Confident You - Raw Conversations

Have you ever looked at your life and thought, "I have so much to be grateful for, so why do I still feel like something is missing?" You might have a successful career, a thriving business, a family you love, and a calendar full of responsibilities. From the outside, everything looks great. But somewhere along the way, you've stopped making time for yourself and the things that bri...

When was the last time you stopped to recognize something you're genuinely proud of? We spend so much time thinking about what we haven't accomplished, the mistakes we've made, and the things we still need to improve. But how often do we acknowledge the courage, resilience, and strengths we've already demonstrated? In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins shares a...

Have you ever finally opened up to someone about how much you're struggling, only to hear, "You're strong. You've got this. Everything will be fine"? I know those words usually come from a place of love. I've said them myself. But sometimes, when we're reaching out to someone, we don't need encouragement or another reminder of how capable we are. We need per...

What if something you did today, without even thinking about it, made a difference in someone's life? I recently came across a story about a Chicago postal worker named Lavonte Harvey that touched my heart. Lavonte loved to sing while delivering the mail. He wasn't trying to get attention or become famous. Singing was simply something he enjoyed doing as he walked his route. What he didn...

Have you ever worked incredibly hard for something, only to feel afraid when you realize you might actually get it? I've been asking myself that question lately. Growing up in El Salvador, I learned early that I had to prove myself. Because my grandmother owned a school, people often assumed I had advantages or that my accomplishments came easily. But I started working at 14, and those early...

Have you ever gotten so angry over something small that even you couldn't explain why it bothered you so much? Maybe it's something your partner says, a habit your mother has, or a comment from a friend that gets under your skin. You know your reaction feels bigger than the situation, but that doesn't make the frustration disappear. And then comes the guilt. Why did I get so upset?...

What if you could practice being confident before you ever stepped into a challenging situation? Elite athletes have used visualization and mental rehearsal for decades to prepare for competition. But you don't have to be an Olympian to benefit from this powerful mental toughness skill. In this episode of Brave Moves , Julie DeLucca-Collins explores how visualization can help you prepare for...

Have you ever opened Instagram to check one message and suddenly realized you've been scrolling for 20 minutes? Here's a question worth asking: What is your social media feed training you to become? In this episode of Brave Moves , Julie DeLucca-Collins explores how the content we consume every day can influence our confidence, habits, and the way we see ourselves. From comparing our liv...

If someone handed you a box containing everything you've ever lost, what would you look for first? Would it be something you owned, a missed opportunity, a friendship, or one more conversation with someone you love? In this episode of Brave Moves , Julie DeLucca-Collins explores three thought-provoking questions about loss, connection, and what matters most in life. After discovering old fami...

In the last episode of Brave Moves , we talked about Highly Sensitive People. But that got me wondering: What about everybody else? If sensory processing sensitivity exists on a spectrum, what does everyday life look like for someone who falls toward the lower end? And no, being less sensitive doesn't mean you're insensitive, uncaring, or lacking empathy. In this episode, we're look...

Have you ever been told you're “too sensitive”? Maybe you notice the mood in a room before anyone says a word. Loud environments wear you out. You pick up on small changes in people's behavior, or you need some quiet after a busy day even when you genuinely enjoyed yourself. You may simply process your environment more deeply than other people do. In this episode of Brave Moves , I'...

Have you ever been completely finished with something, yet somehow it still has a hold on you? A relationship ended years ago. The argument is over. The opportunity passed. You made the decision and moved on. Then something brings it all rushing back, and suddenly you're replaying the same story again. Sometimes what we're struggling to release isn't the memory itself. It's the...

Can You Be Alone With Your Own Thoughts? When was the last time you had absolutely nothing to do? No phone. No podcast. No music. No scrolling. Just you and your thoughts. In a fascinating University of Virginia-led study, participants were asked to spend a short period of time alone with their thoughts. In one experiment, 67% of the men and 25% of the women chose to give themselves at least one m...

