What if the pressure to 'be better' is the very thing holding you back? On Beneath the Surface, we challenge the myth that self-compassion means lowering the bar — and show you how caring more, not less, is the secret to becoming the person you want to be.
Hosted by Shannon, registered nutritionist studying a diploma in Compassion Focused Therapy, this podcast is your space for honest conversations about self-worth, emotional eating, body image, and doing meaningful work without burning out. Whether you’re a coach, creative, or self-critical high-achiever, you’ll learn how to quiet your inner critic, commit with care, and finally feel like you're living a life that reflects your real values — not your fears.
Because the highest standard isn’t perfection. It’s treating yourself like someone who matters.
New episodes every week.
I just got back from a week-long mastermind on the Camino de Santiago in Spain with a group of remarkable business owners — authors, TED speakers, retreat leaders — all gathered to get clear on the next 90 days of our businesses. In this episode, I'm sharing what I actually walked away with, including why knowing your strategy isn't your real problem, and what I finally gave myself permission to believe.
💬 Ready to start building the strengths you need to make you and your business stronger? Submit a coaching inquiry via this link 🔗 Coaching (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Why I joined an in-person business mastermind
00:55 - How the mastermind worked
02:20 - Why I love not being the expert
03:05 - Getting clarity on my next big project
03:25 - Finding a business community
5:30 - What my hotseat revealed about me
08:40 - Questioning my approach to creating content
10:20 - The feedback from the group I finally let myself receive
12:10 - What changes when you build relationships with people who've done the inner work
16:50 - Getting my drive back but from a place of compassion instead of fear
18:05 - Takeaways for you and your business approach
More Resources:
Grab the free mini-course: Emotion Systems Audit – Download here (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/emotion-system-audit)
Connect with Shannon on Instagram: @coachshannonbeer (https://www.instagram.com/coachshannonbeer/)
Learn more about compassion coaching: g (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)et the details here (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
11 May 2026
Removing triggers vs building strength
Are you removing triggers or actually building strength? In this episode I'm unpacking experiential avoidance: why we avoid uncomfortable emotions and experiences, why it feels so justified in the moment, and why it quietly keeps us stuck in the long run.
Key takeaway: Avoidance offers short-term relief but long-term stagnation. Every time you approach something you've been avoiding, you prove to yourself that you have the capacity to handle it and that is how self-assurance is actually built.
💬 Ready to start building the strengths you need to approach what you've been avoiding? Submit a coaching inquiry via this link 🔗 Coaching (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
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Timestamps:
00:00 - What is experiential avoidance?
00:55 - Why removing a trigger isn't the same as building a strength
02:30 - When removing triggers is actually okay, and the compassionate motive that makes the difference
03:45 - Why losing weight to build confidence is fragile
04:15 - The benefits we unknowingly give up when we avoid certain triggers
06:50 - How experiential avoidance showed up in my own life
07:55 - The risk log: a weekly practice from functional analytic psychotherapy that changed things for me
09:00 - Why things might get harder before they get easier when you start being more assertive
09:40 - How approaching what you've been avoiding actually builds self-assurance over time
10:00 - A question to sit with this week
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Enjoying Beneath the Surface? Leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear this.
More Resources:
Grab the free mini-course: Emotion Systems Audit – Download here (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/emotion-system-audit)
Connect with Shannon on Instagram: @coachshannonbeer (https://www.instagram.com/coachshannonbeer/)
Learn more about compassion coaching: g (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)et the details here (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
4 May 2026
Intellectualising instead of feeling
If you're someone who loves to understand the why behind everything — the science, the patterns, the theory — this episode is for you. Intellectualizing can be a genuine strength, but it can also become the very thing that keeps you stuck. I'm unpacking how to spot when you're explaining instead of feeling, and what to do about it.
Key takeaway: Understanding is the beginning of the process, not the destination. At some point, the work stops being about learning more and starts being about being willing to feel more. If you've learned a lot and still feel stuck, you're not doing it wrong, you're simply ready for the next level.
💬 If you're ready to start integrating what you know and building up those lagging emotional muscle groups, I'd love to support you. Submit a coaching inquiry via this link 🔗 Coaching (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
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Timestamps:
00:00 - What is intellectualisation?
02:20 - Why intellectualising develops in the first place
03:15 - The crucial difference between understanding something and actually doing something
04:00 - Where in your life are you explaining instead of feeling?
05:00 - The social dimension: why our culture prizes intellect over emotion
05:50 - What it actually looks like to interrupt the pattern
06:30 - Three questions to catch intellectualizing in the moment
07:30 - A practical body-based practice: describing sensations instead of explaining feelings
08:30 - Compassionate colour and other tools for sitting with discomfort rather than thinking your way out of it
10:40 - Putting these techniques into practice
11:15 - The shift from knowing more to being willing to feel more
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Enjoying Beneath the Surface? Leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear this.
More Resources:
Grab the free mini-course: Emotion Systems Audit – Download here (https://www.coachshannonbeer.com/emotion-system-audit)
Connect with Shannon on Instagram: @coachshannonbeer (https://www.instagram.com/coachshannonbeer/)
Learn more about compassion coaching: g (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)et the details here (https://coachshannonbeer.com/coaching)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
71
Social presence
94
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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