The Shapes We Take

The Shapes We Take is a podcast about the lives people are still becoming.Through honest, thoughtful conversations, each episode explores the shifts that shape us: identity, relationships, healing, ambition, loss, reinvention, and the quiet moments that change everything. This is a space for stories that aren't tied up neatly, where complexity is welcome and growth is rarely linear.You'll hear from founders, creatives, parents, professionals, seekers, and everyday people navigating the beautiful unfinishedness of being human. Some conversations are tender. Some surprising. Some quietly transformative. All of them are real.If you've ever outgrown a version of yourself, questioned the path you were on, or wondered who you're becoming next, this show is for you.Because we are all shaped by what we carry, what we release, and what we choose to become.

The Shapes We Take is a society podcast hosted by Celeste Fernandez, with 10 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Celeste Fernandez hosts The Shapes We Take, a society show with 10 episodes published.

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  The Shapes We Take

  9. Unmasked: Breaking Free from People-Pleasing, Perfectionism, and the Need to Be Figured Out with Angie Hawkins

  Aug 10, 20261h 9m

  In this deeply honest conversation, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Angie Hawkins — inner glow coach, writer, and speaker — to explore what it really means to stop performing life and start living it. Angie opens up about her own journey from chronic people-pleasing and perfectionism to radical self-trust, sharing how she hit emotional rock bottom, wrote a vulnerable memoir (Running In Slippers), and built a life that finally feels true to her. Together, they unpack the hidden cost of constant availability, the power of setting and enforcing boundaries, how to make peace with uncertainty, and why authenticity isn't just a buzzword — it's a feeling of freedom. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like their life looks great on paper but somehow still feels hollow inside. 5 Key Takeaways • 2:59 — Being constantly "on demand" for others is often rooted in childhood conditioning, not genuine generosity. • 6:07 — Setting boundaries doesn't push people away; people actually respect you more when you respect yourself. • 17:22 — Triggered feelings only last 90 seconds in your body — it's the stories you tell yourself that make them linger. • 34:58 — Closing yourself off to negative uncertainty also closes you off to serendipity and unexpected joy. • 0:00 — When you are truly focused on yourself and what feels good to you, you naturally stop giving energy to what others think. Episode Quote "Stop focusing on other people — because when you're focused on yourself, and you care about what you think of you, and if you're happy with your life, you will truly stop giving a shit about anything outside of you. 'Cause you feel so good and free and liberated, and you never want that feeling to go away." — Angie Hawkins Connect with Angie Website & Coaching: innerglowbyangie.com Book: Running In Slippers (paperback, Kindle & audiobook) New Program: Inner Glow Overflow — money mindset, identity & energy work Mention this podcast in your application for a free 60-minute coaching session

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  The Shapes We Take

  8. The Shape of Letting Go with Laziena Hodge

  Aug 6, 20261h 1mS1

  In this deeply personal and quietly powerful episode, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Laziena Hodge to explore what happens after the awareness — after you've done the reading, the therapy, the inner work — and you still find yourself repeating old patterns. Laziena shares her journey from authoritarian, shame-driven parenting to becoming a compassionate, relationally present mother, shaped by her own experiences of betrayal, trauma, and hard-won self-reparenting. Together, they explore the difference between knowing better and actually living differently, and why healing was never meant to be a solo journey. 5 Key Takeaways • 3:44 — Shame is often the hidden block beneath our healing, keeping us from acting on what we already know. • 6:03 — The shift from shame-based to needs-based parenting is one of the most powerful catalysts for real relational change. • 8:48 — Repair is always on the table — no conflict has to mean the relationship is at risk. • 32:09 — Self-awareness becomes a trap when it stays intellectual and never integrates into how we actually show up in relationships. • 56:28 — Healing requires relational community — we need people who can witness us, not just advise us. "Coherence to me is operating from my heart — caring about somebody so much that they're going to know. My efforts are going to match my intention, and you're going to feel seen, loved, appreciated, valued, witnessed." — Laziena Hodge Resources: Website: Laziena.com Book: The Relationship Repair Language — available on Amazon Repair Language Quiz — 30 questions to identify your repair language and what your nervous system needs to feel safe in conflict. Free on her website. Free Downloads (on her website): Attachment Repair Guide — breaks down your attachment style and what repair looks like for you Teenager Workbook — a safe space tool to help teens process their feelings Money Repair Guide — explores beliefs around money and how to repair your relationship with it Parenting Cohort — a free group coaching space for parents exploring generational healing and creating generational blessings (no cost) Social Media: LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok: LazienaHodge Instagram: @RepairWithLuzina Book a call: Visit luzina.com → chat with her chatbot → she'll send you her calendar link

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  The Shapes We Take

  7. The Art of Slowing Down Without Guilt with Amanda Bearce

  Jul 2, 202629 minS1

  In this episode, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Amanda Bearce — wellness coach, business owner, mother, and partner — for an honest conversation about what it really means to stop surviving and start living. Amanda opens up about a pivotal moment with her daughter that cracked her out of chronic anxiety and constant go mode, and how she began rebuilding her life around sustainable self-care instead of productivity at all costs. From therapy to mindful walks to building Legos on a Tuesday afternoon, Amanda shares the small, intentional shifts that changed everything — and how she now helps other women find their way back to themselves. 5 Key Takeaways (with timestamps): • 7:16 — A breaking point with her daughter forced Amanda to confront that constant anxiety wasn't just stress — it was a sign something had to change. • 9:00 — Therapy was the single most important first step Amanda took in shifting out of survival mode. • 9:44 — "Self-care snacks" — short, intentional resets like a 5-minute mindful walk — are Amanda's go-to tools for reclaiming calm throughout the day. • 18:05 — Small wins matter: sustainable change comes from building slowly, not overhauling everything on a Monday. • 20:38 — Amanda's new definition of success is simple: prioritizing her own wellbeing, because everything else flows from there. "I truly see the difference that it makes in my family, in the way I show up for my clients, in my friends — and an added bonus of that is as I've been doing this and openly talking about it, I see the difference in other people feeling comfortable taking care of themselves too." — Amanda Bearce Connect with Amanda: 🌐 simplywellnesscoach.com — Free download: Self-Care Snacks resource + weekly newsletter

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  The Shapes We Take

  6. What Remains After Everything Changes with Minister Alma

  Jun 23, 202637 minS1

  In this powerful conversation, Celeste Fernandez sits down with Alma Thomas, whose life has been reshaped by the loss of her only son, an apartment fire, a debilitating stroke, and a recent cancer diagnosis. From the depths of grief to becoming an international speaker from her bed, Alma shares how faith, mental health support, and a stubborn "bounce-back spirit" helped her turn pain into purpose. She talks about dreaming again after devastation, founding a scholarship in her son's honor, writing books with one finger, and inspiring others not to give up on the dreams they buried along the way. 5 Key Takeaways • (0:03:23) - Alma realized years after her son's death that she had stopped dreaming and made a conscious decision not to die with her dreams still inside her. • (0:06:01) - Her life was "rerouted" like a GPS, yet she still arrived at her calling as an international speaker—this time from her bed, through podcasts and teaching. • (0:11:38) - Grief nearly destroyed her in silence until she sought mental health support and turned her pain into purpose through a scholarship in her son's name. • (0:16:54) - After a fire, stroke, and cancer diagnosis, Alma leans on what she calls a "bounce back spirit" that keeps helping her rise after every blow. • (0:27:55) - Alma urges listeners to "dream again," taking one small step—one class, one paragraph, one purchase—as a way to revive long-buried goals. "If you make it, but you make it on broken pieces, you still made it. If you feel like a crayon that's been broken, you can still color, you can still make a difference in somebody else's life. Somebody is depending on you to make it." – Alma Thomas Resources: Alma Thomas Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alma.thomas.619946

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  The Shapes We Take

  5. The Shape of Self-Acceptance with Michelle Steiner

  Jun 12, 202627 minS1

  <p >In this episode, Celeste sits down with Michelle Steiner—writer, advocate, para educator, and photographer—to explore what it means to build a meaningful life while living with a learning disability. Michelle shares how early doubts about her potential shaped her, how she moved from grief to acceptance, and why she now sees her disability as a source of unique insight and connection. From college struggles and career choices to book projects and garden metaphors, this conversation is a gentle, honest look at resilience, self-definition, and allowing our lives to "bloom" in their own time.</p> <p > </p> <p> </p> <h2...

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