All Episodes

March 20, 2024 55 mins

You know the feeling. Life is motoring on in much the way you expected it to, you’ve got plans, you’ve got goals and then — BAM — a curveball gets whacked your way. Suddenly the plans, the goals, the vague idea of what we thought life would look like are shaken. 

In this month's episode of The Tortoise, Brooke and Ben are talking curveballs, trying to answer the question of how to navigate the unexpected challenges life can throw in our way. 

In this conversation they look at what defines a curveball, how to use some of the ideas of slow living to help navigate them, as we as: 

  • examples of some curveballs they've faced themselves recently 

  • the role that simply noticing — our emotions, our stories, our egos — can play in accepting and moving forward once we face an unexpected challenge

  • “feeling our feelings” as the first step in moving on from a curveball, and why there are many different ways to do that

  • how acceptance of what is can help us to move forward and why it’s such a difficult thing to achieve

  • the rising movement of Stoicism and concerns about the difference between being stoic and repressed

  • two different ways of using perspective to reframe our curveballs over time

  • the role of gratitude in moving on from an abrupt life change, and why we can’t always rush straight to it

  • why self-care is so important when navigating new life circumstances

Head over to The Tortoise for the full show notes, and if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter while you're there. 

Thanks for listening! 

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

United States of Kennedy
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.