We live in an audience-performer culture it is hard to know which decisions we are making for ourselves and which ones we are making for others. What you buy differently, how would you spend your time differently, how would you be differently without feeling like the world is watching?

 In this episode:

The song that started it all: "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" by Blake Shelton How hard it can be to 'play' as an adult

126. The Joy of Being Mediocre (hobby without the hustle)Doing things for an outcome

Fashion, identity, and societal influences 

Simple style posts (capsule wardrobes, 30for30 challenge, dressing your age)Spending habits

The Audience-Performer culture of social media 

Influencers in the wild (article on it here)What is sacred vs what is for sharing onlineOur lives as content, for external validation and approval 

Being part of society, while also being ourselves

188. Motherhood & Instagram Culture (How Online Communities Impact Your Motherhood Experience)Being valuable and fitting in

Learning self-definition through the reflection of others

Moving from external validation to internal validation  134. Do you typecast your kids? (Labels + how they impact our parenting and our kids)

Women and beauty standards of our culture 

What does it mean to be a woman when no one is looking?

Making decisions that are true to you and your passions and preferences, how to get started in small ways

Validating the little things for yourself 

 Connect!

Make sure to share your thoughts and questions in the Simple on Purpose community facebook group!What would you like to hear about when it comes to the topic of Simple Living?Sign up for the the Simple Saturdays email (a fun email, twice a month)

 Full transcript (unedited)0:10Hey friends, it's Shawna, your nerdy girlfriend and counselor from simple on purpose.ca. Welcome to the simpler purpose podcast. Around here we talk about ways to simplify your home, your heart and your life. So my aim is to help us all slow down, quiet the noise, remove the distractions and just look up for a minute at your life and consider what you want to keep and what you want to let go of.

0:35So this week, I'm a little under the weather, I took a sick day yesterday. And that actually worked out well because one of my kids needed a soul care day. So we took it slow together, we each took turns having a hot salty bath with a TV show on the iPad and warm drinks. We did some brain dumping on paper, you know, get out all those stressful thoughts and feelings inside, listen to music went and bought vitamins. It was a it was kind of a beautiful day, even though I didn't feel great. And I think hot, salty baths, match that with a coffee and an Advil, boom, this is this is why I'm here right now, I can make some progress over the next four hours of my day. And then I'm probably going to move on to burgers and a hot toddy. Because I'm pretty sure that's the cure for a cold. And I should be good by tomorrow. I'm sure of it, I'm sure of it.

1:25So today I want to talk to you about a concept that has just been rattling around in the back of my brain for years now. And it's a notion that I like to hold up to the different areas of my life. And just consider how it shows up in these different areas. So I think about it often. And I wanted to share it here because I think it might be interesting to you maybe even helpful for you too. And I'm going to share this concept by sharing some quick stories. I promise they're all gonna end up going in the same direction. But it's a little bit of circle time vibes right now. So go get a pillow and a coffee meet me on the circle rug.

2:02On a cold Canadian day in February, almost 13 years ago, I was in early labor with my first child. My husband was driving us to the hospital in the hospitals over an ...