Over deze podcast
Do you feel called toward something bigger — a dream, adventure, or purpose — but fear keeps holding you back?
Welcome to The Discomfort Zone — the outdoor, mindset, and leadership podcast where courage meets the edge.
Every Tuesday, host Anna Levesque — world-class whitewater kayaker, World Championship medalist, author, and mental agility coach — dives into raw, real conversations with paddlers, athletes, leaders, adventurers, and purpose-driven humans who choose growth over comfort.
From powerful stories on wild rivers and mountain trails to navigating major life transitions, these conversations explore what it truly takes to face fear, build confidence, and find your flow — on and off the water.
You'll hear:
Stories from whitewater kayakers + outdoor athletes pushing their edge
Insights from guides, coaches, and leaders creating impact in their fields
Practical mental-agility + leadership tools you can use right away
Lessons from expeditions, competition, and personal transformation
How to navigate the discomfort that fuels growth, courage, and purpose
Whether you're a paddler, outdoor enthusiast, emerging leader, or someone seeking more courage in everyday life, you'll walk away with practical tools to strengthen resilience, show up with confidence, and embrace the adventure of being alive.
If you're ready to stop playing small and start living boldly, you're in the right zone.
Afleveringen
De nieuwste 20 van 140 afleveringen
- Ep #130 Confidence Through Competence: The Power of the Pause · 12 min · Aflevering 130Confidence through competence takes skillful, repeated contact with the discomfort zone. Most of us assume that means doing more: more challenges, more information, more effort…
- Ep #129 Turning Nerves into Excitement with Valerie Bertrand · 53 min · Aflevering 129Picture yourself in massive surf, nerves firing, while your coach keeps pointing at the clouds. That's how Valerie Bertrand learned to turn nerves into excitement. In this…
- Ep #128 Whitewater and Ayurveda with Jeremy Ann Anderson · 49 min · Aflevering 128
- Ep #127 Breaking Barriers in Whitewater with Rolando Arrieta and Courtney Smit · 1 u 9 min · Aflevering 127What does it take to stay calm above a big rapid when you're also wondering whether the people in the eddy have your back? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna…
- Ep #126 Healing a Bulging Disc Without Surgery Solo Ep · 16 min · Aflevering 126A year ago, a low back injury meant Anna Levesque couldn't sit in a kayak, or even a chair. She wondered if she would ever paddle whitewater again. This season she's back…
- Ep #125 Trusting Yourself in Skiing and Business with Nadia Burton · 50 min · Aflevering 125How do you learn to trust yourself enough to know your limits, and still take the big risk when it counts? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna Levesque, former…
- REPLAY: The Brown Claw and Losing Bren with Dave Fusilli · 55 minHave you ever wondered how the legendary Brown Claw got started? Dave Fusilli runs West Coast sales and marketing for Pyranha Kayaks, is a longtime IR athlete, and is one of the…
- Ep #124 Undamming the Klamath River with Amy Bowers Cordalis · 58 min · Aflevering 124On her birthday, Amy Bowers Cordalis was handed a detonator wired to a dam on the Klamath River and told to stomp on it as hard as she could. In this episode of The Discomfort…
- REPLAY: Grow Your Stress Resilience with Sommerville Johnston · 56 minSommerville Johnston brought a rubber band to this recording. Stretched, it is the discomfort zone. Pulled further, it snaps. How much stress resilience do you have before you…
- Ep #123 Take the Pressure Off: Whitewater Decision Making Solo Ep · 11 min · Aflevering 125She told everyone in the eddy she was only going to ferry. When she peeled out, she was shocked by what happened next. The whitewater decision making strategy that Anna Levesque…
- REPLAY: How Benny Marr Uses Ego in Kayaking · 57 minWhat does ego have to do with confidence in kayaking? Benny Marr, one of the best big wave and expedition paddlers in the world, has a surprising answer that will help you…
- Replay: Abby Holcombe on Facing Fear and Staying True to Yourself · 48 minWhat do you do when you are the only thing between you and the line you know you can run? Abby Holcombe, world champion freestyle kayaker, four-time USA national champion, and…
- Ep #122 Doing It Scared: How Confidence Actually Gets Built · 12 min · Aflevering 122How do you break through the resistance to doing the things you know will build your confidence, but you're afraid of doing them? In this solo episode of The Discomfort Zone…
- Ep #121 Kayaking Is 95% Mental: Bryan Kirk on Nerves and Flow · 57 min · Aflevering 121How do you settle your nerves when the pressure is on and everyone is watching? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Bryan Kirk, a former member US Freestyle Kayak…
- Ep #120 Juliet Jacobson Kastorff on Confidence vs Control · 1 u 0 min · Aflevering 120What does it actually take to lead a team, run an international guiding business, and still choose the hard line when it would be easier to stay comfortable? Juliet Jacobsen…
- Ep #119 How to Break Big Fears into Small Steps with Sara Hunter · 52 min · Aflevering 119What do you do when fear shows up and your instinct is to either force your way through or quit altogether? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna talks with Sara…
- Ep #118 Humbled by My Own Advice: Letting Go of Perfectionism · 17 min · Aflevering 118
- Replay: The Power of Joy with Keeya Wiki on the Klamath · 50 minWhat does it mean to paddle a river your family fought six generations to free? This week marks the one-year anniversary of the historic first descent of the undammed Klamath…
- Replay: Train Your Brain for Courage with Anna Wagner · 1 u 0 minWhat does it actually take to train your brain for courage, and can you do it while running a 13-mile hike-in class V expedition and going back to school full-time? In this…
- Replay: Sage Donnelly on Cultivating a Class V Mindset · 55 minSage Donnelly just became the Queen of the North Fork, and it's the perfect time to revisit our 2024 conversation on The Discomfort Zone Podcast, recorded when she was the…
