The Work of Being Human

This week, we dive into the root causes of anxiety. So often, it's rooted in a belief that life is supposed to be pleasurable, easy, and satisfying all the time. This is a recipe for anxiety. Or we think that we're supposed to have an easy time of it, that things should generally go in our favor. This also is a recipe for anxiety. And then we feel anxious because we're anxious, and it's a miserable soup. Instead, let's take a look at the reality of how life really is, the nature of human beings, and the secret skill everyone can learn that reduces anxiety forever. Sign up for The Toolbox Workshop here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-toolbox-workshop-tickets-516328722107

This week, we have the distinct honor of hearing Jeremy Lister tell us about his journey from addiction to sobriety to self-love to ongoing self-care. Jeremy is a living example of the miracle of recovery. I remember hearing it said in a 12-step meeting, "Recovery simply means recovering what was lost." Jeremy walks us through his journey of losing much and then gaining even more. His humility, common sense, and gut level honesty drive the message home: we can change our lives, one day at a time.  Sign up for the Toolbox Workshop here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-toolbox-workshop-tickets-516328722107

The field of mental health spends more time identifying illnesses than focusing on health. We address symptoms, but we never seem to focus on the conditions required for human beings to thrive. In this episode, we're going to bottom line it: what conditions are necessary for humans to thrive? (There are basically two.) And we're going to talk about how you can create the conditions required in your own life for your own thriving. The goal isn't the absence of mental illness. The goal is health. The Harvard interview: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/20/04/harvard-edcast-benefit-family-mealtime Register for the Toolbox Workshop: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-toolbox-workshop-tickets-516328722107?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Sign up for the blog: www.vanessalondino.com

Folks have some interesting ideas about human emotions! "They're all irrelevant." "Emotions do not represent truth." "Your emotions are not valid." No, they're not. Well, sometimes they do. And yes, they are. Today we dive into the role of human emotions, what we can learn from them, how to work with them, and we take a look at four different personality patterns that cause us to undervalue or overvalue our emotions. What we need is balance. In this week's episode, we get intimate with those pesky things we call emotions. The Finnish study (I mistakenly said it was Norway): https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/12/30/258313116/mapping-emotions-on-the-body-love-makes-us-warm-all-over ***** Register for the Toolbox here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-toolbox-workshop-tickets-516328722107 Purchase the Toolbox here: https://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Tools-Build-Relationships-Repair/dp/1736381318/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZMIA8MCJH5Z3&keywords=the+toolbox+vanessa+londino&qid=1673843052&sprefix=the+toolbox+vanessa+londino%2Caps%2C262&sr=8-1

This week, we dive into the internal sense of the self that allows us to relate to others. Just as the physical body has parameters, we explore what that means in the realm of the mental/emotional self. When we are caring for ourselves, who or what exactly are we caring for? And when we set boundaries, what exactly are we protecting? What is the self? Why is it worth protecting? We need a point of reference. In this week's episode, I walk through my own development of an internal point of reference, and I give practical steps to developing a sense of yourself you can know and preserve. Click here to learn more about a Toolbox workshop: https://www.vanessalondino.com/contact Click here to purchase The Toolbox: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-toolbox1

Happy new year! For our first episode of 2023, we take a deep dive into what it means to actually reform and reinvent yourself. I'm going to challenge the notion that you need a "new you" in this new year, but we DO get into what actually needs to change if we're going to evolve more and more into an authentic version of ourselves. This week, we take a look at the power of our narratives and the autonomy we possess to change.

Well, Folks! We're winding down our year with a final installment of the yearly inventory. This week, we're going to look at how far we've come. All changes aren't happy ones. Sometimes the toughest decisions we've made this year have amounted to the most growth and peace we'll experience going forward in 2023. THANK YOU for allowing me to be a part of your lives and your passage forward. Congratulations on making it through another year! I'll be with you next week in 2023.

Our third week of taking our yearly, personal inventory... this week we look at the Fun & Play in our lives, our Finances, and our Home Environment. All three areas will have a direct and significant effect on our mental health. PURCHASE THE TOOLBOX HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Tools-Build-Relationships-Repair/dp/1736381318/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L0L1KX3WJ6UO&keywords=vanessa+londino&qid=1671420164&sprefix=vanessa+londino%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1 SIGN UP FOR TOOLBOX WORKSHOPS HERE: https://www.vanessalondino.com/contact

This week we dive deeply into inventorying our life's work, our community engagements, and our holistic health. Let's ask ourselves how we're doing in these areas. It's so easy for us to turn on auto-pilot and just live day to day without much conscious thought. The yearly inventory gives us a chance to stop the craziness of life and ask ourselves: how's it going? In various dimensions of life, we need a focused amount of time to look at where we've come and plan ahead. Growth happens on purpose. Purchase the Toolbox here: https://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Tools-Build-Relationships-Repair/dp/1736381318/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+toolbox+vanessa+londino&qid=1670817890&sprefix=the+toolbox+vanessa+%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1 Sign up for Toolbox workshops here: https://www.vanessalondino.com/contact

This week, after sharing some details about a significant breakthrough I experienced, we dive into our annual, year-end inventory. We examine two dimensions of human experience: our spirituality and our love/intimacy in relationships.  Order the Toolbox here: https://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Tools-Build-Relationships-Repair/dp/1736381318/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=vanessa+londino&qid=1670208641&sprefix=vanessa+lon%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1