Ep. 13: F*ck the Timeline

Feb 13

If you feel “behind,” congrats… you’ve been diagnosed with Timeline Brain.
Symptoms include: comparing yourself to engaged couples on Instagram, thinking moving home = failure, and spiraling because you’re “almost 30” and don’t have the holy trinity (house / husband / baby).

This episode is your official permission slip to stop living like life is a group project with deadlines.

1) The Timeline Is Fake… But the Pressure Is Real

The timeline isn’t some universal law. It’s just other people’s expectations dressed up as “normal.”

And it hits hardest when everyone around you is:

getting married
having kids
buying houses
posting “we’re so blessed” captions like it’s a required assignment

Meanwhile you’re sitting there like:
“I have no job, no car, I’m in my parents’ den… what the fuck am I doing?”

That feeling doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It means you’re comparing different lives like they’re supposed to match.

2) Coming Home Isn’t Failure… It’s an Identity Detox

One of the biggest takeaways from Danica: moving back wasn’t scary because of logistics.
It was scary because of identity.

If you’ve been “the girl who moved away,” coming home can feel like:

you’re losing your “thing”
people will assume you didn’t make it
your story doesn’t look as glamorous anymore

But here’s the truth:
Wanting new growth doesn’t require you to stay far away forever.
Sometimes the next chapter is closer to your roots and your ego just hates that.

3) Stagnation Is the Real Red Flag

She described that last stretch in Australia as stagnant:

no growth
no new opportunities
no new people
same loop, different day

And that’s the part people ignore when they romanticize “staying somewhere because you said you would.”

If you’re not growing, your body knows.
That restless, itchy, “something’s off” feeling isn’t drama… it’s data.

4) The Mindset Flip That Changes Everything

The shift wasn’t some “high vibe” nonsense. It was one decision:

“Okay. I’m either here, or I’m not. I’m committing.”

Once she committed, things snowballed:

better job
money
house
car
health changes
momentum

Not because the universe is a fairy godmother… but because commitment creates:

clarity
action
consistency
better decisions
more exposure to opportunities

When you stop treating your life like it’s temporary, you start building.

5) Stop Asking “Am I Behind?” Start Asking “What Do I Value?”

This is the part that punched everyone in the throat (in a good way):

Instead of judging yourself against your friends’ milestones, ask:

What do I actually want out of life?
If no one was watching, what would I choose?
What kind of life would feel exciting to me?

Danica’s answer was basically:
“I want to experience everything. I want multiple lives. I want change.”

So if that’s what you value… then a “normal timeline” was never your path anyway.

6) Comparison Doesn’t Mean You Want Their Life… It Means You’re Unclear on Yours

Most people don’t envy marriage or babies or houses.

They envy:

certainty
stability
feeling “approved”
being celebrated

Which brings us to the most underrated point of the episode…

7) Society Only Celebrates 3 Things… So You Have to Throw Your Own Parties

Right now, society gives confetti for:

marriage
babies
buying a house

And for everything else? Silence.

Moved overseas alone?
Went back to school?
Lost 35 pounds?
Restarted your life?
Built a career from scratch?

You get… a “nice” in the group chat.

So here’s your new rule: If you want to be celebrated for a different life, you have to build a culture that celebrates it.

Throw the party. Post the win. Mark the moment.
Stop waiting for society to validate your path… it’s busy validating the most common one.

8) Catch the Thought. Kill the Thought.

The timeline anxiety doesn’t disappear forever. You just get better at clocking it.

When the thought shows up like:

“You’re 30 and you don’t have kids yet…”
“Every year you lose another year…”
“What if this never happens…?”

Try this:

Catch it (“Oh, Timeline Brain is talking.”)
Label it (“This is pressure, not truth.”)
Redirect it (“What do I actually want right now?”)

You don’t need to stop having the thought. You just need to stop letting it drive the car.

9) One Quote Worth Tattooing on Your Forehead

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

If you handle your life with chaos, avoidance, and excuses… it will leak into everything.
If you handle your life with intention, responsibility, and follow-through… same.

Your future isn’t built by timelines.
It’s built by your patterns.

The Bottom Line

F*ck the timeline.

You’re not behind. You’re not late. You’re not failing.
You’re just building a life that doesn’t fit in a standard template and the world is awkward about it.

Good. Let it be awkward.
That’s how you know it’s yours.