On Second Thought with Jackie Pfeifer
Jackie Pfeifer
5.0from 20 ratings
- 18
- Episodes
- 20
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2026
- First episode
About On Second Thought with Jackie Pfeifer
Welcome to On Second Thought with me, Jackie Pfeifer, a podcast for ambitious women and mothers who built a life doing everything "right," and are now questioning whether it's actually the life they want to keep living. Nothing has to be falling apart for you to question what comes next. You can be grateful for your life and still change your mind on the direction you want to take. Through honest conversations, new perspectives, and practical tools, this podcast will help you feel brave enough to question yourself, honest enough to get real clarity, and capable enough to explore new directions without blowing up everything you've built. Because sometimes creating the life you want starts with one honest realization: "On second thought, I want something different."
- Publisher
- Jackie Pfeifer
- Category
- education · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 29 Jun 2026
- Latest episode
- 20 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
18 episodes in the feed.
20 Oct 2026
17: Money Fear vs. Money Facts: How Successful Women Get Clear on Their Finances with Michelle Jacobik
Have you ever had your best year yet and still had no idea where the money went? You make good money. You worked really hard to get here. And yet there's this quiet feeling that you're one bad month away from panicking, and if you're honest, that feeling gets a vote in every big decision you're trying to make about what comes next. In this episode of On Second Thought, Michelle Jacobik and I talk about why so many successful women feel broke even when the numbers say otherwise, and why you can't make long-term decisions about your life while you're drowning in fear about money. We get into finding your real number (not just the bills with due dates), why mindset work can't cover up a money problem you're avoiding, what to know before you leave the stability of a paycheck to build something of your own, and how to choose the right mentor for the stage you're actually in. Michelle Jacobik is a bestselling author, national speaker, and financial strategist whose work has been featured on ABC, FOX, CBS, Thrive Global, and in Entrepreneur magazine. With over two decades in financial services, she grew her own property and casualty insurance business in Connecticut from $600,000 to $12 million in annual sales and from 1,100 customers to more than 7,000 before exiting to mentor others. She is the author of The Path to Profits and Prosperity After Divorce and the creator of The Path To Profits Framework™. What's Discussed: (19:23) Why you can make good money and still feel like you're one month away from panicking. (21:53) The question to ask yourself before you decide you're broke. (26:05) Why you can't make long-term decisions while you're drowning in money fear. (31:11) The difference between your bills and your real number, and why most of Michelle's clients are off by 70%. (42:33) Going back to work four days after her daughter was born 10 and a half weeks early, and the money story that was driving her. (51:15) Why her next business took three years and two pivots to come together, even with decades of experience behind her. (1:03:43) The biggest mistake people make when choosing a coach or mentor. If you've ever made more money than you thought you would and still lie awake wondering why it never feels like enough, this one is for you. Come sit at the table 🤍 The conversation does not end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I am building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we are all actually asking. And when you are ready for the decisions, what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included, listeners get 20% off your first year prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com See everything inside the community: PBT Sales Page Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Michelle Jacobik: Website: michellejacobik.com Instagram: @michellejacobik LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michelle-jacobik-267724 Substack: @michellejacobik The Path To Profits Podcast: bio.link/pathtoprofitspodcast The Path to Profits Book: a.co/d/0imlGFFf The 7 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Can't Afford to Make: michellejacobik.kartra.com/page/7-financial-mistakes Financial Foundations Program: michellejacobik.com/financialfoundationsprogram
13 Oct 2026
16: Outgrowing the Life You Built in Your 20s with Brandie Campbell
What happens when you finally build the life you spent your 20s working toward, and then realize it isn't what you want anymore? Nothing dramatic has to happen. You can have the marriage, the house, the business, and the picture-perfect life everyone else can see, and still be lying awake at night wondering if you'll feel exactly like this ten years from now. In this episode of On Second Thought, my hairstylist and friend of almost ten years, Brandie Campbell, and I talk about what it means to outgrow a life you once chose without treating the woman who chose it like she got it wrong. We get into becoming a mom at 19, choosing hair school when everyone assumed stylists were broke, ending a marriage that looked perfect from the outside, falling for a woman for the first time, and the one question Brandie asked herself a million times before she finally made her decision. Brandie Campbell is a hairstylist and the founder of Hair + Company, a full-service salon she opened in Edmond, Oklahoma in 2019 that has been voted Oklahoma's best hair salon five times. She became a mom at 19, spent five years as a single mom to two