Lives of Courage with Jessica Stong

In part two of this goal setting series, I discuss why it’s so important to co-create goals with an open hand. I want to introduce you to my five step roadmap for goals that the results: Download Prioritize Commit Believe Practice Maybe you’re ready to set some powerful and exciting goals for 2022. I want to help you. If you join the Courageous Life Society by December 31st, you’ll get more of thi...

One of the best ways we can set goals that get results is to get clear about where we’ve been - because our past often impacts our future if we allow it. So in this episode, part one of goal setting, I want to help you reflect on 2021. Life can be crazy. There’s always work coming in and piling up, chores and errands to be run, people and relationships to take care of, and deadlines to be met. And...

Here’s the truth; so many of us are feeling overwhelmed right now. And we "should" ourselves this time of year. I hear it all the time - "I should be doing more; I should be doing less; I shouldn't be so frazzled; I should be a more engaged parent; I should be happier than I feel right now; I should have made more money; I should be further along in my career." These shoulds rob us of our peace. I...

We haven’t been taught how to deal with stress! And we’re more fried than ever. Anxious about our health, money, work. You name it. In the final conversation on the five barriers to joy, I discuss what happens when you're overloaded with worry. The kind of worry that pretends to be helpful and necessary.  What you can do: Back up and breathe. Lengthen your exhalation. Research shows that when...

Oh, social media. It's so easy to get stuck in the compare and despair trap. While scrolling, we often find ourselves thinking everyone’s life is easy and great. We look at filtered and planned images and think our lives don't measure up. We've heard so many about how our social media habits might be eroding our self esteem. In 2017, the Journal of Affective Disorders published study that the more...

We all feel stuck sometimes. And as a result, some of us try to go into overdrive. We over-perform, over-work, over-think.  But when we start spinning our wheels, we need to get clear about our goals and what matters. Here's where I love to discuss extrinsic goals - fame and wealth vs. intrinsic goals - personal growth, relationships and community. Researchers asked graduating college student...

I am passionate about teaching people about their brains. So in this episode I want to explain how your primitive brain reacts to joy. If we don't understand that our primitive brain is designed to keep us safe, out of harms way, AND to seek pleasure. We think there is something wrong with us. We think we are broken.  What to do: Look for bright spots. Not some toxic positivity here, but trai...

Welcome to this week's series: Top Five Barriers to Joy!! I'm so excited to discuss ways to overcome the top five barriers to feeling good. Listen, it’s a universal truth - we all are on some form of a pursuit of happiness. We want to feel less stress and more joy. There is so much information out there on the topic from TED talks to books to podcasts. So why do we still struggle? Why is wellbeing...

Oh, friends. I'm coming to you with something very near and dear to my heart. I want to discuss gratitude. Listen, we all know gratitude matters. Gratitude will change you and shape you. Gratitude will connect you and us and your heart to divine love. Gratitude heals us. Gratitude has so many benefits physically, psychologically and socially. But we often get mixed messages about gratitude. True g...

Do you ever feel exhausted after making decision after decision? Or maybe you're mentally exhausted at the end of the day? At the end of a long week? We have SO many choices day in and day out: what to do, what to eat, what to wear, how to parent, what you should listen to, what book to read.  Often, at the end of the day, we experience something called decision fatigue. In this week's episod...

Oh, friend. I hear about it so often, clients just want to find greater focus. They feel like they have a ton of open tabs all pulled up in their brain at once. They report they try to get work done but end up trying to do everything all at once so get nothing really done at all. (And let's be clear, I certainly fall in this camp at times.) But then I started the Pomodoro Party! (I think I need to...

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in this life - and that I keep needing to relearn - is that if you don’t feel your emotions, they will begin to spill out all over the place.  Imagine picking up your emotions and stuffing them into a backpack. A cute, brightly colored, designer backpack, but a backpack nonetheless. You place your emotions in there because you don’t want to feel the pa...