Sometimes you don’t need advice. You don’t need someone to solve the problem or tell you what you should do next. You just need a little reassurance. In this episode of Brave Moves, I’m talking about something I’ve noticed in my own relationships and even with past coaching clients. Sometimes people reach out without really saying what they need. They may want reassurance, a sounding board, advice...

What happens when you go looking for one photo and suddenly find yourself scrolling through years of your life? In this episode of Brave Moves, I’m talking about what happened when a simple trip through my camera roll brought me back to old trips, friendships, ordinary moments I had almost forgotten, and an unexpectedly precious video of my late brother. I also share something I’ve been thinking a...

Name the emotion: Say out loud that you feel hurt, disappointed, or lonely. Set a time limit: Allow a clear window to vent or cry, then pivot. Drop the judgment: Stop berating yourself for feeling sorry for your situation. Locate the physical sensation: Notice where tightness or heavy sadness sits in your body. Distinguish the pain: Separate genuine grief or fatigue from a recurring victim narrati...

Certainty feels good. It feels safe. It also has a sneaky way of keeping us stuck. In this episode of Brave Moves, I’m talking about the decisions we keep postponing because we want to know exactly how things are going to turn out. The truth is, most meaningful choices do not come with a guarantee. Sometimes we already have enough information. What we are really waiting for is reassurance that we...

We’ve all heard of SMART goals. I’ve used them. I’ve taught them. And I’m not here to tell you they don’t work. But what happens when a perfectly specific, measurable goal starts making you feel like you’re failing? As we get closer to the end of the year, it’s easy to look back at the goals we set months ago and start focusing on everything we haven’t accomplished. We see the gap instead of the p...

How to Help Someone Calm Down: Co-Regulation with Friends and Family Have you ever sat with someone who was crying and felt pressure to find the right words? A scene in Ted Lasso reminded me that sometimes the most helpful thing we can offer is our steady presence. In this episode of Brave Moves , I talk about co-regulation: how a calm, responsive person can help someone feel supported while they’...

How many rules are you still following that you never actually chose? Maybe you learned that family comes first no matter how they treat you. Maybe ending a decades-long friendship feels wrong simply because of your history together. Perhaps you've been taught that being exhausted means you're working hard enough, saying no makes you selfish, or keeping the peace is more important than s...

We hear people talk about “rewiring your brain” all the time, but what does that actually mean? And can we really change thought patterns and behaviors that have been with us for years? In this episode of Brave Moves , I’m digging into neuroplasticity and what it tells us about our ability to change. Our brains continue to adapt based on our experiences and the things we repeatedly do. That matter...

What if the thing holding you back isn’t a lack of talent? Maybe you’re not bad at sales. Maybe you haven’t had enough conversations yet. Maybe you’re not terrible on camera. Maybe you’re simply inexperienced. Maybe confidence isn’t something you need to find before you begin. Maybe it’s something you build by collecting evidence that you can do hard and unfamiliar things. In this episode of Brave...

Have you ever said your age out loud and thought, “Wait…how did THAT happen?” Getting older is inevitable, but our relationship with aging can get complicated. There are the physical changes, the aches and pains, the doctor appointments, watching our parents age, and that growing awareness that time isn’t unlimited. Then there’s the pressure, especially for women, to somehow keep getting older wit...

What happens when the success you spent years building is no longer the success you want? For much of our lives, success is defined by external milestones. We pursue the promotion, build something secure, and become the person others trust to handle responsibility. Eventually, those measurements may stop telling the whole story. In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie explores what it means to redef...

Have you ever returned to a place from your past and suddenly recognized an earlier version of yourself? After spending several days in New York City for Podcast Movement, Julie found herself reflecting on the city where she grew up and the woman she was becoming there. While sitting in a café waiting for a cold brew and a New York bagel, she noticed a young woman dressed for work. Something about...