The Joy Junkie Show

FREE WORKSHOP ~> What if I told you your handwriting speaks volumes (no pun intended) about your confidence, self-esteem, ability to speak up for yourself, and how much concern you take with the opinions of others? You’d be like, “Now, wait. What!? Come again?” I know, I know. Stay with me. Believe it or not, it’s actually part of a scientific process called our Ideomotor Response which refers to the way we communicate our subconscious thoughts through our physical being… a.k.a. Handwriting. (Pssst… it’s also how ouija boards work too, so SPOILER ALERT, it wasn’t your deceased Aunt Helen trying to convey a message to you.) A few years ago, I went through a wildly fascinating certification in Handwriting Analysis and I think you may find this tool surprisingly helpful in setting and establishing boundaries. Not to mention that it’s super easy and simple… it may be one of the easiest personal growth tools you ever use. Like, you literally just write a bit differently. You in? In this episode, I spill some littl

FREE WORKSHOP ~> What if you could listen in to a coaching session where someone is being coached on how to establish much-needed boundaries with overbearing and controlling siblings? You’d be all over it, right? I mean… who hasn’t struggled to set up boundaries with family. Hello! In this coaching episode, I work with a lovely and highly accomplished woman, Isabel, on her constant struggle to be heard and taken seriously as the youngest of five siblings. When I asked how she struggled to set and enforce boundaries, here is what she shared with me: I need help with my family! I have three older sisters, and two of them think they are my mothers and have tried to boss me around my whole life. I’m almost 47, and it is time for this to stop! There are no boundaries — they voice their opinion on my religious practices (or rather lack thereof), that I moved to another state (can’t imagine why I would want to do that!), that I chose not to have children, etc.  Nothing is sacred or private, and it has gotten so much

FREE WORKSHOP ~> Have you ever found yourself referring to someone in your life by saying, “They simply don’t have any boundaries!”? Maybe it’s an overbearing boss or a parent who is all up in your business and you find yourself labeling them as the one who has no boundaries. What if it was actually the other way around… what if it was about YOU who hadn’t established any boundaries with them? When someone in your life is forceful and brazen, it can be so easy to assign blame to them and focus on why they are a complete asshat instead of examining the behavior you may be tolerating. Perhaps it’s about what you haven’t said up until this point… the behavior you continue to allow. And maybe you constantly complain about how frustrating your mom is or how aggravating your co-worker is, yet you complain to the wrong party. To those who may give you sympathy, but who aren’t capable of creating any substantial change. On the show this week, I dial up Kate Anthony, a dear friend, colleague and a powerhouse in the f

FREE WORKSHOP ~> Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have undoubtedly heard the notion of “setting boundaries”, but have you ever wondered exactly what that means? Or maybe you drummed up the nerve to tell someone (like, your mom, boss, or bestie) how you really felt about something only to be blatantly ignored? (Or worse… not even taken seriously.) How do you actually go about establishing boundaries that are clear, respected, and adhered to? It’s hard enough to broach a challenging topic with someone, let alone follow through on your boundary. Here’s the deal… if you’ve been constantly bitchin’ and moanin’ about something, and you’ve been super vocal about it to everyone, except the person who really needs to know you’re (ah-hem) “upset”, then it’s probably time to have a tough convo. In this week’s episode, I share my three-step process to establishing boundaries in a way in which you can be heard and own your personal power. This pod explores: What-the-hell a boundary even is The tell-tale place

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> If you’ve struggled with anxiety, you know how challenging and seemingly insurmountable it can be. It can feel like your racing thoughts and worry simply can’t be redirected no matter how hard you try. So, you ruminate and worry. Ruminate and worry. Feeling like your mind just won’t turn off. Trust… I have been there, my friends. And, so has my guest on this week’s show. Shaina Gadow struggled with anxiety for her entire life and it manifested as extreme hypochondria and obsessive thoughts about the danger her body may be in. In working toward her own healing, she found the world of Emotional Freedom Technique, commonly called EFT or “tapping” and was soon able to relinquish her anxiety and stress. And, try not to get too excited, but she recorded a special training just for us to help us do the same! Score! In this episode, Shaina shares her story (which I’m sure you will find familiar) and outlines how tapping can be used for a multitude of different issues including anxiety and overwhe

FREE WORKSHOP ~> Overthinking. Chronic worry. Mentally obsessing and ruminating. Contemplating worst-case scenarios. Racing heart. Sweaty palms. No, I’m not describing a character in a horror film. I’m describing something that many of us deal with on a daily basis: Anxiety. Anxiety is directly connected to our primitive human fear response, and is actually a way our brain is just trying to take care of us and keep us safe. But that notion isn’t so reassuring when we are stressing ourselves out non-stop about what others think of us, worry we accidentally left the flat iron on, or obsessively worry we might die on our way to work. On this week’s show, I am thrilled to dial up an expert on the subject. LaToya Newton and I met at the end of 2020 and instantly bonded over our anxiety disorders, our strict religious upbringing, and our mutual love of a good “f” bomb. I wanted to bring her on the show to discuss her journey with anxiety and depersonalization (a specific symptom of anxiety), her specific tactics to

FREE WORKSHOP You have a job interview coming up, but you can’t calm your mind from thinking about the worst-case scenarios. You have a huge presentation coming up at work, and every time you think about it, your palms sweat, and your heart races. You have a family event coming up and damn-it if your mother-in-law doesn’t spike your anxiety! Or maybe you can’t remember a time in your life when anxiety hasn’t been present. It doesn’t have to be a strenuous job interview or family event to get your heart racing… it just races all. The damn. Time. Whether you struggle with situational anxiety or chronic anxiety, the effects can be downright debilitating. And, although anxiety disorders and anxious thoughts are more commonplace than ever, it can be challenging to find tactics and strategies that actually help. Of course, we all know there’s weed or traditional western medicine approaches, but what do you do if you don’t dig those options? Just white-knuckle it the whole time? Hardly. In this week’s show, I share

FREE WORKSHOP ~> What if you could listen in to a coaching session where someone is being coached on their relationship to perfectionism? You’d be all over it, right? Well, you’re in luck, my friend. In this coaching episode, I work with a lovely and highly accomplished woman, Ify, on her struggle of constantly putting things off until they can be “perfect” and how that has been seriously arresting some big goals and dreams.  When I asked how perfectionism was showing up in her life, here is what she shared with me: Perfectionism has been the reoccurring thorn in my spine since I was a little girl. I always struggle with this idea that everything I do, every work I put out has to have the look or the illusion of perfection. What I’ve found is that this leads to failure to launch. I always get to the very brink, then I experience analysis paralysis. It’s put my whole life on this giant pause, still waiting. On the exterior, I can give the impression that I’m bold, and I have it all figured out but internally I

FREE WORKSHOP ~> In this week’s show, I am thrilled to bring you a “tool” episode where I share a lesser-known modality that can aid you in working with perfectionist tendencies. Um, yes, please! I hadn’t heard about Human Design until I was a guest on Kelsey’s Abbott’s podcast and I was like, “You mean, like, the way humans are designed?” I didn’t realize that it was actually a very specific process or tool to discover more about who you are, what your strengths are, and the obstacles you may face (like, a tight grip on perfectionism). In this episode, I bring Kelsey onto my show to discuss the multiple energy types featured in the Human Design ideology, how they all uniquely struggle with perfectionist behaviors, and Kelsey’s favorite way to start dismantling and working with that behavior. If you find yourself worrying about what everyone else thinks if you aren’t fucking perfect, find yourself procrastinating because things just “aren’t good enough yet”, or constantly compare yourself to others, you won’t

NEW WORKSHOP ~> How awesome would it be to hear two women who literally started a business called “Eff Perfect” sound off on what it takes to flip the bird to “Perfection”? Pretty amazing, amiright? Well, you are in luck, my friend. In this week’s show, I am thrilled to dial-up an expert, well, two actually, on the subject of the constant pull to be perfect. Ashley Looker and Jenna Teague (of Eff Perfect fame) join me to discuss the many ways perfectionism shows up in our lives (hint: there’s something here for the people-pleasers), how to move through your perfectionism triggers, and how to celebrate this part of you that strives for excellence.  Have you ever wondered if perfectionism was actually a good thing? Like, didn’t that get you through college and shit-ton of tough job interviews? Perhaps it’s the way you’ve stood out from the rest or identified yourself up until this point… who would you be without it!? Jenna + Ashley sound off on these concepts, how perfectionism can be a sneaky bitch, and their

FREE WORKSHOP ~> I used to flippantly refer to myself as a Perfectionist and oftentimes I would elude to it being somewhat of a badge of honor. As I got older and my anxiety increased, I realized that being a chronic perfectionist was actually STEALING my joy instead of making my job easier. But, how does one just stop being a perfectionist? Perhaps you find yourself in the same boat; Vacillating between being SOLD on the idea that everything has to be just perfect and the conflicting desire to let things “go with the flow” or just be “good enough”. If you’ve found yourself in this dance, you are most certainly not alone. In this week’s episode, I break down just how detrimental the strive for perfection can be and how it often leads to much suffering, frustration, and angst. Additionally, I dig into 4, easy-to-implement steps you can take to begin allowing room for your humanity without sacrificing excellence and how you can maintain your integrity AND your sanity. This pod explores: Why “Perfect” doesn’t r

FREE WORKSHOP ~> Well, it’s the end of an era, my friends. Eight years ago, I had the notion of starting a humble life and love podcast and wanted to have a sidekick of sorts to bounce things off of during the show. Considering Mr. Smith was the only other person in the household, he graciously obliged. Now, here we are, millions of downloads and thousands of subscribers later, bidding him the fondest of farewells. Mr. Smith has been the “voice of the people” and one of the most integral pieces of the podcast over the years. He will be missed greatly but he’s off to accomplish some big dreams, so join us on this farewell episode where we take a nostalgic walk through the last eight years. I turn the tables and interview him on the biggest lessons he’s learned over the years, how he feels our relationship has grown, his perspective as a cis-gendered male speaking to a largely cis-gendered female audience, and so very much more. We truly hope you enjoy this candid conversation about his journey in sharing my wo

FREE WORKSHOP ~> So, you consciously “know” that you should be proud of all your accomplishments and acknowledge that you are, in fact, deserving of that promotion/accolade/compliment but why don’t you actually believe it? I’ll tell you why. Logic, reason, and rationale is housed in the conscious part of the mind which is estimated to be roughly 10% of the mind power. Your beliefs and habits, however, are located in the subconscious mind which is the other whoppin’ 90%. That means that simply “knowing” that you aren’t an imposter doesn’t help you to feel any less of a fraud if there is a deep-seated belief that you aren’t enough/worthy/valuable. That disempowering belief will win every time. But all is not lost my friend. There are a handful of ways to access and shift the beliefs of the subconscious mind and one of my absolute favorite methods is via hypnosis. In this episode, I share a bit about what hypnosis is, how it works, and how it can be a powerful aid in shifting negative beliefs you may hold about

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> You land your perfect job.  And then your inner voice tells you that you are horribly unqualified and everyone is going to find you out. You enter a super healthy relationship with an awesome partner.  And then your inner voice tells you how damaged you are, why you aren’t good enough, and why it’s all going to come crashing down in a blazing inferno. You finally finish that graduate degree.  And then your inner voice tells you how you were the slowest in the class, probably won’t get hired, and should probably just try to get your old job back. Sound familiar? If so, you are likely battling a lovely little issue we (in the personal growth world) like to call The Imposter Complex – A.K.A. Feeling like a fraud. The idea that, in spite of your success or accomplishment, you are somehow not good enough, a total charade, and have fooled everyone who will surely soon find you out. In this week’s episode, I discuss what to do when you continue to beat yourself up about being an imposter in your

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> Tell me if this sounds familiar. You land a promotion you’ve been working toward for ages and instantly a barrage of commentary from your inner critic pipes in, “Just wait until they find out you have no idea what you are doing. You know it’s just a matter of time before they find you out.” Or maybe you are about to have your art featured in a high-profile exhibit, or you landed a lead role in a play you auditioned for, or your band is going to headline a major event and instead of thrill and excitement for this accomplishment, your inner shit-talker goes on a bender. “When they see who you really are, they’re going to regret giving you this opportunity. Who do you think you are!?” If you’ve landed in the murky territory of the Imposter Complex, you are certainly not alone. In fact, some of the greatest minds of our time have admitted to struggling with feeling as though they are about to be “found out”. So, the great news is that Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, and Meryl Streep a

