This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil - Am I Being a B**ch? (…or Just Finally in My Power) with Megan Walrod | 349

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

How many times have we spoken up, set a boundary, or asked for what we need, and immediately thought, “Am I being a b**ch?” That’s the head-trash of good girl conditioning talking, not reality. In this episode, women’s empowerment coach and novelist Megan Walrod helps us separate distortion from truth, spot body cues that signal self-abandonment vs. self-advocacy, and practice being what she calls a generative b**ch: fierce, values-aligned, and unapologetic. We unpack scripts for setting boundaries without apology, how to reframe the inner critic (“Doubting Diva,” anyone?), and why it’s normal to sometimes under- or overshoot the mark. Plus, Megan shares her favorite embodiment practice—the infamous “F-You Walk”—to release suppressed emotion and reclaim your voice. We also dig into her debut novel, It’s Always Been Me, where the heroine saves herself (as it should be). Because at the end of the day, being direct, self-respecting, and powerful isn’t bitchy—it’s integrity. Connect with Megan: Website: https://www.meganwalrod.com/ Substack: https://meganwalrod.substack.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/megan.walrod IG: https://www.instagram.com/meganwalrod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_walrod Take the hidden power quiz: https://www.meganwalrod.com/quiz Book: https://www.meganwalrod.com/book Related Podcast Episodes High-Functioning Codependency: When Being “The Strong One” Is Slowly Killing You with Terri Cole | 341 The Fourth Trauma Response You’ve Never Heard Of (And How It’s Running Your Life) with Dr. Ingrid Clayton | 342 Confidence Isn’t Born, It’s Built — Lessons from the Cockpit to Real Life with Michelle “MACE” Curran | 343 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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or supporting showing up is always Woman's Work. And Stage helps us do just that. I am Nicole Khalil, and on this episode of This is Woman's Work podcast, we're diving into a question that I'm guessing most of us ask ourselves on a fairly regular basis. Or maybe, I ask it often enough to cover all of us, and that is, am I being a a bitch. Because like so many women, I was socialized to be others focused, to be polite, nurturing, accommodating, maybe even sweet or nice. Though if I'm being honest, I don't think anyone has ever used those words to describe me, not once in my entire life, which has made me

wonder more than once if I must be the opposite. Like, when I speak up about my own wants or needs, when I set or stick to a boundary, when I stand up for myself, hold someone accountable, refuse to excuse bad behavior, or call someone out for being a total dick, my brain still whispers that old familiar question, am I being a bitch? And in fairness, there are times I have been a bitch, and it'd be awfully presumptuous to assume that I've peaked just yet. I'm sure there will be more bitchy moments in my future. I'm also sure that I've been called one and rooms that I'm not in. Maybe because people don't have the guts to say it to my face, but hopefully I've grown enough over the years to handle conflict with a little bit more grace, empathy,

and maturity. I mean, not always. Sometimes I still let rage and sarcasm take the wheel, but my point is that more often than not, I'm not actually being a bitch. I'm just not being what the world still expects women to be, sugar and spice and everything nice, because that's not me. It never has been, nor do I want it to be. I'm more salty than sweet, and I've learned to own that. I've learned to like that. So maybe the better question is,

how do we know where the line is? How do we stop asking ourselves of we're being a bitch when the real issue isn't our behavior? It's how it's perceived when we show up strong, confident, or bold. Here to help us explore all of that is Megan Walrod, a woman's empowerment coach, published author, and founder of Live Your Yes. She spent the last 16 years helping women break free from their good girl training and live unapologetically.

She's also the author of a debut novel that I devoured as part of an early reader's group and it's called It's Always Been Me, a story about a woman coming home to herself after sacrificing herself for her husband's dreams and success. It's honest, raw, and features one of my favorite storylines, when the woman saves herself. So, Megan, let's get right into this. Am I being a bitch? Unpack that for us. I'm sure there is a story here. So what was the situation that had you first wondering this?

I love that. And I love how you said there are so many times that this question interrupts our flow, right? Like, am I being a bitch? It makes us pause. So the moment that is most vivid

for me that comes to mind where it was really an opportunity for a wake-up call was I'd just gotten off the call with my potential publisher. they had offered me a book contract for my debut novel, and I'd had other colleagues say, oh, I just accepted it as it was and went with it. But I hired a lawyer because I wanted to understand what I was agreeing to, and my business model was different from the other authors.

