So often when we talk about permission to feel your feelings, the automatic assumption is that you're feeling HARD feelings. And I DO want you to feel ALL of those emotions - but that’s not what I want to talk about today. Today, I want to talk about giving yourself permission for JOY. And wonder, serenity, awe, delight, pleasure, elation, jubilance, revelry, tranquility, and whatever other fun-loving happy emotion you're experiencing!

It's that time of year again. When the new year's resolutioning kicks into high gear, you start seeing nonstop ads for gyms and weight-loss solutions, and you feel the pressure (and sometimes real desire!) to improve every aspect of your life.

There's nothing innately wrong with using the energy of the new year to make changes. I've spent many hours over the past few weeks both reflecting on 2022 and visioning for 2023 - and I'm excited to move towards that vision and do some things differently this coming year.

I also know it can be a lot. The motivation to change can turn into the weight to change which can morph into the inner critic punishing you for NOT doing the change perfectly pretty darn quickly.

“How did you find the motivation to start saying no?” The answer to this one came to me immediately: I didn't want to keep dealing with the consequences of saying yes FAR too often. I didn't want to be tired the rest of my life. I didn't want to be resentful for taking on work that paid me less than I was worth. That was my initial motivation. I wanted to get rid of the consequences of over-yessing. Over time, though, the motivation started to include what I DESIRED from saying no. Because there are SO MANY benefits of saying no.

How do you know when to be persistent and stay the course - and when to make a change? In my experience, this comes down to four words: SLOW DOWN. TURN INWARD.

A few weeks ago I was thinking about what I wanted to do this summer and the thought came to me: One of my GOALS is to spend more time in the mountains.

Even though it was my own thought (hello past programming!), I immediately recoiled.