Welcome to The Challenges of Change, a podcast dedicated to self-improvement and personal growth. I'm your host, Laura, a mindset coach in the health and fitness industry. Join me as we navigate the hurdles of life and explore practical strategies for managing stress, regulating emotions, upgrading your mindset, and reclaiming your worth.
The Shadow vs. The Beast: Why Your Brain Lies About What Is Scary Episode 95
What if the thing you are most afraid of is not actually as big as it looks?
In this episode Laura sits down with Zands for a conversation about self-understanding at the level that actually changes things. Not the version where you know your personality type or your triggers. The version where you understand why your brain creates threats that do not exist and what it costs you when you keep responding to them like they do.
Because here is the truth. Your brain is not trying to ruin your life. It is trying to protect it. The problem is it cannot always tell the difference between a real bear and a shadow on the wall. And if you do not understand that, you will keep running from shadows for the rest of your life.
What you will hear in this episode:
Why self-understanding goes deeper than knowing your triggers or your patterns
How fear is designed to get your attention and what it is actually trying to tell you
The difference between a real threat and a perceived one and why your nervous system cannot tell them apart
Why the worst case scenario your brain defaults to is almost never the actual scenario
How to use your senses to interrupt a spiral in real time
What it means to become the CEO of your own mind instead of a victim to the stories it tells you
Why the parts of yourself you have exiled are often the ones running the show
If you have ever catastrophized over something that turned out to be nothing. If your brain goes straight to worst case. If you have ever felt like you were overreacting but could not stop yourself.
This episode is for you.
Follow Laura on Instagram at @change.by.challenge (www.instagram.com/@change.by.challenge)Follow Zands on Instagram at @virtualasolutions (www.instagram.com/virtualasolutions) and @lafitscience (www.instagram.com/lafitscience)
Ready to do this work? Book a call at changebychallenge.com/contact (https://www.changebychallenge.com/contact)
19 Jun 2026
From Broken to Becoming: Healing Trauma, Finding Agency, and Choosing Your Life Episode 94
What happens when a 30 year career in finance ends not because of burnout, but because of a mosh pit, a moment of clarity, and a voice you finally decided to trust?
Steve Sapourn spent decades high functioning and quietly falling apart. Childhood trauma, addiction, and a nervous system wired for survival had him operating as if life was something to brace for rather than build. Until it wasn't.
In this episode, Laura sits down with Steve for one of the most honest conversations this show has had. They go deep on what it actually takes to move from surviving to choosing, what healing really looks like when it is not rainbows and realizations, and why the version of yourself underneath the trauma is not gone. It is just waiting.
What you will hear in this episode:
Why most people are running old nervous system software and what it costs them
The difference between willingness and courage, and why you need both before you can change anything
What three intelligences live in your body and why you are probably only listening to one of them
Why control is not about power. It is about safety. And that distinction changes everything.
The real reason we avoid feelings and why practicing with the small ones is how you show up for the big ones
What one study about 9 month olds reveals about why all of us carry confusion we did not create
If you have ever felt like something is wrong with you at a fundamental level, white knuckled your way through life and called it strength, or found yourself wanting more but unable to let go of what is keeping you stuck, this one is for you.
Follow Steve on Instagram at @theneurosjourney (https://www.instagram.com/theneurosjourney) and find Breaking Cycles wherever you listen to podcasts.
Ready to do this work yourself? Join the Challengers Circle HERE (https://www.changebychallenge.com/challengers-circle)
6 May 2026
The Control Illusion: Why Your Need for Control Is Actually a Fear of Feeling, Episode 93
What if the thing you call "control" is just fear wearing a very convincing costume?
You've felt it — that grip-tightening urgency when things start slipping. The frantic planning. The self-blame spiral that sounds rational but quietly hollows you out. We tell ourselves we just need to get a handle on things. But what if control was never the point?
In this episode, Laura gets honest about what the craving for control is actually asking for — and why chasing it keeps you one step behind your own life.
▶️ Why control isn't about power — it's about safety, and what that distinction changes everything
▶️ The subtle (and sneaky) way self-blame becomes a control tactic — and how to catch it in real time
▶️ What to do when the culture around you is dysregulating and control isn't an option
▶️ The shift from control → consistency → agency, and why this is the actual path to stability
▶️ What Laura texted her best friend on a Sunday when she felt like she was about to explode — and what she said back
This isn't a productivity conversation. It's a much deeper one — about what it means to feel safe in your own skin when the world around you won't hold still.
If you've ever white-knuckled your way through uncertainty and called it strength — this one's for you. Listen now, and then ask yourself: what am I actually craving when I want control?
Learn more HERE (https://www.changebychallenge.com/challengers-circle)
Who has been a guest on The Challenges of Change
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nicole Waters
Coach Jess Gruss
Jenean Perelstein
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 48 / 100
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Quality
84
Social presence
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YouTube
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Engagement
27
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Questions about The Challenges of Change
Who hosts The Challenges of Change?
Laura host the show. Published by Laura Weiner-Kiser.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes monthly, based on its RSS feed.
Does The Challenges of Change take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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