Grief & Happiness

Share

Living Undeterred Through Loss with Jeff Johnston

Ep. 31

“Purpose becomes passion when it gets personal”

 

In this thirty-first episode together, I am joined by Jeff Johnston. Since losing his oldest son to a drug overdose and years later his wife to alcoholism, Jeff has a very unique perspective on grief and happiness. He knew that he could either choose to go down a road of coping with anger and unhealthy habits or a road of strength, meaning, and inspiration. Today, Jeff is a speaker, advocate, podcaster, author of This One’s For You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death and Meaning, and founder of the Live Undeterred project. 


 Throughout this episode,  Jeff and I have a deeply vulnerable  conversation about his experience with loss, grief, strength, and happiness. Jeff shares what his life was like before his son passed away, the impact that his son’s death had the entire family, what continues to motivate him, and so much more. Jeff’s positive outlook on life is truly inspiring and I have no doubt that his story will resonate with you. 


Tune in and listen to the thirty-first episode of Grief and Happiness, and join me in learning how Jeff Johnston continues to live undeterred despite experiencing loss and grief. 

 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • About Jeff’s background and the pivotal turning point (1:12)
  • The importance of understanding that things happen for you, not to you (14:07)
  • Some of the tools that help Jeff throughout each day (21:57)
  • Why Jeff doesn’t believe in unconditional love (32:11)
  • To remember that everyone’s grief and trauma journey is unique (39:13)


Connect with Jeff


Let's Connect:

More Episodes

3/28/2023

Stop Looking Out There; Inner Peace And Happiness Lie Within with Jonathan Robinson

Ep. 116
Have you ever wondered what we need to be really happy? In this episode, I'm joined by Jonathan Robinson, psychotherapist, best-selling author of 14 books, podcaster, and professional speaker from Northern California. After a traumatic experience when he was 12, Jonathan became suicidal. He then went on a quest to find answers, to heal himself. By 13, he was meditating every day, and what started as a desperate seek for answers to heal himself transformed into a passion career. In his lifelong process of seeking answers and finding the best psychological and spiritual growth techniques, he interviewed the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, and the late Mother Theresa. He decided to share and disseminate his knowledge, and thanks to the platforms of Oprah, The Tonight Show, and the Today Shop, among many others, he touched over 200 million people worldwide. Throughout this episode, Jonathan talks about PERMA, an acronym that points out the path toward happiness and how to reach happiness by helping others. We also discuss how to feel safer with our thoughts, avoid unnecessary pain, and why finding inner peace and happiness outside of ourselves is impossible. Jonathan also shares a different perspective on how to find peace in modern society, the meaning of life, and so much more. Listen to episode 116 of Grief and Happiness to hear about Jonathan's most valuable lessons from a life dedicated to finding peace and balance within. In This Episode, You Will Learn:A bit about Jonathan's background (1:12)What is PERMA? (3:51)How to find inner peace in less than a minute (7:16)A magical mantra to feel grateful all the time (7:59)The purpose of life (12:16)Feeling pain is an invitation to start trying new stuff (17:59)The more attention we pay to each other, the safer and more accomplished we'll feel (23:13)Connect with Jonathan:WebsiteJonathan Robinson BooksFacebookTwitterLinkedInYouTubeLet's Connect:WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestThe Grief and Happiness AllianceBook: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief
3/21/2023

The Strength to Live with Cindy Tank-Murphy

Ep. 114
Trigger warning: Today's episode touches on extremely sensitive and upsetting topics.Losing someone to suicide is perhaps one of the most challenging and painful forms of grieving. Is it possible to find healing and hope after a loss from suicide? In today's episode, I'm joined by the Best-selling author, International speaker, and Mental Health advocate, Cindy Tank-Murphy, author of "The Strength to Live: Finding Healing and Hope After a Loss From Suicide." Cindy's work promotes conversations about overcoming the grief from suicide and the mental health epidemic the world is suffering from. Although the idea of writing a book had always been in Cindy's head, she never thought her first book would be about suicide, motivated by her father's decision to take his own life.  Throughout this episode, Cindy shares how losing her father to suicide in 2014 abruptly changed her views on grief and mental health issues and urged her to build safer places for her thoughts and feelings through writing. We also talk about how crucial it is to pay attention to the immense power of words and how to release fears and experience healing through writing and journaling. Additionally, we discuss how touching on sensible topics, such as the death of a child, might help to heal, the importance of losing the fear of saying something inappropriate, and more. Listen to episode 114 of Grief and Happiness and discover new ways of connecting with your strength to live after a loss from suicide. In This Episode, You Will Learn:A bit about Cindy and her decision to write a book about suicide and mental health (2:11)How to deal with ignorant comments (9:13)The importance of acknowledging red flags (16:18)The therapeutic properties of writing your feelings on a piece of paper (22:05)How to be at peace with knowing that you might say the wrong thing at the wrong time (31:01)Connect with Cindy:WebsiteInstagramFacebookEmail: cindy@thestrengthtolive.comBook: Cindy Tank-Murphy - The Strength to Live: Finding Healing and Hope After a Loss From SuicideLet's Connect:WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestThe Grief and Happiness AllianceBook: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief