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The adventures of a woman trying to live her best life in her forties.
Episodes
Wednesday Mar 10, 2021
Wednesday Mar 10, 2021
My feelings have helped me identify some toxic, outdated beliefs. Now I am working to replace those beliefs with new, radiant ones. In this episode, I describe the things I am doing to build these new beliefs. Spoiler alert: I am embracing the shit out of affirmations!
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Let's talk about values! Last week, I listened to the audiobook of Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. The second part of the book is called Living Into Our Values and it changed my attitude about values.
I love values. I have journaled extensively about my values. I’ve talked about values with my therapist many times. I’ve probably blogged about my values (but I don’t have the time to dig through old posts now) (please god, will distance learning ever end?) After several months of work, I identified my list of twenty-ish values. Hooray! I knew all a person could possibly know about her values.
Brown, however, challenges us to identify two core values. After reading her book, I wanted to try to whittle down my list of twenty-ish values to two. I doubted I could actually do this but thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did. I identified my core values (more easily than I thought possible) and feel so inspired and empowered by the experience. I walk you through my process and hopefully by the end of this episode, you'll want to identify your core values, too!
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.
Thursday Feb 18, 2021
Thursday Feb 18, 2021
I am a feelings amateur but this week, I talk about feelings, from my history of suppressing my feelings to my current work to use my feelings as a tool to figure out my subconscious beliefs. We live in a culture that does not value feelings, but I believe feelings are important. Feelings are vital to our work to become our best selves. I felt awkward and completely out of my comfort zone with this episode, but I am excited to do this work.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Monday Jan 18, 2021
I got a little philosophical for this episode. Over the past couple months of pandemic and distance learning life, I have noticed that I am my best self when I occupy the space between hope and despair. Hope and despair are mindsets that look to the future. Hope might seem more optimistic than despair, but it conditions future happiness on wanted outcomes. It sets me up for disappointment and discontent. With both mindsets, I feel unsettled and torn from the present. I feel as if my life is somehow lacking. When I occupy the space between hope and despair, I have everything I need to be happy. I am enough. I have enough. I do not set any conditions on my happiness because I am already there.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Wednesday Dec 30, 2020
Wednesday Dec 30, 2020
Happy Almost New Year! At the end of the year, I like to look back at the year I have had and reflect on the work I did to become a better version of myself. I thought that 2020 was going to be a total dumpster fire but after thinking back on the year, was pleasantly surprised to see how much I have grown as a person over the last twelve months. I would never have chosen a pandemic or distance learning for 2020, but that's what happened, and those experiences pushed me through some incredible growth. I have a lot less mom guilt and better boundaries with my kids. I learned to embrace a slower life, connect more deeply with the people I was able to see, and got really intimate with uncertainty and change. Looking ahead to 2021, I want to build more MOMENTUM. I also want to have more fun. And while having fun, I want to live intentionally and consciously in line with my values. I can't control the trajectory of 2021 but I have created some projects that will hopefully help me live more joyfully than ever. Au revoir, 2020! Salut, 2021!
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Saturday Dec 12, 2020
Saturday Dec 12, 2020
I love self-help books! But that has not always been the case. When I was younger, I felt drawn to the self-help section at the bookstore but ashamed at the idea of reading those books. After I I got my first Kindle, I started to make up for lost time. I have learned to be an active participant in the self help books I read, embracing only the ideas that work for me. But the past few years, I took Marie Kondo's books about decluttering a bit too seriously. I internalized some subconscious belief that if I did not declutter in exactly the way prescribed by Kondo, then I shouldn't bother doing it at all. Oops! I recently realized that though I find Kondo's work to be inspiring, I do not have to follow all of her advice. I have started decluttering again in the way that works for me and hallelujah, I have remembered to put the SELF back into self-help.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. While you are there, sign up for my newsletter! You can also follow me on IG @Courtney.Novak.
The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Thursday Nov 19, 2020
Thursday Nov 19, 2020
This week, I talk about the upcoming 2020 holidays. Spoiler alert: the holidays will be a bit different this year because hello, #pandemic. I am trying my best to lower/change my expectations so my family can still enjoy this time of year. I talk about the mindset I am trying to embrace so I do not drive myself crazy. (Or at least, crazier than usual.)
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
This week, I revisit the topic of distance learning because hello, it's 2020 and starting to feel like my second grader will never go back to "normal" school. I was in a 2020 rut at the beginning of October and feeling broken by distance learning. It is so time consuming! And aggravating! But then, my muse gave me an idea: I needed to stop working on my fantasy series and work on a new book called The Distance Learning Activity Book For Parents Just Barely Holding On To Their Last Shred Of Sanity. Writing and publishing that book restored my spirits - but damn, distance learning is still tough. Hence, this episode, in which I share about my struggles and the things that are helping me from completely losing my mind.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available soon! (If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! It's 2020.) The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
I went to Catholic school for 11.5 years, from about halfway through first grade until the day I graduated from high school in 1997. I have not practiced Catholicism since 1997, but I am starting to realize that I internalized a lot of toxic beliefs during my Catholic school years. I am now working to find those beliefs and reject them. I have felt called to do this work for a long time but have avoided it. But I am ready now to face my Catholic school demons.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available! If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
When I was about eighteen and nineteen years old, I had a few experiences that made me feel like my voice, in both speaking and writing, was not good enough. There was the high school frenemy who told me that I was not funny. Then there was the college "friend" who criticized my potty mouth. And lastly, a creative writing professor basically convinced me that my writing was not any good. I took these experiences to heart and abandoned my personal voice in favor of a voice that I thought people would like more. But now, I am 41 and I can't muzzle myself anymore. I have been reclaiming my voice lately and damn, I feel good! I feel so much more like myself. In this episode, I talk about the moments that affected my personal voice and the ways I have been reclaiming my voice in recent years.
Show notes are available at CourtneyHenningNovak.com. Or, they will be available! If you are listening in real time, folks, give me a day or two! The music is "Carpe Diem" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License