Every Branch Podcast

In today’s episode, we’re talking about planning our day. How orderly would you describe your life right now? Do you feel like you have some structure and peace over the planning of your day? I used to be allergic to planning! But I’ve had a complete recovery and am thrilled with how it is blessing my life! Today Jessica and I are talking about planning, and specifically, the need for us to do some deep work—whatever that may look like. Life is full of distractions, and often times even if we make a to-do list that gets crossed off, we can make it to the end of the day feeling less than productive, simply because the things we crossed off weren’t those that bring deep value and meaning to our life.

Have you ever struggled with jealousy? Are there certain people that bring up envious feelings for you? Perhaps they have similar ambitions, goals, or interests, and it appears that they are succeeding far more than you are. Today's episode is a personal one for me. I'm sharing all about my own recent moment of jealousy and the profound experience I had in conquering it!

If I were to ask you what your spiritual gifts are, would you be able to tell me? When I use the term spiritual gifts, I’m referring to any kind of quality, or ability you innately have that helps you and ultimately helps you help other people. Our spiritual gifts do not have to be showy or obvious, in fact, most often, they are subtle and regularly passed over without the recognition that they really deserve. You may have the spiritual gift of empathy, compassion, humor, being a good listener, being intuitive, being curious about other people, the gift of speaking, gift of hospitality, creativity, problem solving, and an endless list of other possibilities. Do you know what your own spiritual gifts are? Today we’re going to talk about spiritual gifts, and both Jessica and I are going to share some recent examples of how we are developing our own spiritual gifts that not as easy and natural to us as others, and what to do with the awkwardness that comes when those gifts aren’t already functioning at a hig

Today’s episode is all about fear. What role does fear play in your own life? Do you allow it to freeze your progress or do you know how to break through it? We’re going to talk about two types of fear, and how one type, is surprisingly one that you actually need to embrace! Fear will always be uncomfortable, but amazing things happen when we can learn how to read it.

Have you ever had the experience of being around a negative person and felt your mood drop to that same low place? Or the opposite experience of being with a radiant person and you feel your own spirits rise? We’ll talk about why this happens, and how you can hold the space of a higher emotion when confronted with someone else’s low emotions. this is especially powerful when you need to be a safe support for someone else who is struggling. Today’s conversation gets into my newest favorite topic: the energy of our emotions. Each emotion you feel resonates at a different frequency in your body. We already intuitively know this, it’s why we say that our spirits our high or or our spirits are low. If you want a great resource to learn more about this, both Jessica and I just recently finished reading the book The Emotion Code—which we will link to in the show notes. It’s a fascinating read that we only mention briefly on the podcast, but it gives a great overview of the science behind emotion, and most import

Have you ever caught yourself saying negative statements like, “I’m such a bad mom! I am a slow learner! I never have enough money for the things that I want to do! I don’t get noticed by other people? I am just not creative!? Today’s episode is all about language and the power of the words we use. We’re going to shine a light on just how influential those statements can be, (even when we use them in jest! ). We talk about how changing just one word in those statements can make all the difference, and I give a really great science experiment that you can try out with your kids that teaches all ages what can happen by the words we say. You know the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?!" It aint true. Not even one bit. Names have power. Words have power. And today we’re going to talk all about how we can change our words to create incredibly great things in our life.

What do you do when you are overwhelmed, out of balance, you’re stressed, life feels unorganized and you feel like you’ll never catch up? This is actually a cycle that most all of us go through again and again. Today, we’re talking about how to short cut the cycle and trick our minds into moving us back to the position of being at the top of the world! If you knew there was a trick, wouldn’t you want to know? Believe it or not, it has a whole lot to do with how you think and what you say!

If you feel stuck or the rigors of commitments and routines have begun to feel too confining, it might be time for you to take a tiny getaway. In today’s conversation we talk about how taking a 24 hr off site retreat, all by yourself, can help bring clarity and renewed energy to your life, and we also talk about my newest favorite practice for releasing limiting beliefs called Write and Burn. Most importantly, We talk about how any tool or practice becomes more effective when we set a clear intention before we begin. If you’re looking for a fast track result to anything, setting a clear intention is exponentially more effective and faster than simply hoping for the best!

In today’s episode, Brooke shares her own story of balancing life with mental illness. We talk about the importance of self care, not waiting until things fall apart to nourish ourselves, and finding balance moment to moment. For full show notes and resources mentioned in this episode, please visit our website at http://everybranch.is

Today is all about creativity and using our gifts! What motivation do you think is more important and sustainable… should you….create for yourself or create for other people? Where do you currently find yourself on that scale? In this conversation, Jessica and I share our own milestones of learning why we must create for ourself first and foremost. We talk about why this is actually a humble and noble pursuit, how to keep this perspective even if your creativity is your career, and how to use your creativity as a healthy and beautiful form of self care.

Today we’re talking about a new term that I learned this week: "opinion overload". How do you allow other people’s opinions to influence your life? How do other people’s opinions influence your own expectations, and goals, and who you are striving to become? Is it helpful or is it hurtful? Jessica and I share our own stories today about how to put other people’s opinions in their proper helpful place. We talk about how to set your own expectations for yourself, instead of taking on other people’s expectations, and we address the root of the problem, in determining how we can be happy and content in our own skin. How do you not only know who you are, but be okay with being different and uniquely you?