boys, went to hair school, and has spent the last decade building her career and business in the beauty industry. What's Discussed: (03:51) Becoming a mom at 19 and chasing the "white picket fence" life she never had growing up. (07:15) Why choosing what's best for you can create a better life for the people you love, too. (13:00) Refinement over reinvention, and the fear that changing your life means the old you was fake. (16:52) Going to hair school when she believed stylists were broke and working every weekend, and why it was the first decision she made for herself. (29:46) Why a marriage doesn't need one big, terrible reason to end, and why that can make leaving even harder. (35:54) The unexpected relationship that showed Brandie what it actually feels like to be seen. (1:05:13) Three questions to ask yourself if what you wanted in your 20s is not what you want now. If you made your biggest life decisions before you really knew who you were, and you're starting to admit you've changed, this one is for you. Come sit at the table 🤍 The conversation does not end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I am building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we are all actually asking. And when you are ready for the decisions, what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included, listeners get 20% off your first year prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com See everything inside the community: PBT Sales Page Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Brandie Campbell & Hair + Company: Instagram: @brandie.hairandco Hair + Company: hairandcompany.co Hair + Company Instagram: @hairandcompany.salon
6 Oct 2026
15: What My Solo Trip to France Actually Taught Me
I went to the French Riviera thinking that eight days alone might help me figure out what was next. I had just left my job and was in that messy space between an identity I knew well and whatever I was becoming next. I thought that somewhere between Saint Tropez, Antibes, Monaco, journaling, reading, and having actual space to think, I might come home with some answers. That's not exactly what happened. The trip was beautiful, but I was also more anxious and lonely than I expected to be. And while I didn't come home with a perfectly clear vision of what comes next, I learned a lot about myself along the way. In this episode, I'm sharing what eight days of solo travel actually taught me: where I feel most like myself, why I'm so uncomfortable when I'm not moving something forward, why I don't want to experience certain things alone anymore, and how a place can look absolutely perfect and still not feel right for me. In this episode I discuss: What solo travel taught me about my relationship with productivity and rest. Why I felt lonely during an objectively incredible trip. Where I realized I feel most like myself. The difference between what looks incredible and what actually feels right for me. The beliefs I'm starting to question about success, happiness, and "having it all." Why I stopped expecting the trip to answer every question about what comes next. I didn't come home knowing exactly what I'm going to do next. But I did come home knowing myself a little better. Come sit at the table The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com See everything inside the community: PBT Sales Page Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac
29 Sept 2026
14: The Inherited Life vs. the Designed Life: How to Redefine Success in Midlife with Ameera Virani
Have you ever looked at your life and thought, I have a good life. So why do I still feel like I want something different? That is such a weird place to be because nothing necessarily has to be wrong. You can be grateful for what you built, proud of how hard you worked, and still have this little voice asking whether the version of success you have been chasing actually feels like yours anymore. In this episode of On Second Thought, Ameera Virani and I get into the difference between a life you inherited and one you actually designed. Because somewhere along the way, a lot of us picked up ideas about what a successful woman is supposed to look like from our families, our culture, our careers, and the people around us. And when those ideas stop fitting, how do you figure out what you want without feeling like you have to blow up your entire life to find out? Ameera is a Certified Life Coach who spent more than 15 years helping build one of the biggest stages in personal development, working around speakers including Oprah, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, and Maya Angelou. She also knows what it feels like to have life completely interrupt the plan. After a major loss, a health crisis, changing careers in her late 40s, and then being laid off at 50 while carrying six figures of debt, she had to decide what success was going to mean for her next chapter. What's discussed: (09:36) The subtle sign that you may be outgrowing a version of yourself. (10:15) Why success can start feeling wrong when you are measuring it by someone else's standards. (22:31) The family and cultural messages Ameera inherited about hard work, security, education, and what a successful life should look like. (36:53) What it felt like to be 50, unemployed, and carrying six figures of debt while deciding whether to go back to the "safe" path. (48:10) Why so many women in midlife are afraid of making the wrong choice when they are ready for something different. (1:06:29) Where to start when you know something needs to change but have absolutely no idea what that change is yet. (1:25:06) Why being grateful for your life and wanting more from it can both be true. If you have done everything you thought you were supposed to do and are starting to wonder, Okay… but what do I want now?, this one is for you. Come sit at the table 🤍 The conversation does not end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I am building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we are all actually asking. And when you are ready for the decisions, what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included, listeners get 20% off your first year prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Ameera Virani: Website: ameeravirani.com Instagram: @ameera.virani LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ameeravirani Substack: ameeravirani.substack.com The Design Table: ameeravirani.com/the-design-table The Designed Life Weekly Edit: ameeravirani.com/links The Designed Life Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-designed-life/id1832982040
