246: Recovering From Grief, Loss and Major Life Challenges

Grief is not all darkness and oftentimes, the greatest tragedies can ignite the most positive, powerful transformations in our lives. Our guest, Kristine Carlson, knows what tragedy is. Happily married in her 40s with two young kids, she very suddenly lost the love of her life, Richard. What followed was heartache, sorrow, grief, anger, and then, later on and very surprisingly, true acceptance and joy. Through the process of grieving her husband and giving herself the space to feel emotions that she hadn't felt in years, Kristine was awakened at a deep heart level. Today, Kristine is a bestselling author, world-renowned speaker, and leading mindfulness expert who helps other people process traumatic experiences of their own. Grief comes in many forms and there is no specific timeline for grief, but wherever you are on your journey, this episode will undoubtedly inspire you and give you the courage to truly feel what you're experiencing in life, and the peace of knowing that what you may feel as "brokenness" at this time can truly help you heal, even what feels like the darkest parts of yourself. Here's a comment that is at the heart of our episode today: "The circumstances of life don't break you; they reveal who you are." - Kristine Carlson   Key Highlights From This Episode:   Introducing today's guest, bestselling author and world-renowned speaker, Kristine Carlson. [01:52] The transformation that Kristine went through after the sudden loss of her husband, Dr. Richard Carlson. [04:26] Kristine explains the difference between holding life and living life. [06:15] An example of one of the many people who Kristine has helped through the grieving process. [09:16] Profound lessons from Viktor Frankl's transformational book Man's Search for Meaning. [12:08] The spiritual philosophy that Kristine lives by. [14:48] Meaning and purpose that Kristine was able to find in the wake of Richard's death. [15:40] Kristine shares how she processed Richard's death. [17:10] Why Kristine and Kathy believe in signs rather than coincidences. [24:26] The choice that we all have when we go through a traumatic experience. [28:41] The importance of never judging someone else's grief. [31:42] Examples of "messy" times in people's lives. [32:32] A powerful quote from Kristine's late husband. [33:21] How true acceptance can make you fall in love with your life. [34:21]   For More Information: Kristine Carlson Website Kristine Carlson on YouTube Kristine Carlson on LinkedIn Kristine Carlson on Facebook   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:   To hear Kristine's story in greater depth, read her book, Heartbroken Open and watch the movie that the book was based on, entitled Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Storyf. Read the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series that Kristine co-authored with her late husband, Richard. Viktor Frankl's internationally bestselling and groundbreaking book, Man's Search for Meaning   ———————- ANNOUNCING THE MOST POWERFUL YOU LIVE COURSE (that starts February 1st!) I'm very excited to be offering a new 8–week LIVE training course with me all about The Most Powerful You content from my book, and how you can address and close the 7 most damaging Power And Confidence Gaps that keep us from thriving in our work. The course starts Wednesday, February 1st! 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Enrollment opens in early January. Remember that spots go fast, so be sure you sign up early to claim your spot. I can't wait to work with you!   ———————- Calling all coaches!  Do you run a coaching or consulting business that focuses on supporting professional women? If so, I've got some exciting news about supporting your coaching growth, success, and impact. Right now, we're opening the enrollment of my private (1:1) coaching training program called The Amazing Career Coach Certification, which is a 17-week, hands-on training program that certifies female coaches in my proprietary 16-step career growth model, which is perfect for coaches who want a deeper dive into learning powerful, proven coaching frameworks, concepts, and skills that teach the 16 most essential steps to building an amazing career that your clients need to know. And this training will help you become far more effective and impactful in supporting women to thrive today in their jobs, roles, and careers. And through the program, you'll get access to a powerful Small Business Acceleration program called The Rapid Growth Academy, delivered by my friend and colleague, award-winning business growth expert Matthew Pollard. Through Matthew's program, you'll be taught critical business and sales growth info that will help you grow your business success in the quickest way possible. In my view, there's nothing on the market like for both new and more seasoned coaches because it targets the two critical aspects of success: how you support your clients to thrive, and just as importantly, how to grow your own business to the next level. For more information, visit certification.amazingcareerproject.com and check out the details. Join me this Winter!  ——————— Order Kathy's book The Most Powerful You today! In Australia and New Zealand, click here to order, elsewhere outside North America, click here, and in the UK, click here. If you enjoy the book, we'd so appreciate your giving the book a positive rating and review on Amazon! And check out Kathy's digital companion course The Most Powerful You, to help you close the 7 most damaging power gaps in the most effective way possible.  Kathy's Power Gaps Survey, Support To Build Your LinkedIn Profile To Great Success & Other Free Resources Kathy's TEDx Talk, Time To Brave Up & Free Career Path Self-Assessment Kathy's Amazing Career Project video training course & 6 Dominant Action Styles Quiz ——————— Sponsor Highlight  I'm thrilled that both Audible.com and Amazon Music are sponsors of Finding Brave! Take advantage of their great special offers and free trials today! Audible Offer Amazon Music Offer Quotes: "[Life] is feeling everything." — @Don't_Sweat_  [0:07:55] "You can become better for having gone through loss, or you can become bitter." — @Don't_Sweat_  [0:08:15] "We have to find the reason for what happens in our lives and in that space of making meaning, everything appears to have its reason." — @Don't_Sweat_  [0:14:54] "Grief isn't all darkness. There is so much beauty and light because there is so much grace." — @Don't_Sweat_  [0:19:12] "Sometimes being broken open means you get to be open to having greater joy."  — @Don't_Sweat_  [0:35:03]   Watch our Finding Brave episodes on YouTube! Don't forget – you can experience each Finding Brave episode in both audio and video formats! Check out new and recent episodes on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/kathycaprino. And please leave us a comment and a thumbs up if you like the show!