Jay Shetty Podcast

Put Yourself First and STOP People Pleasing (The Key to Real Connection!)

Do you feel guilty when you put your needs before others by saying no? When was the last time you chose yourself—just because you needed it, not because you earned it? Today, Jay is joined by Meggan Roxanne, writer, entrepreneur, and founder of the globally loved platform The Good Quote. Known for curating some of the internet’s most powerful and inspiring affirmations, Meggan now steps into the spotlight with her own voice, sharing a remarkable personal story of loss, resilience, and transformation. From growing up in a warm and loving home to experiencing a heart-wrenching moment at just four years old, when a grandparent told her they didn’t love her, Meggan opens up about how early trauma shaped her emotional world. Following her mother’s final wish, Meggan became the caretaker for her estranged grandfather, the very man who once wounded her deeply. Through that act of grace, she discovered the true meaning of forgiveness, empathy, and unconditional love. Throughout the episode, Meggan and Jay explore the difference between people-pleasing and creating space for authentic connection, how emotional boundaries protect our well-being, and what it takes to stop repeating the pain we’ve inherited. She candidly discusses the challenges of grief, especially after losing her mother, her best friend, her guide, and how that loss forced her to reimagine her identity and rebuild from the ground up. In this episode, you'll learn: How to Forgive Someone Who Hurt You Deeply How to Set Boundaries Without Feeling Guilty How to Heal After Losing a Parent How to Reconnect with Your Intuition How to Break Generational Cycles of Trauma How to Build Confidence Through Self-Respect Even in the darkest of seasons, you have the power to find peace, reshape your path, and step into a life guided by intention, healing, and light. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:30 The Pain of Feeling Unloved by Family 04:12 Would You Take Care of Someone Who Doesn't Love You? 10:20 How Do You Enforce Your Boundaries? 16:20 Are You a Chronic People Pleaser? 23:06 How The Good Quote Started 34:59 Do You Trust Your Intuition? 43:49 Your Intuition is Your Best Guide 45:20 How Do You Reconnect with Your Intuition? 50:52 How Meditation Helps Calm Down Your Day 53:10 Dealing with Grief, Depression, & Losing a Loved One Episode Resources: https://www.instagram.com/earthtoroxanne https://uk.linkedin.com/in/megganroxanne https://www.instagram.com/thegoodquote https://www.facebook.com/thegoodquote/ https://www.tumblr.com/thegoodquote https://www.amazon.com/How-Stop-Breaking-Your-Heart-ebook/dp/B0C8MC8G52?ref_=ast_author_mpb https://www.instagram.com/jayshetty https://www.facebook.com/jayshetty/ https://x.com/jayshetty https://www.linkedin.com/in/shettyjay/ https://www.youtube.com/@JayShettyPodcast http://jayshetty.me

MRMeggan RoxanneguestJSJay Shettyhost

May 28, 2025·1h 15m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Why people-pleasing breaks you: self-respect, reciprocity, and missing boundaries

   Meggan opens with the realization that her people-pleasing was one-sided: she was over-giving to people who weren’t reciprocating. She connects people-pleasing to weak boundaries and self-abandonment, and frames stopping as an act of sanity and self-respect.

2. 2

   Early heartbreak: being told “I don’t love you” at four years old

   Jay asks about the book’s opening moment: Meggan’s grandfather telling her he didn’t love her. She describes the visceral physical pain of words, how it robbed her innocence, and how it became a core memory shaping her emotional world.

3. 3

   Caring for the person who hurt you: forgiveness as a choice, not a feeling

   Meggan explains how she ended up caring for her grandfather—at her mother’s request while her mother was dying. She frames the experience as an ‘investment’ in her future self and a lesson in forgiveness that required courage, boundaries, and closure.

4. 4

   Boundaries while forgiving: stopping abuse without shutting your heart

   Jay probes the tension between pursuing virtues (like forgiveness) and tolerating mistreatment. Meggan shares how witnessing her mother enforce boundaries taught her that boundaries can strengthen relationships and prevent enabling harmful behavior.

5. 5

   A practical boundary moment: “I’m leaving until you apologize”

   Meggan gives a concrete example: her grandfather throwing a warm Guinness at her and demanding she fix it. She left, refused to return without an apology, and saw immediate behavioral change—proof that boundaries teach others how to treat you.

6. 6

   Chronic people-pleasing vs. kindness: you can’t control others’ happiness

   Meggan distinguishes between wanting people to feel valued and taking responsibility for their happiness. She emphasizes reciprocity, self-prioritization, and the idea that people-pleasing is a rewired habit that changes through daily practices.

7. 7

   Create spaces, not projects: Jay’s framework for healthier connection

   Jay shares his shift away from people-pleasing: you can curate an environment but you can’t ‘fix’ or ‘complete’ a person. He frames the difference between controlling outcomes and controlling energy, and how relationships require mutual participation.

8. 8

   The Good Quote origin story: building community from loneliness and pain

   Meggan recounts starting on Tumblr by turning a Wiz Khalifa lyric into a quote image, waking up to massive early traction. She explains how encouragement content created community, then evolved into a business and later into The Good Quote on Instagram.

9. 9

   Behind-the-scenes success, imposter syndrome, and racism: why she stayed invisible

   As The Good Quote exploded, Meggan struggled with confidence and identity—seeing herself as a distributor, not the talent. After facing racism when showing her face, she stayed behind the scenes for a decade and battled comparison-driven creativity loss.

10. 10

    Trusting intuition: upbringing, elders, and learning to collaborate with your inner voice

    Jay asks how she learned to trust intuition and how others can reconnect with theirs. Meggan attributes her intuition to a childhood of affirmations, creativity, communication, and guidance from elders—plus learning that intuition requires mutual trust.

11. 11

    Making intuition louder: remove distractions, walk in silence, journal, fast, and meditate

    Meggan offers practical methods for reconnecting with inner guidance, starting with reducing constant stimulation and outsourcing decisions. She recommends silent walks, writing every thought down, asking ‘why,’ and using fasting/meditation/breathwork to quiet fear and surface clarity.

12. 12

    Grief, depression, and rebuilding after loss: losing her mother, community, and self

    Meggan shares an intense period of compounded losses (COVID deaths, friends, both parents) and the trauma of caring for her mother through terminal cancer during lockdowns abroad. She describes identity collapse after her mother’s death, suicidal ideation, therapy, and how writing became a path back to purpose.