The Rewriters

"The point isn't to figure out how to change your tendency, it’s to figure out how to work with it. Use that self-knowledge to game your own system and do the things that you want to do." ~ Monique Shaw In this episode, we explore accountability as an essential tool for creating lasting, values-led career change. We dive deep into Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework so you can understand how you respond to internal and external expectations. Plus, I walk you through our downloadable Rewrite Accountability Tracker, a resource The Rewriters Community members use each month to track everything from mood, energy and values alignment to wins, challenges and goal progress. EPISODE THEMES & HIGHLIGHTS: The Power of Accountability: How accountability acts as a vital tool in building momentum and facilitating meaningful change. Personal Updates & Creative Recovery: Wrapping up The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron after decades of starting and stopping, reclaiming an artist identity, closing "open loops," and embracing autumn. Values Alignment & Mental Health: Unpacking Brené Brown’s quote from Strong Ground - "Values misalignment is death by a thousand cuts" and why values alignment is central to creating a career and life that really works. Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies: Understanding how Obligers, Upholders, Questioners, and Rebels handle expectations differently, and how to tailor an accountability practice to your specific style. The Rewrite Accountability Tracker Walkthrough: A step-by-step guide to using our free 2-page monthly template to capture both qualitative insights (mood, wins, challenges) and quantitative wellbeing data. RESOURCES & LINKS: DOWNLOAD: Free Rewrite Accountability Tracker QUIZ: Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies Quiz LISTEN: From the The Rewriters Podcast Archives – Creating a Values-Led Career DOWNLOAD: Values Identification & Assessment Tool LISTEN: From the The Rewriters Podcast Archives – How to Deal with Jerks at Work JOIN: The Rewriters Community Membership BOOK: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron BOOK: Strong Ground by Brené Brown BOOK: Be a Free Range Human by Marianne Cantwell ARTICLE: The 7 Types of Rest Download the Full Episode Transcript GET INVOLVED This podcast is designed as a career coach and community in your pocket. Here is how you can participate: Submit to the Rewrite Clinic: Have a specific career challenge you want coached on air? Email [email protected] with pod rewrite clinic in the subject line. (Submissions can be anonymised upon request). Suggest a Deep Dive: Have a broader topic or career obstacle you want covered? Email [email protected] with pod deep dive in the subject line. Join the Community: Ready to work with Monique and professional women from around the world? Visit rewriterewrite.com and click Become A Member. Next Episode: Join us in two weeks on Tuesday, 13th October for our next episode featuring our first Rewrite Clinic segment and a Deep Dive! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Welcome & Episode Intro 02:15 - Creative Recovery: Finishing 'The Artist's Way' & Brené Brown on Values 07:40 - What is Accountability & How Coaches Use It 11:10 - Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Breakdown 18:25 - Walkthrough: The Rewrite Accountability Tracker (Pages 1 & 2) 21:50 – In the Next Episode & How to Submit to the Rewrite Clinic ABOUT YOUR HOST: Monique Shaw is a certified transformational coach, qualified marketer, and founder of Rewrite. She helps ambitious, empathetic professionals rewrite how they live and work on their own terms and at their own pace. Learn more at rewriterewrite.com. GET IN TOUCH: •Email: [email protected] •Book a free consult: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/book •Web: www.rewriterewrite.com •LinkedIn: Monique Shaw https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquelshaw/ The Rewriters is written, produced and presented by Monique Shaw. Original music by DJ Cinnamon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Season 4! In this episode, we're goal-planning for a strong close to 2026. I also explain what I mean by Inside-Out Career Change - a holistic approach that flips the script on traditional career change, prioritising who you are and how you want to live over external titles and success markers. I touch on how goal setting activates your brain’s salience network to keep your priorities top-of-mind and walk you through an 11-question mini goal-planning session. Episode Themes & Highlights The September Reset Energy: Why September feels like a bonus new year (plus personal updates on The Artist's Way, celebrating 5 years alcohol-free and stepping back from social