In this episode of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams speaks with Judy K. Herman, CEO of Relationship Wellness LLC, psychotherapist, author, and retreat facilitator who has spent decades helping heart-centered professionals step away from the noise of life so they can return transformed.
Judy’s press pause story doesn’t begin in a boardroom.
It starts in a graduate school classroom, in the middle of a troubled 30-year marriage, when she realized something had to change, and that something was her.
What followed was a decisive choice: to step away from her day-to-day life and invest in an individual spiritual retreat in Canada.
That quiet, intentional pause gave her clarity about her marriage, her identity, and the life she wanted to build next.
From there, Judy:
- Became a therapist to better understand her own story and help others with theirs
- Wrote Beyond Messy Relationships, blending her personal journey with client-centered insights
- Developed her A.I.R. framework for a “vibrantly authentic life”:
- Awareness
- Intentionality
- Risk of growth
- Learned that you can’t change another person—you can only take responsibility for your own next step
She talks with Ellen about how retreats, body wisdom, and daily micro-pauses can become catalysts for major life shifts and why once you see something clearly, you can’t go backwards and unsee it.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How a single retreat became a defining turning point in Judy’s life
- Why partnership (or the lack of it) shapes both families and businesses
- What it really means to take the “risk of growth” in your personal and professional life
- Why well-intentioned pushback from others can’t be the final word on your decisions
- How to use body signals, journaling, and daily pauses to know when it’s time to press pause
If you’ve ever felt something in your life or leadership isn’t quite aligned, but you can’t yet name what it is, Judy’s story will give you language, frameworks, and courage to explore it.
Learn more about Judy: https://judycounselor.com
Learn more about Ellen: https://thesalientstrategist.com
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