Previous Guest
Embedded Files
Want to show your appreciation for this site or the show?
Peter Teuscher (he/him)
Peter Teuscher (he/him)
Peter joined Momma on April 21, 2025 for a live Q&A via Twitch and YouTube to talk about Rethinking Happiness
About Peter
Peter Teuscher is a seasoned life coach whose book, "Rethinking Happiness," delves into the complexities of happiness and offers a refreshing perspective on how individuals can achieve it on their own terms. His approach aligns with the goal to go beyond superficial checklists and embrace deeper, more meaningful changes that foster genuine mental health and wellbeing. With a diverse background including basketball coaching, entrepreneurial endeavours and top management roles in the corporate world, Peter draws on this experience in his coaching practice. Although he continues to coach leaders and top executives, Peter is passionate about helping people of all walks of life to create change in their lives and achieve their highest potential.
Socials / Links for Guest Connection
Website - https://www.peterteuscher.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/coachpeterteuscher
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/peter-teuscher-coaching-consulting
Twitter / X - https://x.com/Peterthecoach13
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rethinkinghappiness/
References / Things Mentioned During the Stream
True Crime Fascination: JonBenét Ramsey
Book Recommendation: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Favorite Poem: If - Rudyard Kipling
Episode Summary
If you've ever wondered why happiness feels out of reach even when life looks “fine” on paper, this episode is for you.
In this episode of Even Tacos Fall Apart, MommaFoxFire sits down with Peter Teuscher, a life coach and author of Rethinking Happiness, to talk about what happiness really means and how most of us are looking for it in all the wrong places.
Peter shares how his personal experience with childhood depression and years of unrecognized struggle eventually pushed him into therapy and personal development. That journey led him to coaching and ultimately writing a book that challenges the surface-level definitions of happiness we often grow up with.
He explains that happiness isn’t a finish line or a goalpost, it’s a kind of feedback system. When your life lines up with your values, you’re more likely to feel grounded and content. But when there’s a mismatch, happiness feels out of reach. And that’s a huge problem, because so many people are chasing society’s version of happiness (the “checklist” life with the job, the partner, the money) instead of figuring out what actually matters to them.
Throughout the conversation, Peter emphasizes that authentic happiness comes from small, consistent moments of connection, fulfillment and purpose... so going beyond the big wins. He talks about learning to appreciate the ordinary, like being in nature or spending time with loved ones, and how those moments can be more meaningful than hitting major milestones.
Peter also gets into the importance of defining your own core values. He shares a simple, powerful exercise using Post-its (or just a piece of paper) to help identify the values that matter most and warns that living out of alignment with those values is a fast track to dissatisfaction.
They also cover a common trap: performative happiness. Peter reminds listeners that chasing joy isn’t about pretending everything is great or avoiding hard things. It's about being real with yourself, doing the inner work and creating habits that support your well-being... even when life is messy.
He speaks candidly about how trauma, chronic illness and mental health challenges can complicate the pursuit of happiness, and stresses that telling someone to “just be happy” is both unhelpful and dismissive. Real change happens through small, intentional shifts... not toxic positivity or fake smiles.
Toward the end, they explore social media’s impact on mental health, the pressure to constantly feel good, and the way happiness can sometimes be mistaken for external validation. Peter’s take? Stop comparing. Start tuning in. Let happiness be the outcome of living in alignment, not the prize for winning a game you never agreed to play.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, Why don’t I feel happy even though I “should”? - this conversation is for you. It’s honest, hopeful and filled with real tools to help you rethink what happiness looks like in your own life.
If—
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse