Are you willing, wishful, or willful when it comes to living differently?
In our Season Two Finale, Judeline Altema-Commey, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and CEO ofGuidance of Hopejoins host Dana Tenille Weekes to unpack the true power of being willing.
As a follow-up to podcast episodes or agency workshops Dana facilitates, a common question she receives is “How can I *really* make this change?” While always asked with sincerity and curiosity, Dana often replies, “You must be willing to make the change,” which is met with questioning, hesitation, or a labored sigh.
This episode explores what it really means to be willing to live differently with intention, rather than through reactive measures that leave us where we started. Dana believes that being willing is necessary to navigate the world with an agency practice and in a rest mindset. Otherwise, listening to this podcast passes the time but doesn’t make true use of it.
Why many of us think we’re willing to make a change, but we’re not.
The difference between being willing, wishful, and willful.
Why protection from the past and others’ dependencies challenge our ability to be willing.
How showing yourself grace is not the same as giving up on yourself.
Key Quotes & Insights
Being willing will eventually ask us to examine our relationship to redefining what safety means to us and our future selves.
“To be willing is to be in a season to receive and do the work it requires.” – Judeline Altema
“People aren’t used to you being the reaper, when they are used to you being their sower.” – Judeline Altema
About Judeline Altema-Commey
JUDELINE ALTEMA-COMMEY, MA, LCPC, is a licensed behavioral therapist and clinical supervisor who understands the silence, resilience, and survival patterns that shape how mental health is experienced, expressed, and passed down across generations.
As founder of Guidance of Hope, Judeline offers online and in-person counseling to help individuals, couples, and families move from survival to intentional living. She specializes in intergenerational trauma, emotional regulation, and relationship patterns within Black communities, while also centering the trauma and lack of mental health awareness within Afro-Caribbean and African cultures.
She is also co-host of the podcast Couch Chronicles: Therapists After Dark, which breaks down mental health, relationships, and cultural dynamics in a way that is real, unfiltered, and rooted in psychoeducation.
Dana Tenille Weekes made the conscious decision to live in a mindset of rest as self-liberation after nearly 15 years as a lawyer-lobbyist in Washington, DC. In 2020, Dana faced the darkest period of her life, which eventually led her to resign from a top global law firm and take a year-long journey of rest in 2022.
In 2023, Dana launched Thrive Architects, a strategic advising and professional development firm building advocacy, organizational health, and well-being platforms for organizations, communities, and people to thrive.
The Rest of Us podcast is one way Dana is building community for professionals and advocates on the brink of burnout to think about rest differently. If you’re interested in embracing rest as liberation, especially after the podcast episode ends, join our community where we converse, connect, cultivate, and lean into our creativity.