I wanted to make sure I had rights that they might not care about. So I'd gotten off a call where I'd been pushing back on some details of the contract. And after hanging up the phone, I started to feel nauseous, like, oh my gosh, am I being a bitch? Are they going to deem me a bitch, high maintenance, a diva, and pull the contract? And I started to freak out. Like, this was my baby. What if they pulled the contract? What would happen with my novel? If they don't want to work with me, who would? And the moment I watched that contraction happen, like this is the crossroads, right? I saw the question, am I being a bitch? And my self-awareness, thank goddess, was like, hold on just a minute, Bessie. Like, let's look at this storyline happening here. And it was at that moment that I was at one of those

crossroads where I realized I could buy the story that I was being a bitch, contracted myself even more, maybe even send a follow up email and say, I'm so sorry, you know what, I thought about it and let's just let it ride. It's fine. Or I could choose a different path where I could actually stick to my guns, so to say, and question the story of maybe I'm not really being a bitch. And so it was in that moment that I had one of those share in Moonstruck with Nicholas Cage moments where I literally was like, snap out of it. Like, wake the fuck up from that trans, girlfriend. You are not being a bitch. You are advocating for yourself. And that right there was that distortion that I've heard you talk about on this podcast before

of where I was seeing assertive communication through the lens of that good girl training and cultural conditioning that says, girlfriend, you're doing something wrong. So I love the word distortion because that's really what it is. So how do you tell the difference for yourself of when it's a distortion or when it's something real to consider because in full transparency, there are times where I have been, I don't know if a bitch is the right term, but I have been difficult or I have been in a bad mood or I have thought about things and been like, oh, God, I did not handle that well, right? So when is it a distortion and when is it an opportunity for self-reflection? I love this question and there

are two levels to it that I want to unpack with you. So the first level is how do we know when it's a distortion? For me, my body and for most of us women are, body speak loudly and it's learning how to interpret those signs, those cues. So for me, I was feeling nauseous and I was feeling contracted. Like I literally was starting to feel my whole upper body frame contract in. Major contraction. My breath was shorter and my head was spinning with a story. So for me, I've come to recognize that this. sign, this is not me being me in my power, in my confidence, in the ease and joy that I usually am. So the distortion is, and for each of us, it may be some version of that. It may be different.

Maybe you get a twitch in your left eye and it just starts, you know, going or you start clearing your throat because you're like, oh, I'm not actually speaking the truth here. So the distortions look for the cues in our bodies. and look for the thought or the story in the mind because often the story is based on these invisible unwritten rules that we've learned as women as part of our good girl training I should be agreeable I should be nice I shouldn't push back so those are two ways to recognize if it's a distortion body cues and the story and it takes time to be able to recognize a story because it's kind of like the water that we live in.

Is this, well, that's just the way it is. That's true and right. So it's starting to question that story. I think body cues is phenomenal. I couldn't be in more agreement. And I think it takes a little bit of practice in order to figure out what your specific body cues are. There are times where, like, I have an initial body cue, but it takes me some time to recognize the difference between when I did something that I feel proud of myself for versus when I did something that I don't feel proud of myself for. But that initial reaction might be the same.

They're, like, kind of sick feeling in my stomach that I often get when I'm brave and courageous, but I also often get when I'm stupid. The initial reaction might be the same. For me, it's what happens. with a little bit of time and space, and a lot of it is how I feel about myself after the reaction versus how I feel when I'm thinking about what other people must think of me. That's a subtlety, right?

Like I presented it as a black and white. Like it's usually this or that. You're raising up the subtlety of often when we as women are making a different choice from what our conditioning and our conditioned mind and our inner critic want us to do. we feel completely uncomfortable, oh shit, they're going to think I'm a bitch. Oh, no, I've done something wrong because I'm making waves and I've been told not to rock the boat. So there is, there's a practice, there's a, there's a tuning into what story am I believing, what story am I buying here? And oh, that's the shame that's arising because I'm doing something really.

different here or that's the guilt that's arising because conditioning tells me be a hard worker don't enjoy pleasure you know so it's it's there are really subtle cues and yet the body there's so much wisdom that lives there so it's getting to know that and recognize that through practice through time absolutely and i love and i'll just reiterate the through practice part i think is so important because, as you said, doing this is likely to feel uncomfortable because of our conditioning, because of people's perceptions or reactions, I've found it still to feel uncomfortable when I'm doing it and being able to distinguish between discomfort and inauthenticity as an example or discomfort and shame, right? And the only way I think we begin to tell the difference for

ourselves and to be able to distinguish those body cues is through practice. Okay, then you said there's a second part. So let's talk about that. Yes. Yes. So I'm all about let's reclaim the term bitch. Like, and I had a teacher once, a coach I worked with for a while who gave such a great discernment of there is a generative bitch and there is a destructive bitch.

