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We spend so much time chasing perfection... but have you ever stopped to wonder why?

In this episode, Johanna explores the strange paradox of perfection, why our brains compare us to people we don't even know, and how ancient survival instincts still influence the way we see ourselves today.

From anthropology and neuroscience to social media, Kintsugi, and the stories we quietly tell ourselves in the mirror, this conversation isn't about pretending every flaw is beautiful.

It's about becoming curious enough to question the labels we've been carrying around for years.

Because maybe the greatest flaw isn't our imperfections...

Maybe it's how we've learned to see them. 

Mentioned in this episode
     •Episode: The Comparison Trap 
     •Japanese art of Kintsugi 
     •Ancient belonging, anthropology, and the neuroscience of comparison 

Connect with me

🌐 Website:
 https://transformativejourneys.ca/ 

📸 Instagram:
 https://www.instagram.com/transformativejourneys.johanna/ 

🎥 Enhanced video version:
 https://www.youtube.com/@TransformativeJourneys 

☕ Support the podcast:
 https://buymeacoffee.com/transformativejourneys 

🎵 Podcast music:
 "Back Roads" by Will Harrison
Licensed through Epidemic Sound.

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What if the flaw… isn't actually the flaw?

We know social media is curated. We know we're seeing carefully selected pieces of other people's lives. And yet, before we even realize it's happening, our brains start keeping score.

So why do we still compare ourselves?

And what about all those labels we've quietly attached to ourselves over the years?

Too loud. Too quiet. Too emotional. Too much.

Not successful enough. Not attractive enough. Not enough.

In the next episode of Transformative Journeys, we're taking a more critical look at comparison, perfection, and the things we've learned to call "flaws."

Because maybe the greatest flaw isn't our imperfections.

Maybe it's the story we've been telling ourselves about them.

🎧 Perfect Is a Terrible Place to Live: The Paradox of Perfection — coming Monday.

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What if the person you've spent years criticizing... deserves a fair trial instead?

We all carry things from our past that occasionally wander into our minds at 2 a.m. Decisions we wish we'd made differently. Relationships that ended badly. Opportunities we didn't take. Words we wish we could take back.

But what if the biggest burden isn't what happened?

What if it's the story we've continued telling ourselves about what happened?

In this episode, Johanna explores the difference between regret, remorse, and shame - and why confusing the three can keep us trapped in years (or decades) of unnecessary self-punishment.

Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience, she explains why hindsight bias convinces us we "should have known better," how shame rewrites our personal history, and why many of the emotional "refrigerator boxes" we've been carrying around are actually little more than ring-box-sized lessons wrapped in years of self-criticism.

This isn't about pretending everything happens for a reason.

It isn't about excusing harmful choices.

And it certainly isn't about pretending life's "sh*t sandwiches" are actually cake.

It's about telling the whole story.

Keeping the lesson.

Throwing away shame's inaccurate meeting minutes.

And writing a love letter to the version of yourself who survived long enough to become who you are today.

In this episode:

• The important difference between regret, remorse, and shame 
• Why shame grows when we keep feeding it 
• The neuroscience of hindsight bias ("I knew it all along") 
• Why our brains rewrite history - and how to challenge that narrative 
• Accountability vs. accepting responsibility for the whole highway 
• Why self-compassion doesn't let us off the hook - it tells the whole story 
• How to shrink emotional "refrigerator boxes" back into ring boxes 
• A practical exercise to begin starving your own demons 

Free Resources

Looking for practical tools to support your own journey?

Visit Transformative Journeys for free resilience resources, grief supports, and practical tools to help you navigate life's messier moments.

💜 Essential Resilience Toolkit

💜 Bounce Back Blueprint

💜 Mindfulness Anywhere Toolkit

💜 Essential Grief Toolkit

💜 Insights for Navigating Grief

If you'd like to help support the podcast and keep these resources free, you can also buy me a virtual coffee (or contribute to the duct tape fund 😄).

☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/transformativejourneys 

⚠️ Disclaimer

I'm not a therapist, psychologist, or counsellor.

I'm simply someone who's spent a lifetime learning through lived experience, a great deal of reading, and many years at the School of Hard Knocks. Everything I share here is intended to educate, encourage reflection, and offer practical tools - not replace professional support when it's needed.

Come say hi!

Website:
 https://www.transformativejourneys.ca

YouTube (enhanced podcast episodes):
http://www.youtube.com/@TransformativeJourneys-Johanna 

Podcast music:
 "Back Roads" by Will Harrison
Licensed through Epidemic Sound.

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Have you ever looked back at an earlier version of yourself and wondered, "What was I thinking?"

Next week on Transformative Journeys, we're exploring the difference between regret, remorse, and shame - and why our brains are so good at putting our younger selves on trial using information they couldn't possibly have had.

We'll also talk about hindsight bias, emotional "refrigerator boxes," the return of the Qualifications Gremlin... and somehow, a shit sandwich.

Join me next Monday for a conversation about self-compassion, the stories we tell ourselves, and why maybe it's time to stop feeding the demons.

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When I started this podcast, I thought I was creating a space to talk about resilience.

I imagined conversations about grief, rebuilding after trauma, boundaries, mindfulness, and the tools that had helped me navigate some of the hardest seasons of my life.

What I didn't expect… was that creating the podcast would quietly begin changing me.

In this milestone 50th episode - and the launch of Season Two - I take a step back to reflect on the unexpected journey of becoming that has happened alongside the podcast itself.

We explore:

• Why resilience turned out to be a much bigger 'story' than I originally imagined. 
• The episodes I almost didn't publish - and why. 
• Living with Imposter Phenomenon while talking about Imposter Phenomenon. 
• What grief taught me twenty years after losing my son. 
• Why curiosity became one of the most important tools in my own growth. 
• The surprising moment I realized I had quietly become "a podcaster." 
• Why I think we've got the idea of "finding ourselves" completely backwards. 
• How our identity often catches up with our reality long after our lives have already changed. 

This isn't really an episode about podcasting.

It's about permission.

Permission to grow.
Permission to change.
Permission to stop waiting for someone else to tell you that you've earned the right to become who you're already becoming.

Because maybe growth isn't about finding yourself at all.

Maybe it's about uncovering parts of yourself that have been there all along.

If you've been listening since Episode 1 - thank you for taking this journey with me.

If this is your first episode...

Welcome.

I'm really glad you're here.

Resources Mentioned

🌐 Website:
 https://transformativejourneys.ca

📺 Enhanced video version on YouTube:
 Transformative Journeys with Johanna

📷 Instagram:
 @transformativejourneys.johanna

☕ If you'd like to help support the podcast:
 https://buymeacoffee.com/transformativejourneys

🧰 Free Resources available on my website:

• Bounce Back Blueprint 
• Essential Resilience Toolkit 
• Mindfulness Anywhere Toolkit 
• Essential Grief Toolkit 
• Insights for Navigating Grief 

Podcast music: "Back Roads" by Will Harrison, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Transformative Journeys to Growth and Resilience™
© Johanna LeRoux

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When I first imagined Episode 50, I thought I'd be celebrating a milestone.

Instead, I found myself writing about something completely different.

Somewhere along the journey of creating this podcast, something unexpected happened... while I was busy making it, it was quietly changing me too.

In this teaser, I'm giving you a glimpse of next week's conversation about identity, curiosity, imposter syndrome, the episodes I almost didn't publish, why I think "finding yourself" is complete and utter bullsh*t... and how some of the biggest changes in our lives happen so gradually that we don't notice them until we're looking in the rearview mirror.

Pull up a chair with me on Monday for Episode 50: I Thought I Was Just Starting a Podcast...

Because sometimes the most meaningful journeys aren't just about what we create...

They're about who we become along the way.

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A year ago, I thought I was making a podcast about resilience.

Turns out... I was making something quite different.

Somewhere between the stories, the neuroscience, the laughter, and my own curiosity about why we humans do the things we do, Transformative Journeys quietly became a place to make sense of life's messier moments together.

If you're looking for perfect answers or "10 Steps to a Better You"... I'm probably not your person.

But if you enjoy thoughtful conversations, honest stories, practical psychology, a little neuroscience, and the occasional not-so-PG sentence... you might just feel at home here.

Season Two is a continuation of the journey - but it's also a clearer reflection of what this podcast has become.

So grab a coffee.

Pull up a chair.

I'm really glad you're here.

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What if the most important journey you'll ever take isn't about reaching a destination... but about becoming someone you never imagined you could be?

As I wrap up the first season of Transformative Journeys, I wanted to do something a little different.

Rather than simply replaying favourite episodes, I've woven together four conversations that tell a much bigger story - a story about courage, self-trust, questioning old narratives, and allowing ourselves to grow into new versions of who we are.

Together, we'll revisit:

   • What it means to take chances before we feel ready.
   • Why the stories we've inherited about ourselves deserve to be questioned.
   • The uncomfortable, often messy process of unlearning old beliefs.
   • And why growth isn't about becoming perfect - it's about allowing ourselves to become.

This isn't a "greatest hits" episode.

It's a guided tour through the ideas that quietly shaped not only this first season of the podcast... but me as well.

If you've listened since Episode One, I hope you'll hear these conversations in a new way.

And if you're joining me for the first time, I can't think of a better place to begin.

Because the climb isn't really about reaching the summit.

It's about who we become along the way.

In This Episode

You'll discover:

• Why courage usually comes after we begin - not before. 
• How childhood curiosity slowly becomes adult self-doubt. 
• The hidden power of questioning old stories and limiting beliefs. 
• Why insight alone doesn't create change. 
• The role discomfort plays in meaningful personal growth. 
• How repeated small choices gradually shape who we become. 

Resources Mentioned

Throughout this compilation, we revisit conversations from earlier episodes, including:

• Taking Chances 
• Rewriting the Stories You Were Told 
• The Art of Unlearning 
• Exposure Therapy in Real Time 

If this episode resonated...

If today's conversation encouraged you to look at your own story a little differently, I'd love it if you would:

⭐ Follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.

⭐ Share it with someone who's learning to trust themselves a little more.

⭐ Leave a rating or review—it really helps more people discover these conversations.

You can also find me at:

🌐 www.transformativejourneys.ca

📸 Instagram: @transformativejourneys.johanna

🎶 Music: “Back Roads” by Will Harrison, via Epidemic Sound.

Disclaimer:
 Johanna is not a therapist, psychologist, or medical professional. She is a public health professional, volunteer, speaker, and human being sharing personal experiences, lessons learned, and evidence-informed insights. Please seek qualified professional support when needed.

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What if the biggest thing standing between who you are today and who you're capable of becoming... is a story you've been carrying for years?

In this week's mini teaser, I'm sharing a glimpse into the final episode of Season One - a reflection on courage, self-trust, questioning old narratives, and what happens when we stop waiting to feel ready before we take the next step.

Sometimes growth means climbing the ladder anyway... even if the slide might burn your ass on the way down.

Join me next Monday for Growth, Grit, and Allowing Ourself to Become.

Until then, remember...

It doesn't matter if you fall. What matters is how well you bounce. 💜

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Apparently, after decades of volunteer work, training in active listening, and supporting people through some of the hardest experiences of their lives... Johanna discovered something uncomfortable:

In her personal life, sometimes when people come to her with a problem, there's a decent chance she's already built a flow chart, identified three root causes, and opened PowerPoint before they've finished the third sentence.

Oof.

In this episode, Johanna explores the difference between helping and fixing, why unsolicited advice often misses the mark, and what she's learning about empathy, support, and simply sitting with someone through difficult experiences.

Along the way, she unpacks:
     • Why many helpers, caregivers, and problem-solvers struggle with action bias
     • The difference between empathy, sympathy, and enmeshment
     • Why "You need to stop beating yourself up" isn't always as helpful as we think
     • The challenge of supporting people who appear stuck
     • How to offer support without taking ownership of someone else's journey
     • Why connection is often more powerful than solutions

This episode is equal parts self-deprecating humour, uncomfortable self-awareness, and a reminder that sometimes the most supportive thing we can do is put down the PowerPoint and simply listen.

🔗 Resources & Links

🌐 Website: https://transformativejourneys.ca/

☕ Support the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/transformativejourneys

💜 Threads of Life: https://threadsoflife.ca

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transformativejourneys.johanna/

🎶 Music: “Back Roads” by Will Harrison, via Epidemic Sound.

Disclaimer:
Johanna is not a therapist, psychologist, or medical professional. She is a public health professional, volunteer, speaker, and human being sharing personal experiences, lessons learned, and evidence-informed insights. Please seek qualified professional support when needed.