media). Inside-Out Career Change Explained: Flipping the traditional career change narrative. The Neuroscience of Goals: How setting SMART goals activates your brain's salience network (inspired by Dr. James Doty’s Mind Magic). Mini Goal Planning Session: 11 Questions to help you define your primary non-negotiable target for 31st December 2026 (and how to get there). The 11 Goal-Planning Prompts Grab a notebook, download your free Rewrite Goal Planner and reflect on these questions from the episode: More: What do you want more of in your career right now? Less: What do you want less of? The Destination: Where do you want to be by 31st December 2026? Primary Focus: What is your single most important goal for the next 3 months? The Why: Why is this goal deeply important to you? Success Criteria: How will you know you’ve achieved it? Obstacles: What potential barriers or derailers could get in the way? Mitigation: How will you plan for and navigate those obstacles? Support: Who or what resources do you need to support you? Milestones: What action steps will you take this week, in 2 weeks, in a month? Celebration: How will you celebrate when you achieve this goal? Resources Referenced: DOWNLOAD: Free Rewrite Goal Planner Template (https://rewrite.myflodesk.com/goalplanner) LISTEN: Season 4, Episode 1 – The September Reset and Reimagining Your Career (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s4-ep-1-the-september-reset-and-reimagining-your-career/id1538589146?i=1000787130059) JOIN: The Rewriters Community Membership (https://www.rewriterewrite.com/becomeamember) BOOK RECOMMENDATION: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (https://juliacameronlive.com/) BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything by Dr. James Doty (https://www.jamesrdotymd.com/mindmagic) PODCAST RECOMMENDATION: No Country For Old Women (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-country-for-old-women/id1882453166) Get Involved & Get In Touch This podcast is designed to be a career coach and community in your pocket. Here's how to get involved and participate in future episodes: Submit to the Rewrite Clinic: Have a specific, personal career challenge you need to address? Email [email protected] with pod rewrite clinic in the subject line (Submissions can be anonymised upon request). Suggest a Deep Dive: Want a broader career topic or obstacle covered on the show? Email [email protected] with pod deep dive in the subject line. Next Episode: Mark your calendar for Tuesday, 29th September for our first audio Monthly Accountability Session and a breakdown of different accountability styles. Become a Member: Want to work with Monique and the community directly? Join other highly empathetic ambitious professional women designing their lives on their terms at their own pace here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/becomeamember. Join monthly and cancel anytime or join annually and immediately access your 4 free 1:1 coaching interventions with Monique. Get in touch with Monique Shaw: Email: [email protected] Book a free consult: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/book Web: www.rewriterewrite.com LinkedIn: Monique Shaw https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquelshaw/ The Rewriters is written, produced and presented by Monique Shaw. Original music by DJ Cinnamon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to a brand new season of The Rewriters! This episode is filled with ‘September Reset’ energy to help you lay the foundation for a career and life built on your own terms. After wrapping up Season 3 for the Summer, I am back with a brand new format designed to be an audio experience of my private membership, ‘The Rewriters Community’. Whether you want to change jobs, rethink how you work or find more fulfilment, this season is intended to act as a career coach and community in your pocket. What to expect: This season I’m introducing several new core elements that reflect the structure of ‘The Rewriters Community’, with bi-weekly episodes running until the start of next European Summer Monthly Accountability Sessions: We are introducing a new monthly accountability segment to help you keep your goals fresh, alive, and visible. We will review where you are and where you are headed, with our first accountability segment scheduled for Tuesday 29th September 2026. Rewrite Clinics: Acting as a 1:1 coaching intervention, this segment will unpack listener’s specific career challenges. I’ll provide coaching questions, observations and insights, as well as relevant resources. From Inside The Community (Deep Dives): We will dive into key career themes and obstacles that emerge directly from within the membership, the zeitgeist, and online – and from listeners. Rewriter Spotlight: Expect special