22 Sept 2026
13: How to Stop Living the Life Everyone Else Thinks You Should Want with Joy Errico
Have you ever looked at a life you worked really hard to build and thought, Wait… do I even want this anymore? That can be a brutal thing to admit when you did everything you were "supposed" to do and became the person everyone around you expected you to be. And when everyone else still thinks you should be happy there, it is easy to question yourself before you ever question the expectations. In this episode of 'On Second Thought', Joy Errico and I get into that very weird in-between, when the expectations you grew up with, the career you chased, the roles you took seriously, and everyone else's opinions have been in your head for so long that it is hard to tell what is actually yours anymore. And when something starts feeling off, how do you know whether you are truly ready for a different chapter or just tempted to blow up a perfectly good life? There was one question that finally cut through that noise for Joy, and it changed the way she looked at everything. Joy is the Founder and CEO of Maven Row Communications and a communications strategist and image consultant with 25 years of experience across companies including Rite Aid, Macy's, Staples, Avery Dennison, and BIC. Her work now brings strategic communications and personal presence together, helping leaders become clearer on who they are, how they want to be known, and how to show up in a way that actually feels like them. What's Discussed: (06:31) The first clue that you might be living by someone else's standards. (12:17) The version of burnout that caught Joy completely off guard. (21:00) Why changing your life and staying exactly where you are can both come with a cost. (37:39) The question that made Joy realize she was giving herself very different advice than she would give someone she loved. (42:42) How to start separating what you want from what you were taught to want. (48:54) Why Joy stopped believing in the traditional idea of "executive presence." (1:32:03) The belief about other people's approval that she is finally trying to leave behind. If you have been doing everything you thought you were supposed to do but still feel that pull toward something different, this episode is about figuring out whose expectations have been making the decisions with you. Come sit at the table The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Joy Errico & Maven Row: Website: mavenrowcommunications.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joyerrico/ Free Consultation + E-book: mavenrowcommunications.com
15 Sept 2026
12: 7 Questions to Ask When Your Job Becomes Your Identity
Have you ever cared so much about your work that a hard day, a piece of feedback, a mistake, or a moment of uncertainty started to feel personal? Maybe your job is not just a job anymore. Maybe it has become the place where you prove that you are capable, responsible, valuable, needed, and enough. On the outside, it looks like ambition. It looks like drive. It looks like high standards, commitment, work ethic, and caring deeply about what you do. And a lot of that may be true. But somewhere along the way, work can stop being something you do and start becoming the place you go to understand who you are. In this solo episode of On Second Thought, I'm sharing the 7 questions I'm asking myself as I learn to separate my identity from my work. I talk about why your job is not stable enough to hold your entire sense of self, why work anxiety can sometimes be tied to fear, validation, control, or belonging, and why there is a difference between caring deeply about your work and needing your work to prove something about you. I also talk about financial safety, performance pressure, feedback, perfectionism, being needed, feeling valuable, and what it could look like to care about work without carrying everything on your back. Come sit at the table: The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com What's Discussed: (01:33) Why I'm still in the middle of untangling my identity from work. (03:53) How ambition, drive, responsibility, and commitment can quietly turn into over-identification. (07:06) Why work is not stable enough to hold your entire sense of self. (12:19) Question 1: When did my job become more than a job? (16:03) Question 2: What am I afraid would happen if I loosened my grip? (23:40) Question 3: Am I proud of my work, or dependent on it for validation? (28:13) Question 4: What parts of myself have gotten quiet because work became so loud? (36:16) Question 5: Where did I learn that being needed means being valuable? (42:18) Question 6: What would it look like to care without carrying everything? (47:37) Question 7: What do I want my relationship with work to feel like moving forward? Listen to This Episode If You've Been Thinking… "Why does work feel so personal to me?" "Am I proud of my work, or do I need it to prove I am enough?" "Why does feedback make me spiral?" "Why do I feel guilty when I am not being useful?" "What would it look like to care about work without carrying my whole identity through it?" Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac
8 Sept 2026
11: Mom Guilt and People Pleasing: How to Stop Saying Yes Out of Obligation with Carla Greenan
How many times have you said yes before you even stopped to ask whether you actually had room for it? At work, saying yes can feel like proof that you are ambitious and committed. At home, it can feel like proof that you are a good mom, partner, daughter, or friend. And when you are the woman everyone knows they can count on, saying no can bring up enough guilt that taking on one more thing somehow feels easier than disappointing someone. On second thought, maybe being capable does not mean every request deserves access to your time and energy. In this episode, Carla Greenan and I get into why ambitious women can become so used to saying yes that overcommitment starts to feel normal, where the pressure to "do it all" actually comes from, and how to figure out what deserves a place in your life before guilt makes the decision for you. Carla Greenan is a former CPA and Professional Certified Coach with 18 years of experience coaching leaders, working parents, and ambitious women through personal and professional transitions. After a 23-year career at a Fortune 500 company, where she became a founding member of its Internal Executive Coaching Team, Carla launched 3Be Coaching to help working parents move from simply surviving everything on their plate to creating careers and lives that actually work for them. What's Discussed (08:17) Why ambitious women can start believing they have to keep saying yes if they want to keep getting opportunities. (15:55) How the "good mom" standard can quietly become an impossible combination of everything we see other women doing well. (21:26) How much pressure can come from assumptions about what other people might think, even when nobody has actually asked more of you. (40:37) Why thoughts like "they will think I am less committed" can change the choices you make at work before you even know whether they are true. (49:29) The questions to ask when you know you are overloaded and need to decide what actually deserves your time right now. (56:43) How to slow down a request instead of automatically saying yes, and create room to negotiate what is actually realistic. (1:00:32) How to say no without apologizing, overexplaining, or accidentally taking responsibility for solving the problem anyway. If saying no still makes you feel selfish, difficult, or like you are letting someone down, listen to this episode of On Second Thought with Carla Greenan. Come sit at the table The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more from Carla Greenan & 3Be Coaching: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carla-greenan Carla Greenan's 3Be Coaching: https://stan.store/3BeCoaching Website: 3becoaching.com
1 Sept 2026
10: How to Know When an Opportunity Is Worth Betting On with Katie Love
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I worked this hard to get here, so why am I even thinking about doing something else?" Maybe the career is good. Maybe you are successful. Maybe other people would love to have what you have. So when something new starts pulling at you, the first instinct can be to talk yourself out of it. Be realistic. Be grateful. Do not throw away everything you already built. On second thought, maybe we have been looking at a career pivot the wrong way. What if the better question is not whether you should leave everything behind, but whether there is an opportunity sitting inside what you have already learned? In this episode of On Second Thought, Katie Love and I get into how she knew it was time to pay attention to something new, what made her willing to bet on an industry people were still dismissing, and what she wishes women understood about following an opportunity before there is enough proof to make it feel safe. Katie Love is a former NBC news reporter and the founder of Love Social Media, the multimillion-dollar social media agency she has spent the last 10 years building. Before becoming a founder, Katie spent eight years in broadcast journalism covering crime, missing children, natural disasters, and presidential elections. Today, she leads a team of 25 and helps women-led businesses and major brands use storytelling, content, and community to grow online. She has lived both sides of this conversation: building the career she thought she wanted and then taking everything it taught her somewhere completely different. What's Discussed: (05:25) What it can feel like when the career you worked so hard for no longer feels like the place you are supposed to stay. (11:05) How to recognize the skills you can carry into your next chapter instead of assuming a pivot means starting over. (14:09) How to spot an opportunity before everyone around you sees why it matters. (18:05) What to do with the fear that nobody will need, understand, or pay for the thing you want to build. (31:24) Why slow growth does not automatically mean you are on the wrong path, and what to pay attention to before you change direction. (37:47) How to tell the difference between something that needs more time and something that actually needs a new strategy. (49:01) What to remember when everyone else's success is making you feel like yours should be happening faster. Listen to this episode if part of you keeps thinking about a different path, but another part keeps reminding you how much you already invested in the one you are on. Come sit at the table The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more from Katie Love & Love Social Media: Instagram: @katielovesocial Website: loveyoursocialmedia.com/
