Essence Blog

Who remembers Susanna Hoffs singing Manic Monday with the Bangles? BTW she’s rocking it on Instagram!  

I used to dread Mondays.  The weekend fun was over, and Monday symbolized the week's long to-do list of work. It often felt heavy and looming as it was overscheduled, trying to both catch-up and get a head start on the week. 

But as I began architecting my life, creating more flexibility in my schedule, I decided to make Monday more meaningful- you might even say sacred.  

The biggest shift...

As a “Thursday Thoughts” reader, I imagine you understand the power of our language and mindset and know that we can rewire our brains. So today, let's practice a quick tool you can use when feeling annoyed, grumpy, or self-critical. 

Think of something in your life that you want to shift or change, especially if you feel somewhat resistant.

 For example-  

I’m scrolling on my phonetoo much. I don’t want my phone to be the first thing I wake up to in the morning.  

I’m feeling the impending...

I love to discover and share new things. Here is my October My Five Inspired Things List!

1. THIS POEM

The grace that comes to us even when we feel we don't deserve it is healing and humbling. And so is this poem. 

Amazing Grace by ullie-kay 

The reason you are worthy is not
because of anything you have or
have not done. it is because you were
woven together. stitch by stitch.
detail by detail. and because your
body carries a soul that extends
much deeper than your skin. it is
because you have the ...

Have you heard that expression to go all in?  

I've determined that I'm not all in. 

"All in" is a phrase marketers and coaches will use to motivate. I may have even used it myself in the past. 😬 If you go "All in," then you'll...do this, buy this, join this, achieve this...etc. 

But most of the time, I'm just not ALL IN. 

I love my business, but I'm not all in, certainly not "all in" on posting 3x a day on social media and all the other things I should be doing if I was ALL IN. 

I'm not al...

I was going to write you a love letter, 💌 but it became a letter of longing. 

I long for time to slow down. I’m not ready for it to be the halfway point of 2023. 

I long for connection and conversation that feels meaningful + warm, + uplifting, even if the topics are heavy and emotional. 

I long for a break from the bad news of corruption, 🚫hate, dysfunction, and destruction that comes at us from all sides.  I long for a respite from the heartbreak of the comment section. 

I long for more ev...

Stress, overwhelm, self-doubt, and loneliness will show up unexpectedly in our lives. Sometimes they stay overnight. Sometimes they move in for a while.  

When we get into the weeds we can’t always see ourselves clearly. Our wisdom feels less accessible as our feet sink into the quicksand. Sometimes we go into auto-pilot letting the busyness swallow up whole chunks of time leaving us feeling depleted. Sometimes we shrink down and isolate- out of protection, inadequacy, or a feeling of defeat. S...

As many of you know, I have a special knack for planning and organization. This year, I got a jump start on creating my own 2022 planner.  I get a lot of questions about planning and I love helping clients and friends come up with a system that works for them because that’s what it’s all about. 

With Black Friday sales happening and longer shipping times, now is a great time to pick out a planner for next year. There are so many options out there!  

I created a little video ( 6 min)  for you t...

Do you know that draining feeling of being stuck because you can’t make a final decision on something? You keep ping-ponging back and forth between two choices or you agonize over the research or the details?  It’s this classic overthinking which leads to limbo. It’s what I call the Wishy-Washy Gremlin.

Recently,   I’ve been wishy-washy over picking two much-needed appliances because I got overwhelmed and worried about making the wrong decision. Meanwhile, I’ve spent months tolerating a stove w...

You might be hearing the phrase  “spring is in the air”. 

Are you nodding your head yes with anticipation, or looking the other way? 

How about we make both totally ok, shall we?  

You might be a person who is feeling the sense of hope and renewal and initiation that embodies the energy of spring. It might feel extra this year given how the world shut down just as we entered spring in 2020. Metaphorically some of us have been in a year-long winter and are now feeling the new growth and energy...

I have a confession. I showed up for a party with my invitation in hand feeling very righteous about being there.

It was a good ol’ fashioned, self-induced pity party!

One night while traveling in Vermont, I found myself alone on a bench in a beautiful town feeling bummed and disillusioned and sorry for myself. And it wasn’t long before I felt the hangover of too much pity partying.

I  felt an ache in my heart, and a heaviness in my being and disconnected from everything.  I  sat there  

De...