In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of an extraordinary week I spent at MEA Retreat Center outside of Santa Fe, studying with Arthur Brooks and his team around the ideas in his newest book, The Meaning of Your Life.

All 14 of us class members showed up as strangers, bonded like super glue and departed as deeply connected souls.

While the week was filled with powerful lessons about purpose, identity, love, and meaning, one idea completely changed the way I think about relationships.

It's called Vault Three.

Most of us spend our lives in Vault One--safe, surface conversations--or Vault Two, where we share our stories but still keep part of ourselves protected.

But Vault Three is different. It's where we let down our guard. It's where we stop performing.

During the week, I also experienced one of the most meaningful moments of my life: writing and reading my own personal manifesto aloud. It isn't a résumé of accomplishments, it is a declaration of the person I want to become.

I left Santa Fe convinced that resilience isn't just about enduring hard things.

It's about having the courage to be seen.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why success and meaning are not the same thing

• The three Vaults of communication—and why most of us rarely reach Vault 3

• Why your identity must become bigger than your career or accomplishments

• The surprising power of writing your own personal manifesto

If this episode resonates with you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who longs for deeper conversations and more authentic connection.

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Here are some resource links:

1) MEA Retreat Center (I highly recommend) - https://www.meawisdom.com/

2) "The Meaning of your Life" book: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/books

3) Some prompts to help you write your own Manifesto (a declaration of your intentions for your life):

I believe that...

I will no longer...

I am committed to...

My life matters because...

I declare that...

In this episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I share the simple practice that has helped guide my life with greater clarity and intention: choosing one word for the year.

My word for 2026? Flourish.

You'll hear reflections on what it means to stop merely surviving and instead grow emotionally, spiritually, relationally and professionally. Drawing inspiration from Harvard professor Arthur Brooks and a powerful Marianne Williamson quote about not “playing small,” I also encourage listeners to choose their own guiding word for the rest of the year.

Growth doesn’t require perfection, sometimes we simply need direction.

Here's the quote by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

In this heartfelt episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I welcome fellow podcaster and my niece, Bernadette Pohl, to share her deeply personal story about motherhood, miscarriage, suffering, resilience and faith.

This episode unfolds a little differently than many of my others. Bernadette courageously and thoughtfully shares her journey in her own words--and what a powerful story it is. She speaks openly about pregnancy loss, difficult pregnancies, severe food allergies affecting her children, exhaustion, and the emotional toll of navigating challenge after challenge while still trying to remain hopeful.

In this episode, Bernadette reflects on:

• The grief and loneliness that can accompany pregnancy loss

• How suffering changes us, strengthens us and forms our character

• The role of faith, prayer and community support during difficult seasons

• Finding gratitude and meaning even amid hardship

This episode is for anyone carrying invisible burdens, hidden grief, walking through uncertainty, or needing a reminder that they are not alone in the hard things.

Resilience is not about avoiding suffering. It is about learning how to walk through it with courage, grace and hope.

Here's the link to the Moving Mountains Podcast that Bernadette and her two friends host: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moving-mountains-podcast/id1661002470

Books Mentioned:

The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

He Leadeth Me by Walter Ciszek

In this episode, I’m reflecting on something that has become absolutely essential in my own life: gratitude.

I share three powerful reasons why gratitude matters so much to me:

• Gratitude can help carry us through hard times
• The best way to receive more of what we want in life is to become deeply grateful for what we already have
• Gratitude has the power to interrupt negative thinking and rewire how we see the world

This episode is for anyone who:

• Feels emotionally drained or discouraged
• Wants more peace and grounding
• Is walking through a hard season
• Finds themselves stuck in negative thinking
• Needs a reminder that joy and gratitude can coexist with struggle

One thing I know for sure: Gratitude doesn’t erase the hard things. But it absolutely changes how we walk through them.

And here's the link to the Gratitude Journal I mentioned and love it (...I receive no benefit from promoting this, other than sharing things I love with my listeners).

Onward and upward!

In this episode of The Resilience and Grit Podcast, I share the story of attending a personal development seminar years ago with my friend Laura and several others… and the unforgettable day we tackled a high ropes adventure course.

What started as a morning of exhaustion, shaky nerves quickly turned into one of the most memorable moments of my life. Faced with the decision between the smaller “Chicken Little” climb or a towering 30+ foot telephone pole and trapeze jump, I somehow found myself climbing higher and higher until I was standing at the very top of a giant telephone pole, balancing above the ground with my heart pounding.

I felt like Spider Woman.

Somewhere during that experience, something shifted in me. It was one of the first moments I realized I wanted more adventure, more courage, more aliveness and less of the things (like alcohol) that were draining my energy and spirit.

This episode is about:

• Courage before confidence

• Doing hard things even when conditions are far from perfect

• Why growth often begins with discomfort

• The surprising clarity that can come from challenge

• And how one terrifying leap helped shape the direction of my life

Sometimes resilience begins the moment we decide to climb anyway.

