Lives of Courage with Jessica Stong

Shame says something is wrong with me. Shame is an emotion, I should say, that we feel in our bodies. Shame often comes up when things don’t go how we wanted or planned them to go. I think we all have some version of a shame story in our lives. And when we don’t have a managed brain, we often go to this story, with thoughts like “this is all my fault or I should have known better or this is all wr...

What does self-care look like in your life? I hear so many things. "Netflixing," buying things, reading, exercising, yoga, chocolate, wine, cutting out toxins: people or products, all the things. It’s often surface level actions. I’m not here to tell you how to do it. What I’m here to tell you is how self care should make you feel. I want to define self-care as how you take care of your physical,...

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: Why is it so hard to give up certain foods? (My re-write of this question is: Why is it so hard to control my impulses? Because people talk about it also around getting organized, doing what they need to do, starting to exercise, etc.) How do I...

Today, I want to teach you how to get clarity around your own experience of your emotions. I believe we are called to live beautiful and meaningful lives. To do this, we need to really understand our emotions and how we can use our emotions to change our lives. Understanding and supervising your brain is the key to living the life you are called to live. You have the power to coach yourself when y...

Today we are going to discuss the importance of editing your thoughts. I’m on a mission to show people that it is one of the most important things you can do. We’ll go through a Brain Download what it is and how it’s so important to your mental health. And finally, I will give you the steps to do it and what comes next. . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I...

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 can I do when I just feel so burnt out?  What do you recommend for planning your 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 In...

In today’s episode, I interview Tara Whitaker, founder of the Freelance Editors Club and a successful book editor since 2013. I’m so excited for you to hear her thoughts on the power of our words and why our words really do matter. We discuss how we speak to ourselves, what it looks like when you start listening to your inner critic and what it took for her to start her own business in 2013. Tara’...

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 struggling with my teenager. Ugh! Nothing I say ever is what she wants to hear. I'm so sad and frankly exhausted. Do you have any suggestions? I'm so upset by the state of our country. I'm heartbroken by all the division and don't know what...

If you’re tired of dreaming, tired of being stuck in inaction, tired of wanting to change but not knowing how, this is for you. I hear from so many women who just want to change their story. They want to start a podcast or youtube channel or start eating better or running again. They want to find time for themselves or take a trip or stop the hustling. They want to organize their closet or clean o...

Welcome to 2021. Can you believe it? I hope you are ready to live out your purpose, your goals and your vision for your best life this year! Now if you’re still reeling from 2020, I want you to go back to the 2020 reflection post. We need to clean up our thinking about what 2020 so we don’t carry anything with us into 2021 that won’t serve us. Today, I want to focus on 3 things you can do to make...

Life can be unpredictable, overwhelming or painful at times. What happens when we’ve lost our way or can’t see out of unspeakable grief? What can give us the hope we need when we feel like all is lost or we don’t know which way to turn? Today, I'm going to discuss everyday courage, why we need it, and how to get more courage. I’m super passionate about this as I’m on a mission to redefine courage...

Today, I want to teach you one of the most powerful techniques for shaping your own narrative about your life. In my years of experience in psychology and knowledge with coaching, together we can achieve any result you desire. You can change. You can do this work. And this tool isn’t anything new or unique to my coaching practice, but I want you to understand why it’s important. And how it allows...

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 having a hard time staying focused on what I should be eating during the holidays. Help! I feel so scattered all the time. I have too many demands on me and too much going on. Do you have any suggestions? . . . . . If you heard a ton of grea...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all that is required of you? Have you ever wished you had more time to take care of you? Kristina Haahr and I discussed all things self-care and the importance of taking care of you. As Kristina reminds us, you can't pour from an empty cup. . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a screenshot...

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!). This has really been the worst year for me, my family and so many others.  The question we talked about: What recommendations do you have to make peace? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it! Take a s...

Are you a patient person? I know patience is so hard sweet friends and it shows up for most of us in some way or another. Today, I want to talk about how impatience shows up in our lives, why we are impatient and how to cultivate more patience. Bottom line: when you don't need a situation, person, or thing to make you feel better, you don't have to rush. You trust that it will happen in the right...

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 your concerns about SMART goals? I've been teaching and using this way of goal setting with my support staff for years. I have all the anxiety and overwhelm as I have so much to do right now. What recommendations do you have? . . . . ....

For many of us, this has been a really tough year. No doubt, some beautiful and wondrous things have happened in your life. And, you’ve likely had your fair share of struggles and setbacks too. We’ve survived some pretty significant national and world events. Like a pandemic. And an election. We’ve seen some major changes closer to home as well. Like loss and financial insecurity. Virtual schoolin...

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: How do I manage my brain when there is so much to do? What do I do if I haven't achieve my goals for 2020? Can you speak about patience? . . . . . If you heard a ton of great information listening to this episode, I'd love to hear all about it!...

We know that we're meant to feel gratitude, but what happens when we feel sadness and anger and fear and all the other things at the same time? And in the midst of all of this, we think of holidays like Thanksgiving as a time to give things, but what if your brain doesn't have much to be thankful for? I invite you to throw away all the ideas you have about how you should be feeling right now and j...

I want to share my experience and show you what happens in your brain when you're diagnosed or suspect you are sick. (And this applies to what happened when I was diagnosed with MS too.) You see, our primitive brains are designed to keep us from danger. So when we are sick, they are on high alert. There is so much fear. (Fears like: Will I die? Will I end up in the hospital? Will this exacerbate m...

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: How do I feel? How do I trust? How do I show compassion for others? . . . . . 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 big...

I am passionate about empowering women to find more joy and peace in their lives. I know it’s cliche, but life is too darn short not to enjoy. I had to learn that the hard way, so I’m on a mission to teach women the steps to find the courage it takes to choose and create goodness and beauty and strength and resilience and fun everyday. And that is what I want to chat with you about today: How to h...

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: Why can’t I stop thinking thoughts that I don’t want to think? I hear so many people talk about the abundance versus Scarcity Mindset - what is this?! How do I make time for me? Even just for 10 minutes a day! Not even to mention self care that...

I’ve been thinking about the discord in our homes, in our communities, in our world. I hear so much in my coaching about all the conflict we are all experiencing with being cooped up with family, around our election, around how people are responding to the pandemic, around racial inequality, around how we blame others for our problems. Oh friends, there is such division. There is so much pain. It...