Intelligent Intoxication

Regret vs. Guilt in the Empty Nest Years

As our kids grow up and leave home, many parents find themselves reflecting on the past — replaying choices, wondering what they could have done differently, and questioning the paths they took. 
In this episode, we explore the difference between guilt and regret — two emotions that often surface in the quiet of the empty nest, yet hold very different meanings and invitations.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
The subtle but powerful distinction between guilt (“I did something wrong and need to repair it”) and regret (“I wish I’d chosen differently”).
REGRET is sorrow aroused by circumstances beyond one's control or power to repair.
GUILT is the fact of having done something wrong or the state of feeling responsible for it.
How both guilt and regret can sometimes keep us stuck in self-blame and shame.
Key Takeaway:Both guilt and regret can be powerful teachers — but only if we allow them to move us toward greater compassion and alignment, not punishment.
Tune in if you’ve ever found yourself thinking:
“I wish I’d been more present.” “Did I make the wrong choice for my family — or for me?” “How do I forgive myself for what I didn’t know then?”
 
If you know you could use some support as you navigate both regret and guilt in the empty nest , email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory
 

Part 3 - Lifestyle and Structure

In addition to struggling to redefine their identity/purpose and renegotiate their relationships and connections, empty-nesters may struggle to reimagine their new lifestyle and the structure of their days, weeks, and months. 
They may feel:
a loss of routine, structure, and a sense of accomplishment without daily parenting tasks.
restlessness or boredom with too much unstructured time.
temptation to indulge in/buffer their emotions with distractions like food, alcohol, shopping, social media, or “staying busy”.  
I invite you to consider these questions:
How do I want to play each day?
How do I want to have fun each day?
How do I want to rest each day?
What are my essential few:
Tasks
Priorities
Relationships
Habits
Routines
ESSENTIALISM
THE BIG LEAP
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory
 

Part 2 - Why Relationships Can Be Challenging For Empty-Nesters

There are three common challenges for empty-nesters:
Losing one’s identity or purpose
Missing convenient, organic relationships/craving meaningful connections
Struggling with a new lifestyle and daily structure
Relationships can feel challenging for empty-nesters if they:
experience marital/long-term partnership shifts—sometimes feeling like they’re living with a stranger now that it’s just the two of them.
crave deeper connection with adult children, yet don't know how to both honor their young adults’ independence while still feeling involved. 
re-evaluate friendships that were centered around parenting. 
If you know you could use some support as you navigate your relationships and connections in the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory

Part 1 - Redefining Your Identity and Purpose As An Empty-Nester

I’ve noticed these three common challenges for empty-nesters:
Losing one’s identity or purpose
Missing convenient, organic relationships/craving meaningful connections
Struggling with a new lifestyle and daily structure
Identity and purpose is challenging for empty-nesters if they:
are feeling like they’ve lost their sense of self after decades of being “mom first.”
don’t know what their gifts, passions, or talents actually are.
question their relevance and value now that their role as caregiver isn’t front and center.
struggling to figure out what’s next in life.
Your identity can be described as “the thoughts and beliefs you have about who you are and the roles you play.”
Your identity can also be discerned by what you value. 
Use the VALUES INVENTORY link below, I encourage you to complete this prompt:
“I’m someone who values… “
VALUES INVENTORY
Which of the following roles have you played/are currently playing?
Family & Relationship Roles
Daughter – navigating expectations, care, and family dynamics.
Sister – support, rivalry, companionship.
Wife/Partner – nurturing intimacy, managing household partnership.
Mother – caregiving, guiding, protecting, and supporting children.
Grandmother – mentoring, nurturing, and continuing traditions.
Caregiver – often for aging parents or relatives.
Personal Identity Roles
Friend/Confidante – offering emotional support, connection, and loyalty.
Self/Individual – the often-overlooked role of being herself, honoring her own needs, dreams, and growth.
Creative/Artist – expressing imagination and soul through creativity.
Learner/Seeker – continually pursuing knowledge, skills, or personal growth.
Professional & Societal Roles
Worker/Professional – career, business owner, or employee.
Leader/Manager – guiding teams, organizations, or communities.
Teacher/Mentor – formally or informally passing on wisdom.
Community Builder/Volunteer – contributing to local or global causes.
Inner & Archetypal Roles
(These often show up in psychology, mythology, and coaching work.)
The Nurturer – caring, giving, protecting.
The Warrior – strong, resilient, advocating for self and others.
The Lover – passionate, playful, intimate.
The Sage – wise, reflective, guiding.
The Creator – innovating, making, birthing new ideas.
The Explorer – seeking freedom, adventure, discovery.
What professional or personal role(s) do you want to play?
What might prevent you from doing so?
If you want to feel fulfilled and satisfied as an empty-nester, you must be willing to redine your identity and purpose OUTSIDE of family roles. 
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory

How To Know What You Need

When do you notice struggling to discern or communicate what you really need? Here are a few questions that might provide some much-needed clarity:
Am I willing to give myself the permission to have and communicate my needs?
Am I worried that I’ll burden someone else?
If I weren’t afraid of being a burden, what might I actually ask for?
Am I willing to give myself the same compassion I offer to others?
If my best friend felt the way I do right now, what might I offer?
Do I need something along the lines of:
Space?
Support?
Comfort?
Clarity?
Am I overwhelmed? Is my body tight, heavy, or agitated? 
What does my body need in order to feel a bit more open, spacious, or lighter?
Do I feel safe?
What energizes me? What brings me joy?
What age of me needs something right now?
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory
 

The Next Version Of You Will Thrive As An Empty Nester

What if you’ve yet to meet the version of you who will actually love and thrive in the empty  nest stage of your life?
But you might be wondering - how do I meet that version? How do I get to know her?
You begin by spending as much time as possible in the present moment. Ask yourself:
Am I focusing on something that’s happening in the present moment?
Is everything I’m experiencing right now figureoutable?
What am I enjoying NOW?
How is this version of me growing and changing?
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory
 

Using Regret Against Yourself In The Empty Nest Stage

It’s common for mothers of adult children to experience regret over having:
worked outside of the home and missed time with their growing children
left a career to stay home and raise children, thereby losing temporary or permanent professional traction
We can either use regret as a catalyst to get curious about what we really value most and commit to creating that now, OR, we can stay stuck in disappointment and longing for a different past. 
I invite you to consider these questions:
What can I use my time, energy, and resources to create now?
How willing am I to stop believing that NOW would be better or different if I had made a different choice back THEN?
How willing am I to accept that I’ll never be able to prove with 100% certainty that I made the wrong/right decision?
How might it have been the perfect decision to work outside the home?
How might it have been the perfect decision to stay home with your kids?
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory

How To Reinvent Your Empty Nest From The Bottom Up

When we work from the “bottom up”, we clarify what we need to strengthen in our foundations in order to build a life that is sustainably enjoyable and satisfying. 
As an empty-nester you may be tempted to fill your days, stay busy, or bring in tons of new things. But, I invite you to reflect on your last or current stage, and get curious regarding what activities, commitments, and relationships you want to:
Keep?
Let go of?
Create anew?
I invite you to consider these questions:
How willing are you to focus on your foundational, essential few things in the empty nest stage?
How willing are you to tell yourself the truth about what needs to change before you craft a new normal in the empty nest stage?
 
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory
 

Confidence and Self-Confidence As An Empty-Nester

Confidence requires proof or evidence. Think of something you do really well and have evidence that you’re good at. You’re “confident” that you can do this thing well.
Self-Confidence does NOT require evidence. It is the commitment to yourself that regardless of what happens or what someone else says or does, you will have your own back.
We have our back by:
Sleeping/resting
Eating well/hydrating
Exercising
Monitoring our stress levels and calming or energizing our bodies when needed.
Saying NO when something doesn’t align with our value or when we aren’t willing or capable of meeting an expectation.
Talking kindly to ourselves.
I invite you to consider these questions:
What evidence do you have that you’re going to thrive in a new stage?
How willing are you to have your own back in this new stage?
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage with both confidence and self-confidence, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory

The Easy, Essential Few In The Empty Nest Stage

To champion and thrive in the empty nest stage, we must be willing to identify and prioritize the essential few activities, passions, and relationships that truly matter the most. 
““The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the nonessentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage. In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.”
― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
I invite you to consider these questions:
What are you willing to say NO to?
Who are you willing to say NO to?
What needs to come off your plate?
What do you intentionally want to prioritize going forward?
If you know you could use some support as you navigate the empty nest stage, email me to schedule a complimentary happy hour call:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
Thank you for investing your valuable time and energy into listening to the podcast. I’m so very grateful for you. 
If you enjoyed this episode, you can “tip the bartender” by rating and reviewing the podcast. Your review makes it easier for others to find the podcast. 
Don’t forget to hit the SUBSCRIBE button to be notified any time I pour out a new episode. 
My new book Intentional Intoxication: How To Deliberately Distill The Different Life You Desire, is available on Amazon. You can imbibe on the entire book in one, short, intentionally happier hour:
Intentional Intoxication Book
If you’re interested to know about how I can support you in overcoming the habit of escaping or chasing, I invite you to reach out to me by using the email below and we find a time to chat:
terribradwaylifecoaching@coachbradway.com
For a quick shot of your life’s current level of intoxication, I invite you to complete the 10 Questions on my Intoxication Inventory:
Intoxication Inventory