Wake Your Dream

80 - Building Confidence

In This Episode:Annaliese and Alan talk about what it actually takes to build confidence. Annaliese brings up how confidence is not about finally becoming the ideal version of yourself—it’s about taking small, consistent steps. Confidence isn’t something you achieve once and for all; it’s something you build by developing a trusting and capable sense of yourself in real life, one day at a time.
You’ll Hear About:
Confidence doesn’t mean perfection. It actually means being able to navigate life as your authentic self. Confidence feels like stability, trust, belief, and resilience—not pressure to be flawless. Does this change how you think about confidence?
Do you have a secret standard for when you “allow” yourself to feel confident? Are there times you don’t feel like you have a choice? Is there a version of yourself you think you “should” be or a performance goal you think you must hit first? Step one to real confidence is internal validation—choosing to believe in yourself as you are.
How do you interpret mistakes or failures? What meaning do they hold for you? Deciding on purpose what you want to think about setbacks—and defining what strength actually feels like—can help you build confidence that lasts. Protecting and nurturing your belief in yourself will help you navigate life’s natural highs and lows.
Simple Ways to Build Confidence:
Write your own definition of confidence. Be specific—what would you think, feel, and choose differently if you were confident?
Daily, take notice of where you’re at (thoughts, feelings) and what you need.
Decide what you want to believe about yourself. You have the authority to build beliefs and standards that truly serve you.
Remind yourself that you have a say in how you experience life. If you don’t feel confident, get curious—what hidden standard are you holding yourself to? Letting go of those unrealistic rules can help you build genuine confidence.
Your Free Coaching Call:Experience coaching with Annaliese for yourself! Click on www.linktree.com/coachannaliese to schedule your own FREE, 1-hour Discovery Chat and gain real strategies to begin to make the meaningful changes you want to see in your life.
Listen to the Core Values podcast episodes: Episodes 41 & 42

79 - Handling Self-Doubt

Annaliese and Alan explore how self-doubt affects the way we see ourselves and live our lives. They share practical, encouraging ways to handle doubt with self-compassion instead of guilt or wasted energy. Annaliese reminds us that self-doubt is a normal part of being human, but it doesn’t have to define us or block us from growth.
You’ll Hear About:
Self-doubt as a normal human experience. It’s part of reality to have limits, struggles, and weaknesses—and it’s freeing when you practice accepting these truths instead of resisting them.
What happens when self-doubt goes unchecked. If you don’t interrupt and handle it differently, self-doubt will keep running a “what I can’t do” script and block you from exploring better options. Remind yourself that even when self-doubt is fixating on your limits, you see other parts of you—like your strengths and capabilities—that are also true and available to you in the moment.
Reframing weaknesses as helpful. Practice seeing your weaknesses and struggles as normal and even useful to notice, and that having real limits doesn’t undermine your strengths or disqualify you. Adopting a “both/and” perspective helps you build resilience and self-acceptance.
Practical Ways to Handle Self-Doubt Better:
Notice your main area of self-doubt. Ask yourself why self-doubt might come up here and what might be making you avoid instead of engage. Explore whether you agree with that reaction and consider what you need to accept to grow resilience and confidence in this area. Ask, “What other options do I also have here?”
Practice a “both/and” perspective. Acknowledge your weaknesses, needs, and limits while also intentionally reminding yourself of your capabilities, possibilities, and strengths. This balance can shift your mindset into openness instead of feeling stuck.
Decide how you want to handle self-doubt moments. Look back at times when you’ve handled uncertainty well, and think about how you want to show up in moments that don’t go as planned. Focus on acting in ways you admire—this builds bravery and confidence.
Ready to get some practical help with your own changes? Schedule your FREE 1-hour Discovery Chat with Annaliese at www.linktree.com/coachannaliese. No strings attached for any future coaching, this call is for you to share your story, gain practical tips, and experience how coaching tips from Annaliese can help you start creating real change for your life.

