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Welcome to the Praxis Speech Sister Podcast—the go-to space for aspiring speech-language pathologists who are ready to pass the SLP Praxis® with confidence and step boldly into their careers. Hosted by Melanie Y. Evans, MS CCC-SLP, a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist, Praxis® Strategy Coach, and Abundance Mindset Coach, this podcast is your weekly source of strategic test prep, mindset breakthroughs, and career alignment tips.
If you've ever battled self-doubt, procrastination, test anxiety, or imposter syndrome on your journey to becoming an SLP—you’re not alone. In this space, we redefine success, overcome limiting beliefs, and build study strategies that actually work—so you can stop feeling stuck and start trusting in your purpose.
Each week, we dive into game-changing Praxis® study techniques, mindset shifts, and real-life lessons from Melanie’s own experience—from failing by three points to developing the winning strategies that helped her (and her clients) pass.
💡 What You’ll Get in Each Episode:
✅ Practical, step-by-step strategies for acing the SLP Praxis®
✅ Expert insights on breaking through self-doubt & limiting beliefs
✅ Success stories from past test-takers who overcame hurdles just like you
✅ Career wisdom on how to build a purpose-driven SLP career that aligns with YOU
🎧 Tune in every week for an episode packed with clarity, encouragement, and tangible strategies—because passing the Praxis® is just the beginning of your impact as an SLP.
Join the Praxis Speech Sister Community, and let’s make your dream career a reality! 🚀✨
Hello. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the passing the SLP Praxis podcast. My name is Melanie Evans. I am an ASHA certified speech pathologist and certified mindset and abundance coach, soon to be sole purpose coach at the end of April, here to help you achieve your goals of passing the SLP practice exam and manifest your dream career in speech pathology. If you are new here, I would love to just give you a warm welcome and say thank you.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:As a thank you, I would love to offer you some freebies in the show notes to help you on your Praxis® journey. Please be sure to like, share, and subscribe to this episode. Send it to your speech bestie. Please also leave a review. I would really appreciate if you left a review on the podcast.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Let us know what you think, and you can also send me a DM on Instagram at praxis speech sister to let me know your thoughts on our episodes and how we can best serve you in your practice journey and also as you begin your career as a speech language pathologist. Now I am so excited because I just launched the mini course y'all. This is the mindset and study mini course for passing the SLP practice exam and it is completely free. If you dream of becoming a speech language pathologist, but you will feel overwhelmed by the SLP Praxis® exam, I got you covered. In this free mini course, you'll learn the secrets to success used by over 20 speech pathologists, hopefuls, and what I've used myself to pass the SLP practice exam.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Here's what you'll get. You'll get my proven formula for a 13 point practice increase. You'll get time management strategies for busy schedules, techniques for boosting your intuition and to answer every question with confidence, strategies to crush limiting beliefs and achieve success. This free mini course is your key to unlocking your potential and passing the SLP Praxis® with flying colors, so do not wait. Go ahead and check out the show notes, and you can get this for free.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Or simply, you can go to tinyurl.com that's tinyurl.com/ praxismini course, and you can also access the mini course then. So let's get into today's episode. Today, we are talking about managing your energy for SLP praxis success. Now, for those who watch the mini course, you will see that I talk about Robert Dilts' logical levels of change. And the thing about logical levels of change is when we have a big goal, a goal that we just have not, you know, we might have seen it done before, of course, as a as a speech pathology major or clinical fellow as you are, you've definitely you know it's possible to pass the SLP practice exam.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:But, if you yourself haven't yet passed the SLP Praxis® exam, it might be hard to envision exactly what that is. And so Robert Dilts talks about the logical levels of change, which is what how your mind truly operates to bring your desires into fruition. And so, what these logical levels of change include, your environment, your behaviors, your capabilities, your values and beliefs, your identity, and your purpose. So, for a while, I do want to talk a bit about the environment piece because if you think of it as a pyramid, like right now I'm looking at the pyramid and it's at the very bottom of the pyramid, meaning that is the most crucial thing that matters when it comes to bringing your goal, this goal of not only passing your speech pathology certification exam, but also becoming the speech pathologist that you've dreamt of. It all starts with your environment.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So what do I mean by your environment? I mean the people around you. I mean physically your environment. How is your work space, are you super cluttered, do you struggle to fold your laundry? Like, I'm looking over at my laundry right now.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:That's been wanting to be fooled for a while. And I also talk about your internal environment. Right? So that does include the foods that you eat. Are you eating a whole bunch of junk food that makes it hard for your brain to truly process the information that you're trying to take in.