🎙️💕

What started as a hiking adventure in Peru became something much deeper.

In this episode (and that's Percy and Edson on today's podcast cover), I share the story of trekking the legendary Inca Trail to Machu Picchu--from acclimating to the altitude in Cusco, to climbing up, up, up to Dead Woman’s Pass at nearly 14,000 feet, to finally arriving at the breathtaking Sun Gate entrance overlooking Machu Picchu.

Along the way, I reflect on:

• The physical and emotional challenge of the trek
• The beauty and brilliance of the Incan civilization
• What resilience is really built from
• Why hard adventures can change us from the inside out

This episode is about more than hiking. It’s about mountains, meaning, growth, and the realization that sometimes we come home from an adventure not depleted, but deeply alive.

If you love hiking, travel, culture, or stories of resilience and transformation, this episode is for you (and I'm linking Episode 1 below--my Kilimanjaro trek story. Oof!)

Until next time… onward and upward.

--Links for You!--

If you'd like to hear my Kilimanjaro story, here's Episode 1: The Summit I Didn't Reach - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-the-summit-i-didnt-reach-lasting-lessons-from-kilimanjaro/id1868855299?i=1000745071237

Interested in doing the Inca Trail? Here's the trip link to the company I went with--fantastic! https://iantaylortrekking.com/inca-trail/classic-5-day-inca-trail-trek/

Oof! This episode took me four hours to record. Not because it was long… but because I kept stopping. Starting. Stopping again. Distracting myself.

Chicken soup.

Gourmet marshmallows from a gift box my friend Amanda sent me.

A walk for fresh air.

And somewhere in all of that, I realized…

This is resilience and grit. Not the polished moments. Not when everything flows. But showing up again and again when it’s not working. Stuck. Coming back after you’ve avoided. Choosing done over perfect.

In this episode:

• Why perfectionism keeps us stuck
• What avoidance really looks like
• How resilience happens in real time

A question for you:

Where are you stuck trying to get it just right?

What would one imperfect step look like today?

Oh, and that amazing gift box I mentioned from my friend Amanda? Here's the link to the company (again, no benefit coming back to me for sharing...I just love giving props to things I love): https://wildgirlgifts.com/

In today’s episode, I reflect on the power of decluttering and how it reaches far beyond simply organizing your home. Inspired by the work of Marie Kondo, I share how letting go of what no longer serves us can create clarity, strengthen resilience, and open space for more joy in our lives.

This process is not always easy. Decluttering asks us to make decisions, to release attachments, and to be honest about what we are holding onto and why. But on the other side of that work is something powerful: a sense of lightness, clarity, and renewed energy.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed or weighed down, this episode is for you.

• The emotional and mental benefits of decluttering
• The “spark joy” principle and how it guides decision-making
• Personal transformation through letting go
• Maintaining a clutter-free space for ongoing clarity

• Decluttering can significantly improve mental clarity and resilience
• The “spark joy” principle provides a simple but powerful decision filter
• Starting small makes the process manageable and sustainable
• Maintaining your space helps sustain emotional and mental benefits over time

Choose one small space today. A drawer, a shelf, or even your car. Ask yourself, “Does this add value to my life?” If not, consider letting it go.

BOOK: The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Here's all my episodes in one online space: https://resilience-and-grit.captivate.fm/

#KathleenDuBois #ResilienceAndGrit

Just a week ago, I returned home from 11 days in Alaska visiting my family there. I also had the gift of traveling from the East Coast to Anchorage with my dear friend Nancy--we laughed the entire way across the USA. It felt like one of those small but meaningful moments of synchronicity.

Since being home, I’ve been reflecting on what really creates happiness and heart connections. In this episode, I share:

• The beauty of ordinary moments with family and friends
• The challenges that showed up, even in something good
• And the biggest lesson: joy comes from participation, not productivity

This episode is also an invitation.

Who are the people that matter most to you?

And what is one small way you can show up for them this week?

Because meaningful relationships aren’t built in big moments. They’re built by choosing to be there.

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https://resilience-and-grit.captivate.fm/

In this episode, I reflect on the power of persistence and what it takes to not give up on the life we truly want.

Lately, I’ve been leaning into persistence in two areas:

• Building friendships in my town and church
• Continuing to show up for this podcast

Neither has come easily, and both have stretched me more than I expected.

What I’m realizing is that persistence isn’t just about achieving something--it’s about becoming the kind of person who doesn’t give up on what matters most. And it can feel vulnerable, because every time we keep showing up, we risk rejection, discomfort, and disappointment.

At the same time, I’m seeing that something begins to unfold when I stay in it:

• Growth often feels uncomfortable, but that may be part of the process
• The outcome may matter less than who we are becoming along the way

If you’re in a place where something feels hard right now, I want to encourage you--keep going. Don’t do it alone. And you will find your way.

Until next time--onward and upward.

NOTE: Here's the book I mentioned: Think and Grow Rich