78 - Feelings Tour Part 7: Emotional Maturity

In This Episode:Annaliese and Alan talk about how important even really difficult feelings are to our quality of life, and how learning to feel them , listen to them, and navigate them grows our emotional maturity. Annaliese brings up how building emotional maturity is what helps you have inner stability in what you go through in life by practicing tolerating discomfort, recognizing a bigger perspective in the highs and lows of life, and  letting that practice change how you’re handling it.  You’ll Hear About:
Emotional maturity lifts you up and grounds you. It helps you feel stable in low moments and more balanced in high ones. It’s about meeting your needs in a healthy, supportive way that you’re confident in, no matter what others think.
Creating space between you and your feelings. Strong emotions, like anger, can feel overwhelming, as if it will take over. Emotional maturity lets you pause and ask, “Why does this bother me? What did that person probably mean?” This pause and curiosity creates a healthy separation, showing you that you can respond thoughtfully instead of being controlled by the feeling.
Creating less emotional chaos. Avoiding your emotions can feel like managing a giant iceberg of chaos beneath the surface. Practicing emotional maturity is when you instead face your feelings, listen and learn from them, and act in support of what you need. Over time, this habit reduces the overwhelm and builds stability.
Your calm inspires others. Emotional maturity brings confidence and peace. Chaos and drama are contagious, and so is peace and calm. When you act more these calm, confident ways, others will also be invited to notice and respond more like this too, creating healthier, calmer interactions all the way around.
Your Free Coaching Call:-Experience coaching with Annaliese for yourself! Visit www.linktree.com/coachannaliese to schedule your FREE, 1-hour Discovery Chat. Share your story with Annaliese and she'll help you gain helpful tips to make real changes in your life.WHAT EMOTIONAL MATURITY FEELS LIKE:
Breathe and slow down. Simple, physical action is a key to building emotional maturity. Practice doing this daily and notice how it feels as you experience your day.
Pausing with purpose. When you notice emotional sensations starting in your body, step into that small gap between feeling and reacting. Take that micro-moment of awareness to remind yourself that you’re in control. Responding instead of reacting helps you handle your emotional energy wisely, helping you live with more confidence and resilience, and fewer regrets.
Shifting negative stories in your head. When uncomfortable feelings pull you into negative thoughts about you, remind yourself of the truth: You are wise, you’re the adult, and you can choose to act like your authentic self. Feel what it’s like to add this truth to what you’re experiencing.
Living from your core values. Focus more intentionally on what matters most to you and the qualities you want to be—like respectful, calm, or kind. Emotional maturity helps you act in ways that align with your values and still meet your own needs without judgement or sacrificing who you want to be.
 
WAYS TO PRACTICE EMOTIONAL MATURITY:
Emotions are here to help. Pause and listen to your emotions instead of reacting to them. Reacting isn’t the same as feeling. When a strong emotion shows up, choose to slow down and listen to the feeling until it begins to ease.
Knowing isn’t doing. Understanding emotional maturity doesn’t mean you’re acting maturely. Take a moment to breathe into an uncomfortable emotion, notice the story you’re telling yourself, and lead yourself to choose a wiser, more intentional response.
Pause when you’re unsettled. If you don’t feel calm or steady, resist rushing to judgment or being overly critical. Practice curiosity with yourself, slow down, and allow yourself to feel the emotion while noticing the story behind it.
If you've felt like you want to live more intentionally, but honestly wouldn't know where to start, I hope you'll take this invitation to listen in - emotional maturity is a huge stepping stone to being who you want to be!

77 - Feelings Tour Part 6: Sadness

In this episode, Annaliese and Alan explore the often-overlooked value of difficult emotions, focusing on sadness. They discuss how sadness connects you to what truly matters in life and offer practical ways to embrace it with self-compassion rather than rushing through or discounting it. Annaliese explains how sadness feels in your body, the needs you have that it shows you, and how to show up for yourself during challenging times.
You’ll Hear About:
Why sadness is valuable—it reminds you that your experiences matter. Instead of fast-forwarding through it, sadness invites you to be present and reflect on why something is significant to you.
Common avoidance reflexes when sadness arises are busyness or debating and dismissing it. Recognizing what your own avoidance pattern is helps you see where to choose instead to sit, listen, and support your real needs and experience.
Sadness is a healthy response to loss or hurt. It functions as an invitation to care for yourself in ways you may often overlook.
Feeling Sadness in Better Ways:
Notice and name sadness as it arises in your body.
See sadness as an opportunity to connect with yourself (note: if it's not a good time in the moment, practice being willing to schedule time later in the day and following through on sitting and feeling it fully)
Speak to yourself with kindness: acknowledge your feelings, that it's hard, and why your experience matters.
Really own the value and significance of being your own source of care and support.
Free Discovery Chat:Visit www.linktree.com/coachannaliese to schedule your free, 1-hour coaching session with Annaliese! Share your situation and she'll help you gain helpful tips to make real changes in your life.

76 - Feelings Tour Part 5: Guilt and Shame

In this episode, Annaliese and Alan dive into how even difficult emotions like guilt and shame are crucial to living a meaningful life. Annaliese shares how guilt and shame show up in your body, the stories they tell about who you are, and practical ways to handle them with compassion and empowerment for yourself instead of reacting automatically.
You’ll Hear About:
Guilt and shame are tough to sit with because they carry powerful identity messages. They often tell stories like, “I’m a disappointment” or “I’m not good enough.” That’s why it’s important to approach these feelings with care and truths for yourself.
Guilt tells you that you’ve done something wrong, while shame tells you that you are something wrong. These messages highlight how much you care about showing up in the world and whether you feel you’re doing that well.
Noticing your guilt and shame messages—what they’re saying and how intensely they feel—helps you create space to agree, disagree, or let go of those messages more easily in the moment.
Feeling Guilt Better:
Remember guilt is trying to show you who you think you are. Pause in the feeling with compassion for yourself. Ask yourself, “What’s the message about me guilt is trying to tell me?”
Notice what guilt points to about how you want to show up and what parts of that can help you grow.
Reflect on the bigger situation and remind yourself you’re the adult who can create healthier truths by tuning in to your guilt messages and selecting what's helpful and what's not.
Balancing Thoughts for Guilt and Shame:
“I just need a second.”-This helps you create a pause in a painful guilt story and lets you process it better before doing an unhelpful reaction like ignoring your mistake or just beating yourself up about it.
“I can repair mistakes.”-This helps you remember your ability to constructively take disappointment in yourself and use what you know to make things better in a compassionate and empowering way.
“Mistakes don’t disqualify me from already being loved and valuable.”-This reminds you of your true identity and intrinsic value that feelings of guilt and shame don't account for. It helps you be the adult you want to be that takes responsibility without undermining your worth.
Your Free Coaching Call:Experience coaching with Annaliese! Visit linktree.com/coachannaliese to schedule your FREE, 1-hour Discovery Chat.

75 - Feelings Tour Part 4: Anxiety and Worry

Podcast Episode Summary
In this episode, Annaliese and Alan dive into the vital role even tough feelings like anxiety and worry play in our lives. They explore how understanding and getting familiar with these emotions lead you to deeper self-awareness and personal growth, instead of derailing you or taking over.
You’ll Hear About:
The power of repetition in processing emotions: feeling your feelings little by little can seem like it's not helping much, but that's what actually creates the progress you need inside you. Emotions like anxiety carry important messages about what matters to you and what’s happening in your life.
How anxiety often stems from things you can’t control or don’t fully understand—whether it’s uncertainty, health concerns, relationship issues, or performance pressures. Where does anxiety shows up for you? What’s it revealing about what you care about or need?
The difference between anxiety (the energy in your body) and worry (thought patterns in your head). Worry can feel like unprocessed anxiety, which is why it’s crucial to recognize and address anxiety early on.
How anxiety tries to focus you on what you don't have or don't know. Avoiding anxiety leads to emotional buildup in you that increases feelings of insecurity and adds to limiting beliefs like, “I’m not capable.” or "What if everything goes wrong?"
Practical Tools for Managing Anxiety & Worry:
Notice when you’re focused on what you don’t have or know. What’s the support or information you might need?
Pause and listen to your anxiety without jumping to action right away.
Use anxiety’s messages to help you make aligned, confident choices—let it inform you, not steer your decisions.
EXERCISES
Close The Tabs:
Picture your negative “What If” thoughts as browser tabs open in your head.
Think of each “What If” as a question that needs an answer—otherwise, it stays open and weighs on you.
Look at one “What If” at a time and respond with an answer (a truth, comfort, or guidance).
Mentally close the tab with your answer. Try turning negative “What If” questions into positive ones: for example, “What if it goes well? What could that look like?”
“I’ve Done This Before”:
Identify what your anxiety is telling you to worry about—what does it say you don’t have or know?
Reflect on past experiences where you’ve handled something similar. What tools or strategies worked for you?
Be specific about the evidence: What choices did you make? How did it feel? What helped you most?
Remind yourself you’re safe and capable. Where do you now have more experience, resources, or confidence than before?
Your Free Coaching Call:Want personalized support for your worry or anxious thinking? Schedule your own free Discovery Chat with Annaliese at linktree.com/coachannaliese to gain actionable insights for daily, real changes you can make, right where you are.Listen in for how to feel and handle your anxiety and worry in ways that empower you, not derail you!

74 - Feelings Tour Part 3: Anger

Podcast Episode Summary
In this episode, Annaliese and Alan explore how even challenging emotions like anger can bring value and insight to your life. They focus on what anger teaches you about your values and how to handle it with understanding instead of reacting impulsively. Annaliese discusses how anger feels in your body, what it can make you believe about yourself, and practical steps for processing it in healthier ways.
You’ll Hear About:
-Anger is like a signpost pointing you to something you care deeply about or value. What are the main situations or experiences that trigger anger in you? Can you identify one thing your anger might be trying to tell you
Anger often comes with moral weight—you might feel it’s “righteous” to be angry about something, or you might think you’re “wrong” or “bad” for feeling it. Taking time to understand your own anger can help you uncover what truly matters to you. What does your anger show you about your values or priorities?
Being honest about your anger creates space to process it in healthier, less harmful ways. You don’t have to fully embrace the feeling, but being open to acknowledging it gives you the clarity and support you need. How can being honest about your anger help you respond more constructively
Anger can sometimes show up in unhelpful ways, but there are times when it’s the right emotion for the situation. Are you giving yourself the chance to choose how you respond, based on the kind of person you want to be? Are you willing to sit with uncomfortable emotions, knowing they’re a natural part of life?
Feeling Your Anger:Annaliese breaks down these actionable steps to help you process anger effectively:
Breathe and slow down. Anger puts you into survival mode, so start by creating space to pause.
Wait to act. Let yourself fully feel the emotion in your body. Allow it to evaporate naturally as you tune into what it’s telling you.
Don’t judge. Let the anger show you what matters to you without labeling it as good or bad.
Understand the story. Reflect on the reason behind your anger. Decide what feels true, what doesn’t, and what your best response could be.
Create space and own it. Allow yourself to feel without shame, knowing you can use your emotions to help, not harm.
Your Free Coaching Call:Curious about how coaching with Annaliese can help you? Experience your own confidential free, 1-hour Discovery Chat with Annaliese at linktree.com/coachannaliese. Share your story and walk away with actionable tips to make real changes in your life!Listen in to start changing your relationship with anger and make it work for you, not against you!

73 - Feelings Tour Part 2: Fear

In this episode, Annaliese and Alan explore the value of even the hardest emotions, focusing on the role Fear plays in your life. Annaliese points out how Fear, while deeply uncomfortable, is an important signal that reveals what you value, need, or prioritize. By learning to feel and interpret Fear, you can stop reacting impulsively and start supporting yourself with intention.
You’ll Hear About:
How Fear serves a purpose: it’s your mind and body’s way of drawing your attention to something important. Feeling it fully helps you understand why it’s there.
Why Fear feels urgent and uncomfortable—it’s wired to indicate high stakes or danger. Allowing yourself to feel it in the moment helps you process what it’s trying to tell you.
The importance of recognizing Fear’s story: Is it saying “you don’t have what you need” or “this relationship is in big trouble”? Feeling it first creates space to learn what it's telling you about your situation and respond wisely rather than react automatically.
Why Feel My Fear?
Fear is part of being human—it’s designed to guide you toward what matters most to you.
On the other side of the discomfort, you gain insight into your values and needs that you probably wouldn't otherwise.
Practicing feeling Fear, like a workout, builds your emotional strength over time. and empowers you to feel more authentically like yourself.
Your Free Coaching Call:Visit www.linktree.com/coachannaliese to schedule your free 1-hour Discovery Chat with Annaliese and gain actionable tips for real change.
Feeling your Fear isn’t easy, but it’s an act of self-empowerment. Listen in today to help yourself live more authentically and meaningfully.