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Today, I want to really talk about your energy and keeping boundaries, energetic boundaries, and I'll give you a really great example. A lot of times we do not understand how people's fears, words, beliefs, energies, emotions can really impact not only how we see ourselves, but also how we move towards our goals. So, maybe, sometimes, you, you know, especially if you are an empath, if you are a highly sensitive person, you can really pick up on other people's doubts and beliefs about themselves that might it's energy is contagious. Okay? So this is why, especially when you are elevating to this next level of your life, your subconscious mind and your conscious mind are really sensitive to the energies around you.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So today, I'm going to talk about some ways that you can practice protecting your energy, but first, I feel called to share you a story. So I am working on several projects. If you are following my pediatric speech sister page and brand, you can already just tell that I am multi passionate, multi faceted, and I've I've learned to love that about myself. This is just how God made me, and thankfully, I've been able to serve and help a lot of people and really walk in my purpose. But with that said, I've also had to learn that I can't just go off vibes, which is why I'm able to teach you all these praxis concepts because I'm also in a season in my life where these lessons apply again.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So when I say that you can rinse and repeat these strategies that I talk about on these pod on this podcast and the mini course and then my coaching programs. I am really here to help set you all up for success for the rest of your life so you could achieve whatever you desire, not just the SLP practice certification exam because that's just a small part of the big picture. Right? Got off on a tangent with that, but I am in a season where I'm really focused. So, thankfully, as I am creating content for you all in the passing the SLP practice coaching programs, for the mini course, for the Instagram page, and now the LinkedIn page.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:I'm reteaching myself everything I learned in that season because, y'all, I graduated in 2020. I took and I passed the SLP practice exam for the second time in 2020. So I am recording this in 2024 and, you know, it's it's been a little bit. So it is actually fun to go back and walk you all and walk myself through the steps that it took for me to get to where I am today. Another tangent.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So I'm really focused on this season in my life, and when I say focused, I mean, right now it is 9 PM, 9:30 PM. I have Sir Duke next to me, my German Shepherd Pyrenees mix. I'm looking out the window and I have my headsets on, and there's nothing else around me except for my 2 vision boards, my calendar, and other things that bring me joy in my environment. With that said, of course, I step out and socialize. Okay?
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:I am a human and also socializing, used to be one way that really charged me up, but I realized it's actually been pulling me away from my purpose in this season in my life. And there's someone who I know, a loved one, really, who I know know who is going through a lot of stress in their lives, a lot of stress and a lot of grief and a lot of pain in their lives. And I go to hang out with them. And, also, this person smokes cigarettes, which if you smoke cigarettes, I'm not here to shame you or judge you. At the same time, it is an addiction and I understand that and I understand it's an addiction because for this person, specifically, their life is stressful and the best way that they know how to manage that stress is by smoking.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:And so I go to this person's house and everything and love on them, you know, give them hugs and, you know, all of that stuff, and I am also an empath. Okay? And I am highly sensitive as well, so I can tell that there's something up. But my way at that time of setting energetic boundaries is just like, alright, you know, like, deuces, goodbye. It's not like I'm staying the night over here going home to my house, whatever.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Well, for the past 2 days, I've been trying to shake that energy off, and God has a great way. And when you are mindful of your own thoughts versus the thoughts of other people, you can easily discern what's your thoughts versus your ego, like, your higher thoughts versus your ego thoughts. Right? And so I'm sitting here, I have a project to do, and I'm just like, you know, for me, it seems like it should be very simple. Even though it's new, it should be very simple.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:And I just felt so tired and so ran down by grief. And I exhaled on my like, sat back in my chair and exhaled. Got nowhere. Right? And then in my mind, I thought, I need a cigarette.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Now, I don't smoke cigarettes. So I knew I knew exactly who that thought came from. So why am I telling you this story? I'm not telling you this story to talk bad about that person. I'm telling you this story to put things into perspective and to give you a metaphor.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So if you're feeling like you are doubting yourself and if those limiting beliefs really come up for you heavy, Understand that it's not all you. Okay? Graduate school is stressful. You might be picking up energy from your classmates who have their own life issues. Hey.