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Walk Boldly With JesusPraise Series #25 Delight In The LordPraise Series #25 Delight In The LordPsalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”Have you ever thought about taking delight in the Lord? I am sure this is not the only time this idea is presented in the Bible. Actually there are more than 10 instances in the Bible where it talks about taking delight in the Lord or in His law. I have never thought of taking delight in the Lord before. I mean, I love him, and I spend time with him, but to be honest...
2026-01-2313 min
The Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki33. How to Build Habits that Change Your LifeOn the day this episode releases I will go for a run to celebrate 2,500 days of running every single day. Building a habit that lasts for 2,500 days doesn't just happen on autopilot. It takes a lot of hard work, intentionality, and planning. In this episode, I breakdown a process you can go through that will help you in identifying and creating a habit that has the ability to change your life. My run streak has made a huge impact on my own life and it has inspired others to improve their own lives. It is incredible what we can...
2022-03-2820 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki32. How to Improve Your MoodIn this episode, we talk about the science behind our moods and why it is beneficial to have a better mood more often. We also learn practical strategies to help us improve our mood. The goal is not to try to experience happiness all the time, no matter our circumstances. Rather, the approach we want to take is to not let small, everyday annoyances derail our mood and ruin our day. Having a more positive mood can improve our health, our life satisfaction, and our success. Increased positive affect is an important part of flourishing in life.
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2022-03-2111 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki31. A Process to Reset and Get Out of a FunkA long, dark, and cold winter has left many of us feeling like we're in a funk. On the heels of a two year struggle through the pandemic, we're feeling exhausted, stuck, and unmotivated. This 8 step process can help you reset your mental, spiritual, and physical health, refresh your work life, home life, and relationships, and create a fresh outlook for your values and goals. After completing these steps you will feel less overwhelm and more clarity about how to move forward in this next season of life.
We can't think or feel our way out of...
2022-03-1522 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki30. You Were Made for Greatness, Not ComfortPope Benedict XVI is quoted as saying, "The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness."
The pandemic has increased our options for comfort these days. And many of us are doing all we can to seek comfort and avoid pain and discomfort. The circumstances in our current lives are ever-changing, overwhelming, and hard. It is so tempting to just move into survival mode, doing the bare minimum we can and then spending any free time we can find passively escaping all the hard. But a life in survival...
2022-01-3124 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki29. The Pursuit of Peak Flow Instead of Junk FlowFlow is an experience of total absorption in the task at hand, where you completely lose track of time and space. Researchers, like Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, have discovered that flow is the best predictor of well-being. The more often you are in a flow state, the more enjoyable your life experience will be.
But all flow is not created equally. Sometimes our experience of flow doesn't lead to more meaning and satisfaction. Sometimes when we come out of a flow state we still feel stuck and empty. This type of flow is known as junk flow. Junk flow...
2022-01-1729 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki28. Learning How to Move from Languishing to FlourishingIn early 2021, Adam Grant published an article in the New York Times that said, "There's a name for the blah you're feeling: It's called languishing." The article quickly went viral. Adam spoke to an experience that we had all been experiencing. Over the past couple of years, we have moved from grief and sadness to an overwhelming sense of languishing due to the pandemic and ongoing challenges of life. We just feel meh. Empty, stuck, stagnate, joyless. It's not mental illness, but we're definitely not experiencing mental well-being either. We're stuck between sickness and true health.
And...
2022-01-0318 min
The Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki27. How to Flourish By Creating a Balanced and Fulfilling LifeThis episode will help you understand what it means to flourish in life. We talk about three aspects that are necessary to help us flourish. These aspects are fulfillment, balance, and presence. We'll learn what it looks like and how it feels to live our lives fully alive, flowing smoothly, and with mindful awareness and appreciation for the present moment.
After going through a global pandemic, many of us are struggling to find our new normal and reengage in a fulfilling and meaningful life. We want to move forward with intention, to build practices and strategies that...
2021-07-1217 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki26. How to Build Strong Emotional Health to Cope with LifeGood emotional health is the ability to cope with both the highs and the lows in life. It involves being able to accept and manage any and all emotions we face with vulnerability and authenticity. You build strong emotional health by becoming aware of your emotions, learning to self-regulate in the midst of intense emotions, and developing healthy coping strategies to support you in hard times. In this episode, we learn healthy ways to accept and manage both the good and the bad so we can live a better, more meaningful life.
