Inner Work With MaryAnn Walker: Reclaiming Identity, Boundaries, and Personal Sovereignty A podcast for recovering people-pleasers rebuilding self-trust and a strong sense of self
Welcome to Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker—Reclaiming Identity, Boundaries, and Personal Sovereignty. A podcast for recovering people-pleasers rebuilding self-trust and a strong sense of self This podcast is for kind, capable people who did everything “right” but still feel stuck, numb, resentful, or disconnected from themselves. If you’re a recovering people-pleaser, former “good girl” or “nice guy,” or someone who learned to prioritize others’ needs at the expense of your own, this podcast is for you. You may struggle with boundaries, self-trust, decision-making, or knowing what you actually want. You may feel burned out from over-giving, over-owning conflict, or walking on eggshells in relationships—while quietly wondering why happiness still feels out of reach. In each episode, MaryAnn guides you through the deeper inner work of reclaiming your identity, strengthening boundaries, and restoring personal sovereignty. This is a space for unlearning self-abandonment, rebuilding trust with yourself, and reconnecting with your inner voice so you can make choices that actually feel like yours. Here we explore topics like people-pleasing patterns, emotional burnout, self-sacrifice, authority wounds, relationship dynamics, emotional numbness, self-worth, and what it really means to live in alignment with yourself. The focus is on self awareness, personal reflection, and self-leadership—not perfection, compliance, or external approval. If you’re tired of outsourcing your life, tired of being told who you should be, and ready to stop shrinking to keep the peace, Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker offers support, clarity, and encouragement as you learn to trust yourself again and create a life rooted in self-respect, reciprocity, and authenticity. Listen now and come and work with me! Click here to learn more about my one on one coaching packages. A happier and more fulfilling life just might be closer than you think. https://www.maryannwalker.life Follow me on social media! https://www.tiktok.com/@maryannwalker.life https://www.instagram.com/maryannwalker.life/ https://www.facebook.com/maryannwalker.life https://www.youtube.com/@maryannwalkerlife
Episodes
Ever feel like every January you set the same goals… and by February you’re right back where you started?
If you’ve ever told yourself “this is just how I am” or “I’ll try again next year,” this episode is going to gently—but powerfully—challenge that belief.
In today’s episode, MaryAnn explores why New Year’s resolutions don’t fail because of willpower or motivation—but because of the thoughts and emotions you’ve ...
Your Personality Isn’t Who You Are — It’s What You’ve Practiced
What if the parts of your personality you struggle with aren’t “just who you are”… but simply habits you’ve practiced for a long time?
As we step into a new year, many highly sensitive people and recovering people-pleasers feel both hopeful and discouraged — wanting change, but quietly wondering if real transformation is actually possible. In this episode, ...
Story Telling & The Meanings We Create: Separating Fact from Fiction
What if the thing that's actually upsetting you isn't what happened... but the story your mind is telling about it?
For highly sensitive people, it can feel like tone, facial expressions, silence, or subtle shifts in energy cause our emotions. But this isn't the case. In this episode, MaryAnn Walker shares one of the most freeing con...
🎄 Holiday Expectations, Emotional Triggers & Radical Acceptance: How Your “Manuals” Are Ruining Your Holidays
What if the thing making the holidays so stressful isn’t your family… but your expectations?
In this special holiday episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on something that quietly runs our emotional lives—manuals. These are the invisible rules we carry about how people should behave, how holidays should lo...
If you’ve ever felt like you had to keep it all together, even when you were running on empty, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. Together, we explore how letting go of perfection and focusing on feeling just 10% better can become a gentle, sustainable path toward healing and self-connection.
In this episode, I’m joined by my friend, author, and public speaker, Marissa Campbell, for a heartfelt conversation abo...
Understanding the Family Scapegoat: Healing, Identity, and People Pleasing
Today I am joined by Elle Boone, host of The Family Scapegoat Chronicles. Elle dives deep into a role that many empaths and highly sensitive people unknowingly carry—that of the family scapegoat—and how it shapes identity, people-pleasing tendencies, and emotional well-being.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- What it means to be the family sc...
Choosing Joy: How intention, presence, and gratitude can transform your life.
Today, I’m thrilled to talk with Natalie King, British transformational coach, speaker, and podcast host of One Precious Life. We explore how to find joy intentionally, even during stressful or challenging times, and why it’s so important to prioritize joy as part of your emotional well-being.
Whether you’re struggling to feel happiness during...