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Professors have their own life issues sometimes, and, sadly, a lot of times it's projected onto the students. And so this is why energetic hygiene is so important. So here are 3, really 4 key ways ways that I recommend protecting yourself, because a lot of times we aren't successful at achieving our goals goals because we make the mistake of giving away our energy and power. So protecting your energy will help you stay focused on the task at hand. It will help you raise your vibrations for optimal performance, and, also, it will help you make space for blessings that are required for this current season.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So you can protect your energy, first of all, by praying. I love saying the abundance prayer by Tasha Silver. I will mention this prayer a bit more and not in this episode. I'm not gonna say the episode the prayer in this episode, but at the end of the prayer, the very last sentence is, let everything that needs to go, go and let everything that needs to come, come. And God listens and works quickly.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:He's like, thank you. All I did all I needed was permission. Okay. All I needed was your go ahead. I'll remove it and I'll remove it quickly because I want these things to happen.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So God wants this to happen for you just as much as you want it, if not more, but you have to give him the permission to remove the things from your life that really are not serving you. So that's the first thing. Pray about it. Pray for the removal of things that aren't serving you because a lot of times we're distracted by our busy lives or even distracted by love, like the the love and the memories that we might have with these certain people or environment or things that we're blinded by the fact that they're not serving us anymore. Set aside time with yourself.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:I wrote set aside time with the divine. Yes. End yourself. Spend a spend time in solitude during this time. Time in solitude to study.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Yes. And time in solitude to just be, not with the TV on, but to because that's not that's also an environmental thing that I'll talk about in another episode, but meditation has changed my life. And if you are not a meditation person, I understand. If you are not the type to sit still and focus on your breathing, I understand that that's a skill. At the same time, there are other ways to meditate.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Going to the gym is meditation. Going to do yoga, walking your animal is a good meditation. Now I also like to do other energetic things like cord cutting. That's when we are literally using our imagination and the help of your source to cut off anybody who is not serving you or anything that is not serving you. If there is someone who had who you are feeling just toxic energy, own that it's toxic, trust that it's not personal between either of you, and cut it with a sword.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Not literally. Literally. Do not cut anybody with a sword. If you have a sword, I'm impressed. But if you have a sword, that's really cool.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:But do not cut anybody with a sword, but cord cutting. So, you can just go on Insight Timer or YouTube and look up cord cutting meditations, and I'll, of course, be offering some resources in the near future that will really help you develop in your intuition and your energetic strength. So that way, you can move quickly and get a passing score and move quickly in your career as a speech language pathologist. So I hope that this episode helped you. I was not expecting to film or record an episode tonight, but, I moved with God and he's like, hey.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Let's go ahead and get this out. So if, again, if you like this episode, please share this with a friend. Let them know your energy really matters. And one final thought. I like to think about my goals as having babies.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So I know some of you listening to this have children of your own. Some of you listening to this might plan to have children of your own, and we know or, you know, you might think about a mother, a maternal figure who is really sensitive about who is around their baby or who is around them while they're pregnant. I had a coworker. I laugh because I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, I felt like she was doing the most at the time I was I was younger.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:So I I felt like she was kind of overdoing it, but I also understand, you know, and and especially new mothers get very overprotective about their womb as they should be. It's like it's like the animal instinct. And so, it was right after COVID. I think it was, like, 2021, and she found out she was pregnant. She wasn't she wasn't showing or anything, but she found out she was pregnant.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:And so, she asked me to do the disinfecting for a client that she had because she didn't wanna she didn't wanna risk getting COVID. And I'm like, I I get it. And so it's the same way. Like, treat yourself and treat your goals the same way. If someone is around you that has negative toxic energy, you wouldn't want that same energy around you when you have children to serve or children to feed.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Right? So go ahead and feed these dreams that you have. These dreams deserve to be fed. This dream of passing the SLP practice exam deserves to be nourished. You deserve to be nourished any time and especially at this time in your life.
Melanie (@PraxisSpeechSister), Host:Do not let comfortability keep you polluted and therefore keeping you from your purpose. Alright, y'all. I love y'all so much. I hope that you all enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye.