Happy Summer! Because the summer often represents the halfway point in the year, it can be a great opportunity to check in with ourselves, evaluate progress toward our goals, and make any adjustments or additions as needed to meet our current circumstances. I encourage you to be curious, open-minded, and compassionate as you do this internal work rather than allowing that judgmental or harsh inner critic to take over. Celebrate your successes (no matter how small) and identify any shifts that you want to make as the second half of the year unfolds. Here are some journal prompts to consider as part of this reflection process. I hope you find them helpful!

Happy Spring! March is often the time when our thoughts shift toward more sunshine, longer days, birds singing, and flowers blooming. After a long winter of staying indoors, turning inward for reflection, and focusing on warmth and comfort, we are often excited to return to the outside world with renewed energy, joy, and purpose. We engage in spring cleaning at home, doing extra projects to help our living spaces feel fresh and rejuvenated. I’d also like to invite you to do an internal spring cleaning to clear the clutter in your mind and realign with your values and goals.

While the winter and holiday season can be a time of joy and excitement, it can also be a source of stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion for many.  The pressure to please and make everyone happy can be compounded by our own grief and loss, nostalgia for past memories, health issues, and concerns about the uncertainty of the world right now. 

Despite the pressures, I strongly encourage you to prioritize your wellbeing over the holidays, especially if you are someone who tends to neglect yourself, push through, and over-function at this time of year.  Here are some questions to reflect upon as we dive into this busy time of year and prepare for 2024.

While spring may seem far away for those of us living in the Northeast, March is often the time when our thoughts shift toward more sunshine, longer days, birds singing, and flowers blooming. After a long winter of staying indoors, turning inward for reflection, and focusing on warmth and comfort, we are often excited to return to the outside world with renewed energy, joy, and purpose. We engage in spring cleaning at home, doing extra projects to help our living spaces feel fresh and rejuvenated. I’d also like to invite you to do an internal spring cleaning to clear the clutter in your mind and realign with your values and goals.

As this year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to celebrate YOU. Why you ask? Because you have done incredible things throughout this past year. Big things, little things, hard things, easy things, surprising things, and things that have led you to being the amazing person that you are in this moment now. I’m proud of you and have truly enjoyed being part of your journey throughout the past year. And you should be proud of you too! To help you tune into and recognize your success, I’d encourage you to look over these journal prompts and consider them. If you do nothing else, I invite you to identify 2-3 things that you did well this year or that you’re proud of – doesn’t matter if they are big or small. They are all an important part of our journey and they’re all worth celebrating. Happy New Year!

The holiday season and end of the calendar year can bring with it a lot of joy, fun, excitement, and tradition. However, it can also be a time of stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion, especially for those of us who are parents and caregivers. We often believe we need to show up at every event, clean and decorate our homes, bake treats, cook big meals, buy a lot of gifts, and have endless energy and enthusiasm. My goal today is to normalize the presence and intensity of these overwhelming emotions AND share some tips on how to take care of yourself in these next few weeks (and beyond!).