The Fear Disappointing Others: Healing The Need to be Liked
The fear of disappointing others is so often invisible, yet it drives so many of your choices—what you say yes to, what you stay silent about, and how you show up in your relationships. If you’ve ever worried that someone’s disappointment might cost you connection, safety, or love… this episode will feel like exhaling.
This isn’t an episode about fixing the pat...
Have you ever had a small moment that changed your life trajectory? This week I'm sharing two personal experience with Marissa Campbell from the Art of Heart podcast.
One experience is about learning to release the shame of not always feeling “happy,” and another about is my journey of self-discovery after burnout.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- How to recognize when shame is clouding your emotional truth
- Wh...
Why Your Anger Isn't the Problem- But a Path to Clarity and Solutions
Are you a people pleaser or highly sensitive person who struggles with feeling safe expressing anger? You’re not alone—and in today’s episode, we’re flipping the script on anger. Instead of seeing it as something to suppress or shame, we’ll explore how anger is actually a powerful messenger guiding you toward healthier boundaries, clearer values...
Feeling overwhelmed by the news, politics, or the state of the world? You’re not alone. In this bonus episode, MaryAnn Walker dives into how empaths and highly sensitive people can stay grounded during times of uncertainty — like the current U.S. government shutdown — without shutting down emotionally. She shares practical strategies for transforming overwhelm into hope and meaningful action.
Whether you’re stressed ab...
Why many people pleasers struggle with anger (and how to start feeling it safely)
For many people pleasers, anger feels unsafe, unpredictable, or even shameful. But here’s the truth—anger itself isn’t the problem. It’s actually a signal, like a check engine light, telling us something is out of alignment.
This is part one of a two-part series on anger. In today’s episode, we’ll explore why people pleasers struggle with ...
Are you always showing up for everyone else — yet feeling unseen, unfulfilled, or disconnected from yourself?
In this episode, life coach MaryAnn Walker shares the top 10 struggles she sees most often in highly sensitive people and recovering people pleasers — and how to start reclaiming your joy, balance, and authenticity.
As you listen, take a gentle self-inventory. If even one of these resonates, you deserve support....
3 Life-Changing Lessons About Guilt, Boundaries, and Authenticity.
Today I’m joined by licensed clinical social worker and lifestyle coach, Tricia Corso. Tricia shares her powerful journey of leaving behind the “supposed to’s” of life in New York to create a more aligned, authentic life in Colorado.
Together, we explore the themes of guilt, people pleasing, authenticity, and how to quiet the voices...
Align Your Affirmations: Why They’re Not Working (and How to Fix Them)
Are your affirmations falling flat? You say them every morning, but nothing seems to change. If you’ve ever wondered, “Why don’t affirmations work for me?”—this episode is exactly what you need.
The truth is, affirmations aren’t magic spells. They don’t work just because you repeat them. But when you learn how to align your thoughts, actions, and ene...
Is your “positive mindset” actually emotional avoidance in disguise? In this episode of Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker, I’m joined once again by guest Kellyn Legath for an honest conversation about the difference between true positive thinking and emotional bypassing. Together, we explore how to sit with and process uncomfortable emotions, why they matter, and how shifting your relationship with avoided feelings can u...
This ancient principle could be the missing piece to creating sustainable, reciprocal relationships.
Ayni—the Andean principle of sacred reciprocity.
Unlike the transactional way we often view give-and-take in the West, ayni invites us into a mindful balance of energy, sustainability, and connection in our relationships.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- What ayni means and how it differs from transactional reciproci...
Do you ever feel like no matter how much you give, it’s still not enough to keep people from leaving? If you’ve ever struggled with people pleasing, conflict avoidance, or overgiving, chances are the fear of abandonment has been running the show—and with it, the painful habit of self-abandonment.
In this episode of Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker, we’re diving deep into why self-love is the antidote to the fear of aband...
When we live in fear that others will abandon us, we often end up abandoning ourselves.
In this episode of Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker, we’re exploring the #1 fear of people pleasers: the fear of abandonment. This is part one of a two-part series where we’ll uncover how this fear develops, how it shows up in relationships, and—most importantly—how it leads to chronic self-abandonment.
If you’ve ever caught yourself s...
Do you ever feel like you’re working so hard, but somehow still not making progress? What if the thing that's holding you back smaller than you think?
Self-sabotage is sneaky. It can show up in tiny, everyday choices that keep you stuck, frustrated, and wondering why your efforts aren’t paying off. In this episode of Inner Work with MaryAnn Walker, I share a real-life lesson that turned into a powerful reminder: s...
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