Finding Your Joy Spot - Episode: When Finding Your Voice Requires a Shovel 

Episode Summary

In this episode, Leona explores why women often silence themselves, play small, or soften their edges in both personal and professional settings. Drawing from evolutionary psychology and her own Lioness Project research, she discusses how our ancient brain wiring still impacts how we show up today—and what we can do about it.

Leona shares practical reflection exercises to help listeners excavate old patterns, heal childhood wounds, and step into their full power with courage and compassion.

Key Topics Discussed

• Why women experience safety differently and how it impacts our behaviour
• The evolutionary wiring that keeps us playing small
• The difference between "pushing through" and doing the deeper excavating work
• How childhood experiences shape our adult patterns
• Practical exercises for healing and integration using Internal Family Systems principles
• Finding joy in courageous acts and making courage contagious

Reflection Exercises

Take these at your own pace—one a day, one a week, or all at once with strong coffee:

1. Stream of consciousness writing: How did a difficult childhood situation impact you? Write for 2-5 minutes without stopping.
2. Pattern recognition: What has that situation imprinted on you? How does it impact you now?
3. Inner child work: Go back to that situation and comfort your younger self. Write from their voice—let them express their fear, sadness, or devastation.
4. Compassionate acknowledgment: How has that moment shaped you? Write a compassionate note to that part of yourself.
5. Strategy awareness: What did you learn from that pattern? What strategies did you develop to avoid feeling that way again?
6. Integration: Welcome your younger self in. Remind them they don't need to keep you small anymore.
7. Honouring: Ask how that younger part wants to be honoured—through play, creativity, or simple pleasures.

Resources Mentioned

Internal Family Systems Research:
IFS Institute

The Lioness Project:
www.thelionessproject.com

Connect with Leona

Website: www.leonadevinne.com

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thejoyspot

Facebook: @thejoyspot

Subscribe & Share

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe to Finding Your Joy Spot wherever you listen to podcasts. Share it with someone who might need to hear this message—remember, courage is contagious, and joy shared is always joy squared!

Quote of the Episode

"The digging is about cultivating the soil of our hearts and lives to make room for our truth to grow. And when one has the courage to do that, there's often a spot of joy in those courageous acts."

Description:
What started as a staycation quickly turned into something deeper—a Soul Spa-a sweet slice of homemade goodness.

In this episode, I share what happened when I gave myself two weeks of intentional nurturing: daily meditation, quiet contemplation, healing sessions, writing, painting, and simple moments of presence. I talk about reconnecting with what matters most, letting my inner five-year-old play, and why tending to ourselves isn’t a luxury—it’s how we live well and find our spots of joy.

If you’re feeling scattered, worn down, or like you’ve forgotten parts of yourself, this is your reminder: you don’t have to wait until you’re empty to take care of yourself.

Tune in for a grounded, soulful reflection—and an invitation to create your own version of a Soul Spa. (You can call it what you like :))

🌀 Plus: Details on the August 10 recorded session of The Womb (focused on nurturing) and the upcoming Just Own You retreat on October 18 in Bragg Creek, AB. More details on the retreat here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/just-own-youwomens-retreat-a-time-to-reflect-reconect-and-be-restored-tickets-1507997403829?aff=oddtdtcreator

 Something to consider journaling about:

• What part of you is quietly asking to be nurtured right now?
• When was the last time you did something just for you—no outcome, no expectation, just because it felt good?
• What would your version of a Soul Spa look like this week, even in a small way?
• Have some extra fun-ask your five-year-old self what they would love to do to feel nurtured? 

Newsletter: https://leonadevinne.com/subscribe

Finding Your Joy Spot On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwuQCZ4ydBQTFM9JN7nOOFQ

Looking for some summer reading? Grab your copy of my book, Finding Your Joy Spot, Just Own You: How Joy guides you back to what matters most and the truth of who you are. ​https://www.amazon.ca/Finding-Your-Joy-Spot-Unexpected/dp/0991707583

Joy in the Dark: How Small Moments Saved Me

In this episode, I reflect on what it means to find joy, not in the obvious places, but in the challenging ones.

This week marks 10 years since my son’s brain surgery, and it’s stirred something deep in me. I didn’t find joy the way many people talk about it. For me, it came in little spots—tiny moments that gave me just enough grace to get through the day. 

I write about it more in my book-Finding Your Joy Spot. https://leonadevinne.com/findingyourjoyspot/

I also share the powerful H.E.A.L. method—a neuroscience-based tool that helped me let joy alleviate chronic pain.

If you’re in a tough place, this episode is a reminder that joy can still find you… even in the dark.

✨ Mentioned in this episode:

H.E.A.L. Method by Dr. Rick Hanson: https://www.rickhanson.net/take-in-the-good/

📬 Want more like this in your inbox? Sign up here https://leonadevinne.com/subscribe

🎙️ Subscribe for more episodes on joy, healing, and finding your voice.

Prompts to find your own Joy Spots:

Listen to a joyful song daily

Take a photo of something joyful each day

Write down 3 joyful moments before bed

Do a random act of kindness

Compliment someone sincerely

Donate something meaningful

Text someone just to say you appreciate them

Want some journaling prompts to find or create more joy? https://leonadevinne.kit.com/1f2b09daa8

Speaking Up: A Muscle I'm Still Building 

Have you ever felt that wave of nausea after sending a perfectly respectful message, only to spiral into fear that someone might be mad at you?

Yeah… me too.

In this episode, I share a moment that reminded me how deeply our childhood wiring can still influence our adult reactions—especially when it comes to using our voice. What started as a simple email exchange brought me face-to-face with my old "be a good girl" pattern, the fear of upsetting others, and the muscle I’m still learning to strengthen: speaking up.

We’re not just purely logical adults—we’re also tender systems still running on childhood algorithms. The goal isn’t to eliminate those parts of us, but to love and integrate them with compassion.

Listen to the guided meditation to connect with the younger parts of you that get triggered when you speak up and could use some love:  https://media.transistor.fm/9b0d1082/5acc8ea4.mp3

If you’ve been holding back your voice or tiptoeing around your truth, this episode is for you.

✨ Listen in, then take a moment to reflect with the prompts below.
✨ You don’t have to do this alone—reach out if you’re ready for support in finding your voice.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for weekly reflections on courage, joy, and showing up as your whole self. https://leonadevinne.com/subscribe
🌀 Because the world doesn’t benefit from you swallowing your truth. It benefits from you speaking up.

JOURNAL PROMPTS TO GO DEEPER:

1. What situations or relationships tend to trigger your "stay quiet" reflex?
   Explore recent or past moments where you held back your voice. What did you feel in your body? What were you afraid might happen?
2. What is your earliest memory of being afraid to speak up?
   Reflect on childhood experiences where you learned it might not be safe or welcome to express yourself. What messages did you internalize?
3. When was the last time you used your voice, even though it felt uncomfortable?
   Celebrate that moment. What helped you speak up? What did you learn about yourself or the outcome?
4. What part of you still believes that keeping the peace means staying silent?
   Write to that part with compassion. Let it know what’s true now, and how you’re learning to hold both truth and connection.
5. What would it look like to live more fully in your truth today?
   Describe how speaking up could benefit your relationships or leadership. What small step can you take to move toward that?

🖍 Bonus prompt:
 Draw or collage a version of your younger self who felt fully alive and free. Let your inner child lead the way.

#SpeakUp #FindingYourJoySpot #Leadership #SelfCompassion #InnerChildHealing #WomensVoices #HealingJourney #AuthenticLiving

This week on Finding Your Joy Spot, I’m sharing something I wrote in my journal—not knowing if it was just for me, or if it might matter to someone else, too. 

When I reread it, it hit differently. It reminded me of how often we tuck away our truths, afraid of what might happen if we actually said them out loud.

In this episode, we talk about:
 — What it costs to silence ourselves
 — The fear of change that can come with truth-telling
 — The quiet power of grace 

This is a reflection on permission to be ourselves, embrace our truth, and what it means to live wholeheartedly. Not from a place of hustle or performance—but from your truth.

If you’ve been feeling a pull to be more honest with yourself, or if you’ve been wondering how grace fits into all of this… this one’s for you.

📝 Plus, I’ll leave you with a few reflection prompts to help you reconnect with what matters most.

🌸 What would be possible if you allowed more grace in your life?
🌸 What would it give you to be more gracious with yourself?
🌸 Consider something that feels challenging—a person, a situation, or something from your past. What would grace bring to that?
🌸 When you think of embracing all of who you are, what could you give yourself permission for?

​
 ​ Complete this sentence: I give myself permission to...

​
Ways to stay connected
Follow thejoyspot on Instagram

My website https://leonadevinne.com/

Check out my book: Finding Your Joy Spot https://leonadevinne.com/findingyourjoyspot/

What if joy isn’t something you chase—but something you experience when you Just Own You?

In this episode, I share the story behind my why and how a quiet moment during a hellish season of life revealed my deeper purpose: to spread joy. 

Not performative happiness. But the kind of joy that lives deep in your bones—the kind that emerges when you Just Own You.

I’ll walk you through how I discovered the acronym JOY = Just Own You, and how this powerful truth connects us to the foundations of living an unapologetic, purpose-aligned life.

✨ Ready to find your own joy spot? This is where we begin.

From the podcast-the song I suggested listening to and then journaling through the prompts.

If you want to give it a try, you can sit and listen to this song and see what comes up. Listen to it once a day and see what shows up each day. It's not your standard meditation music as this sweet number is by my favourite band Earth, Wind and Fire :). Maybe it's even the music itself that feels good or it invites you to move- Just Own You and your experience with it.

​https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=X6KUwob9hSM&si=Mnj9ci8cMtuvoHqc​

If you want to take this contemplation a step further

Journal with these prompts-just write the answers that come up for you, try not to pause-write for one minute atleaset when you answer the questions. You could take one a day for the next week.

What would it mean for you to wake up?

What does it mean for you to walk in the light?

What would it mean to bring more substance to your life?

What part of you has been pushed aside?

What are you worthy of that you have been setting aside?

What is your heart holding that you need?

What break or change are you longing for?

What did you learn about yourself from working through these prompts? What will you do as a result?

Even a minor change could move you closer to the joy you deserve-reach out if I you could use some support.

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on finding Joy by embracing all you are without apology, voice reclamation, leadership, and finding your truth

Follow thejoyspot on Instagram
My website https://leonadevinne.com/
Check out my book:Finding Your Joy Spot https://leonadevinne.com/findingyourjoyspot/