Life is heavy. Most of the time, we’re all just pretending it isn’t. We walk around with these invisible scripts—be happy, stay productive, don't let them see you sweat—while our actual internal lives feel like a chaotic basement flood. Then Glennon Doyle started a podcast. It’s called We Can Do Hard Things, and honestly, it changed the temperature of the cultural conversation. It didn't just give people a place to vent; it gave them a vocabulary for the "messy middle" of being a human being.
You’ve probably heard the phrase before. It’s the title of Glennon’s mega-bestseller Untamed. But the podcast is different. It’s more raw. It’s Glennon, her wife Abby Wambach, and her sister Amanda Doyle (famously known as "Sister") sitting down to basically admit they don't have it all figured out. And that’s the draw. People are tired of polished "lifestyle gurus" telling them to just manifest a better life. They want the truth about why marriage is difficult, why parenting is exhausting, and why just existing in a body feels like a full-time job some days.
The Magic of the Sisterhood Dynamic
The show works because of the friction between the hosts. You have Glennon, who is the visionary, the feeler, the one who looks at a sunset and sees a spiritual revolution. Then you have Abby, the Olympic gold medalist, who brings this grounded, athletic discipline and a deep vulnerability about her own recovery and identity. And then there’s Sister. Amanda Doyle is the secret weapon. She’s a former lawyer, deeply pragmatic, and often acts as the "straight man" to Glennon’s more abstract ideas.
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It’s a specific chemistry.
If it were just Glennon, it might feel too ethereal. If it were just Amanda, it might feel too clinical. Together, they create this three-dimensional view of a problem. They’ll take a listener’s voicemail about something like "how do I set a boundary with my mother-in-law?" and they won't just give a script. They’ll dissect the guilt, the societal expectations of women as "peacekeepers," and the physical toll of staying silent.
We Can Do Hard Things and the Deconstruction of Perfection
One of the most impactful things about the We Can Do Hard Things podcast is how it tackles mental health without the clinical coldness you find in textbooks. Glennon has been very open about her diagnosis of anorexia as a child and her more recent diagnosis of OCD and an eating disorder as an adult.
This isn't just "awareness." It’s a real-time deconstruction.
When they talk about these things, they aren't talking from a place of "I’m cured." They’re talking from the trenches. This matters because it validates the listener's struggle. When someone as successful as Glennon Doyle admits she’s struggling with her relationship with food or her need for control, it gives everyone else permission to stop performing. They’ve had guests like Dr. Becky Kennedy and Brené Brown on, but the episodes that often resonate the most are the "Q&A" ones where it’s just the three of them responding to the "Pod Squad"—their dedicated listener base.
The show essentially argues that "easy" is a myth.
We spend so much energy trying to make our lives look easy, but the effort of the facade is actually harder than the "hard thing" itself. Whether it’s coming out later in life, dealing with chronic illness, or just trying to survive a Tuesday, the podcast insists that the struggle is the point. Not a hurdle to jump over to get to the "real" life, but the actual fabric of life itself.
Why the "Pod Squad" is a Global Phenomenon
Community is a buzzy word. Every brand wants one. But the We Can Do Hard Things community—the Pod Squad—is something different. It’s a group of people who have collectively decided to stop lying to each other.
The feedback loop is intense.
Listeners send in stories that are often heartbreaking, hilarious, or incredibly niche. And the hosts treat them with a level of respect that you don't always see in media. They don't patronize. They don't offer "five easy steps." They offer solidarity. This has turned a simple audio program into a movement. You see the merch everywhere, but it’s the philosophy that sticks. The idea that we are all "doing the best we can with the tools we have," and if our tools are broken, we can find new ones together.
Navigating Modern Anxiety and Boundaries
A huge recurring theme on the show is the concept of boundaries. Not the "I’m blocking you on Instagram" kind of boundary, but the internal kind. The kind where you decide where you end and someone else begins.
Amanda often leads these discussions.
She brings a logical framework to the emotional labor that many women specifically feel burdened by. They talk about the "mental load"—that invisible list of things (milk, doctor appointments, teacher gifts, emotional check-ins) that usually falls on one person in a household. By naming it, they’ve helped thousands of people restructure their domestic lives. It’s practical feminism in action, delivered through a pair of headphones.
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They also dive deep into:
- The "Quiet Quitting" of relationships.
- How to handle "The Gap" between who we are and who we think we should be.
- The complexities of blended families (which Abby and Glennon navigate in real-time).
- Sobriety and the "Recovery" mindset as a lifestyle, not just a phase.
The Impact of High-Profile Guests
While the core trio is the heart, the guests they bring on are heavy hitters. But they don't do standard PR junket interviews. If Oprah comes on, they aren't just talking about her latest book; they’re talking about the specific hard things Oprah has faced.
They’ve hosted:
- Tracee Ellis Ross talking about the joy of being single and child-free by choice.
- Cheryl Strayed on the messy realities of grief and lost mothers.
- Prentis Hemphill on embodiment and how we store trauma in our tissues.
- Elizabeth Gilbert on the "permission" to change your mind.
These aren't just chats. They’re deep dives into the human condition. The hosts often start by asking "What is a hard thing you are doing right now?" It bypasses the small talk and goes straight to the marrow. It’s a refreshing change from the usual celebrity circuit where everyone is just trying to sell you a skincare line or a movie.
Practical Steps for Doing Hard Things
Listening to the show is one thing. Actually living the philosophy is another. If you’re looking to apply the We Can Do Hard Things mindset to your own life, it starts with a few radical shifts in perspective.
Audit your "Shoulds"
Spend a day noticing how many times you say "I should." Usually, that word is a signal that you’re living by someone else’s script. Whether it’s a career path or a social obligation, identify the "shoulds" that are draining you.
The "Next Right Thing" Rule
When life gets overwhelming, Glennon often cites the idea of just doing the "next right thing." Don't look at the next ten years. Don't look at the next month. What is the one tiny, correct move you can make in the next five minutes? Maybe it’s drinking a glass of water. Maybe it’s sending that email you’ve been dreading.
Identify Your "Truth Tellers"
Find the people in your life who allow you to be unpolished. You need at least one person you don't have to perform for. If you don't have that person yet, the podcast acts as a temporary bridge until you find your local "Pod Squad."
Embrace the "Messy Middle"
Most people quit when things get hard because they think the difficulty is a sign they’re doing it wrong. In this framework, the difficulty is the sign you’re doing it right. Transformation is uncomfortable. If you aren't uncomfortable, you probably aren't growing.
Practice Radical Honesty
Start small. The next time someone asks "How are you?" and you’re actually having a terrible day, try saying, "Honestly, I’m struggling a bit today." You’ll be surprised at how often that opens the door for someone else to exhale and tell their truth too.
We Can Do Hard Things isn't just a catchy slogan for a coffee mug. It’s a survival strategy. It’s the recognition that life is brutal and beautiful at the exact same time—what Glennon calls "brutiful." By leaning into the hard stuff instead of running from it, we actually find the connection and the peace we were looking for all along. It’s not about becoming a person who doesn't have problems; it’s about becoming a person who knows they can handle them. And that is a very different, much more sustainable kind of hope.