Like you were talking about earlier, sometimes I'm like, oh, I could have handled that better. I was angry or I was hangary and there could be more of that destructive bitch and then there's the generative bitch who can be like I am fierce and brave and wise and I am willing to stand up for my rights and values and like one example of how that could look for a woman who's in a meeting

and who keeps getting interrupted and talked over like the destructive bitch could be like shut up I was talking and or take on the practice of interrupting others repeatedly because there's that opinion of, well, they're interrupting me. I'm going to interrupt those, them. That can be that destructive bitch. The generative bitch who's talking and someone interrupts her could say, excuse me, I was talking. Let me finish making my point. And then I'll pause if you have something to add. And keeps talking while someone is

trying to talk over her. We've been told, be quiet, back up, let them have their peace. I might come forward later. And so it's owning the power that comes in that generative bitch who's willing to uphold boundaries, speak our truth, even when it feels really uncomfortable. Yeah. Okay. I'm genuinely thinking out loud here. I don't know how I feel about this, but the word bitch has a gender component to it. I've in like in the last several years turned to the term. asshole because we all have one. It's not a gender thing, right? Like anyone can be an asshole and we know when somebody's being an asshole. We know when we're being an asshole. I like the idea of reclaiming the word bitch and there's a part of me that's like it's so gendered. Is it better to be

reclaimed? Is it better to be replaced? Is it better to be thrown out? And like, do you see where I'm getting? Like, this is just me thinking out loud. What are your thoughts? Yeah, absolutely. And I'm a total word geek, and so I love geeking out about specific words. I was just sharing with someone the other day, like, instead of asking people to write a review on Amazon for your book, ask them to leave a review, because that just feels simpler. I'm just going to leave a review instead of I've got to write one. Total word geek, okay? So for bitch, for me, honestly, this is one of those words that I use with one of my besties where we'll just joke around of like, all right, bitches, time to pull up the big girl undies and like get this shit done, you know? And it's like, it's a way of reclaiming power from it. So for me,

I mean, ultimately, and I love that you're such an advocate of this too. Like, it's your choice. Who's going to lead this situation? It's your decision. Who do you want to do that? Like, your choices matter. And so for me, it's like if in your own vocabulary you want to use asshole, don't be an asshole or oh, I'm being an asshole, use asshole. Yet a bitch encompasses things. There's like an energy there, just like the C word. That's a four-letter word that we were taught not to use because, you know, hello, there's power there and there's, we were taught it's dangerous. And the truth is, we are the danger.

We've been taught it's dangerous to be in our power to be a bitch. And the truth is, we rock the status quo when we are in our power. So I'm a fan of personal choice and whether it's gendered or not, But if using it gives you a sense of power taps you into something the other time is stifled, go for it. Hey, JJ Virgin here. On my podcast, Well Beyond 40, we ditch the idea of aging gracefully and go all in on aging powerfully. Every week I host powerful experts who can give you powerful insights on building muscle, boosting your energy, and feeling amazing no matter what your age. This is your one life.

And trust me, being smarter and stronger are superpowers that can turn lifespan into strength span. Listen to Well Beyond 40 wherever you get your podcasts. I think you hit the nail on the head. This is about power and feeling powerful and choosing your own power. And I firmly believe that choice is the greatest power any of us. have and so it is a personal choice if if you want to reclaim the word bitch or and it's funny I do use it in that term like we write it on bitches right like but I think it's it's about what makes you connect to and stand in your power that we're both talking about here absolutely

yeah yeah and and just like to riff on the choice piece to too, we, and I know you talk about this, the moment to moment choices that we have throughout our day, that's a great way to practice, right? When we're questioning, am I being a bitch? What if the new question could be for fun, because I'm a big fan of taking on daily experiments to help myself get out of the limiting thinking is, how could I be a generative bitch for myself today. Like, how can I be a generative bitch? Where are some boundaries that require some upholding? Just like if I was a cowgirl, wear some back fences that need to be visited and repaired. Let's fix those bitches. Like, let's just go on that journey today. How can I be a generative bitch for

