The Working Mom's Balance Podcast with Tracy Kulwicki

33. How to Build Habits that Change Your Life

On 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 accomplish when we focus, act with intentionality, and encourage one another along the way. LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything by BJ Fogg [https://amzn.to/3Jwa0f4] - the process explained in this episode comes from this book Support the free content available on this show by making a donation here [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tracykulwicki]. More ideas to help you move from languishing to flourishing at www.WorkingMomsBalance.com [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/] Find me on Instagram at @TracyKulwicki [https://www.instagram.com/tracykulwicki]

32. How to Improve Your Mood

In 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. Links and Resources from this Episode: The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122271/] - this article talks more about the Broaden and Build Theory 22 Ways to Lighten Your Mood [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/lighten-up-your-mood/ ] - more ideas to help you reset a bad mood What is Positive and Negative Affect in Psychology? [https://positivepsychology.com/positive-negative-affect/] Support the free content available on this show by making a donation here [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tracykulwicki]. More ideas to help you move from languishing to flourishing at www.WorkingMomsBalance.com [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/] Find me on Instagram at @TracyKulwicki [https://www.instagram.com/tracykulwicki]

31. A Process to Reset and Get Out of a Funk

A 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 an unmotivated and apathetic place, we have to take action. The steps in this process are purposely ordered to help us build momentum, motivation, and inspiration. We will start small with the simple step of spending time in nature. Our final step will involve reassessing our values and goals to envision a new path forward. The simple act of getting started on the first small step will help us develop a sense of progress and accomplishment to keep us going through the remainder of the process. LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Episode 30: You Were Made for Greatness, Not Comfort [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/episode30/] Episode 29: The Pursuit of Peak Flow Instead of Junk Flow [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/episode29/] Episode 28: Learning How to Move from Languishing to Flourishing [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/episode28/] This episode for the BEMA discipleship podcast talks more about the eternal 7th day and God's invitation for us to join in the enjoyment of creation. [https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/1] Quarterly Goal Planning Workbook [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/goals-workbook/] More ideas to help you move from languishing to flourishing at www.WorkingMomsBalance.com [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/] Find me on Instagram at @TracyKulwicki [https://www.instagram.com/tracykulwicki]

30. You Were Made for Greatness, Not Comfort

Pope 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 mode, filled with comforts and passively checking out of our reality leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled. Rest is good and vital for a meaningful, productive life. But it's also important to go out and contribute to the world in a meaningful way. This episode will help you develop new rhythms and patterns of rest, productivity, and fun. You'll learn how to reflect and discover if you need more rest or if what you really need is more meaningful action toward your goals and dreams. LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Episode 29: The Pursuit of Peak Flow Instead of Junk Flow [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/episode29/] How to tell the difference between laziness and resting [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/difference-between-laziness-resting/] More ideas to help you move from languishing to flourishing at www.WorkingMomsBalance.com [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/] Find me on Instagram at @TracyKulwicki [https://www.instagram.com/tracykulwicki]

29. The Pursuit of Peak Flow Instead of Junk Flow

Flow 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 happens when the superficial experience of initial flow becomes an addiction instead of a source of growth. Adam Grant has developed a theory of peak flow. In this theory, he explains the three things required to experience healthy, peak flow instead of junk flow. The three things we need for peak flow are mastery, mindfulness, and mattering. This episode talks about these three things and provides examples to help us discover how to identify junk flow versus peak flow. We'll learn how to adjust our activities to bring in more mastery, mindfulness, and mattering so that we can experience peak flow more often. LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Episode 28 - Learning how to move from languishing to flourishing [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/episode28/] Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [https://amzn.to/32aybiM] Adam Grant's TED Talk: How to Stop Languishing and Start Finding Flow [https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_how_to_stop_languishing_and_start_finding_flow] More ideas to help you move from languishing to flourishing at www.WorkingMomsBalance.com [https://www.workingmomsbalance.com/] Find me on Instagram at @TracyKulwicki [https://www.instagram.com/tracykulwicki]