Links and Resources from this...
2021-06-2921 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki25. A Healthy Approach to ExerciseA healthy approach to exercise is flexible, adaptable, pleasurable, and compatible with your daily life. It supports the healthy functioning of your body and is done from a place of positive motivations and beliefs.
Exercising our bodies is extremely important, not just for our physical health but for our mental health and cognition as well. Many people approach exercise with an unhealthy focus on weight loss, disordered eating, and dysfunctional exercise practices that stem from self-criticism, self-loathing, and frustration over perceived flaws of the body. This attitude toward exercise may lead to some short-term physical results but...
2021-06-0823 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki24. Developing a More Positive Body ImageImproving your body image is one of the most important things we can do to support our overall health, wellness, and well-being. When we have a negative body image, our very motivation for pursuing health usually leads us down a dangerous road that often makes us even more unhealthy than when we began. This episode helps us better understand what body image is and provides practical strategies and inspiration that we can use to help us improve our body image. In this episode, you'll learn how a body gratitude journal can help improve your thoughts and feelings about your...
2021-05-1717 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki23. Rest, Relaxation, Sleep, and SabbathIn this episode we talk about the what, why, and how of rest, relaxation, sleep, and sabbath. These four things can have an effect on every aspect of our health and wellness. When we don't get sufficient rest it can impact our physical, mental, spiritual, and relational health. Learn some practical strategies to help you begin to make small changes to focus on getting more rest and relaxation in your life.
Links and Resources from this Episode:
Four Dimensions of Health
Sleep is your Superpower TED Talk by Matt Walker
6 Tips...
2021-05-0922 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki22. 9 Pillars of Wellbeing to Help You FlourishA lot of research has been done to help us better understand wellbeing. What makes up wellbeing? Does everyone have access to it? How can we increase our experience of wellbeing and what factors might hinder our it?
In this episode, we talk about 9 building blocks of wellbeing that we can examine and adjust to help us experience more wellbeing and flourish. The 9 building blocks or pillars include the original 5 facets of the PERMA theory as well as an additional 4 areas that recent research has identified as important factors for wellbeing as well. These 9 pillars of wellbeing...
2021-04-2722 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki21. How to Take Mindful Value-Based ActionIf you want to reach the goals that you have set for yourself, the answer is not more motivation, more confidence, or more self-discipline. Confidence is trusting and relying on yourself to do the things you said you would do. You can't build that trust and reliance until you start taking action, no matter how you feel. In this episode, we talk about how we choose our actions to live the life we truly want to live. We discuss what it takes to start making progress toward our goals. If you're ready to get serious about taking mindful, committed...
2021-04-1215 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki20. Using Your Values to Guide Your ActionsWe are continuing our series in which we are working to learn how to get ourselves to do the things we want to do, even when we don't feel like doing them. In episode 19 we learned how to accept our thoughts and feelings. In this episode we discuss the next step in the process, to choose a value-based direction and next step. We decide the person we want to be, we consider what is important to us, and then we choose our next right step based on these values, not on how we feel in the moment. This is...
2021-04-0718 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki19. Taking Action, Even When You Don't Feel Like ItHumans have around 6,200 thoughts per day. Some thoughts are helpful and some thoughts hold us back from doing the things we want to do. Our emotions also play a role in giving us the desire to do or not do the things we want. We have the ability to change our thoughts and feelings to help us do more of the things that matter to us. But we will still have some unhelpful thoughts or feelings that hold us back from living the life we want to live.
This episode talks about how we can become more aware of our...
2021-03-1520 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki18. How to Get Yourself to Do What You Want to DoThere's a popular passage of scripture in Romans where Paul says something along the lines of "I don't understand myself. I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate...I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." I think we can all relate to this passage in some way. We know what we should do, we know what we want to do, but how do we get ourselves to actually do it. We long for the day when we will find some motivation...
2021-03-0816 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki17. What is a Growth Mindset?People with a fixed mindset believe that their personal character, skills, intelligence, and abilities are fixed traits that cannot be changed. They believe you’re either born with it or you’re not. On the other hand, people with a growth mindset believe that their abilities can be developed through hard work and effort. A fixed mindset keeps us stuck and afraid of failure and mistakes, but people with a growth mindset are constantly improving and growing. They seek out challenges and recognize the power of learning from mistakes. Having a growth mindset can help you be more successful and...
2021-02-2216 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki16. Building Psychological Capital to Improve Well-BeingPsychological Capital, better known as PsyCap in the world of positive psychology, is the psychological resources of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism that can help employees perform better at work and increase overall well-being outside of the workplace. We can use the acronym HERO to help us remember these important resources. This episode talks about what each of these resources means and how we can develop them in our own lives.
Links and resources from this episode
Episode 6: The Practice of Gratitude
Episode 15: How to Build Resilience to Overcome Hard Times
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2021-02-2011 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki15. How to Build Resilience to Overcome Hard TimesResilience is the ability to bounce back after adversity. We will all face hard times and suffering in life. Instead of resisting the hard, resilient people learn to face challenges and stressors, accept mistakes, and grow from failures. This episode will teach you practical ways to increase your resilience and come out of hardship stronger.
Links and Resources from this Episode
Episode 3: The Why and How of Better Relationships
Episode 13: Managing Thoughts to Improve Mental Health
Episode 14: Why and How to Be More Optimistic
More ideas to help you...
2021-02-0812 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki14. Why and How to Be More OptimisticOptimism can help us achieve more success at work, home, school, in sports, and every other area of life. An optimistic explanatory style also helps us live longer, healthier lives. This episode discusses the power of optimism and provides practical instructions for how to increase optimistic thinking to improve your life.
Side note - starting next week, The Working Mom's Balance podcast will release new episodes on Mondays (instead of Fridays). Be sure to subscribe and come back on Monday for a new episode. There will also be a new blog post or video at WorkingMomsBalance.com...
2021-02-0520 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki13. Managing Thoughts to Improve Mental HealthWe are all experiencing a number of challenging circumstances these days which are taking their toll on our mental health and well-being. In this episode, I discuss the differences between optimism and pessimism and how we can learn optimism to decrease our risk of depression. Negative and destructive thoughts can have a powerful impact on our experience in life. Learn some strategies to replace your negative thoughts with thoughts that will help you live a happier, more successful life.
Links and Resources from this episode:
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life...
2021-01-1522 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki12. On Faith, Purpose, and Using Hard Times to Fuel Us Into Good ActionWell, we are one week into 2021 and it has already been quite a year. In this episode, I share some personal thoughts and stories on the importance of my faith and how it brings meaning and purpose to my life. I also describe how the events at the U.S. Capitol building this week have fueled me to take a more active stand in living out my purpose. To thrive in our lives, it won't be easy, but research tells us the discomfort will be worth it. Listen in to learn how you can use the anger, fear, and...
2021-01-0819 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki11. Goal Setting When the Future is UncertainHappy New Year, friends!
If 2020 taught us anything it was that change is inevitable and we need to hold our plans loosely because we never know what might be around the corner. This can make goal setting particularly difficult. There are still a lot of challenges and uncertainties as we enter 2021 and it can be hard to plan goals for the year when there is so much that we just don’t know about what 2021 will look like. In this episode, I share a process that can help us make progress toward our goals for living our dr...
2021-01-0118 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki10. Finding Light in the Darkness of 2020This year has had both light and darkness. We hold the tension of experiencing good right along with the bad that has happened. In the story of Christmas, Jesus comes to bring light in the midst of the world's darkness. This episode provides some thoughts and reflections to remind us of God's goodness and hope that is available to us no matter the circumstances we are facing. Merry Christmas!
Links and Resources from this Episode:
Isaiah 9: 1-7 NLT
Join the Working Mom’s Balance Email Club to get a free Life Clarity workbook an...
2020-12-1808 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki9. Longing for Hope and Joy at Christmas During a PandemicThis episode begins with the reading of Psalm 42, a Psalm where the writer expresses his grief and disappointment about not being able to walk among the crowds of worshipers. Maybe we can relate. In the year 2020, crowds of worshipers are a bad idea. There are disappointments, we feel weary and discouraged this Christmas. Many of our traditions have been canceled or changed. We long for how it used to be. There is hope that the pandemic will eventually end and we will be able to return to normal, but right now, we wait. This is the story of Advent...
2020-12-1111 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki8. Partnering with God to Make the Kingdom ComeFor the next few weeks, I will be sharing some thoughts and reflections on the Christmas story to help prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. Christmas feels strange this year. Things won't be like we are used to and I'm struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. In this episode, I reflect on how God partners with God's created people to do the work of restoring God's Kingdom on Earth. We are invited to speed God's return by working with God to repair our broken and hurting world. As we move closer to Christmas, may we notice...
2020-12-0411 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki7. Finding the Power to Manage Your TimeWorking moms are busy people with full schedules. We are always on the lookout for ways to develop systems and routines to help us become more efficient, figure out how to increase our focus and motivation while decreasing our distractions and tendency to procrastinate, and learn new time management strategies. Before we work on these solutions it is important to address a couple of important aspects related to our time first. You have the power to fill your time with whatever you desire. The purpose is not just to be busy for the sake of being busy or even...
2020-11-2713 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki6. The Practice of GratitudeNext week may be Thanksgiving in the United States, but gratitude is something that we should practice on a regular basis to increase our happiness, decrease our risk of depression, and improve our overall well-being. Gratitude is one of the most effective practices for enhancing life satisfaction. In this episode, learn more about the benefits of gratitude, what gratitude actually is, and a few practices that you can do to help deepen your experience of gratitude in your life.
Links and resources from this episode:
Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert...
2020-11-2018 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki5. Finding the Motivation and Self-Discipline to Do Amazing ThingsOn the day this episode airs, I will go out for a run for the 2,000 consecutive day. My run streak has helped me learn a lot about how to find motivation and become more self-disciplined. In this episode, I talk about how I made it to 2,000 days and what I do to set myself up for success. I share the 3 things that scientists who study motivation tell us we need to develop intrinsic motivation to do the things we need to do.
Links and resources from this episode:
Streak Runners International List of all Active R...
2020-11-1320 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki4. How to Manage Emotions WellEmotions are a part of life. Some people avoid and bury their emotions while others get stuck and ruminate on their emotions. Neither approach is healthy and productive. In this episode, we learn what emotions actually are, the importance of allowing ourselves to experience all emotions, and we discover how to manage our emotional experience in order to be resilient and thrive.
Links and Resources from this episode:
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David
How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain b...
2020-11-0620 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki3. The Why and How of Better RelationshipsOur world is incredibly divided. The only thing we can all agree on is that we don't agree on anything. And yet, researchers know that relationships are vital for living a healthy life of well-being. This episode explores just how important relationships are to help us experience the good life and discusses how we can work through conflict and disagreement to find love. We need each other. Let's figure out how to build stronger relationships in spite of our differences.
Links and resources from this episode:
More information on the Harvard Study of Adult Development...
2020-10-3022 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki2. How to Live a Happy LifeWhat do we mean when we talk about living a happy life? A truly happy life is not just focused on pleasure and happy feelings all the time. A life that is satisfying is one that is filled with meaning and purpose. In this episode, we talk about the different levels of happiness we can experience and work to find ways to move toward a more full and abundant life.
Links and Resources from this episode:
Books
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment by Martin Seligman
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in...
2020-10-2317 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki1. A Better Life is PossibleYou can live a happier and more enjoyable life. Today's working moms are overwhelmed, exhausted, and stressed out. But the good life is possible, even in the midst of difficult life circumstances. Learn more about what an abundant and satisfying life looks like and how you can begin to make the changes in your life to get there. A better life is possible. Are you ready to pursue it?
Links and resources from this episode:
World Happiness Report
What is Positive Psychology?
John Chapter 10 (ESV)
Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
...
2020-10-1617 minThe Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy KulwickiComing Soon: The Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy KulwickiJoin Tracy Kulwicki, wife, mom, full-time employee, and life coach as she shares inspiration and motivation gleaned from the field of Positive Psychology to teach Christian working moms how to thrive and experience greater well-being. We’ll talk about faith, parenting, marriage, health, mindset, finding meaning, managing emotions, organization, time management, and more. Coming October 2020.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tracy-kulwicki/support
2020-10-1301 min