Caring for our stuff and our homes is a journey unto itself… but it’s quite likely you’re not doing it in a vacuum. You have family members and housemates… and their stuff. As you “make space for you,” it would be great if our people adopted your energy and intentions, working alongside you in harmony, but… they’re their own people with their own plans and priorities.

During a goal journey, encountering a bump - or a full on obstacle - in the road is normal. Planning for things to not go perfectly and equipping yourself with self-compassion gives you resilience to navigate the inevitable bumps and continue on your way.

Goal setting and habit change can feel overwhelming! Creating big expectations for yourself can seem like a setup for failure, leading to feeling stuck, discouraged, and ashamed. Enter tiny goals…

It’s so easy to get caught up in holiday perfectionism, especially as we feel that we’re doing things last minute and under pressure to finish. Can you tell when your inner perfectionist is trying to run the show?

We often attribute overwhelm to busyness, but the core issues usually go beyond a packed calendar. Sure, having a mile-long to-do list can play into that “it’s all too much!” feeling, but there are usually other factors in the mix… factors that life coaching excels at addressing.

It seems like prioritizing fun should be natural… easy… something we don’t even need to think about. But it’s not. When life is busy, when we’re pulled in a million different directions, when we’re tugged at by outer expectations, distracted by comparison, and plagued by perfectionism… having fun gets complicated.

The Summer 2023 Visual Planner provides a bird's-eye view of your summer activities, helping you assess your commitments, identify gaps, and find balance in your schedule.

Summer is full of opportunity - it’s a chance to align with yourself, pursue goals, and create intentional and joyful experiences. Summer has longer days, flexible schedules, time to rejuvenate, and warm weather energy. Having the Summer you want should be a breeze, right? Well, that’s the thing. Making Summertime as fun and productive as you want to be isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

This isn’t a “how to declutter” guide, in fact, we’re not even going to talk about how to get stuff out of your home. Instead, we’re going to wonder about how the stuff gets there in the first place. Put on your curiosity cap, and let’s see what happens when you go through the following steps. This is a reflective exercise, it would go great with a cup of tea and a journal.

We continually refer to the past and the future as we attempt to make decisions about our present. Finding a balance between honoring your past, preparing for your future, and living in the present can be challenging… and if left unaddressed, can derail your decluttering efforts.

Consider that every single one of the reasons you’re keeping things you don’t use is valid. As you identify each reason, extend understanding to yourself, like  “Yep, that makes sense. I can see why I’ve been holding on to those things.” The point of this exercise is not so much about getting rid of socks as it is about self-discovery.

Our homes are tied to how we identify ourselves. If we routinely judge ourselves for how we care for our homes, statements like “I’m a slob,” “I’m bad at this,” and “I’m overwhelmed” are as commonplace as they are unhelpful. We can choose not to identify with such statements… but it takes intention and practice. Getting curious about how you want your home to support you can help pull out self-talk that feels supportive. This benefits your relationship with your home… and your relationship with yourself.

We are heavily socialized about how we care for our homes. A lot of the pressure you feel to make your home look like a magazine spread is likely coming from outside yourself. Unless we’re super intentional, the way we interact with our homes can get pretty dysfunctional.

If the prevalence of Spring Cleaning media makes you want to curl up into a ball and hide… I’ve got something for you!

Needing to reset a goal does not mean failure - quite the opposite. Often, it’s the difference between continuing to work towards a goal and abandoning it entirely. When you declare a reset, it means you’re listening to yourself, prioritizing your desires, and customizing habits to work really well for you. 

Taking a reset can be a powerful way to bring fresh-start energy and valuable perspective to your day-to-day life. It’s a chance to pause, look around, and wonder how things are going. It’s noticing something that’s feeling out-of-wack and getting curious about what it needs. It’s compassionately giving that thing time and attention. Sometimes, it means redesigning the thing or letting go of it altogether.

… I suspect we’ve all been in this position. We set a goal, and initially, there’s some oomph behind it. But after a bit, that energy wears off, and we’re left with zero motivation. From that low place, we double down on the “uggg” by shaming ourselves with nasty self-talk like “what’s wrong with me?” and “I never finish my goals.”

So many of us thrive when we have a trusted accountability buddy; someone who will check in periodically, ask how things are going, celebrate progress, offer encouragement, and touch base on obstacles and potential adjustments. Just knowing that someone will be checking in can help you stay focused and motivated. 

Hey, fellow perfectionists! Let’s talk about how wacky goal setting can get when we’re prone to “all or nothing”, perfectionistic thinking. What do puppies and housetraining have to do with this? Well… let’s get into it. 

I love making the most of the “fresh start energy” of the new year. When we’re already in a “what’s possible?” mindset, we can take the dreaming and scheming even further with juicy questions. Enter the New Year’s Explorations Guide.