72 - Feelings Tour Part 1: Feeling Your Feelings

In this episode, Annaliese and Alan dig into the transformative yet often uncomfortable process of feeling your feelings. Annaliese highlights how becoming emotionally self-aware improves your life in meaningful ways, and that you're capable of slowing down, sitting with your emotions, and learning to notice and name them.
You’ll Hear About:
How emotions act as signals, pointing to what you might not be seeing clearly in your life. Feeling them starts with being willing to “be in the room” with them.
Why describing for yourself the physical sensations connected to emotions might seem small, but is a grounding step that helps you normalize and trust your new practice of feeling your feelings.
The consequences of ignoring your emotions—they don’t disappear but grow louder and more disruptive until you address them.
How to Feel Your Feelings:
Give yourself permission. Even if it’s scary or uncertain, allow yourself to feel—it’s a vital part of emotional health.
Trust the process. You don’t need to understand or fix anything right away. This is not about your brain making sense of things."Feeling your feelings" is only about letting your body and spirit tell you what they need to.
Hold it loosely. Feeling your emotions doesn’t mean solving them. Sit with them, notice what they’re showing you, and let them speak.
Engage gradually and daily. It's helpful to picture a faucet where you can adjust the flow of feelings or let them wash over you, knowing you’re capable of processing them. Practice exercising yourself emotionally more regularly this way so you can grow with small, daily steps. 
Why It’s Worth It: Feeling your feelings is what helps you to better understand your experiences, live with clarity, and align your life more authentically. It's a practice that's most effective when you try it daily. Embracing this experience more helps you connect more deeply with yourself and have a more meaningful life. READY FOR CHANGE? Schedule your own free Discovery Coaching Chat with Annaliese at www.linktree.com/coachannaliese where you'll get confidential and customized tips and insight from Annaliese for results you'd like to see. No strings!Listen in today to grow and feel more capable to feel your feelings.

71 - Building Your Own Growth Process

In this episode, Annaliese and Alan explore how to build a personal growth process that keeps you engaged every day, not just when motivation is high. Annaliese shares how seeing growth as a journey instead of an arrival can help you stay committed and supported along the way.
You’ll Hear About:
Internal vs. External Growth Goals: Shift your focus from chasing outcomes to prioritizing deeper, more authentic daily experiences. Growth isn’t about checking off a list but realigning your time and energy to be more who you want to be.
Normalizing Setbacks: Growth includes forward steps and steps back. Expecting both helps you work with reality instead of against it, keeping you grounded in progress.
Healthy Habits for Motivation: Evaluate whether your routines support you or pressure you. Growth thrives when your habits work with you, not against you!
Permission to Slow Down: Every growth path you could try begins with giving yourself permission to pause, reflect, and start small.
How to Move Toward Growth:
Give Yourself Permission: Start by practicing a new mindset - that it’s okay to try something new.
Identify Blocks: Pay attention to the obstacles you're running into—internal beliefs like “I can’t” or external situations like lack of time. Remind yourself how much your growth matters to you.
Set a Feeling-Based Intention: Choose the feeling you want to experience more each day and adjust your priorities to support creating more of those experiences.
Simplify Your Steps: Small, practical actions like reading between tasks, taking a nap, or scheduling a walk can help you stay aligned with your growth goals - just remember to keep the steps accessible and small so you can experience yourself growing more frequently.
How to Build a Growth Process:
Tune In Daily: Ask what would help you feel most like yourself today—what supports flow, balance, or healing?
Choose a Rhythm: Let your practice emerge naturally, not as a checklist but as intentional moments you create and allow that meet your needs.
Be Flexible: Some days might call for quiet reflection, some days might benefit from a long walk, some days could use some creative expression, or even catching up on simple household tasks. Let yourself call the shots depending on what you notice you need in the moment.
Your Free Coaching Call:
Ready to take action on your growth? Schedule a FREE 1-hour Discovery Chat with Annaliese at www.linktree.com/coachannaliese and experience personalized coaching to help you move forward.Hoping you listen in today if you could use a boost and some belief in creating a better growth process that truly works for you!