BONUS: Grief Does Not Pause for Potato Salad (YNBS 093)

Episode 099: When You Google “Early Signs of Dementia” at 2 AM

Have you ever Googled early signs of dementia at 2 AM after forgetting a word, walking into a room with no idea why, or losing your keys while holding your keys? You are not alone, and what is happening may not be what you fear most. June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and this fear is in the air for a lot of women right now - especially the woman noticing her own memory slipping in ways she did not expect. In Episode 099, Coach Janet J walks you through: * How to tell the difference between memory slips that are common with age and patterns worth bringing to a doctor * Why some of what feels like cognitive decline may be chronic stress wearing a costume * How to move from helpless fear to one small, doable step that cares for the brain you have SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) Research note: Framing draws on the National Institute on Aging’s guidance on normal aging versus dementia, the 2024 Lancet Commission update on modifiable dementia risk factors, and Lupien et al. (2009) on chronic stress and the hippocampus. Educational content only. Not medical advice. If you notice new, worsening, or daily-life-disrupting memory changes, please talk with a qualified healthcare professional. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: What Do You Think of the January Version of You? (YNBS 098)

Your goals from January were just a sincere guess based on a version of you who hadn’t lived the last six months yet. Cut yourself some slack, thank the past version of you for trying, and give yourself permission to update the plan for who you are today.  Join us for Your Next, Best Step’s episode “The Six-Month Check-In You Actually Need” where you can learn what goal-adjustment research says about releasing what no longer and walk away with one clear compass for the second half of your year (Episode 098) Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 098: The Six-Month Check-In You Actually Need

Six months in. Half the year is behind you, and the goals you wrote down in January are looking different from where you are sitting now. Some still fit. Some have shifted. And some, when you look at them today, might feel like they belong to a different woman entirely. This episode is your compassionate mid-year check-in. Most women set intentions in January and reach June with a low-grade guilt about everything they did not do. There is a different way to look at the year so far — one that uses the six months you have actually lived as the wisdom you bring forward. In this episode you will: * See the difference between adding (what we do in January) and editing (what June is for) * Learn what goal-adjustment research says about releasing what no longer fits — and why this is one of the wisest moves you can make for your well-being * Walk away with one clear compass for the second half of your year SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: “There is a time for everything... a time to keep and a time to throw away.”Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6 (NIV) Research note: References goal-adjustment research from Wrosch and colleagues (Concordia University, 2003) and the Barlow et al. meta-analysis (2020) on goal disengagement, reengagement, and well-being. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: Why the Same Saturday Can Feel Totally Different (YNBS 097)

Ever notice how a quiet weekend can feel peaceful one week, but incredibly lonely the next?  From the outside, solitude and loneliness look identical. What separates them is a single concept from psychology research: agency. Join us for the full conversation on the latest episode of Your Next, Best Step: "What to Do When Summer Feels Lonely" (Ep 097) Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 097: What to Do When Summer Feels Lonely

Summer is supposed to be the easy season. Long days. Cookouts. Vacation photos. And here you are, on a Monday in June, and the house feels emptier than it does in February. If you are a solo woman, a widow, an empty nester, or simply someone whose friends are traveling with their families this summer, you already know that the thinner calendar stings in a way other seasons do not. Culture says June is social. Your week says otherwise. That mismatch is exhausting. In this episode, we walk through the surprising difference between solitude and loneliness - and the one small thing that shifts how a summer afternoon feels, whether anyone else is in the room or not.  What you'll walk away with: — A fresh way to hear Isaiah 41:10 when the house is still — The psychology research that reframes time alone — One doable step to claim summer on your own terms SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT:  "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) Research note: This episode references Long and Averill's foundational work on the distinction between solitude and loneliness, published in the Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (2003), along with the 2023 U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on loneliness. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.