When Life Doesn't Go to Plan With Anja Joy Bont

In this episode of Connected with Iva, I’m joined by Anja Joy Bont for a conversation about what happens when life takes a turn you didn’t plan for — and how to stay with it instead of fighting it.This conversation was inspired by an Instagram post Anja shared — her 2025 recap — where she openly talked about how things didn’t unfold the way she expected. That honesty became the starting point for a deeper discussion about trusting life when it feels uncomfortable, confusing, or simply harder than we imagined.We talk about how much the way we see things shapes how we experience them, and how our conditioning — everything we’ve been told, taught, and absorbed —influences how we interpret challenges, success, and even ourselves. We explore the idea that many of our thoughts and reactions aren’t really us but learned responses we’ve been carrying for years.We also speak about learning to listen to your deeper self, especially during moments when life feels challenging, uncertain, or out of your control — and what it looks like to allow life to unfold without forcing it to match a plan.This episode isn’t about bypassing hard moments or pretending everything happens for a reason. It’s about developing a more honest relationship with life as it is, and learning how to meet challenges with awareness, trust, and a little more softness.