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> What if you could listen in to a coaching session where someone is being coached on feeling like an imposter? You’d be all over it, right? Well, you’re in luck, my friend. In this inaugural coaching episode, I work with a lovely and highly accomplished woman, Rachel, on her struggle of feeling “not enough” and how that manifests into an imposter complex in her workplace.  When I asked how imposter complex was showing up in her life, here is what she shared with me: I’m constantly plagued by the idea that I need to achieve more or earn more credentials in order to step into my expertise. I work in violence prevention/intervention and I’m also a survivor of various forms of interpersonal violence. I’m so worried about showing up EITHER as a survivor OR an expert because of how long I’ve been doing this work instead of owning that some of the expertise I have is simply because I lived it. I constantly feel like “who are you” to think I can become a consultant on issues I know damn well I am

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> Regardless if your parents were amazing or downright awful, it is highly likely that there are certain things you experienced as a child that have greatly impacted your current reality. And, not necessarily in a positive way. Although we don’t realize it at the time, we take in every bit of information from our parents, form beliefs off of that information, and develop a complex system of coping mechanisms.  So, maybe your mom always picked her body apart in front of you, so you developed the belief that you had to have a “perfect” body in order to be worthy. Or lovable. Or a “real woman”. And this belief led to you clinging to perfectionism around your relationship with your body. Or maybe your dad was constantly absent leading you to conclude that men in your life will abandon you. And now, in adulthood, you find yourself picking romantic partners who aren’t emotionally or physically available or searching for approval from your male co-workers. Reckoning with the impact of your parent

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re mom/bestie/sister/co-worker starts complaining about something you totally used to struggle with and your first thought is, “OMG! I know the solution! Let me just tell her what she should do…” Don’t get me wrong. You’re not trying to be a boss-pants and all condescending, you just genuinely know of something that may help. After all, it helped you, so surely they want to hear about it! So why would your sage advice *not* be welcomed with open arms? I’ll tell you why. (Of course, I will.) Often when you jump into the world of personal development, you start making some seriously awesome strides and your first instinct is to share that with your closest circle. Yet, sometimes they aren’t so ready to hear you. So, what are you supposed to do… just let them suffer!?  If you’ve found yourself wanting to share your newfound love of personal growth with someone not-so-ready to listen, this episode is a MUST LISTEN. I sound off on four, specific ways you ca

NEW FREE WORKSHOP ~> Hey everyone, Darlene here, Amy’s behind the scenes podcast ninja. There isn’t a new show this week because the Smiths are busy cooking up a  bunch of new and exciting things for the podcast. If you are missing out on your weekly dose of Amy and Mr. Smith, they are airing Community Favorite Episode #277: 5 Ways to Gain More Peace. As you listen to this episode, you will hear about Amy’s free workshop where she shares 5 strategies to help banish self-doubt and perfectionism, help you access killer confidence + 'enoughness' and finally find your voice. If you’re DONE feeling like your own worst enemy, constantly beating yourself up, and overwhelmed because you’re constantly doing, doing, doing for everyone else, then you must grab your seat in this brand-new workshop! Get all the deets and register at TheJoyJunkie.com/Workshop.  Mr. and Ms. Smith will be back in your ears next week with an all-new episode. ---------- You’ve added yet another item to your already-overloaded to-do list, and y

NEW WORKSHOP ~> Tell me if this sounds familiar: You interview for a job that has a ton of other candidates and you constantly ruminate on all the other applicants and wonder how you compare. Or, maybe you grew up in a family with so much competition that you felt you couldn’t ever measure up if you didn’t have fourteen degrees like your older sister. Or be the star athlete like your brother. Or maybe you find yourself in constant competition with your besties to see who can be the thinnest/richest/best parent, etc. It is no secret that our society thrives on competition and comparison. The beauty and fitness industries feed on it. After all, our ancestors stayed alive by competing with one another. So, no wonder we feel like the only way to survive is to beat everyone else. Be the best at everything. Our weight. Our relationships. Our finances. Our work. All of it. Be the fucking best. Because, what happens if you aren’t the best? You are simply not enough. The concept of competition implies there is only on