Kelly Johnson- Courageous Curiosity Coaching & Consulting

Need a 'being brave" tuneup? Passing along a GREAT resource for all of us interested in what it means to be brave. Join me in doing Jon Acuff's 5 day Brave Challenge this week. Just watched Day 1 and it was excellent! It's free!

https://acuff.mykajabi.com/5-brave-days-challenge

FREE 5 Brave Days Challenge 2022 with Jon Acuff You’ll get 5 days of LIVE training from New York Times Bestselling Author, Jon Acuff, plus fun giveaway prizes, the chance to ask Jon questions, and so much more.

NEW POST: Let's dive deeper into the Enneagram this summer! If you speak Enneagram, what Type do you lead with and what is YOUR favorite thing about the Enneagram?
https://kellyiveyjohnson.com/my-5-favorite-things-about-the-enneagram/

My 5 Favorite Things about the Enneagram - Kelly Ivey Johnson Happy June and Happy Summer of the Enneagram! After 30+ years working in the field of emotional wellness, and even more years listening for the voice of Spirit in my life, studying the Enneagram feels like the missing puzzle piece...Read More

NEW POST: I know you have all been on the edge of your seat wondering how my Improv class is going 😆 Actually, I've learned a few things you might find meaningful as well. Let me know your favorite "rule!"
https://kellyiveyjohnson.com/lets-play-lessons-from-improv-class/?fbclid=IwAR2Wr13MhsO_3KH9DOOpOZYN1_bT-umRb1Ye1o9XeGD7fSY9QgZ0ULcUVrA

Let's PLAY: Lessons from Improv Class - Kelly Ivey Johnson Happy MAY, it’s time to PLAY!! Speaking of bad poetry, I performed an original poem about fashion entirely in gibberish last Monday night, while my scene partner translated it into English. No, there were no cocktails involved, but there were...Read More

Hi friends! Happy April! In this month's FREE webinar, we will return to the Enneagram. Our focus this time is on the Three Centers of Intelligence. We access wisdom from our heart (feelings,) our head (thinking,) and our body (right action.) Part of personal growth using the framework of the Enneagram is balancing those three centers. Whether a Enneagram devotee or novice, you are welcome to join the discussion! And please invite a friend. Registration info in the comments.

When: April 20th, 7:30 p.m.
Where: ZOOM
How: Register below and then SAVE THE CONFIRMATION EMAIL so that you will have the link to join on that day.

Hope to see you there!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Head, Heart, Body: Wisdom from the Enneagram Centers FREE Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Head, Heart, Body: Wisdom from the Enneagram Centers FREE Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

Still space available in this Wednesday evening's FREE webinar on the Neuroscience of Stress. Link to register in the comments. Invite your friends; the more, the merrier!

Raise your hand if you journal!🙋‍🙋‍♀️

I've journaled on and off my whole life. Of course, I called it "writing in my diary" when I was 8 and shared all my secrets in my cool diary with a lock on it! I agree with the quote "I don't know what I think until I write it down."

Here is a great article on the benefits of journaling. Let us know any tips or tricks or best practices you have found in your journaling!
https://www.intelligentchange.com/blogs/read/how-20-years-of-journaling-shaped-who-i-am?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email_campaign&utm_campaign=%5BNEWSLETTER%5D%20Intelligent%20Weekly%2003%2F07%20%28XyT24w%29&_kx=KmkS6GEz93Jt1yQaRPlE3xBiI1PqoWa8Y2db2JwASrYez5gataQi5iw2JoE_Eybr.nFEe3R

How 20 Years of Journaling Shaped Who I Am Journaling isn’t a remedy for everything, yet it has the power to act like a shield. You’re able to weather more storms and untrouble your mind in the process – all thanks to a little notebook. When there’s nobody around to talk to, open a blank page and speak in writing.

NEW POST: Goodbye February! Hello March! My thoughts on hibernation, the return of spring, and some ideas about the enneagram and the observance of Lent.
https://kellyiveyjohnson.com/the-nature-of-growing-things/

The Nature of Growing Things - Kelly Ivey Johnson Happy March! Although we are not skunks, bees, snakes, groundhogs, bears or bats, we know a thing or two about hibernation around here. Over the last few weeks, my hubby and I have spent HOURS on the couch in our basement...Read More

I've become a big fan of James Clear and his book Atomic Habits. I also get his weekly newsletter and highly recommend it for practical tips on managing your time, building good habits, and reaching your goals. Check it out here!

Sign up for the popular 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter! The most wisdom per word of any newsletter on the web. You just discovered something really valuable. 3-2-1 Thursday is a free, weekly email with 3 ideas from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you. It's guaranteed to provide remarkable ideas and actionable insight – all in just 5 minut...

NEW POST: Are you ready to say goodbye to to January's constant pressure to "fix" your life? Talking about that very topic over on the blog today! https://kellyiveyjohnson.com/rebuilding-the-trellis/

Rebuilding the Trellis - Kelly Ivey Johnson Goodbye January! Hello February! Does anyone else find January exhausting? The constant “get your life right” messages and promises of quick fixes? 10 steps to lose 10 pounds Choose your word for the year New Year’s Resolutions that really work...Read More

A lot of the work I am doing right now is supporting work teams by helping them build resilience, empathy and awareness of how difficult these last two years have been. When we are under stress, it is much harder from a neuroscience perspective to connect with empathy.This article does a great job of highlighting the importance of empathy in the workplace, particularly from leaders. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/09/19/empathy-is-the-most-important-leadership-skill-according-to-research/?sh=407648fe3dc5&fbclid=IwAR33gOpb_9dU5jd-uMTy3bz0e_tXGI7nPIOt2AaN4FwvHgQISE8TrqE5_Qw

Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research You always knew demonstrating empathy is positive for people, but new research demonstrates its importance for everything from innovation to retention.

THIS! Shame keeps us stuck, self compassion allows us to move forward. This rings true for me. How about you?

What is that "invincible summer" within you? How does it serve you AND serve the world?

THIS! Scroll through these slides and then remember you are a human being having a normal reaction to an incredibly unusual circumstance. Then breathe and just do the next right thing

In case you were wondering what we do in coaching, THIS!! Let me know if you want a companion on the journey of returning to your beautiful, beloved, brave self

I love to travel. And I love to wander around new places. Anyone else? 🙋‍♀️

Ran across this word today and it made me smile. I need more coddiwompling in my life. Tell me: where is your favorite place to visit, especially if it involves wandering!!

Dug through my mom’s boxes of old photos this week while I was in Texas and I ran across this gem. My senior photo from 1982. I was 17 years old when this was taken and today is my 57th birthday 😳😳😳 Where in the world did 40 years go??

Did I learn anything in those 40 years? If I could sit down with her now, here is what I’d tell her (and other younger women:)
💜 You are good enough AND you are not too much. You are just the right amount of “enoughness” so you can give up the constant monitoring of other people’s opinions and relax. You have nothing to prove.
💜 You are God’s Beloved AND so is everyone else. Get rid of the “religious” rules and embrace our collective Belovedness. Love wins. Period.
💜 Yes, you’ve been hurt deeply but don’t be afraid to let your heart be tender. You don’t have to be so tough, guarded and ready to fight. (And by the way, that cute boy you just started dating, your heart is safe with him. Go ahead and start trusting him now.)
💜 Don’t apologize for your passion, your opinions, or your desire to lead. Don’t shrink or play small. The world needs your voice, so show up and do your part.
💜 AND lean into your natural curiosity about other people and learn to ask lots of good questions. You are at your best when you lead with a servant spirit and a tender heart.
💜 You will never have it all together. You will always be a work in progress, a little bit messy and awkward and loud, so you may as well have a good sense of humor and enjoy the ride!

Dug through my mom’s boxes of old photos this week while I was in Texas and I ran across this gem. My senior photo from 1982. I was 17 years old when this was taken and today is my 57th birthday 😳😳😳 Where in the world did 40 years go?? Did I learn anything in those 40 years? If I could sit down with her now, here is what I’d tell her (and other younger women:) 💜 You are good enough AND you are not too much. You are just the right amount of “enoughness” so you can give up the constant monitoring of other people’s opinions and relax. You have nothing to prove. 💜 You are God’s Beloved AND so is everyone else. Get rid of the “religious” rules and embrace our collective Belovedness. Love wins. Period. 💜 Yes, you’ve been hurt deeply but don’t be afraid to let your heart be tender. You don’t have to be so tough, guarded and ready to fight. (And by the way, that cute boy you just started dating, your heart is safe with him. Go ahead and start trusting him now.) 💜 Don’t apologize for your passion, your opinions, or your desire to lead. Don’t shrink or play small. The world needs your voice, so show up and do your part. 💜 AND lean into your natural curiosity about other people and learn to ask lots of good questions. You are at your best when you lead with a servant spirit and a tender heart. 💜 You will never have it all together. You will always be a work in progress, a little bit messy and awkward and loud, so you may as well have a good sense of humor and enjoy the ride! #lettertomyyoungerself #happybirthdaytome #joyinthejourney

Monday Motivation: Let’s make August “Celebrate Boredom” month! Yes, according to neuroscience, boredom can actually be GOOD for us.

Our brains have two networks that work for us: Task Positive Network and Default Mode Network. When we are not actively engaged in doing a task, our brain automatically flips (defaults) to the Default Mode Network. This is our mind wandering, dreaming, imagining space. You know how you sometimes have the best ideas when you are in the shower? You can thank your DMN for those moments of inspiration!

While it can sometimes turn to rumination, our Default Mode Network is vitally important to our good mental health. When we spend too much time in Task and don’t give our brain time to wander, it WILL take that time. Unfortunately, our current culture with easy access to endless content (podcasts, audio books, etc) allows very little space for our minds to just wander and dream. But we can change that!

Stay tuned for more workshops on our beautiful, brave brain in the fall!

🧐Until then, tell me one way you will embrace boredom this month!!

I've talked to this community before about the helpers- the people who come along side of you and help you achieve your dreams for serving the world with your gifts and passions. What is your part in making this world a better place? Sometimes the helpers are our friends: our buddies or accountability partners, our "ride or die" sisters. Sometimes those people are experts who you hire as partners to fill in the gaps on your areas of expertise. And sometimes those two groups overlap.

One of my brilliant helper friends is a lady named Tonya Kubo. She is an expert in social media and how to use it to serve your people well. I'm just getting started with her, but I would love to share some recent guidance from her that might be useful for all of us. Like many of you, I am using the summer to prepare for what seems like a bigger than usual return to the real world in September. Does anyone else feel that way about this September? Like it is the ultimate "back to school/ back to real world" September?

During the next few weeks, I am making time to think about the rest of 2021. Here are some questions Tonya offers us to organize our planning for a brilliant, productive Fall:

Here's the short list of questions to answer:
🔥 What are my current goals for the year?
🔥 Have those goals changed? Why/Why not?
🔥 What should I KEEP doing to achieve those goals?
🔥 What should I STOP doing to achieve those goals?
🔥 What should I START doing to achieve those goals?
🔥 Knowing what I know now, what is my plan for the remainder of the year?

Let's hear your planning process as you look towards Fall!

For those of you who read my book "Being Brave," you know all about the work of The Lamb Center. After 13 years of going there weekly, I can truly say there is no where else on earth where I experience The Kingdom of God more profoundly. If you would like an incredibly simple way of helping our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness through the work of The Lamb Center, here is your chance! Just a couple of clicks and you get to provide tangible help through food and supplies.

“Can you please send us your headshot?”

When I was working with the publisher a few years ago bringing “Being Brave” into the world, I laughed when they asked me to send them my headshot. Is that something real people have just lying around? I told hubby I’d have my daughter take some photos of me with her nice camera and he sat me down and talked about businessy words like “investing in my brand” and “professionalism.” So I invested in some real photos with a professional photographer and was so glad I did!! Even though I know it’s the right thing to do, if I’m honest, the business side of my coaching, speaking and writing business still makes me feel awkward and incompetent. I just want to be with my clients or in front of a room teaching, not worrying about my website and billing! Imposter syndrome anyone?

Fast forward 5 years and it is time once again for an upgrade for my website and that means new photos. Apparently, most coaching websites are heavy on photos, according to my amazing website designer .
So this morning, coffee in hand, I wandered around my beloved Old Town with a photography team taking photos of me looking “warm, approachable and joyful” with a purpley, blueish, greeny palette in mind. My gorgeous professional actor daughter accompanied us to carry coffee, check my hair, and be a human prop in a few photos. We also discovered I smiled bigger when I looked at her. 😍 Heidi and Tom from were absolutely DELIGHTFUL to work with and we laughed a lot and had an absolute blast!

So the moral of this story is this: chasing your dreams and living your passions takes work AND investing in help from other experts who can do the parts of your business that you don’t know how to do. Even if it feels awkward and silly! Stay tuned for the new website this fall. AND there might even be a few photos of Jolene ❤️♥️💜

Yesterday I posted about parenting adult children. Which, coincidentally, happens generally when we reach middle age (I know, duh!) Middle age, mid-life, the second chapter. As I watch my social media newsfeed, I see many of my 50-something friends making big transitions- selling the home they raised their children in, moving to the city or the country or the beach. Changing careers, going back to work, picking up that hobby they set down years ago when life was too busy for hobbies.

These changes are the exciting parts of this season, but there are also really, really hard aspects of this mid-life space. Questions that keep us up at night:

The Midlife Unraveling | Brené Brown Brené Brown writes a personal essay about Midlife — Midlife is not a crisis. Midlife is an unraveling.

In just a few hours, I will have BOTH my adult daughters under my roof again for a few weeks. ♥️This pandemic season has been rough on our twenty something generation, but I’ve been incredibly impressed by the resilience, creativity and ingenuity of the ones I know and love. Especially these two who I love best. This season of parenting brings such joy, to a large degree because I learn as much or more FROM them as I give TO them.

For those of you also the proud parents of adult children, what do you like best about this season of being a parent?

(Photo of my two daughters when little sis went to visit big sis in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.)

MONDAY MOTIVATION:
Been a bumpy road for my people lately. Too many peole I love are hurting and I can’t fix it. On top of that, I’ve had a rotten cold and spent most of yesterday napping or reading. Some days, you just need to stop and regroup.

But today is Monday and it’s time to jump back in the mix and tackle that To Do list. Here is some inspiration for all of us 😍😊😂

FRIDAY INTRODUCTIONS:
New month, time to introduce ourselves again. This month, let's talk about "little you."

These are two of my favorite pics of little Kelly. Isn't she precious? I once had a coach encourage me to print a picture of myself as an innocent child and keep it somewhere easily accessible for those times when my Saboteur/ Inner critic got loud and mean. This precious child is clearly God's Beloved, so no way grown up Kelly is going to let any mean voice talk crap about her! I found it to be an incredibly useful tool for turning down the volume on that inner critic voice!

In our enneagram work, we sometimes talk about our Soul Child. The theory is that our Security or Release Line points to the child we were before the world intervened and caused us to develop our defense mechanisms and our corresponding personality structure (our enneagram Type.) As an enneagram 7, my security/ lease line goes to 5, which makes perfect sense. As you can see in one of the pictures, I was a little bookworm growing up, a book within reach 24/7. In this photo, I am reading my FAVORITE copy of Little Women and I am sitting on my grandmother's back porch. And apparently, I was also trying out some new curlers. :-) Which also sounds just about right. Bookworm AND girly girl.

As you can see from the other photo, I was also always a bit of a performer. I got this tutu for Christmas that year and clearly, I was very proud of it. I was never a good dancer, but what I lacked in skill, I made up for with unabashed self-confidence.

SUNDAY PRAYERS:

Today I’m including a prayer from one of my all time favorite prayer books, “Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle” by Ted Loder. This resonated with me deeply this morning when I reread it in my morning prayer app Lectio365.
Would love to hear how it sits with you ♥️ Happy 4th to those who celebrate.

WHEW!! It is HOT today! Our current temperature is 98 degrees, with a "feels like" temperature of 108!! While we are used to a bit of heat here, there are places around the country breaking high temperature records like crazy!

I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do on a hot day is turn on my stove. To that end, I would love to hear about your favorite SALAD recipes. Potato salad, chicken salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, whatever the salad, I want to hear about it!! What do you have for us?

MOTIVATION MONDAY:
I have some GREAT news for you today. Are you ready?

Your brain can change.

At my kickoff neuroscience webinar last week, we started off by talking about the characteristics we love about our brains and the things that drove us crazy. In all cases, the incredibly good news is that our beautiful, complex, multi-faceted brains have the capacity to grow and change through a process scientists call NEUROPLASTICITY.

Our experiences reorganize neural pathways in our brain. Long lasting functional changes in the brain occur when we learn new things or memorize new information. The more often we do something, the stronger the neural pathways. This leads to changes in our thinking and in our behavior. These changes in neural connections are what we call neuroplasticity.

As Dr. Linda Page says "Neuroplasticity is a six syllable word for HOPE."

Let me give you an example: when we first moved to Alexandria, I had to use Waze to go EVERYWHERE. I didn't have the mental map in my head like I did for my old stomping grounds. Going anywhere required additional thought. Over weeks and months, the mental map in my head developed and now it is automatic. Every time we learn new things, we go through that awkward stage where it feels hard. And then, with continued repetition, it becomes less awkward until it become habitual. This is a simplistic example, but this translates to any kind of thought pattern or behavioral habit we might want to develop.

How about you? Give me an example of how your gorgeous brain's capacity to learn new things has served you? What is your neuroplasticity story?

Time for Sunday Prayer:

"Let me have too deep a sense of humor ever to be proud.

Let me know my absurdity before I act absurdly.

Let me realise that, when I am humble, I am most human, most truthful, and most worthy of your serious consideration."
~
Daniel Lord, SJ (1888-1955)

For authenticity, vulnerability, humility AND a sense of humor

ACCEPTANCE and CHANGE:
In the 12 step program, a big part of healing is learning the balance between acceptance and change. Many of us are familiar with the wisdom of the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

So much of the work of personal growth, and a great deal of what we do in coaching, is learning this delicate balance.

What is causing me anxiety, unhappiness, and stress?
What part of that is under my control?
What changes could I make in order to experience different results?
What is out of my control and how can I learn to tolerate, accept, avoid or learn to live with it?
And where do I need to get really honest with myself about which is which?

I read this short article today for a neuroscience study group I'm in. This month's topic is CHANGE. I thought this brief discussion of the dance between acceptance and change was excellent! Check it out and let me know what you think?

https://motivationandchange.com/finding-the-balance-between-acceptance-and-change/

Finding the Balance between Acceptance and Change • The Center for Motivation & Change Acceptance and Change often feel like they are at odds with one another. Finding the balance between them is the key to living a full and valued life.

SUNDAY BLESSING:
"May this day bring Sabbath rest to my heart and my home.
May God's image in me be restored, and my imagination in God be re-storied.
May the gravity of material things be lightened, and the relativity of time slow down.
May I know grace to embrace my finite smallness int he arms of God's infinite greatness.
May God's work feed me and His Spirit lead me int the week and into the life to come."
-by Pete Grieg

One of the blessings of the past year was being introduced to the work and leadership of Pete Grieg, his 24/7 Prayer ministry and their app Lectio365. I LOVE this Sabbath Blessing he wrote, especially the part about praying that "my imagination in God be re-storied."

As I mentioned last week, I 'm going to start sharing a written prayer or blessing here every Sunday. Something that I hope will encourage us as we potentially pause for Sabbath rest and prepare to go into the new week. If you have favorite prayers that you return to repeatedly, I hope you will share yours as well.

Mother/ Father God, hear our prayers!

Who are your helpers?

I’m not new here on the planet and I suspect that, if you follow this page, you aren’t either. We’ve been doing this dance for a few decades so we often think we should have things figured out by now. Except we get old and crotchety when we quit learning new things, and then they may as well just sit us in the corner so we don’t scare the kids with our grumpy attitude.

The problem with learning new things is it requires us to put on the “Beginner” hat. The beginner hat feels awkward and uncomfortable at first, until we remember the child-like delight of discovery. And play. And the relief when we remember the completely logical choice to ask for help when we don’t know something!

Which leads me back to my first question: who are your helpers?

I borrowed this awesome graphic today from the business coach I recently hired. She is an expert at helping coaches and speakers market their expertise to organizations who need those services. She is one of my helpers because, while I’m an experienced coach, speaker and trainer, I’m a beginner in her area of expertise. And she is just one of my helpers!

Bottom line, whatever the journey we are on, wherever we are on these steps, we don’t have to do it alone.

We all need helpers!

FRIDAY INTRODUCTIONS:
Hi, I'm Kelly and AS OF TODAY, I am officially a Certified Neurotransformational Coach. Yes, I know that is a mouthful, to say the least! Here is my favorite quote about neuroscience that explains why I am so excited:

“Neuroplasticity is a 6 syllable word for hope.” - Dr. Linda Page.

Bottom line, this simply means I spent a year studying the ways that neuroscience can give us tips and tricks in living life more effectively, more purposefully and more joyfully. I absolutely love this material and I'm excited to share it my clients and soon, with folks who will attend the webinars, workshops and class I am planning.

I start every session with my clients by asking "what can we celebrate today?" Today, I am celebrating the gifts of our beautiful, brave brains and this course that is helping me help people show up more powerfully in their lives. YAY neuroscience!

Do you like FREE stuff?

Last weekend, I spoke at an online conference called the Empowered Mom Movement. As one of the 10 speakers, I was asked to provide a free "gift" for those who attend. A little something they could walk away with and a way for me to grab their email address to continue to be in contact. Fancier people than me call these free gifts "lead magnets."

It just occurred to me that I ought to offer this little freebie to YOU. I put together a 3 page document called "5 Ways to Cultivate Joy in Difficult Times." If you need more joy in your life (and who doesn't?) go grab your copy at this link!

https://mailchi.mp/01ad9981d62c/choosejoy

After you read it, come back here and tell me your favorite of the five...or the one that is the hardest for you!