If there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's the importance of the people you surround yourself with,

and I feel so incredibly grateful for the circle of women who inspire me.

The ones who motivate me, they lift me up and encourage me to look at life through a different lens.

And as you probably know by now, Maria Shriver is one of the friends I hold so dear to my heart.

She is my go-to any time of the day or night whenever I'm at a crossroads or in a funk.

One call to her and suddenly my mental load feels lighter.

She's just that kind of person, the kind of friend you want in your corner.

Maria's insight is timeless, advice you can go back to over and over again.

So today, I'm revisiting an earlier conversation with Maria. Once you've been

touched by her light, you will never look at life quite the same way.

I hope you love this conversation as much as I do.

I'm Hoda Kottby, welcome to my podcast, Making Space. Thanks. First of all, for everyone who's listening, and if you're not driving, I'd get a pen and paper ready, because I feel like you do this thing where you drop all these little wisdom bombs and I was like that was that thing just today

You said something about I was explained to you how sometimes people poke me in a way that is painful,

whether it's somebody who I knew a long time ago

or somebody who I work with or whatever.

And you said something that I've been thinking about what did you say?

I've been thinking. I said when this is actually a teacher who taught me he said to me think of that person as your teacher.

They are actually bringing up something in you that needs to be resolved.

They are teaching you how to handle whatever comes up in your interaction with that person.

And I found it to be unbelievably helpful because there was a certain person that was behaving with a lot of anxiety and it was bringing up anxiety in me and he

was saying instead of being irritated by that person,

look at them as your teacher

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