Weekly companion blogs to the Transformative Journeys to Growth and Resilience™ podcast.
Choosing Yourself Without Guilt: Why Healing Isn’t Selfish
the same area of our brain that processes physical pain - the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex or dACC (I don’t even try to pronounce this in the podcast…) - also lights up when we experience social rejection (Eisenberger, 2012). That’s why being left out hurts. Why it hurts when someone shows disapproval toward us. Why setting a boundary can feel like danger. And why choosing our own needs over others can feel like a risk. If you’ve experienced trauma, people-pleasing may have become a form of protection… a way to stay safe. Your nervous system learned that keeping others happy kept you safe. But what’s the cost of always ignoring our own needs?
You’re in Good Company (Even Without Your Sh*t Together Today)
I’ll be honest… a couple of weeks ago I had a bit of a day. (And there’s a good chance I’ve had one or two since then).
Energy Leaks: Where Your Power Goes (And How to Take It Back)
Let’s talk about energy leaks. The sneaky, everyday things that drain your mental, emotional, and even physical energy like a slow puncture in a tire. In this week’s episode of the podcast, I go through some of the places you’re letting your energy seep out… and how to start patching the leaks so you can reclaim your power, and feel more like yourself again.
Boundaries Without Guilt: How to Say No and Still Be Kind
There’s a reason saying “no” makes your stomach twist. Research shows that parts of our brain (like the amygdala) actually light up when we anticipate social rejection - and not in a good way. Our nervous system responds like we’re in danger. Our heart rate rises, our breathing shifts, and we may even feel panic.
Rewriting the Stories You Were Told – Reclaiming Your Inner Narrative
We have the choice to own our own narrative. “Owning the Narrative" means actively shaping our identity, goals, and who we want to be in life, rather than letting our past or other people do it for us. Thanks to our brains incredible ability to rewire itself (Yay neuroplasticity!!), with a little work, we can rewrite our internal narrative and craft the next chapter in our story the way that we want to see it.
Living with Intention and Purpose
Let’s clear something up right away. Living with intention is not about perfection. It’s not about 5am green juice and working out. It’s not about the hustle of controlling every detail of your day, and it’s definitely not living some Pinterest or Instagram-worthy version of “purpose”. Forget the rigid schedules, perfect morning routines, and tracking your macros while visualizing your five-year goals at sunrise.
