PODCAST · education
Your Courageous Life podcast
by Kate Swoboda
Welcome to the Your Courageous Life podcast, where we talk about psychology and actionable tools for creating better habits, cultivating discipline, and practicing courage. Using a biopsychosocial lens, you'll learn the tools for creating a better life and developing more grit and emotional resilience. Want more resources? Head to https://www.yourcourageouslife.com/begin .
Episodes
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ep 185 - “It’d Be Nice, But...”: How to Be More Optimistic and Less Pessimistic (Without Faking It)
“It’d be nice, but that’s not going to happen.” “What’s the point?” “I’ve tried that before.” If any of those sound familiar, pessimism might be running your life more than you realize. Pessimism is one of the four fear patterns I wrote about in The Courage Habit, and today I'm talking about how...
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Ep 184 - Why You Can't Put the Phone Down: How to Stop Doomscrolling When the News Feels Like a Threat You Can't Ignore
Doomscrolling isn't just a willpower problem. It's a behavior that makes complete sense once you understand what it's actually doing and why your brain keeps reaching for it even when you know it's making you feel worse. This episode is about how to stop doomscrolling, because for so many of it's...
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Ep 183: How to face the feeling of 'not good enough' and dismantle it
It's one of the oldest problems to have, and one of the hardest to untangle: feeling like you're not good enough. Technically, you know that you "should" feel like you're enough, yet there are times when our internal criticisms and feelings of unworthiness can be overwhelming. This is a core fear...
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Ep 182 - How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others. Why You're Not Behind — You're Just Comparing Yourself to the Wrong Thing
It's 9:40 PM and you're four scrolls deep into someone else's highlight reel — the promotion, the marathon, the kitchen you've quietly wanted for years — and that familiar drop hits: I should be further along than this. In this episode, we're breaking down how to stop comparing yourself to…
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Ep 181: Why do I overthink everything? You're Not Broken — You're Just Overthinking Everything (Here's Why)
It's 11:47 PM and you're replaying a text message for the fourth time, drafting responses you'll never send, rehearsing a conversation that hasn't happened yet. Then comes the second thought: what's wrong with me that I can't stop? Why am I overthinking this? Nothing's wrong with you. In this...
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Ep 180 - Stuck in Negative Thinking and Self-Doubt? Here's what you do.
Negative thinking and self-doubt are at their worst when life hands you back-to-back difficult circumstances. So what do you do to manage the negative thinking and self-doubt at a time when things are genuinely difficult? That's exactly what we're exploring in this episode--but from a place of...
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Ep 179 - Picking yourself back up after setbacks
In life, we're going to have setbacks--job losses, health issues, death, breakups--things that "take us out of the game" of our usual flow of life and sometimes even have us feeling lost, grieving, derailed. So how do you pick yourself up again after a setback? If you're navigating this and...
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Ep 178 - My Dad is Gone: How I'm Navigating Grief + Loss
Today's episode lands from a personal space--my father recently passed. The entire process of being with him in the hospital in his final days and then letting him go has been some parts profound but with the shock of grief it's often been brutal. So what do you turn to, to navigate grief and…
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Ep 177 - When Money Fear Takes Over: How to Work Through Financial Anxiety Without Bypassing What's Real
Financial anxiety is not just a mindset problem. Sometimes it's a reasonable response to real conditions — a volatile economy, rising costs, job insecurity, a savings account that isn't where you wish it were. Telling yourself to "think positive" about money when the fear is grounded in something...
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Ep 176 - Hope Without the Gaslighting: The Real Difference Between Toxic Positivity and Genuine Hope
"Just think positive." "Everything happens for a reason." "Focus on the good." If you've ever received that advice during a genuinely hard time and felt — not comforted, but somehow worse — you were not being ungrateful. You were accurately detecting something that doesn't actually help. This...
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Ep 175: You've Been Strong Long Enough: The Permission to Rest You've Been Waiting For
There's a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn't show up on any medical test and doesn't have a clean solution. It's the exhaustion of someone who has been holding it together for a very long time — through personal difficulty, collective uncertainty, and the relentless pressure to keep...
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Ep 174 - How to Stay Grounded When Everything Feels Unstable
The world doesn't feel stable right now — and your nervous system knows it. Economic uncertainty, political chaos, global conflict: even if none of it is landing directly on your doorstep, it's landing in your body. You're more reactive than usual. Your sleep is off. You're scrolling more and...
