In the Place You Least Want to LookIn the Place You Least Want to Look
Encouragementology
Kendell Boysen reflects on why people avoid the very things that need their attention and how that avoidance quietly exhausts them. She offers gentle, practical steps to face uncomfortable areas with honesty, smaller actions and a fresh perspective on discomfort and growth.
30:00•11 Jun 2026
In the Place You Least Want to Look: Facing What You’ve Been Avoiding
Episode Overview
- Avoidance often masquerades as busyness, research or waiting for the "right time", while quietly draining energy in the background.
- People are frequently stuck not because something is missing, but because something they already know needs attention is being avoided.
- Separating awareness from action helps; you can look at a problem without fixing it all at once, treating awareness as information rather than failure.
- Shrinking the task into a single small step – one call, one message, one appointment – makes progress feel possible instead of overwhelming.
- Discomfort is not always a danger sign; it can indicate growth, offering an invitation to heal, set boundaries, or finally begin again.
“You’re not stuck because something is missing. You’re stuck because something is waiting.”
How can compelling narratives motivate and inspire others? This episode of Encouragementology sees professional life and recovery coach Kendell Boysen taking a hard but honest look at the things people tiptoe around in daily life – those awkward conversations, unopened bills, parked dreams and nagging feelings that never quite go away.
Speaking directly to anyone feeling stuck, worn out or trapped in old patterns, Kendell points out that "sometimes the things that matter most are the very things we avoid the longest." She explains how avoidance can show up looking productive – more research, more planning, more busywork – while the real issue quietly drains mental and emotional energy in the background.
Using relatable analogies like emotional "junk drawers" and waiting for a light that only switches on once you step into the room, Kendell breaks down why discomfort feels so threatening and how the stories people tell themselves make everything seem bigger and scarier than it is. The heart of her message? You’re often "not stuck because something is missing.
You’re stuck because something is waiting." You’ll hear simple, practical strategies to face what you’ve been dodging: separating awareness from action, shrinking the next step, questioning the story rather than the facts, and recognising that some discomfort is actually a sign of growth. There’s also a gentle devotional moment that reframes avoided places not as proof of weakness, but as invitations to heal, set boundaries, or finally begin again.
If you’ve been walking around something instead of through it, this honest, hopeful episode might help you shine a small flashlight on that corner and take just one brave step. What might be waiting for you in the place you least want to look?
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