myself? I love that. I love that. Okay, so I think what we're ultimately talking about, When the question pops up in our head, I'm going to, there's no data on this, at least not that I know of, but I'm going to guess like 80 to 90% of the time, it's not an actual genuine question. It's what I call head trash or inner critic or negative thoughts or whatever we want to call it. I call it head trash because I want it to sound as dirty and disgusting as it actually is. We say shit to ourselves about ourselves that we would never say out loud do anyone that we love. and yet we, you know, like, I can't even imagine turning to my daughter and be like, are you being a bitch?

You know, like that would never happen. At least not the amount of times it happens in my own head. So all of that to say, how do we, I don't know, if manage is the word, what are the mistakes that you're seeing women make when it comes to our head trash, when it comes to our inner critic, how do we overcome it in general and as it relates to this fear that we have? of being perceived as a bit. Yeah. Okay, I love this because I'm such a big fan

of helping women learn how different ways of working with the inner critic because one of the most common things, like I love the term of head trash because that is what it is. And yet so many women make the mistake of saying, God, tell that bitch the inner critic to get lost. And like, we make the inner critic bad and wrong

and we engage in a wrestling match with it. stop being so mean you're awful you're an asshole like shut up so what does that do it locks our energy in fighting a story that we're believing is true but we're telling them it's wrong and all of our energy just gets collapsed and contracted and it's a waste of energy versus this and there are a few different steps but it starts with and i've named i've got like four different names of the inner critic because she's got different components. So one of them, for example, is the doubting diva. So let's use her as an example.

And if you don't have the names, it's okay. But you can just be like, hey, inner critic, or like, hey, doubting diva, I see you. I see the story you're saying. What does that do? That immediately gets me out of a wrestling match and into observation. I'm now at choice with whether or not I buy that story. second thing is instead of you're bad and wrong but i secretly believe you're right so i want you

off my show instead it's like recognizing this is my perspective on the inner critic it's our conditioned mind it's that young part of us who is trying to protect us she's just doing what she thinks is her job she's over here being like but we've been told we can't trust ourselves and so i need to question your belief that you know what's right for you and need to tell you, no, you have to listen to an outside authority, otherwise you're going to be doomed and bad and wrong and rejected and all this thing. So when I turn to her with compassion, witnessing, I see you, babe, I know you're trying to protect me. I love you. I got this. That helps change the relationship too. And then so many women stop there. I'm just going to

share one other thing with you that's so powerful in this practice. Most women spend the time there. But there's this whole hidden power over here. The hidden power beneath doubt is our intuition and our connection to our own knowing. So when we spend time being like the doubting divas being really loud today, what are my practices for getting in touch with my intuition so I can really make a choice here that's rooted in what I know is true and correct for me? And that when we cultivate that intuition, oh my God, the doubting diva starts to get quiet and doesn't become a thing because we're so rooted in that. Yeah. Everything you're saying aligns with everything I know to be true, both from personal experience, but mostly from my research and focus on confidence. You know, confidence

is firm and bold trust and self. Head trash or whatever we want to call it is one of the biggest confidence derailers. It has us question ourselves. It has us speaking to our ourselves in a way that we never would someone we love. And I often say that the antidote, the confidence builder that we can employ instead is giving ourselves grace. And I think that giving ourselves grace is important because, as you said, the wrestling match is what's not working. I like the way you said it. It's like, I'm not going to believe this thing that I really believe, which is exactly what's happening. It's like we're trying to convince ourselves. I like the acknowledgement of calling it what it is,

I think that's an important thing to name it, whatever you want to call it, so that you force yourself to distinguish it from the many other potential voices, right? Like, my intuition speaks all the time, but if I name that head trash, the, what did you call it, the Dramatic Diva? The Doubting Diva is one of the inner critics.

Yeah, yeah. If I name it that, then in doing so, I distinguish it immediately from inner knowing or intuition or something like calling it something, naming it, I think is really important. And then there's another step in there that you were talking about where it's, I always ask myself the question, is there another way to see it? Like I'm not saying you're wrong. That's one way of seeing it. One way of seeing it is I'm a bitch. Is there another way to see it? Is there another more productive, more empowered way to see it? And enforcing myself,

to ask the question, I'm not wrestling or negating. I'm just like, is there another way? Is there a different angle? And it becomes a little bit more curiosity focused or playful or, you know, and I've found more often than not, there are a bazillion other ways to see it. And there is another version that feels just as true that leaves me in a much better position. What are your thoughts or reactions to, I just said a lot. I love this so much. It reminds me of that story of how I walk into the dark room and I see a snake in the corner. Oh no, fear, contraction. What am I going to do? It's going to come after me. That's our conditioned mind that's both has all those limiting stories of what a woman should be or shouldn't be. And it also is wired to protect us. It's wired to look for the

potential threats. I turn on the light. Oh, it's just a home. curled up in the corner. And that to me gets at that question. So there's the, am I being a bitch? It's a snake. Something bad and wrong is here. It's a threat. I've ruptured the relationship potentially. They're going to kick me out of the tribe. I'm going to be abandoned like domino effect versus the question, is there another way to see this? What's another way of seeing this? I've turned on the light and I'm looking at things differently. So it's absolutely empowering and it helps us like the neurosciences, the am I a bitch, the rightness of the doubting diva story, all of that, that's like a super highway in our brain, in our literal gray matter. This question helps us

start to pull out a machete and open up some new pathways of, oh, what if I wasn't being a bitch, what if I was actually advocating for myself? What if I'm actually doing the most empowering thing right here? Machete, machete, machete, machete, machete, opening up a new pathway. So it changes our brain science, which is super cool, and also brings in that play that you're talking about. So great question. I'm going to send us down potentially a rabbit hole. And it's my last big question. And I am struggling a little bit with how to word it. So I'm just going to bleh. But basically, my perception is there are some people who are just bitches. There are people who are difficult. There are people who are, you know, assholes or whatever we want to call them. At least,

from my perception. And I personally struggle with wanting to have a good amount of self-awareness and wanting to also not care too much about other people's opinions. And, you know, I think I said in the intro is sort of like a, when have we crossed the line? But maybe the question is more, how do we know where the line is for ourselves? Where do we decide that we're not And, you know, sometimes it's, we can lie to ourselves and be like, oh, no, I was just being empowered. And it's like, no, you weren't. You were being a bitch, you know, like.

Totally. Totally. Like, how do we, and I'm a bit of an overthinker. That is one of my default confidence derailers, which might be at play right now. But I'm just struggling with that, you know, I see some people and I'm like, you're being a real asshole. Are they missing self-awareness or are they, you know, being bold and not caring. about my opinion as they should or like do you see what I'm wrestling with you're talking talking about

absolutely and this is where this is where practice and play are two of the most important things for us as women in exploring this and what I'd invite in is the mindset shift of letting go of thinking there's some line because that can get the inter perfectionist involved of like I've got to get this generative bitch versus destructive pitch right and there's a really narrow line and something's right or wrong. I say, let's let her go. See when she's at play. I love you very much, but I only need you when I'm editing, you know, like we'll pull you out when it's time to edit in and deploy your skills then. In this case, it's really practicing and playing, play with going over the line, so to say. Play with, even if you have like a trusted friend

or, you know, a bestie or a partner who's supportive of this, like do some role playing. Like maybe you've got an important meeting or an interview coming up. Do some or a situation with an employer or employer that you often feel like, God, I just want to be a bitch and let them know everything I have to say. Like I'm a big fan of journaling or role playing and using the voice. Say all the things. Say all the things you want to say. Feel what it feels like in your body.

Because I know in the beginning when I first started to set boundaries and be really, discerning about my time, I swung the pendulum really far. And I put a lot, like I created some ruptures with some people in my life where it was like, I was not available anymore for the things they wanted me to be available for. I needed to swing it so far to find the middle ground. So permission to let your voice say all the things. Permission to feel it in your body, explore it in safe places first in a journal with a friend. in front of the mirror, to then play with, so now how do I want to handle that with that person and give yourself permission to mess it up? That's the thing too, because as long as we're willing

to clean it up with ourselves and the other person, that's the only way that ultimately we're going to have the authenticity, the intimacy that we desire with ourselves, with other people. And I know that might not be what listeners want to hear, like they want kind of a formula of like I can check it off. This is going to require getting out of the overthinking, which same, same, I can do that too, because we're used to living here and into the body that has so much to say

and there can be a while where it feels really messy. And there's so much of our power wrapped up in that though too and we're really willing to let it come out. Megan, I love your answer. So many good things in there. Yes, there is that tendency perfectionist overthinking. That's my one-two punch. So like not surprising that showed up. I love the getting it out, right? Whether it's journaling or writing what you want to say or whatever. I've found that to be so important is to get it out or a venting partner or whatever. And then giving yourself a little time and space to figure out what you really want to say purposefully. I think that is a phenomenal tip. The pendulum swing. I think we all think that there is some step step, magic middle that we just fall into. And the only way we find our middle is by playing with both sides, right? And so we are going to push too far on occasions. And as you said,

clean it up with ourselves and the other person, apologize when needed, have ownership. So, so, so important in learning and in finding our own middle for ourselves. And the last thing is swinging the pendulum too far for sure, but also I think not enough sometimes too. I think sometimes our fear of being perceived as a bitch has us holding ourselves back so much. And that doesn't feel good in our body either. Our body communicates just as much on that side of the pendulum as it does on the other. Any last thoughts on how you know if maybe you're not swinging hard enough? Yes. Yes, absolutely. And I'm just reminded of this may get really personal fast yet it also feels really relatable. My mom had rheumatoid arthritis

and she was someone who had the conditioning and the training to be the good girl and the martyr and there were a lot of things I know that she never expressed with her voice, with her emotions, that she was taught, stuff it, stifle it. And they found 80% of autoimmune diseases are women and they found a connection with that and emotional suppression and repression. So there's that connection there between if one of the common things women can do is a situation unfolds and afterwards they beat themselves up. I didn't say what I wanted to say. I wasn't willing to swing the pendulum. So they're like beating themselves up instead of here's a practice, two practices I want to share. One practice is when you notice like bring this into your daily life, where could I swing

the pendulum a little bit more today. If you have a moment where you didn't swing it, instead of judging yourself, beating yourself up, be like, all right, I'm going to learn from this. If I was being my own best friend here, my own advocate, how do I want to do it differently next time? So this is part of that play and permission to explore. How can you be more purposeful the next time? So all those moments when you didn't swing the pendulum can now become kind of like that bolster, give you some courage of the next time I'm going to do it. And maybe you go into that situation telling a coach

or your bestie, I'm going to say the thing I haven't said. Now, to help you say the thing that you haven't said that's built up over a decade or two or three, the practice that I'm going to recommend that all you listeners do take yourself out in nature where you can have some privacy

or in the hallways in your home when no one's home and take yourself on what I call a fuck you walk. and move your body power walker style and just be like, fuck you for saying nothing, you fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. And it can be the most simple, it can be the most personal things, collective, national, international, cosmic, intergenerational trauma, the thing that the barista did or didn't do with your coffee order this morning,

like let it all out. Because what I found personally and with my clients is that when we take ourselves on these fucky walks, we let it all get said, we move it through our body, we stop suppressing, repressing, and we kind of exhaust that and find our way to our power and find our way to this grace, you used that word earlier, and this place that is genuine gratitude for, oh my God, I'm so grateful that I learned the fuck you walk. Oh my God, I'm so grateful that I learned this. And when we can mix the gratitude with that potency, we can show up to those hard conversations with more embodiment, confidence, and generative bitch.

So glad we had this conversation. I could ask you one million more questions, but I want to make sure our listeners, first, go and get this book. It's always been me. Megan wrote this beautiful book where the hero is her own damn self, and I'm here for all of it. Megan's website is meganwalrod. We're going to put all of the links. and out of the ways to find and follow Megan and show notes. Megan, thank you for an incredible conversation. Nicole, my total pleasure. Thank you for this.

And oh, such a joy to be in this conversation with you. Yeah, for me too. And let me end with this. Here is where I land. If standing up for yourself makes you a bitch, if setting boundaries makes you a bitch, if not tolerating someone's bad behavior and doing it with confidence, clarity,

and maybe just a touch of sarcasm makes you a bitch, then let's be bitches. Because being honest, direct, and self-respecting, that's not bad behavior. That's integrity. It's confidence. It's power. And around here, we know that if somebody calls you a bitch, it might just be because you're out there on your fuck-you walk. And it's definitely because you're out there doing woman's work.