guests and stories from other people who have rewritten their stories – including actual community members. In this episode: We’re kicking things off with some Pre-Goal Planning. Before we dive into identifying some solid and tangible goals in our next episode, we are doing some essential pre-planning to help you reconnect with what you want and open your mind up to possibilities. Grab yourself a pen and some paper for these two foundational exercises... Exercise 1: Visioning & Big Picture Thinking: Take time to imagine what your ideal career and life would look like, without limitations. We explore everything from your work setup and location to your home life, social activities and creative endeavours. Exercise 2: The Sacred Circle: Draw a large circle and define your absolute top 3-5 "must-haves" inside it. Place your top 3-5 "must-not-haves" outside of the circle. Through this exercise you’ll gain clarity on what needs to be prioritised and protected in your life. Get involved: I would LOVE your active participation this season! Here is how you can get involved and get the most out of the podcast… Submit Your Challenges: Want to be featured in a Rewrite Clinic? Email your career challenges to [email protected] with 'pod rewrite clinic' in the subject line. For broader career obstacles you want covered, use 'pod deep dive' in the subject line. Support the Pod: Create your own rewrite accountability group with your friends or colleagues, share this episode and please leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so other rewriters can find me. Download your resources: Keep an eye on the shownotes each episode so you don’t miss any free resources. Next episode be sure to download your free Rewrite Goal Planner and Accountability Tracker to help you prepare for our upcoming accountability segments and track your progress. Become a Member: Want to work with Monique and the membership directly? Join other highly empathetic ambitious professional women designing their lives on their terms at their own pace here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/becomeamember. Join monthly and cancel anytime or join annually and immediately access your 4 free 1:1 coaching interventions with Monique. Get in touch with Monique Shaw: Email: [email protected] Book a free consult: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/book Web: www.rewriterewrite.com LinkedIn: Monique Shaw The Rewriters is written, produced and presented by Monique Shaw. Original music by DJ Cinnamon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to How to Rewrite Your Story From The Inside-Out This episode is the essence of ALL of the work I do – it brings it all together. If I could describe in a sentence what my business Rewrite does: it’s that – it’s rewriting stories from the inside-out. If you feel like there is a disconnect between who you are and the work that you do, this one is for you. We’re going to close the gap between your inside story and your outside story to create more meaning, fulfilment and impact in work and in life. The episode is broken down as follows: Background & Context – Why bother rewriting your story AND What the research says Rewriting Your Inside Story – Getting to know yourself AND Knowing what you want Rewriting Your Outside Story – Connecting to others AND Creating what you need Self-Coaching Questions – A framework for rewriting your own story from the inside-out Work with Monique: Join 'The Rewriters Community'. Explore here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/becomeamember Speak to Monique about your next Workshop or Talk: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/workshops Visit: www.rewriterewrite.com For more tips, tools and stories, subscribe to The Rewrite Newsletter: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/get-the-weekly-rewrite Get in touch with Monique Shaw: Web: www.rewriterewrite.com/contact Instagram: @the_rewriters LinkedIn: Monique Shaw Resources referenced: ‘The Rewrite Framework’ by Monique Shaw. Explore here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/coaching-services Free Career Resources by Monique Shaw. Explore here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/free-resources ‘How to Stop Being a People Pleaser’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Podcast (2026). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s3-ep-8-how-to-stop-being-a-people-pleaser-without/id1538589146?i=1000765153767 ‘How to Befriend Your Inner Critic’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Podcast (2026). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s3-ep-4-how-to-befriend-your-inner-critic-stop-fighting/id1538589146?i=1000743388781 ‘How to Quit Your Job’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Podcast (2025). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s3-ep-1-how-to-quit-your-job/id1538589146?i=1000724326293 ‘Owning Your Personal Brand At Work’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Podcast (Re-released 2025). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/re-release-owning-your-personal-brand-at-work/id1538589146?i=1000722494484 ‘How to Maximise and Conserve Your Time’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Podcast (Re-released 2025). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/re-release-how-to-maximise-and-conserve-your-time/id1538589146?i=1000721478914 ‘Authenticity’ by Lehman et al, from Academy of Management Annals (2019). Source: https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/annals.2017.0047 Amy Edmundson profile, from Harvard Business School (2026). Source: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451 ‘The Authenticity Paradox’ by Herminia Ibarra (2014). Source: https://herminiaibarra.com/the-authenticity-paradox/ ‘Five Reasons For NOT Bringing Your Whole Self To Work’ by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (2025). Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspremuzic/2025/11/17/five-reasons-for-not-bringing-your-whole-self-to-work/ ‘How to Encourage Authenticity at Work’ by Cynthia S Wang (2025). Source: https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/how-to-encourage-authenticity-at-work ‘Brené and Adam on What They Will Never Agree On’ on ‘The Curiosity Shop’ (2026). Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/bren%C3%A9-and-adam-on-what-they-will-never-agree-on/id1730985049?i=1000756103720 The Rewriters is written, produced and presented by Monique Shaw. Original music by DJ Cinnamon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to How to Stop People Pleasing (Without Being A D!ck About It) In 2016 I was a happily-pregnant work-addicted people pleaser in a job I loved with pretty much exclusively externalised self-worth. I didn’t set out to get over my people pleasing tendencies and poor boundaries (although I was very aware they were an issue) – but I did need to deal with the logistics of my boundary-less, work-addicted life post-baby. What I set out to do then was get a handle on my time… where I ended up was letting go of my multi-decade tenure as a people pleaser and finally learning how to say NO.” Today’s episode outlines how I did it and how you can too. Along the way I delve into the psychology of the people pleaser and share some self-coaching questions to help you interrogate (and transcend) own relationship with people pleasing. The episode is broken down as follows: The psychology of people pleasing My people pleasing recovery journey How you can quit people pleasing too Self-coaching questions for people pleasers Resources & References: ‘How To Maximise And Conserve Your Time’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/re-release-how-to-maximise-and-conserve-your-time/id1538589146?i=1000721478914 ‘Two Questions That Will Change Your Life’ with Monique Shaw on The Rewriters Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2-ep-8-two-questions-that-will-change-your-life/id1538589146?i=1000561748881 ‘Make The Same Impact At Work In Half The Time’ by Monique Shaw on rewriterewrite.com: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/blog/make-the-same-impact-in-half-the-time 'Links between unmitigated communion, interpersonal behaviours and wellbeing’ by Helgeson et al on Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275058320_Links_between_unmitigated_communion_interpersonal_behaviors_and_well-being_A_daily_diary_approach 'Fawning as a trauma response’ by Grace Ogren on Recovery.com: https://recovery.com/resources/fawning-as-a-trauma-response/ 'Breaking the cycle of people pleasing’ by Michelle Quirk on Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/your-emotional-meter/202401/breaking-the-cycle-of-people-pleasing ‘The Psychology Behind People Pleasing’ by Marissa Moore on PsychCentral: https://psychcentral.com/health/the-need-to-please-the-psychology-of-people-pleasing The 24-hour rule from Boundary Theory (Ashforth, 2000) – no link Work with Monique: Join 'The Rewriters Community’. Explore here: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/becomeamember Speak to Monique about your next Workshop or Talk: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/workshops Visit: www.rewriterewrite.com For more tips, tools and stories subscribe to The Rewrite Newsletter: https://www.rewriterewrite.com/get-the-weekly-rewrite Get in touch with Monique: Web: www.rewriterewrite.com/contact Instagram: @the_rewriters LinkedIn: Monique Shaw The Rewriters is written, produced and presented by Monique Shaw. Original music by DJ Cinnamon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.