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Ep 173 - Science-Backed Ways to Achieve Your Goals (What the Research *actually* Says)
What does the research actually say about how to achieve your goals — and why does willpower alone so reliably fail? Let's break it down with seven evidence-based frameworks from psychology and behavioral science, each paired with a concrete action step you can use this week. We cover Edwin Locke...
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Ep 172 - Making Time for Creativity (Even When It Feels Like You Have NO Time)
If you've been telling yourself you'd pursue your creative passions if you just had more time — this episode is going to gently challenge that story. Because for most people, figuring out how to make time for creativity isn't really a scheduling problem. It's a permission problem. One that's been...
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Ep 171: How to Change Careers - The Mental Game Beyond Just Updating a Resume
Figuring out how to change careers isn't really about updating your resume. You already know that part. What stops most people is the mental game — the fear, the waiting, the voice that says you're not ready yet. In this episode, Kate gets into what actually makes career transitions hard and…
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Ep 170 : When Things Fall Apart
When life collapses — the loss, the diagnosis, the heartbreak, the uncertainty — courage looks different. Today we’re exploring what real courage looks like when everything falls apart. You’ll learn how to stop trying to “fix” pain, how to stay connected to yourself through grief and uncertainty,...
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Ep 169 : Overcoming Creative Blocks: What Fear Is Really Doing to Your Creativity
Creative block feels like a creativity problem. It isn't. It's a fear problem — and until you understand what's actually happening underneath the stuckness, all the "change your inputs" advice in the world won't move the needle. In this episode, we're breaking down the psychology of overcoming...
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Ep 168: Stop Waiting to Feel Ready - The Real Work of Self-Trust
Most people think confidence comes first — and then you act. But the truth is, self-trust is built after you take action, not before. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, we’re unpacking what it really takes to trust yourself again — especially if you’ve broken that trust before. You’ll learn...
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Ep 167: What to do when Honesty Feels like a Risk
We all say we want to live authentically — but what about when honesty feels like a risk? What happens when telling the truth threatens comfort, connection, or control? That's what we're exploring, today. Honesty, even when it’s hard, is essential for self-respect and real connection. You’ll…
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Ep 166: Setting a Boundary without Burning a Bridge
Setting boundaries doesn’t mean shutting people out — it means staying true to yourself while keeping connection intact. In this episode of the Your Courageous Life podcast, we’re breaking down how to set healthy, honest boundaries that protect your energy without starting unnecessary conflict....
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Ep 165: The Courage to Let People Down
If you’ve ever said yes when you meant no just to avoid disappointing someone, or if you technically can say no, but then you're plagued with stress and guilt... this episode is for you. Let's explore why our fear of disappointing others runs so deep, how it’s tied to early patterns of approval…
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Ep 164: When You’re Tired of Trying So Hard: The Courage to Stop Pushing and Start Trusting
If you’ve been doing everything “right” — working on yourself, showing up for everyone, trying harder every day — and you’re still exhausted, it might be time for a different kind of courage. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate explores why constant striving often comes from fear, not...
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Ep 163: How to Understand Fear Signals
We’ve all heard the advice: feel the fear and do it anyway. But what if pushing through fear isn’t always courage — what if sometimes, it’s self-betrayal? In this episode of Your Courageous Life, we’re unpacking how to know when “doing it scared” helps you grow — and when it’s a sign you’re...
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Ep 162: The Messy Middle: How to Stay Courageous Between Who You Were and Who You’re Becoming
Transformation isn’t a straight line — it’s a stretch of uncertainty between letting go of who you were and stepping into who you’re becoming. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate explores how to navigate that uncomfortable in-between space — the “messy middle” where old patterns are...
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Ep 161: Here’s Why You Don’t Feel Confident (Things You’re Doing Without Realizing It)
If you’ve been working hard, growing, achieving — and still don’t feel confident — you’re not alone. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate breaks down the hidden habits that quietly erode confidence, even in capable people. You’ll learn why constantly seeking validation undermines...
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Ep 160: What to Do When You Feel Jealous: How to Turn Envy Into Empowerment
Everyone feels jealous sometimes — even the most grounded, self-aware people. But what if jealousy isn’t a flaw to hide, but a signal to pay attention to? In this episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate breaks down the psychology of jealousy and how to use it as a map back to your own desires.…
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Ep 159: How to Stop Negative Self-Talk: 3 Psychology-Backed Shifts That Actually Work
Negative self-talk can quietly erode your confidence, motivation, and emotional well-being — but it’s not a personality flaw. It’s a learned pattern your brain can unlearn. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate explores three psychology-backed ways to shift the inner critic using tools…
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Ep 158: How to Create a Personal Roadmap for the Year Ahead (Without the Pressure of “New Year, New You”)
How to Create a Personal Roadmap for the Year Ahead (Without the Pressure of “New Year, New You”) Forget “New Year, New You.” This episode of Your Courageous Life is about designing a roadmap for the year that’s rooted in authenticity, not pressure. Kate walks you through a step-by-step process…
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Ep 157: How to Conduct an Annual Review (That Actually Makes You Feel Alive, Not Behind)
One of the most powerful and courageous practices you can adopt is to review your year—and this is not just something for a business owner. Reviewing your year or conducting an annual review is a great way to consider what the past year has been about, what you’ve learned, and you can use that...
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Ep 156: The Courage to Want More (Without Feeling Guilty About It)
We’re taught to be grateful for what we have — but what about when gratitude starts to feel like a cage? What about when we feel the tension of wanting more, yet feeling…like we’ll be too much, or others will judge it, or it’ll completely disrupt our lives? Let’s move past that limitation, and…
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Ep155: My 3 Rules for a Stress-Free Holiday Season (Without Becoming a Hermit or a People-Pleaser)
If the holidays leave you more drained than joyful, you’re not alone—and given what the holidays are supposed to represent, it’s really a shame that year after year, we get sucked into the parasitic undertow of stress and overwhelm. But—if you choose it—it is possible to have a stress-free…
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Ep 154: How to start wanting your life, again
What happens when you wake up one day and realize you’ve stopped wanting your own life? In this deeply vulnerable episode of Your Courageous Life, Kate shares her personal experience with high-functioning depression — what it looked like, how she hid it, and what helped her begin to reconnect…
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Ep 153: The big, brave "no": how to start saying no and mean it, without the guilt
We've all been there--we say "yes" when we really want to say no, because we feel obligated or guilty or worried about someone's reaction. In this short, "tiny courage" episode, we're looking at how to start saying no and mean it, without the guilt. No explanations. No over-explaining. No trying…
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Ep 152: How Life Humbled Me—and What It Finally Taught Me About Control
We all say we’re prepared for whatever life throws at us—until we’re not. In this episode, we’re talking about what happens when life humbles you. For years, I thought I could outsmart hardship with self-awareness, tools, and grit. Then came the season that brought me to my knees—depression…
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Ep 151: Up-Level Your Life With This Practice
Want an easy practice to up-level your life that you can start today? Todays "Tiny Courage" series is a quick short-form podcast on a practice that I've recently adopted that has decreased stress, added to my joy, and drastically up-leveled my life. I'll share what it is and how you can adopt it...
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Ep 150: Stop Getting Stuck in Negativity and Pessimism
Feeling negative or pessimistic isn't a judgment--you aren't bad or wrong if you experience these feelings. But staying in negativity and pessimism will only get you stuck in negativity and pessimism, and the only person who with the power to shift you out of that space is...you. In today's…
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Ep149: How to handle the things in life that you don't like
No one has a hassle-free life, and sometimes when we're going through a difficult time, the things in life that we don't like become out-sized in our mind, bigger and more of a challenge than they really need to be. In todays' "Tiny courage series" I'm sharing a reframe for how to handle the…
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Ep 148: Stop People-Pleasing
People-pleasing is a tough fear pattern to transcend, because it brings with it so many unconscious benefits (approval!) and when we step out of it, we often feel discomfort (the guilt of not saying 'yes'!). In today' podcast episode, I'm diving into how you can recognize and stop people-pleasing...
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Ep 146: Six Ways to Shift Anxiety, Fast
There’s the deeper work that someone can do around shifting anxiety--looking at old trauma, familial patterns, the conditioning you were raised with. That tends to be longer term work to look at root causes that result in feeling anxiety in the here-and-now, and that is valuable work to do. But...
