments that couldn't be more different—except they all demand the kind of honesty that stings a little before it sets you free. First up: a stay-at-home mom who adores her kids but has completely lost herself in the process. Suzy unpacks the deep, painful ironies of motherhood and what it really means to reclaim your identity without guilt. Next: a listener who wants permission to quit a job after just two months, citing her "values." With compassion—but also clarity—Suzy draws a crucial distinction between values and virtues, and gently pushes back on what's really happening here: breaking a contract, letting down a friend, and maybe engineering a little vacation time. "This is not about values," Suzy says. "This is about right and wrong." It's tough love, delivered with heart. Finally: a 73-year-old listener asks whether Becoming You even applies in retirement. Suzy's answer? An emphatic yes. The clock isn't ticking backward, and purpose doesn't come with an expiration date. In fact, "third halfers" might be the most ideal Becoming You audience of all. Plus, a final lightning-round question about Suzy's workplace pet peeves. Warning: a pun may be involved. Tune in to find out—and while you're at it, hear a few messages that may strike home, and heart. The Values Bridge digital assessment is available at thevaluesbridge.comPIE360 Feedback tool is available at pie360feedback.comWant more Becoming You? Check out the Becoming You book.You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.   You can follow and tag Suzy on: Instagram: @suzywelch Linkedin: @suzywelch TikTok: @suzywelch YouTube: @suzywelch_ X: @SuzyWelch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices