Ep 61: Time to check in: Wellness before winning

Guest Bio:

A licensed Professional Counselor with 25+ years of experience, Justine Froelker equips individuals and teams to live and lead with courage, authenticity, and resilience through her Courage is Built Here™ curriculum. An accomplished author of 12 books and two-time TEDx speaker, she inspires global audiences with keynotes, retreats, and trainings. Rooted in faith, Justine lives in St. Louis with her husband, two dogs, and hundreds of butterflies she raises each season.

Follow Justine Froelker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinefroelker/

Episode Highlights:

Justine Froelker, a licensed professional counselor who also raises hundreds of butterflies, draws a parallel between the butterfly's transformation and the changes needed in the workplace. In high school, Justine endured two back surgeries and spent a total of a year in a body cast. During one of the misdiagnoses, a doctor claimed her pain was psychosomatic, a form of "conversion hysteria." This led her to see a sports psychologist who, despite not knowing the physical cause of her pain, taught her coping mechanisms. This experience sparked her curiosity about human resilience and what makes some people more resilient than others. It was a challenging period in her life that became a "training ground" for her, showing her that difficult seasons can be used to build resilient skills rather than allowing them to destroy you. This powerful narrative illustrates her core belief that we get to choose how we rewrite our stories.

People are sicker, more burned out, and more disconnected than ever before, and organizations need to prioritize caring for their teams. Justine created a curriculum, "Courage is Built Here," which is a three-day training program that outlines five pathways of courage. The first pathway, "Feel It All," focuses on emotional well-being and values clarity, teaching people to feel their feelings without being defined by them. The second, "Embody Again," emphasizes self-care and the importance of simple routines to calm the nervous system. People spend more time awake at work than at home, making the workplace a critical environment for fostering mental and emotional health.

Pathway three, "Be Full of You," explores authenticity and vulnerability, encouraging individuals to show up as their full selves. This authenticity, she explains, is what builds connection and trust. The fourth pathway, "Love Others Well" (or "Care, Dignity, and Respect"), focuses on relational skills like empathy, accountability, and having difficult conversations. Finally, pathway five, "Do the Work," ties everything together by teaching individuals to identify and rewrite their internal narratives. Our rational brains go offline when we're emotional, and we often create stories that are inaccurate and unproductive.

Simple, intentional practices like a "two-word check-in" or asking "What's on your mind? What's on your heart?" at the beginning of meetings help create connections. Justine’s Courage Deck is a tool that helps teams spark meaningful conversations. For employees, she advises advocating for their own well-being and understanding what is within their control, such as setting emotional boundaries. Businesses are made up of humans, and while technology can be programmed, people need time and space to heal, grow, and transform.