Do you have goals and dreams left unfinished? Maybe you had something(s) on your 2021 vision board that you have yet to accomplish? Listen, I want to help you finish the last 90 days of 2021 on your terms. In your way. I want you to accomplish all that you desire. Maybe you need to renew your focus. Maybe you want to formulate a plan. Or maybe you are working to reframe your aspirations. Wherever...

I'm thrilled to introduce Kerri Thompson today! Kerri is hosting The Thriving Mom Summit and I can't wait for you to hear more about her and her story of courage, grace and strength.  And as for The Thriving Mom Summit, I’ll be joining Kerri and an amazing group of 30+ expert speakers for this FREE virtual summit from October  all about helping moms learn tools and strategies for more pe...

I'm so excited to introduce you all to Jess with JessDunegan Design !! Today we're discussing why branding matters and why it's never too early (or late) to tell your story and create connection. I had the privilege of working with Jess on my recent rebranding (and will be sharing more about the process in my newsletter). Jess is a brand specialist, designer, illustrator, artist, and yoga teacher....

Oh, friends. We've all been there. We get stuck. We see things from one view, one mental picture and it feels overwhelming and limiting but we don't see any other way. Usually, someone unhelpfully tells us we need a new perspective. (If only it was that easy, right?) In this episode, I speak to why perspective matters and how we can change our view if we want. (Not by force or coercion, but by a g...

I'm back, baby!! You should know that I truly have missed you! I have to be honest, it's felt like a long road to get back to this place. From doubt to fear to entitlement to anger, I've experienced all the feelings. But I walked away with a feeling of profound gratitude. Gratitude for your support and your willingness to wait for me to feel it all. Gratitude that I walked away after a bruised kid...

Oh, friends. I’m on a highly encouraged break. (As one doc said, you get one brain. Treat it well.) So today is just a quick life and health update along with three questions: 1. How are you prioritizing what matters? 2. Are you waiting until something major happens that requires you to change? 3. Are you willing to say no to something to say yes to what truly matters? So I’m saying yes to healing...

Our attachment patterns, translated into and through our neural networks, affect all areas of our lives.  Our relationships with ourselves are impacted by our attachments - what we think of ourselves and our beliefs about who we are and what we can do. These attachments also impact our relationships with other people.  Today, let's dig deep into how our attachment styles are one of the p...

Stephen Covey discussed the term abundance mentality or abundance mindset in his 1989 best-seller, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He said it is simply ”a concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and successes to share with others.” Our words create more abundance or scarcity. Our words form the thoughts we have around abundance and scarcity. The thoughts we tell...

This week we’re discussing why we don’t treat ourselves, why so many women take care of others first, and why taking care of yourself and valuing yourself matters. The phrase "Treat Yo' Self" became popular when the show, Parks and Rec referenced it. On the show, the characters, Donna and Tom have a day where they buy luxurious items. As Tom explains, “Treat. Yo. Self. Once a year, Donna and I spe...

In this week’s live, I want to invite you to examine and change your relationship with wealth and hopefully expand your thinking around what it means to be financially free. We all have stories about our finances and wealth. No matter how much you earn now or how stuck in debt you are or how you’re doing as compared to others, your brain is always making up thoughts about money and abundance. We r...

Do you ever feel guilty for NOT doing anything? You feel like you always have to be moving and doing, instead of just “being.” We live in a society where we feel like how much we get done and how busy our lives are is equivalent to our level of success - and that simply isn’t true. Let’s fix the manuals we have for our lives and start changing our minds about what productivity really is… . . . . ....

We live in a disconnected world. We are so busy and overwhelmed. So many of us lose sight of what matters. So much of our life is spent avoiding and hiding. We try to outrun our inner world, by being busy, by performing acts, doing things for God, instead of being. Instead of inviting in - we focus outward. We perform. And how do you deal with this pain? How do you deal with your loss and sadness?...

I'm fired up and want to discuss something near and dear to my heart! This week we are diving into hope: What hope is. Why hope is good for us. Why I think hope gets a bad rap in the coaching world: Hint, it's the difference between hoping and wishing and not having a psychological orientation. How to become more hopeful. And a special bonus for coaches or those considering becoming a coach - how...