25 Aug 2026
9: The Cost of Saying Yes to Everything with Dr. Tiffany Moon
From the outside, Dr. Tiffany Moon had built the kind of life a lot of women are told to want. She was a successful anesthesiologist with a family, friends, travel, a career she loved, and a life that looked more than fine to anyone looking in. But internally, she was going through the motions, running on the treadmill of achievement, and feeling like something was missing. And if your life also looks fine from the outside, but you have been quietly running on empty, this conversation may feel uncomfortably familiar. In this episode of On Second Thought, I sit down with Dr. Tiffany Moon to talk about the cost of saying yes to everything and what it took for her to realize she deserved to be happy, too. We talk about people-pleasing, burnout, obedience, boundaries, joy, and the pressure high-achieving women feel to keep being responsible, impressive, and easy to count on, even when they are quietly running themselves into the ground. Dr. Tiffany Moon is a board-certified anesthesiologist, entrepreneur, author, speaker, mother, and former star of The Real Housewives of Dallas. She is the author of Joy Prescriptions, a book about moving beyond perfection and creating a life with more joy, connection, and meaning, making her the perfect guest for a conversation about what happens when achievement is no longer enough and a woman finally gives herself permission to want a life that feels good from the inside. Come sit at the table: The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. My Substack is where the rest lives: my raw, unedited thoughts on every episode, free, every week, plus the world I'm building around style, beauty, travel, and the questions we're all actually asking. And when you're ready for the decisions (what I actually bought, booked, and believed, names and prices included), listeners get 20% off your first year: prettybigthoughts.substack.com/777 Start free: prettybigthoughts.substack.com What's Discussed (02:30) Why high-achieving women often confuse achievement with happiness. (03:45) What Tiffany's life looked like from the outside before she realized something was missing. (05:42) How running herself thin made Tiffany feel like a shell of herself. (07:39) Why Tiffany started feeling called toward something outside the identity of doctor and mom. (18:39) What led Tiffany to write Joy Prescriptions and why the process brought up parts of her past. (30:41) How being praised for being smart and obedient can turn into people-pleasing. (37:46) How Tiffany went from anesthesiologist to The Real Housewives of Dallas. (53:27) Why therapy, coaching, conferences, and getting into the right rooms changed what Tiffany believed was possible. Listen to this episode and learn why wanting joy, visibility, connection, and a life that feels good from the inside does not make you selfish. It may be the moment you finally stop abandoning yourself. Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more from Dr. Tiffany Moon: Instagram: @tiffanymoonmd Website: tiffanymoonmd.com/ Facebook: tiffanymoon
18 Aug 2026
8: What Survival Mode Is Doing to Your Brain and Body with Robina Abramson-Walling
For a lot of women, the problem is not that they cannot handle pressure. The problem is that they have been handling pressure for so long that their body has started treating stress like the normal setting. You might not call it survival mode. You might call it being responsible, dependable, productive, ambitious, or good under pressure. But when your body is always bracing, your brain is always scanning for the next problem, and rest feels like something you have to earn, the life you are "handling" can start quietly draining you. In this episode of On Second Thought, I sit down with Robina Abramson-Walling to talk about what survival mode actually does to the brain, body, hormones, and nervous system. We get into why so many women numb, overachieve, over-function, react quickly, feel guilty resting, and keep pushing even when their body is asking for something different. Robina Abramson-Walling is a registered nurse turned holistic-wellness practitioner based in Toronto, Canada. She is a board-certified health coach, certified Biofield Tuning practitioner, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Natural Medicine. Her work focuses on supporting women through burnout, chronic stress, hormonal change, perimenopause, menopause, and the mind-body patterns that keep high-achieving women stuck in survival mode. What's Discussed: (05:28) Why survival mode can hide behind numbing, overachieving, and staying busy. (05:51) What chronic stress can do to the brain, body, and hormones. (06:16) Why breathing can help tell the nervous system it is safe. (27:41) What it means when the body gets stuck in fight-or-flight. (33:57) The signs that stress has become your baseline. (40:30) How to notice which parts of your life feel heavy. (01:15:37) How to reframe the thoughts that keep women over-functioning. Listen to this episode if everyone thinks you are handling it, but inside you feel wired, tired, reactive, and like one more thing could send you over the edge. Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Robina Abramson-Walling: Website: routeofhealing.com Instagram: @routeofhealing
11 Aug 2026
7: Why Peace Can Feel Uncomfortable After Survival Mode
Have you ever made it through the hard season, only to realize your body still feels like it is waiting for the next thing to go wrong? Maybe the pressure has eased. Maybe the crisis has passed. Maybe you finally got the title, built the thing, launched the project, or created the life you said you wanted. But instead of feeling settled, you feel restless. Quiet feels uncomfortable. Rest feels hard. And the second you have space, your mind starts looking for the next thing to fix, chase, build, or protect. In this solo episode of On Second Thought, I'm talking about why peace can feel uncomfortable after survival mode. I get into why removing the stressor from your life does not automatically remove the stress from your body, how survival mode can turn into your baseline, and why the life you love requires a version of you who feels safe enough to receive it. I also talk about how this shows up in my own life, especially through achievement, urgency, always needing something to do, struggling with stillness, and learning how to choose my life on purpose instead of constantly bracing for what might happen next. What's Discussed (00:29) Why removing the stressor does not remove the stress from your body. (00:57) How movement, touch, crying, walking, and emotional release can help your body close the stress loop. (01:18) Why asking for help is hard when you do not know what kind of help you need. (02:29) The weekly question that helps me notice whether I am choosing my life or just bracing for it. (03:26) The tools I use to manage stress, including journaling, morning pages, sound frequencies, therapy, and AI support. (05:12) Why the life you love requires a version of you who feels safe enough to receive it. (08:18) The seven signs that survival mode may have become your normal. Listen to This Episode If You've Been Thinking "Why do I still feel stressed when life is technically better?" "Why does rest feel harder than working?" "Why do I keep chasing the next thing instead of enjoying what I already built?" "What if I have been calling it ambition, but it is actually survival mode?" "What would it feel like to choose my life instead of constantly bracing for it?" Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac
4 Aug 2026
6: What Hard Seasons Can Teach You About the Life You're Building with Kayla Hale
From the outside, a woman can look like she is winning while privately carrying a season that feels impossible. She may have the business, family, reputation, growth, and life she worked hard to build, while also dealing with betrayal, pressure, disappointment, or the fear that one more setback might be the thing that finally breaks her. And when the path gets hard, it is easy to wonder whether the struggle means you made the wrong choice. In this episode of On Second Thought, we talk about how to keep moving without making permanent decisions from temporary pain. We explore how to separate what is actually happening from the fear surrounding it, why support and discernment matter when trust has been broken, and how hard seasons can strengthen your boundaries, leadership, faith, and ability to protect what you are building. Kayla Hale is a Board-Certified Physician Associate, CEO of HaleStorm Aesthetics and Wellness, and a nationally recognized leader in aesthetic medicine. With more than a decade of injecting experience and a background in general surgery and emergency medicine, she has built a multi-million-dollar brand centered on clinical excellence, patient trust, and whole-body care. Kayla is also a national trainer and speaker for Galderma and Lutronic, a Key Opinion Leader for Glo2Facial, and a member of the Glo2Facial Clinical Advisory Board and Plated Clinical Advisory Board. She is known for her expertise in facial balancing, laser skin rejuvenation, and medical-grade skincare. What's Discussed (05:09) Why ambitious women begin questioning who they are becoming and what they want next. (09:22) How betrayal, loss, and postpartum pressure became one of the biggest storms of Kayla's life. (21:36) The moment Kayla realized the storm was preparing her instead of only taking from her. (25:07) How to protect your confidence when you are being misunderstood, judged, or attacked behind the scenes. (33:24) What to do when you feel like you cannot keep going, but people and responsibilities still depend on you. (45:57) How to stay present for your work, marriage, and children while carrying something difficult. (56:58) Why being told no does not always mean you are on the wrong path. Listen now and learn how to move through a hard season with stronger support, clearer boundaries, deeper discernment, and the confidence to keep building without letting one setback define your direction. Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Kayla Hale: HaleStorm Aesthetics and Wellness: halestormaesthetics.com Instagram: @halethebeautyqueen
28 Jul 2026
5: 5 Things I Wish More Women Knew About Having Second Thoughts
Have you ever looked at something you once wanted so badly and wondered why it no longer feels like a prize? Maybe it is the career path, the title, the relationship, the role, the goal, or the version of success you spent years working toward. You may still be grateful for it. You may still be proud of what it took to get there. But something in you starts asking whether it still fits, and suddenly that second thought comes with guilt. Am I being selfish? Am I being flaky? Did I waste all that time, money, energy, and effort? In this solo episode of On Second Thought, I'm talking about the permission slips I wish more women had when they start wanting something different. I get into why growth can change what you want, why a second thought can be information instead of failure, and why outgrowing an old dream does not mean the old version of you was wrong. I also talk about the goals I used to think were the prize, the choices that helped me get here, the fear of making a decision that feels permanent, and what it means to become someone new without abandoning who you were. What's Discussed: (01:37) Why giving yourself permission to change your mind can feel so hard. (02:00) Why we say we want growth, then shame ourselves when growth starts shifting what we want. (03:32) How a second thought can be information instead of something to fear. (06:16) Why you are allowed to outgrow what you once wanted. (08:36) Why changing your mind does not erase your progress. (12:47) Why you are allowed to want what actually feels true to you, not what you think you should want. (21:42) Why becoming someone new does not mean abandoning who you were. Listen to This Episode If You've Been Thinking "I worked so hard for this, so why does it not feel like the prize anymore?" "Am I allowed to change my mind after everything I invested?" "What if wanting something different does not mean I failed?" "What would I explore if I knew it did not have to be permanent?" "Can I become someone new without rejecting who I used to be?" Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac
21 Jul 2026
4: How to Lead Without Carrying Everything with Annette White-Klososky
A lot of women do not realize they are over-functioning because it looks so much like leadership. They are the ones adding value, holding things together, staying highly involved, anticipating what everyone needs, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. From the outside, it can look capable and impressive. But underneath it, there may be a quieter question: Am I leading from self-trust, or am I carrying too much because I still feel like I have to prove I belong? In this episode of On Second Thought, I sit down with Annette White-Klososky for a conversation about what happens when your second thought is not about leaving your life behind, but leading it differently. We talk about the pressure women carry in leadership, why highly involved does not always mean effective, how over-explaining can undermine your own credibility, and why mature leadership often requires stepping back so other people can rise. Annette White-Klososky is a founding partner of Future Point of View, an executive coach, and a contributor to Forbes and Entrepreneur. She chairs the Women Presidents Organization in Oklahoma and serves as co-chair at 50/50 Women on Boards. With more than 20 years of experience working with executives, organizations, culture, leadership development, strategic planning, and emerging technology, Annette brings a grounded perspective on what women in leadership are really carrying behind the scenes. What's Discussed (06:18) Why women can become tied to the role or season they are in, and why that can make leadership and identity harder to separate. (10:18) One sign a woman may be outgrowing an old version of herself, even if her life still looks good from the outside. (17:05) Why you do not have to prove you belong in the room before you start using your voice. (18:32) How over-explaining, apologizing, and softening your language can quietly undermine your credibility. (21:19) What leadership really looks like behind the scenes and why it is not the same as holding everything together. (34:32) The patterns Annette sees in women who are leading teams, companies, families, and communities while neglecting their own needs. (41:19) Why carrying pressure well is not always a trophy, and how the body can eventually keep the score. Listen to Episode 4: How to Lead Without Carrying Everything with Annette White-Klososky and learn why leading differently does not mean becoming someone you are not. It may mean finally trusting yourself enough to say less, carry less, and lead from a place that feels more honest. Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Annette White-Klososky: Website: annetteklososky.com Instagram: @leaderspotlight LinkedIn: annettewk & fpov/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpov/)
14 Jul 2026
3: What Happens When the Life You Built No Longer Fits with Dr. Susan Miele
Most women do not leave the conveyor belt because things fall apart. They leave because somewhere underneath all the success, the titles, the house, the bag, the perfectly curated life, they start to notice that none of it feels the way it was supposed to feel. And that quiet realization is scarier than anything on the outside, because at least when things fall apart you have a reason. When everything looks fine and something still feels off, you have to ask a much harder question. In this episode of On Second Thought, I sit down with Dr. Susan Miele, PhD, Chief People Officer, and author, for a conversation about identity, ambition, and what it actually takes to rewrite the story you have been living since you were fourteen. Walk away with a completely different relationship to the word stuck and the permission to ask yourself honestly where you are actually going. Dr. Susan Miele is a Chief People Officer with more than 30 years of experience in tech, life sciences, and professional services. She holds a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems and is the author of Paused: Redefining Our Identity When the Story No Longer Holds Us. Through her writing, speaking, and workplace education, Susan explores menopause, identity, leadership, and the transitions that ask women to rethink who they are and what comes next. What's Discussed (03:34) Why women in midlife may start questioning themselves instead of the life structure around them. (04:10) One sign an old version of yourself may no longer fit. (09:14) The successful life Susan had built and what it looked like from the outside. (17:34) Why perimenopause can become an identity turning point, not just a physical transition. (21:17) The moment Susan knew she could not keep pushing through. (38:11) How trying on a new direction can give you information without becoming a permanent decision. (01:04:41) Why changing your mind can be part of self-trust, not proof that you failed. Listen to this episode if you want to learn why wanting to explore a different direction does not mean the life you already built was wrong. Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Dr. Susan Miele: Website: www.susanmiele.com/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susan-a-miele-phd/
