112: From Stress to Authentic Success with Danielle Sax and guest Kelli Meeks!112: From Stress to Authentic Success with Danielle Sax and guest Kelli Meeks!
UK Health Radio Podcast
Former attorney Kelly Meeks talks with Danielle Sax about losing her marriage, children leaving home and closing her law practice, and how she slowly rebuilt her life through grief, values and mindset work. The conversation focuses on identity, self-leadership and using simple tools like nature walks, meditation and the serenity prayer to move from stress towards more authentic success.
42:11•13 Jun 2026
From Losing Everything to Finding Yourself: Kelly Meeks on Stress, Grief and Real Success
Episode Overview
- Allowing space for grief, exhaustion and raw emotion is a valid and necessary first step after major life shocks.
- Simple practices like walking in nature, grounding in the body and screaming in private can help release stored pain.
- Challenging automatic thoughts with the question "Is this really true, or is it a lie?" can begin to shift long-held beliefs.
- Recognising that thoughts create emotions, which then drive actions, offers a practical way to change future outcomes.
- Living by clear core values and using the serenity prayer as a daily guide can support calmer, more aligned decisions.
“"Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? On UK Health Radio’s "From Stress to Authentic Success", Danielle Sax sits down with leadership coach and former attorney Kelly Meeks for a candid conversation about losing everything that once defined you – and what comes next. Kelly shares how, in a short span of time, she shut her law practice, became an empty nester and saw her 24–year marriage end, all while the pandemic hit.
She describes being "shell-shocked", sleeping 12–14 hours a day and feeling as if "the rug [was] completely yanked out from under" her. Instead of pretending to be strong, she let herself grieve, took "forest baths", walked daily in nature, screamed when nobody was watching and leaned on meditation to soothe her nervous system. From there, the talk turns to identity.
Kelly explains how much of her worth had been tied to being "a lawyer, a wife, a mother" and how she began questioning that script. Her simple challenge to herself – "Is that thought really true, or is it a lie?" – became the start of a new inner dialogue. She shares her T-model: thoughts drive emotions, emotions drive actions; change the thought, and the future starts to look different.
Values sit at the heart of her self-leadership: love, compassion and loyalty, applied to herself as much as to others. She gently pushes back on the idea of always being "the strong one", naming her need for support and space to feel. The conversation closes with the serenity prayer as Kelly’s daily anchor: accepting what she cannot change, finding courage to change what she can, and seeking "the wisdom to know the difference".
If you’ve ever felt your identity crumble, this honest, warm exchange might help you ask: which thoughts are actually yours, and which are long overdue for an update?
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