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Ep 147: A powerful reframe for difficult parents
In today's "Tiny Courage series" I'm offering a short-form podcast episode about a powerful reframe for difficult parents that I was offered during a coaching session, that altered the course of my life. If you've found that you've done some work to release the past yet still feel something that...
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Ep 145: Use this question to shift self-doubt
Self-doubt is just another form of fear. When you're stuck in self-doubt, the anxiety, ruminating, and over-thinking things starts to take over until we feel tied in knots. But with one simple question, you can shift your self-doubt and stop letting it run on auto-pilot. Today's tiny courage...
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Ep 144: 3 Beliefs to Shift Your Money Mindset, Today
Our thoughts have a lot of power over our behavior, including whether or not we notice opportunities or adopt a positive or negative attitude. When it comes to money, most people need to work on how to shift their money mindset into a more open space, and in today’s episode of the Your Courageous...
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Ep 143: Five-Minute Mindfulness
Today's Your Courageous Life podcast will feature another episode from our series that we're calling the "Tiny Courage series." If you've been wanting to get more mindfulness practices into your life but feel like they take too much time, here's a five-minute mindfulness practice to try out and...
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Ep 142: Stop Over-Functioning. Finding Balance between productivity and burnout
If you have felt like you can get things done, but you aren’t particularly happy in your life. If you have noticed that you think you’ll feel better once your to-do list is complete, and somehow either the list is never complete or completion is never as satisfying as you thought it would be. If...
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Ep 141: Introducing Tiny Courage
“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.” -- Mary Anne Radmacher I'm introducing a new series to be part of the Your Courageous Life podcast: the Tiny Courage series which will consist of short-form podcasts…
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Ep140 - 3 Easy Ways to Start Meditating and Feel More Courageous
Raise your hand if you've ever promised yourself you'd start meditating, and then...you started and stopped, or found it tough to get started. 🙋♀️ I've been there, myself--that is, until 2018 when I figured out 3 easy ways to start meditating that ended up helping me to step into more courage....
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Ep139: Low motivation? 9 Ways to Jumpstart Motivation
In this episode, we dive into the concept of how to handle it when you’re feeling unmotivated, so that you can shift out of resistance and into action. I’ve got 9 specific strategies to overcome low motivation, such as how you can do one tiny thing to trigger dopamine production, which can...
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Ep138: 9 Things to Know About Becoming More Confident
Across thousands of hours of coaching, training others, and–of course–a few of my own stumbles and fumbles, I’ve learned a few things about becoming more confident, the hard way. Here are 9 things to know about becoming more confident that will shift how you think about yourself. Confidence isn't...
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Ep137: 3 Questions to Have The Summer of a Lifetime
When was the last time you truly had a summer? Most of us stop having a summer vacation as soon as we enter the workforce, and over time we forget the magic that's possible when we create new adventures for ourselves. I'm sharing 3 questions that you can ask yourself to have the summer of a...
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Ep136: IKYMI - Silencing the Inner Critic
Most people recognize that there are critical voices or beliefs that impact their self-confidence, and it's only natural to want to silence those inner critic voices as a result. What not everyone realizes is that "silencing the inner critic" is not an effective tool--if it was, wouldn't it have...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to the Your Courageous Life podcast, where we talk about psychology and actionable tools for creating better habits, cultivating discipline, and practicing courage. Using a biopsychosocial lens, you'll learn the tools for creating a better life and developing more grit and emotional resilience.
Want more resources? Head to https://www.yourcourageouslife.com/begin .
HOSTED BY
Kate Swoboda
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Your Courageous Life podcast have?
Your Courageous Life podcast currently has 184 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Your Courageous Life podcast about?
Welcome to the Your Courageous Life podcast, where we talk about psychology and actionable tools for creating better habits, cultivating discipline, and practicing courage. Using a biopsychosocial lens, you'll learn the tools for creating a better life and developing more grit and emotional...
How often does Your Courageous Life podcast release new episodes?
Your Courageous Life podcast publishes regularly with 184 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Your Courageous Life podcast?
You can listen to Your Courageous Life podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Your Courageous Life podcast?
Your Courageous Life podcast is created and hosted by Kate Swoboda.
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