7 Jul 2026
2: The Success Trap That Keeps You from Trusting Yourself with Melanie Watson
For a lot of ambitious women, the hard part is not admitting they want something to change. The hard part is figuring out what is actually driving that desire. Is it intuition? Fear? Burnout? Ego? A need to prove something? Or the quiet realization that the version of success they have been chasing was built around approval more than self-trust? In this episode of On Second Thought, I sit down with Melanie Watson to talk about external validation, self-image, intuition, motherhood, career identity, and the patterns that keep showing up when something in your life is asking for your attention. We get into why success can feel addictive when it is tied to outside approval, how intuition can become a practical tool for decision-making, and why the pull toward change deserves to be understood before it becomes a reckless reaction. Melanie Watson is an intuitive guide and self-image mentor with a background in corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, intuition training, and self-image work, shaped by her own experience of questioning success, identity, and external validation while building a career, marriage, family, and life that looked successful from the outside. What's Discussed: (16:06) The hidden craving underneath ambition and achievement. (19:08) A grounded way to understand intuition as a skill. (28:10) When career, motherhood, marriage, and lifestyle all start shifting. (32:31) Why external success can keep you chasing the next thing. (47:33) How self-image shapes what you protect and question. (01:12:17) Why self-trust is built through small evidence. (01:51:38) How to honor change without ignoring real-life responsibilities. Listen to This Episode If You've Been Thinking "My life looks good, so why does something still feel off?" "Am I being ungrateful, or am I finally being honest with myself?" "How do I know if this is intuition or just fear?" "What would change if I stopped needing everyone else to validate my next move?" Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac Learn more about Melanie Watson: Website: /www.melaniewatson.co/
7 Jul 2026
1: Why You're Allowed to Rethink the Life You Built
For a lot of women, the hardest part is not realizing something feels off. The hardest part is giving yourself permission to question it when everything still looks fine from the outside. The career makes sense. The responsibilities are real. The life you built may even be one you are grateful for. But there can still be a quiet moment when you wonder whether the choices you are protecting are still yours, or whether they were shaped by approval, practicality, recognition, fear, or what you were taught a "right" life should look like. In this solo episode of On Second Thought, Jac Pfeifer shares what the phrase "on second thought" really means to her, why she created this podcast, and how her own life has been shaped by ambition, beauty, responsibility, approval, reinvention, and the slow process of learning to trust herself first. She talks about the difference between doubt and discernment, why changing your mind does not have to mean you failed, and how women can start asking better questions about the lives they are building. This episode is the foundation for the entire show: the idea that your first thought may be inherited, but your second thought can be yours. What's Discussed: (01:03) What "on second thought" means and why a decision does not have to stay permanent just because you already made it. (02:38) Why rethinking your life is not the same as doubting yourself. (04:31) Who Jac is beyond the bio, from beauty and aesthetics to responsibility, ambition, and deeper questions. (07:01) How coaching helped her see the creative part of herself she had been pushing down. (11:23) Why approval and validation became something she learned to collect from everyone except herself. (15:02) What the messy middle can feel like when you are building something new and learning to sit with discomfort. (18:48) The three things that helped Jac start moving: saying things out loud, paying for help, and keeping people around her who ask better questions. Listen to This Episode If You've Been Thinking "My life looks right on paper, so why does part of it still feel off?" "How much of what I chose was actually mine?" "What would happen if I stopped waiting for permission?" Learn more about Jac Pfeifer: Instagram: @officially.jac
29 Jun 2026
Welcome to On Second Thought
Welcome to On Second Thought with me, Jackie Pfeifer, a podcast for ambitious women and mothers who built a life doing everything "right," and are now questioning whether it's actually the life they want to keep living. Nothing has to be falling apart for you to question what comes next. You can be grateful for your life and still change your mind on the direction you want to take. Through honest conversations, new perspectives, and practical tools, this podcast will help you feel brave enough to question yourself, honest enough to get real clarity, and capable enough to explore new directions without blowing up everything you've built. Because sometimes creating the life you want starts with one honest realization: "On second thought, I want something different." Find more from me: Instagram: @officially.jac
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