Lives of Courage with Jessica Stong

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: What is Courageous Purpose? What does it mean / what does it look like? I want to know more about Camp Courage! . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a screenshot and pos...

“How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life.” – Annie Dillard I love teaching the spiritual formation tool called the Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is a commitment to live the life you’ve been called to live. It is created with mindful intention and thought, in partnership with the Divine, to support your thoughts, emotions and actions. Once written, it serves as a tool that can...

I’m so excited to be chatting with you about coaching, how it works and how my clients get the results they want. We all need a little extra support at times -- and one of the best options is to work with a professional. No matter what point in life we find ourselves, we will experience challenges or pain or overwhelm at times. I think so many of us were raised to believe that if we can just figur...

We all experience moments of pain. Some of us live with chronic conditions in which pain visits us frequently. Others experience intermittent pain, and it often blindsides them. Do you know that people feel emotional pain in the same areas of the brain that get activated as when they feel physical pain? It’s in the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex. In one study, these areas were a...

Mental health professionals, spiritual writers from every tradition, and teachers all agree that the speed of our lives is becoming an ever-increasing problem. We are moving too fast, doing too much, and it is dramatically affecting our health, careers, relationships, sense of self, and our faith.  We are exhausted. We are disconnected. In our effort to become over productive, we become count...

Are you someone who can delay gratification? What stories do you tell yourself about patience and waiting? Our society is one of immediate gratification. We want answers now. We want our problems solved now. Has the waiting for answers and getting back to “normal” changed what we think? We fear the waiting. We want our prayers answered now. So many of us treat God, the Universe, our spiritual sour...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: I hear so much about mindfulness. How could I even take time to meditate as a busy mom and employee? I feel guilty if I do and guilty if I don't... Can you remind me of the cognitive distortions? What do you get with the Courageous Life Society?...

Boundaries define who we are and who we aren’t. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: physical boundaries establish who may touch us and under what circumstances; mental boundaries allow us our own thoughts and opinions; emotional boundaries requires us to own our emotions and not take on the emotions of others. You can communicate your boundaries or you don’t have to do so. But please note th...

Oftentimes we live life in a reactive manner, but I believe our power comes from proactive living.  So, often we say yes to things that we don't really want to do or, even if we want to do it, we don't have time for it. If we only have so much time in a day, a week, a month, we have to be clear about what matters to us. Most of us are well-rehearsed in overreaction and inaction. When your act...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The question we talked about: Can you talk about worry? I feel like I worry all the time!! . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a screenshot and post it to your Instagram Stories with your biggest t...

Today, I want to discuss priorities which stem from your core values. When you clarify your life priorities, you know exactly how you want to spend your time, energy, and money. With clear priorities, you won’t add to the clutter. Instead, you make choices. When we don’t know our priorities, we allow the pressures of life to determine our actions. I want to help you to get crystal clear on your pr...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: What is a time inventory? I feel like I'm letting so many people down. All the time. What would you say to someone who is having a hard time and doesn't know where to go or what to do? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening...

Just like mental clutter, physical clutter steals your focus, and makes you feel overwhelmed, distracted, and agitated. Your brain is so busy trying to process all of the visual stimuli that you can’t fully enjoy the moment. Have you ever spent a bunch of time cleaning something up only to have it get messy again a few weeks later? That’s because you didn’t get to the thought work that’s causing t...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: I’m still suffering after Covid. I see reports in the news and it breaks my heart. Any advice? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a screenshot and post it to your Inst...

What do you want permission to do?  What is stopping you?  Fear.  So many of us look to others to give us permission. And we don't get it. So we stop. The "shoulds" stop us before we start.  What would you allow yourself to do if fear didn't get in your way? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a screen...

We each have a personal history story that influences everything from our wellbeing to our beliefs about who we are to our perception of the world, whether we are conscious of it or not. Stories are an important part of who we are, and yet when we are overly attached to old narratives, it becomes difficult to step beyond our own limitations. The stories we tell about ourselves and our experiences...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: Spouse isn’t willing to listen to me. I want to help him. I often feel like I’m not a good enough mom or employee or wife. I feel like I mess something up everyday. I feel like I’m the only one who feels this way. I feel like I don’t get enough...

Most of you will likely have experienced this trap. You start to compare yourself to others - their careers, how well-behaved their kids are, the state of their relationship, how much money they make, you know, all the things. And then the despair sets in. The thoughts that you aren’t good enough, you don’t have what it takes. That you will never be like the other to which you are comparing yourse...

What role does fear play in your everyday life? How can you use everyday courage to move toward your goals? Since childhood, we’ve been told that the true definition of courage is one of self-sacrifice and colossal acts of heroism. But I’d like to offer an alternative definition of courage, exemplified in the most classic of Kansas stories, The Wizard of Oz. Despite fear, Dorothy made a commitment...

Welcome to the International Women’s Day episode. We’re going to talk about why equality matters, why we all need to be using our voices, and how to claim your courage and your power. “Change isn’t just about big headline moments, legal victories and international agreements: the way we talk, think, and act every day can create a ripple effect that benefits everyone.” (from www.un.org ) What can w...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: I need help reframing my thoughts. I don't know how to go from what I'm thinking now to something new. Help! What is the antidote to shame? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about i...

My passion is teaching people how to work with their brains instead of against them. To this end, I am so excited to introduce to you some common cognitive distortions. I describe these as thought errors. Errors our brains make that are so common to each and every one of us. When we get trapped in a cognitive distortion, we experience a negative loop that can have you spiraling further and further...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: What are anchor thoughts? How do I manage my mind in the moment? I still snap at my family or get irate by a FB post!! Also, introducing the Feel Better Now Challenge: March 1 - 9! . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to t...

I’m so excited to discuss how we can experience life with our full brain. Today, let's discuss brain integration. Well-being, which Dr. Daniel Siegel describes as health, happiness, and a sense of purpose and meaning, can be achieved through right brain left brain integration. Most of us are familiar with the basics of the remarkable human brain. Between our ears and behind our eyes are the left a...

This episode comes from a LIVE Q+A Session I hosted on my Lives of Courage Facebook page (I host Q+A sessions EVERY Friday!). The questions we talk about: I keep trying all the things, and I can't stick with my plan. What is wrong with me?  I know I need to feel my emotions, but what if I feel them too much or too long? I gotta get things done. . . . . . If you heard a ton of great informatio...