The Power of Music with Matthew Melendez
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Release Date: 10/24/2024
What No One Tells You About Leaving a Toxic Relationship
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Leaving a toxic or narcissistic relationship is often seen as the finish line — but for many, it’s only the beginning. This episode explores why just leaving isn’t the end of abuse, and how power and control can continue after separation through legal systems, finances, communication, and parenting. It also looks at how instinctive survival strategies like disengagement and gray rocking often appear long before there’s language to describe them. You’ll learn why confusion and self-doubt after leaving are normal, how to recognize common forms of post-separation...
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From Transition to Intention: Designing Your Life with Clarity
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Welcome to Season Four of Life After: From Surviving to Thriving. As 2026 begins, Jill explores what it really means to create your “best year ever,” especially when you’re moving through a transition you didn’t choose. After leaving her job unwillingly in late 2025, she shares honestly about slowing down, processing change, and learning to lean in rather than resist — and reminds listeners that if you’re in transition too, you’re not alone. This episode focuses on intention, identity, and choice. Jill introduces her word for the year — ease — and...
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Gratitude: the Small Practice that Changes Everything
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Gratitude can sound simple — even cliché — but when it’s practiced genuinely (not as forced positivity), it can be one of the most powerful tools for healing, regulation, and long-term mindset change. In this episode, you’ll hear why gratitude isn’t about minimizing pain, pretending things are fine, or bypassing hard emotions — it’s about restoring agency, calming your nervous system, and creating space for real change. I share my own journey from lifelong pessimist to daily gratitude practice, practical ways to build the habit without pressure, and the...
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Tips for a Holiday Season That Doesn’t Drain You
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
The Holidays may come wrapped in glitter and expectations, but for many of us, they also bring stress, pressure, complicated family dynamics, and situations we’d honestly rather avoid. In this episode, we’re talking about how to navigate the season with more ease, more grounding, and far more self-compassion. You’ll learn practical ways to protect your peace, honor your boundaries, and move through the holidays with grace — even when things feel anything but graceful. KEY TAKEAWAYS No is a complete sentence! “Okay” Redirect with a polite statement Take time for...
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One Step Today - A Different Life Tomorrow
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Feeling stuck, unmotivated, or unable to move forward — even though you want to? In this episode, we break down why getting stuck is a completely normal part of healing after a toxic or emotionally draining relationship… and the five tiny steps that help you rebuild momentum without overwhelm. You’ll learn how micro-shifts, pattern interrupts, future-self anchoring, and 5-minute promises can gently pull you out of the fog and back into forward motion. This is your reminder: you’re not failing — you’re recalibrating. And small steps count. ❤️💜 KEY...
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The Space Between Surviving and Thriving
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
After leaving a toxic or narcissistic relationship, there’s a quiet space between surviving and thriving — a season I call rebuilding. In this episode, we’ll talk about how to navigate that in-between stage with grace, patience, and courage. You’ll learn how small, steady steps — not big leaps — lead to real transformation, and how hope, habits, and healing rituals can help you move forward with confidence. Because you’ve already done the hardest part — you survived — and now it’s time to start living again, on your own terms. KEY TAKEAWAYS Focus on progress,...
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#66 - Leaving What No Longer Fits
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Real talk about toxic relationships, unexpected transitions, and the courage to trust yourself again. When you find yourself facing the same painful patterns — like attracting toxic people in different areas of your life — it’s not failure, it’s feedback. Every transition is an invitation to pause, notice, and choose differently. In this episode, we’ll talk about how to recognize those patterns, use “pattern interrupts” to shift them, and finally move through your transitions with clarity, courage, and confidence. KEY TAKEAWAYS When going through a transition: Take the...
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#65 - How to Stop Playing the Narcissist’s Games
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Wanna get off the narcissist’s ride? You can! It’s time to end the endless loop of confusion, guilt, and second-guessing that always comes with being in a relationship with a narcissist. No matter what role they play in your life — partner, parent, boss, or friend — you have the power to step off the ride and take back control. In this episode, we’ll talk about simple, effective strategies to help you stop the spin, reclaim your peace, and start living life on your own terms. KEY TAKEAWAYS Use “gray rocking” Practice your boundaries You don't have to...
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Mindset Meets Adversity: How to Stay Steady When Life Gets Hard
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
This episode is all about where mindset and adversity meet. It’s easy to stay positive when life is smooth sailing — but when challenges show up (and they always do), our mindset can take a hit. The truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can maintain a grounded, empowering mindset — not one that’s toxically positive — even in the middle of struggle. Let’s talk about how to do it. KEY TAKEAWAYS Reframe Shift Take Action! Face your fear and anxiety directly BEST MOMENTS Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional. –Roger...
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When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned: Finding Your Plan B (…or C, or D)
Life After: From Surviving to Thriving
Life doesn’t always go the way we want — or expect. So, what do you do when things don’t go as planned? You acknowledge it, adapt and find a new path forward! Whether it’s Plan B, C, or D – there’s a whole alphabet to choose from. And you always have choices! This episode is going to help you bring it all together! KEY TAKEAWAYS Manage your stress: Build and continue self-care Be sure to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep Drink lots of water Keep a routine Get outside! What’s possible? Acknowledge it! I CAN versus I can’t BEST MOMENTS...
info_outlineIn today’s episode, we welcome the brilliant Matthew Melendez to share with us how music can change your life. Matthew also gives us fantastic ideas for how to start regularly using music to improve our moods, increase our positive emotions and make connections with others. This is a must listen episode!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- We are acting on our feelings all the time.
- Music is an easy entry point into figuring out how to feel our feelings; how to build some emotional awareness.
- Find a group to sing with!
- Music helps with depression, anxiety, agitation, and rumination.
- Music is an emotional container
- We all have innate musical skills, so explore your musical side!
BEST MOMENTS
Matthew talks about using the recorder as a fantastic beginner instrument to test out your musical skills in a fun and creative way, in addition to your voice. There are also several apps out there that will allow you to tinker with, and make your own, music. Consider music emotional finger paint.
When you sing with a group, you all get the get the same benefits and you all emerge from it, no matter how different you think you are going in, with a fundamental knowing, a fundamental awareness, that’s a deep knowing, that you have more in common than not. Which allows us to see each other more clearly. It makes it hard to “other” each other.
We can use music to help manage our self-care.
Remember, you are perfectly capable being safe all by yourself.
VALUABLE RESOURCES
To receive resources from Jill: https://locatecoaching.activehosted.com/f/1
EPISODES TO CHECK OUT NEXT
Check out other episodes of Life After: From Surviving to Thriving:
https://sites.libsyn.com/460833/site
ABOUT THE HOST
Jill is a mindset coach and speaker who loves to help people. She knows that the tips and tricks in each episode work – because she’s used them to change her life and her clients have used them to change their lives! Jill has the education and life experience to help you rebuild your life, whatever the circumstances... and move from surviving to thriving!
CONNECT & CONTACT
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@locatecoaching
IG: https://www.instagram.com/locatecoaching/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwEImRGJXX4hrdS_NM3wWXg
Email: info@locatecoaching.com