Today we’re talking about being brave. What type of things scare you or require a ton of courage for you to do? to you, They may not seem brave enough to base a movie script off of, but bravery can be required in many parts of your average day, Jessica shares her own act of bravery from this week, and helps shed light on how bravery can be as monumental as just showing up. We talk about how it takes bravery to receive criticism, bravery to say sorry and seek forgiveness, bravery to try over and over again at something we’re struggling to learn, and how bravery NEEDS cheerleaders! We hope that today’s conversation helps you see the many different ways you have already been brave while giving you encouragement to keep at it and help encourage bravery in others.

Today’s episode is all about dealing with life when things get hard. Jessica and I both had really challenging weeks, mine ended in a melt down—and hers in an anxiety attack. If you’ve ever been there—pushed to the edge with the challenges of life around you, discouraged, downtrodden, and feeling inadequate to what life is asking of you right now, you’re in good company! We talk about why we should never compare our personal trials to the trials of those around us—how we are all worthy of love and compassion regardless of what we’re going through—how the level of your personal best changes day to day and why your expectations should too—and of course, we also get spiritual today and talk about the power of prayer in finding the strength we need within ourselves to keep going. For full shownotes of today's episode, please visit our website at http://everybranch.is

Today we’re discussing the truth about slow progress. If you have ever been discouraged by how slow things grow…whether that is growth in your own goals, seeing progress in your children, or growth in your work, you’ll enjoy a great dose of encouragement as Jessica and Brooke uncover the truth of what is really happening during those very slow times. We talk about how to look for what is happening underneath the surface, keeping focused on our own progress instead of the progress of others, finding humor, and the purpose of those stumbling blocks in our path. Growth can often be slow, but it’s during those times that we like to remember the words of “Boyd K. Packer” who said, “That which grows the slowest, lasts the longest”. LEARN WITH US: 1. What area of your life feels like slow growth right now? 2. If it’s your own growth, are you able to identify anything that is happening underneath the surface? 3. If it’s growth in others, how would changing your focus to your own growth help improve the process?

Today we’re talking about the proper use of goals. How often have you used goals in your life as a key source to your identity? You’re working towards something, you construct your life around that destination, and everything rests on the hope of getting there?? To Achieving that major moment you’re working towards? Goals are meant to be great and good when used properly. But they can be our downfall, if we save our happiness and enjoyment only for the final moment of achievement, and worse yet, we can fall hard and experience ultimate failure if our life takes a turn and those goals no longer fit. Today Jessica and I share our stories and philosophy on how to use goals for direction, but not destination.

Today, we’re talking about Finding Connection with Others. How are you doing at connecting? Are you a natural connector or does connecting with other people sometimes feel challenging? So much of it has to do with WHO you are trying to connect with—we can likely all agree that some people are more challenging than others. But does it really have to be that way? Today Jessica and I share our stories on how to connect with anyone. Jessica is a natural connector, it’s super easy for her to make friends, connect, and instantly love people. I on the other hand have a tendency to isolate my differences and allow that to limit connections that could really benefit me. Despite our different natures, we have largely come to the same conclusions on what it is that brings connection. LEARN WITH US: *Pick a person in your life that you would like to feel more connection with. Can you identify what it is the currently limits your connection? What is one thing you can do to feel more connected? Make a commitme

If you have ever felt stuck, today’s episode is for you. Jessica and I talk about how often times the feeling of being stuck is a result of putting up walls and doors to protect us from feeling emotions that we don’t want to feel. We as humans really don’t like to be uncomfortable! We don’t like to feel sad, embarrassed, disappointed, hurt, failure, conflict, and on and on. To avoid those feelings, the natural tendency is to build a wall, put up a door, and find protection. And all too soon, we wonder why we feel stuck and locked in place, unable to get to where we really want to be. Today Jessica and I talk about how choosing to lean in and actually allow ourselves to feel those uncomfortable feelings, really is the path to freedom and progress. We talk about how most uncomfortable feelings pass within 90 seconds if you really choose to feel it, and we share our own stories of choosing to feel the pain in order to avoid the suffering that comes from building walls to protect ourself. As always, today

Today we dig deep into our conversation on performing and vulnerability. We talk about the many different ways we can find ourselves performing a role of ourselves to other people, that may not actually represent our true selves, all in order to get attention, or just to feel safe. Jessica shares some of her personal practices for being vulnerable and how leaning into vulnerability not only brings out our true character, but deepens our connection to those around us.

Today is the last episode of Season 2! It's also time for Sarah to say a bittersweet goodbye to Every Branch, and for Brooke to share new vision for what's to come. In this episode, we share the events that led up to Sarah's decision to leave, how to know when you're making the right decision, and Brooke's inspiring vision for Season 3 and beyond. Thank you so much for listening...Brooke will be back on the podcast with new conversations and special guests in a few weeks, so subscribe to our mailing list at http://everybranch.is/sharing/ to get an update when the new season releases!

We've both gone through tremendous personal growth since starting this podcast. Without realizing it, so many of the topics we've wrestled with have had to do with our identities and how we live those out in the world. Who are we, really? And how can we be strong in who we are, no matter what's going on around us? This week, we talk about the building blocks of identity, and how we strengthen the foundations we build our identities on.