In this episode of Becoming Aligned, we're talking about why you can push through a brutal workout without blinking… but fall apart over an unanswered text.

It's not that you're disciplined in one area and a mess in another. It's that discomfort isn't just one thing — physical, emotional, and uncertainty all hit your brain differently, and uncertainty is the one most of us are worst at tolerating.

We break down the three types of discomfort, why your brain handles the ones it can predict so much easier than the ones it can't, and a simple practice for building tolerance for not knowing — one small rep at a time.

If you've ever wondered why you can handle "hard" but not "unknown," this one's for you.

Catch yourself. Become aligned.

Take the Find Your Values guide — link in bio.

Hi there!

Becoming Aligned is a podcast for people who want to understand why they do what they do—not just change the behavior.

Hosted by Jackelyn, PhD in Prevention Science, each episode explores the patterns, habits, motivations, and pulls on our attention that can quietly run our lives. Behavioral science helps us understand the mechanism. Scripture helps us understand the orientation underneath it.

Together, we’ll learn to catch ourselves in real time, understand what’s happening beneath the pattern, reconnect with what matters, and return to who we were created to be.

This isn’t about becoming a better version of yourself through more control, discipline, or self-management.

It’s about becoming more honest.
More aware.
More surrendered.
More aligned.

Catch yourself. Become aligned.

Be proud of who you are becoming.

And I will always be thankful for you listening.

In this episode of Becoming Aligned, we're getting honest about control — and why it's usually not what it looks like.

Because control can look like power. Like needing things done your way, needing the final say. But a lot of the time, it's not about power at all. It's about needing to know what happens next.

We talk about why your brain learned to grip control in the first place, how a protective strategy from years ago can still be running the show today, and the difference between being responsible and needing certainty before you can breathe.

If you've ever caught yourself planning, checking, correcting, or trying to stay three steps ahead of everything — this one's for you.

Catch yourself. Become aligned.

Take the Find Your Values guide — link in bio.

On this episode of Becoming Aligned we talk about what it actually means to “aim up” — and why becoming better isn't always the same as becoming who you were created to be.

After finishing Jordan Peterson’s We Who Wrestle with God, Jackelyn reflects on the biblical stories of Abraham, Moses, Jonah, and others, and what they reveal about responsibility, sacrifice, uncertainty, surrender, and trusting God without having the entire path mapped out.

We talk about why growth without direction can still take you somewhere you were never meant to go, how your values can give you clues about what God has already placed in you, and the difference between taking responsibility for what is yours and carrying what was never yours to carry.

Because you don't need to know the entire staircase before taking the next faithful step.

Sometimes becoming aligned looks less like becoming someone new and more like returning — to what matters, to your values, to God, and to who you were created to be.

Catch yourself. Return. Choose again.

Be proud of who you are becoming.

On this episode of Becoming Aligned we’re talking about what happens when you ask someone for something once… twice… and then somehow find yourself asking again because you’re not sure it’s actually going to happen.

The issue might not be the dishes, the unanswered text, or the thing you’re waiting on. It might be what happens inside of you when you don’t know.

We’ll look at why uncertainty can make us repeat ourselves, monitor, check, and push harder — and how that can create a cycle where the more we push, the more the other person pulls away.

More importantly, we’ll talk about how to catch yourself before the pattern takes over.

Because the goal isn’t to become someone who never wants certainty. It’s learning to recognize the moment when you’re trying to get relief from not knowing, pause, communicate clearly, and release what isn’t yours to control.

Sometimes surrender means doing what is yours to do… and trusting God with the rest.

Be proud of who you are becoming.

In this episode of Becoming Aligned, we talk about what happens when being useful becomes part of your identity.

I share a personal moment when I realized I was using productivity to avoid sitting with an uncomfortable feeling — and how easily “I’ll just get one more thing done” can become a way of feeling worthy, needed, or in control.

We unpack why rest can feel like something you have to earn, how these patterns can develop through our experiences, and what the story of Martha can teach us about serving without carrying the anxiety underneath it.

This isn’t about doing less or becoming less responsible.

It’s about catching yourself when you’re doing something to prove your worth — and remembering that your place was never something you had to earn.

You already have a seat.

Catch yourself. Become aligned.

In this episode of Becoming Aligned, we talk about what happens when discomfort shows up and your first instinct is to fix it, figure it out, or escape it.

We unpack why uncertainty can feel so threatening, how experiential avoidance can keep us stuck in patterns that give us temporary relief, and what our discomfort might actually be revealing about what we fear, what we value, and what we’re trying to control.

And we talk honestly about surrendering to God when surrender doesn’t feel peaceful or easy — when the situation hasn’t changed, the answers haven’t come, and you still have to wake up and live your life.

Because maybe the goal isn’t to stop feeling discomfort.

Maybe it’s learning to stay long enough to catch what it’s showing you.

What If You Don't Know How to Start Loving Yourself?

You don't have to love yourself yet. You just have to be willing.

In this episode of Becoming Aligned, we talk about what to do when "just love yourself" feels impossible — and why starting with willingness, not love, might actually be the more honest (and more effective) place to begin.

We get into why action can come before feeling, what it looks like to catch the moments you skip past your own needs, and why you don't have to fix your relationship with yourself before you're allowed to start taking care of it.

This one's for anyone who's tired of being told to love themselves and has no idea how.

Find Your Values guide linked in bio.

Be proud of who you are becoming.

In this episode of Becoming Aligned we talk about why you can't sit still without feeling like everything will fall apart — and why that fear has never actually been tested.

We break down action bias, what it looks like to manage quietly instead of actually resting, and how to catch the belief that safety depends on you always moving.

If you've ever felt responsible for holding everything together — even on vacation, even next to the people you love — this one's for you.

Catch yourself. Become aligned.
***Listen to Episode 011 next: The Hidden Pressure of Always Being in Control

On this episode of Becoming Aligned, I get honest about something I didn't expect to admit... I was afraid to lead with God.

Not because I don't have faith — but because somewhere in building this podcast, faith quietly became one category next to four others instead of the lens everything runs through.

I caught myself... the fear of not being "qualified" enough to talk about God, the pressure to look balanced instead of aligned, and why surrender (not structure) is actually the point.

If you've ever managed your faith instead of trusting it, or hesitated to lead with it because you didn't feel like a "good enough" Christian to earn the right — this one's for you.

For a deeper look at your own values, check out the Find Your Values guide — link in bio.