Flourishing After Adversity
If you've experienced grief, illness, loss, or life-altering setbacks—and you're ready to reclaim your joy—this podcast is for you.
Hosted by Laura Mangum Broome, Resilience Coach and author of Flourishing After Adversity, this weekly show is your go-to resource for overcoming life’s toughest challenges with hope, courage, and clarity.
Each episode dives into real-life strategies for emotional healing, building resilience, managing mindset, navigating unexpected change, and rediscovering your strength after adversity.
Whether you're facing the aftermath of divorce, struggling to move forward after loss, or starting over later in life, you’ll find practical tools and encouragement to help you grow—not just go—through what you’ve been through.
If you're searching for inspiration, resilience coaching tips, or mental health support for difficult seasons, hit play and start flourishing after adversity. You've got this!
Flourishing After Adversity
S1:E20 Is Your "No" Wisdom or Fear? How to Tell the Difference
Wisdom or Fear: Understanding the Power of 'No' After Adversity
In this episode of the Flourishing After Adversity podcast, host Laura Mangum Broome explores the complexity of saying 'no' and how to discern whether it's rooted in wisdom or fear.
Listeners will learn tools to make clearer decisions, using the iCope2Hope resilience framework and the iCOPE problem-solving method. Practical scenarios and thought-provoking questions help differentiate between protective wisdom and limiting fear, encouraging growth and resilience.
Additionally, Laura offers a free resource, 'Reframe the Spiral,' to help shift negative thoughts. Tune in to turn setbacks into stepping stones toward healing, growth, and joy.
00:00 Introduction: Wisdom or Fear?
00:28 Welcome to the Flourishing After Adversity Podcast
01:14 Understanding the Power of 'No'
02:53 The Cost of Fear-Based Decisions
03:14 Introducing the iCope2Hope Resilience Framework
04:55 Practical Scenarios: Wisdom vs. Fear
05:36 Questions to Identify Fear
06:19 Empowering Yourself with Thoughtful Yeses
06:38 Recap and Final Thoughts
07:31 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
Free Resource: Reframe the Spiral: 5 Quick Coping Strategies to Shift Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Day https://www.icope2hope.com/reframe
iCope2Hope 3-Step Resilience Framework: https://bit.ly/FrameworkRoadmap
Website: iCope2Hope: From Hardship to Hope https://www.icope2hope.com
Move Beyond Adversity Blog: https://www.icope2hope.com/blog
Free Newsletter: Wednesday’s Resilient Recharge https://www.icope2hope.com/newsletter
Sometimes no is wisdom. Sometimes it's fear. The key is learning how to tell them apart before you miss your next chapter. In today's episode, we're talking about how to tell if your no brings you peace or quick relief. by the end of this episode, you'll know the difference. You'll have tools to make clearer choices, and you'll discover how resilience can guide you toward braver yeses. Welcome to the Flourishing After Adversity podcast. I'm your host, Laura Mangum Broome. If you've been knocked down by life, grief, illness loss, or unexpected change, you're in the right place Get ready to turn your setbacks into stepping stones, because healing, growth and joy are just the beginning. But first, are you overwhelmed with negative thoughts after a setback? If so, I have a free resource just for you. It's called Reframe the Spiral, five Quick Coping Strategies to Shift Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Day. These are the same tools I use when I feel stuck in negative loops. Just check the link in the show notes. It's amazing how much weight a two letter word can carry. No, the word no can be wisdom. It's a shield that protects your peace, energy, and priorities. But sometimes the word no is fear. Fear disguised as logic, fear that keeps you from growth and joy. The word no can be wisdom. It's a shield that protects your peace, energy, and priorities. But sometimes the word no is fear. Fear disguised as logic, fear that keeps you from growth, joy, and second chances. The real question is how do you know the difference after life knocks you down? Divorce illness loss, career shifts. Your nervous system craves safety. Saying the word no feels like relief. No to new relationships because heartbreak cut too deep. No to new opportunities because failure stung last time no to change because the last one nearly broke you. But relief isn't always peace. Sometimes it's just fear dressed in practical clothes. Think of no like a locked door. Wisdom says the lock protects you from toxic workplaces. Unhealthy relationships, draining commitments. Fear says the lock keeps you from stepping into growth, a new career, a fresh start, a chance to rebuild confidence. Both feel protective in the moment, but only one moves you forward. The cost of fear-based decisions shows up slowly. Regret after turning something down. The what if loop that replays in your head a bland life, even though you're technically safer, fear-based"no's" keep you stuck. They stop new friendships, passions, and purposes from ever taking root. Here's where my iCope2Hope resilience framework steps in step one, develop a growth mindset. Fear says, what if I fail? Wisdom reframes it. What can I learn? Step two, discover your superpowers. Think back what helped you survive before? Courage, adaptability, faith, those strengths are still in you. Don't let fear underestimate what you're capable of. Step three, think outside the box. Fear is all or nothing. Wisdom creates middle ground. You don't need a full yes or no. Try a small, yes, a sample, a test step. Once you've shifted your mindset, use my iCOPE problem solving method to make decisions with clarity. I stands for identify the decision. Should I say yes to this opportunity? This friendship, this Class C stands for Choose what's in your control. Is it your safety energy readiness finances? O stands for outline your options. What happens if you say yes? What happens if you say no? What's a middle path? P stands for Proceed with one small step. Send one resume. Try a class for a week. Join one coffee meetup E stands for evaluate. Did it bring peace, growth, or clarity, or did it confirm that no was right. This time, this method turns vague fear into grounded clarity. Here are some practical scenarios. In relationships, wisdom says no to someone who disrespects your boundaries. Fear says no to all relationships because you're afraid of repeating the past in your career, wisdom says to decline a job that compromises your health or values. Fear says to turn down growth because you doubt your age skills are worth In personal growth wisdom says to say no to commitments that drain you. Fear says to refuse to try something new even when your heart lights up at the thought. here's some questions to ask to tell if fear is talking. Do I feel peace or just temporary relief? Does this decision align with my values or just my comfort zone? Am I saying no because I lack time or because I lack confidence? What would I do if fear weren't part of the equation? Take five minutes today to write down one. No, you've given recently. Ask yourself. Was it about preserving safety, health, or priorities? Or was it about avoiding risk, rejection or discomfort? Then what's one small yes, you could test in this area? A thoughtful yes doesn't mean recklessness. It means empowering yourself to step forward, one small step at a time. Every yes, rooted in wisdom, stretches your life wider, builds confidence, brings momentum, and opens doors you didn't even realize were locked. Let's recap what we learned today. We explored why no feels safer after adversity. The two faces of no wisdom verse fear, the cost of fear-based decisions, how the iCope2Hope Resilience framework and the iCOPE problem solving method. Bring clarity. Real life scenarios of wisdom versus fear. Questions to help you recognize when fear is talking. The next time you say no, pause and ask, is this wisdom protecting me or fear limiting me? As I mentioned earlier, if you're struggling with negative thought spirals, be sure to download my free guide. Reframe the Spiral, five Quick Coping Strategies to Shift Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Day. The link is in the show notes below. That's it for today's episode. Please take a moment to subscribe so you'll be notified when new episodes come out. And if this podcast encouraged you, leaving a quick rating or review helps more people find it better yet, please share this episode with three people in need of hope. Until next time, remember, adversity can make you bitter or better. Choose better. You've got this.