How are you doing? This is one of the most common questions widows are asked, and if you dread it, you’re most definitely not alone.   Hear why widows loathe being asked how we’re doing, and some different options for answering this question the next time you’re asked.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/258

Do you believe that there’s some sort of false binary where you’re either grieving or done with grief? This is just one of the myths so many people have bought into about grief, but we know that grief never ends.   Learn why you never have to worry about being done with grief, and how it’s possible to love your life and create post-traumatic growth, even if you grieve your loss forever.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/257

My client, Wendy Alcanter, is a mother of three who lost her husband to suicide three years ago. She joined Mom Goes On as a busy mom and ER doctor, discovered the tools that helped her create a life she truly loves, and she’s here to tell us about her grief journey.   Wendy shares her experience of early grief, how the tools she learned in Mom Goes On have supported her, and what her life is like now.   Get full show notes and more information...

Most people are walking around wondering if they’ve reached acceptance in grief, as though it’s a place. This feeds right into the narrative that grief ends. But we know that it doesn’t.   Learn why acceptance is not a place but rather a choice we make over and over, and how you can begin thinking about acceptance as a constant opportunity.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/255

Do you worry that if you no longer felt pain about your person’s loss you’d lose your connection to them?   Join me this week to hear why your pain has nothing to do with your connection to your person, the difference between thoughts that create pain and thoughts that create connection, and what happens when you confuse pain with connection.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/254

What is your relationship with pleasure? My guess is that you don’t truly believe your pleasure is a priority, but grief is a phenomenal opportunity for you to reassess where and how you can have a better quality of life.   Hear how most of us don’t prioritize pleasure, why pleasure is especially important in grief, and what you can do to create more pleasure and joy in your life.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/253

When do widows need a life coach? I’ll be honest, I struggle to answer this question, not only because I don’t know what you need, but also because I’m not in the business of telling people they need a coach.   Hear why asking this question is entirely unhelpful, and ask yourself questions instead about what you want next in life.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/252    

There’s nothing like spousal or partner loss to make us reassess our priorities and get back in touch with what we truly want. But what do you do when you decide you no longer want to pursue something, and you’ve got that voice in your head saying, “Don’t be a quitter, you should or have to do this?”   Hear why you might be struggling to give up on something you no longer want, and discover four questions that will give you a renewed sense of clarity around your decision.   Get full show...

So much of what we’re experiencing - from the roller-coaster of emotions and what we believe is or isn’t possible for us - feels so true, doesn’t it? However, just because it’s there as the content of your experience doesn’t mean it’s what you’re limited to.   That’s because you are the context, not the content, and this week, I’m sharing a new perspective on widowhood that might break your brain in the best way possible. Get full show notes and more information...

The common widowhood experience often ranges from a lack of enthusiasm about life and going through the motions to apathy and waiting for the afterlife. What I haven’t observed very often in my world is what I see as the potential for an uncommon widowhood experience, and I’m walking you through it today.   If you want to start viewing grief as an opportunity to deeply connect with what you want and value, join me as I unlock the possibilities for your uncommon widowhood experience.   Get...

I don’t know that we’ll ever reach the bottom of the list when it comes to myths about grief, but I have six more to share with you today.   Grief is a subjective experience that is unique to each of us, and it’s impossible to do it wrong. Hear six universal myths about grief that simply aren’t helpful and how to be the authority on your own grief experience.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/248

There are many ideas out there about what grief should look like and how we should handle it. Most of these ideas are myths, and believing them doesn’t help you on your grief journey at all.   I share six of these myths, explain why they aren’t true, and share insights on more helpful ways to look at your grieving experience.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/247

Over the last hundred years, there have been several different grief theories developed by experts to help people understand the bereavement experience. Some of them are strongly criticized and don’t speak to most widows’ experiences.   I’m detailing the main grief theories in recent history, the criticisms of them, and how having an understanding of them benefits you on your own grief journey.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/246

In a world where Valentine’s Day is shoved down our throats, let’s approach it consciously together this year. We get to be the boss of our experiences, so how are you going to take back Valentine’s Day for yourself?   Join me on this episode as I dig into the narratives we’ve been sold about Valentine’s Day and share my love letter to you as my way of acknowledging this day.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/245

Have you stopped taking action on something you said you wanted because you’re experiencing a lack of motivation? What if I told you there is no motivation required to create what you want?   Learn what happens when we believe we need motivation, why we don’t have to solve for a lack of motivation, and what becomes possible when you decide motivation isn’t required.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/244

No goal makes us more worthy as humans, but it is incredibly fun to let ourselves go after the thing we want most.    Learn the best way to create what you want as a widow, and how to truly believe that everything you want is possible and available to you.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/243

If self-care feels terrible, it’s probably a sign that you’re doing it right. Self-care is not a luxury, indulgent, all about spas and vacations, or a sign that you’re not grieving “right.”   Hear how self-care feeling terrible is a green light to keep going, not a sign that you should stop, and three strategies for improving your sense of self-care.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/242

Your life has taken an unexpected turn you didn’t ask for. You mastered game 1, and you’re now in uncharted territory in game 2, but you can definitely win at this game too.   I share the top seven ways we hold ourselves back from winning at game 2 so you can set yourself up for this next chapter of your life.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/241

Losing your person is a big deal, and it’s challenging to grapple with this new life you didn’t choose. How can we appreciate this seismic shift that’s happened in our lives, and is it even possible?   Learn what the metaphor of game 1 versus game 2 means, and why it’s a useful way to think about this next chapter of life you’re currently in.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/240

What would it be like if you never believed the “should” thoughts in your brain? What if, every time one appeared, you simply replied with, “No thank you”?   I’m no longer interested in entertaining “should” thoughts, and I believe we can intentionally choose what we want without them. Learn how to embark on a should-free year in 2024.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/239

Whether you have lost your spouse suddenly or lived in anticipatory grief for a long time, like my client Darlene Barnett Carter, there is no easy way to cope with the loss of someone you love. Darlene was desperate for support after her husband’s death, but she had some reservations about how coaching might affect her faith and the true benefits of group coaching.    Hear Darlene’s journey through widowhood, the revelations she experienced inside Mom Goes On, and how her life has shifted...

Most people have heard of the five stages of grief, but we need to stop talking about it. The idea of the five stages of grief was first suggested in 1969, but grief theory has come a long way since then.   Discover why the five stages of grief are not reflective of your experience as a widowed mom and why it’s okay that we never reach “acceptance” in grief.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/237

Widows are constantly being told that we’re supposed to be grateful and that we should count our blessings. We’re being sold the idea that gratitude is the “fix,” and I don’t buy it.   Hear why the gratitude trap is problematic, how it might be doing you more harm than good, and the difference between true gratitude and forced gratitude.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/236

Are you either a widowed mom wondering where the heck her self-confidence went or a coach (or aspiring coach) who’d like to feel confident coaching grief? If so, this week’s bonus episode is a quick must-listen. Tune in and learn about two time sensitive offerings you’ll probably want to be on the list for!   Click here to sign up for my free, live workshop: www.coachingwithkrista.com/rocksolid/