Who Do You Think You Are? Rewriting the Question

Who Do You Think You Are? Rewriting the Question

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? Encouragementology taps into that question by asking something even sharper: "Who do you think you are?"—and then flipping it on its head. Host and professional life and recovery coach Kendell Boysen gently walks listeners through how perspective can quietly shape confidence, choices and healing.

Using real stories, like a woman who grew up hearing "Who do you think you are?" as criticism, Kendell shows how a single phrase can feel like a lifetime sentence of staying small—until someone asks, what if it meant "Who do you think you're becoming?" instead. You’ll hear about a children’s story where puddles are either a messy hassle or a place to splash, and dandelions are either weeds or wishes.

Kendell links this to confirmation bias and recovery work: if you go hunting for proof that you’re broken, you’ll find it; if you start looking for growth, you’ll spot that too. As she puts it, "What you seek, you will find... your attention is powerful. Your interpretation is powerful." The tone stays warm, honest and practical—less pep talk, more companion on the sofa asking: what meaning have you given to what happened to you?

Kendell offers concrete tools like separating facts from the story in your head, asking "What else could be true?", and borrowing someone else’s perspective when your own feels stuck. This episode speaks strongly to anyone in recovery or self-discovery who’s tired of old, limiting narratives and wants to rewrite them without pretending the pain never happened.

Expect gentle challenges, a few light moments and a clear, doable prompt: notice one story you keep repeating and ask whether it’s really the only version. Ready to swap muddy shoes for a field of wishes, even just a little?