Scenic Route through Midlife — Society, Self & Shifting Gears

We think deeply, feel a lot, and we're done pretending mental load, exhaustion and burnout are personal failures. This is Scenic Route through Midlife, a mental health and personal growth podcast for women navigating burnout, rage, and perimenopause while still making space for wonder and whimsy.

Hosted by sociologist and mental health advocate Jennifer Walter — a half-rebel, half-marshmallow perimenopausal millennial with ADHD — we explore where society meets the self: perfectionism, overthinking, and the pursuit of well-being collide with power, gender, capitalism, and social change.

Here we believe healing isn't just personal, it's collective.

New episodes every Tuesday.
New affirmations every Friday.

The longest way round is the shortest way home. That’s why we’re taking the Scenic Route.

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Scenic Route through Midlife — Society, Self & Shifting Gears

Weekly Affirmation – Letting Go

December 12, 2025 • Jennifer Walter • Season 7 • Episode 115

0:00 | 2:05

Pause for a breath you didn't know you were holding.

This soft landing is for the woman who's been holding it together so well that no one thinks to ask if she's okay.

This week's affirmation:
"The strategies, steps, decisions that got me here served their purpose — I release them with grace."

You don't have to carry what no longer fits. You don't have to make letting go mean you failed.

What got you here won't always get you where you're going. And that's okay.

This weekend, ask yourself: What am I holding onto simply because it once worked?

Thank it. And let it go.

New Soft Landings every Friday. Save this. Share it. Come back to it when you need the reminder. 🤍

About Soft Landings:
Every Friday on The Scenic Route, one grounded affirmation to help you rest, reset, and remember who you are.

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A Gentle Friday Reset

Jennifer Walter 0:00

It's Friday. And you're taking the scenic route. And you've been caring a lot. I know you're feeling weary of being alone. Who holds it all together? So take a breath. You don't have to do anything right now, really. You're allowed

Permission To Rest

Jennifer Walter 0:12

to rest. If you've been holding it together so well that no one thinks to ask if you're okay, here's your soft landing

Release With Grace

Jennifer Walter 0:19

of the week. The strategies, steps, decisions that got me here served their purpose. I released them with grace. The strategies, steps, decisions that got me here served their purpose. I released them with grace. The strategies, steps, decisions that got me here served their purpose. I released them

Rethinking Loyalty To The Past

Jennifer Walter 0:42

with grace. We've been taught that letting go means failure, that if something worked once, we should hold on to it forever. That changing course means we were wrong all along. And we give us crap for that. But that's not really true though, is it? That's loyalty to a version of ourselves that no longer exists.

Outgrowing Old Strategies

Jennifer Walter 1:01

Because here's the truth, what what you what got you here won't always get you where you're going. The strategies that kept you safe might now keep you small. The decisions that once served you may now be weighing you down. And the steps you took with such certainty, they were right for that moment and for that particular Polaroid snapshot version of you. But you're allowed to outgrow. You're allowed to release without baking any stories up about yourself.

A Weekend Reflection Prompt

Jennifer Walter 1:34

So this weekend, ask yourself, what am I holding on to simply because it won't work? Maybe it's a way of thinking, a pattern of responding, a strategy for staying safe. Whatever it is. Just pause and think about it. And remember, you really don't have to carry it anymore if you decide not to. You can thank it, you can thank it for what it gave you, and just let that shit go.