After my mom died, I found an old journal we’d shared when I was sixteen. It was buried beneath the clutter of my childhood bedroom, which I cleaned out after she died. I noticed that I'd been the last to write, never passed it back, and the journal had eventually been forgotten about and shoved beneath my bed. It felt like yet another thing I could guilt myself over, which was something I did a lot in those early days. But through that fog I had an idea…
If You're Hurting, You're Not Doing It Wrong: Being a Sensitive Human in a Changing World
Whether it’s their interests, bedtime routines, or shoe sizes, it seems like as soon as I’ve settled into “we are reading Inside Out every night” my kids are changing again, and I’m left holding the book. As much effort as I put into letting go, allowing them to be and develop and grow into these new humans on a daily basis, as much as I attempt to practice the “your children are not your children” idea, breathing into the now and welcoming the new phases, the truth is…I also feel grief. If you do too, you’re not doing it wrong.
I'm Now Donating a Percentage of Sales to End Alzheimer's & Other Brain Diseases
I've always imagined that a portion of the Questions You'll Wish You Asked journals should be donated to an Alzheimer's ending organization, especially with the amount of messages I get from people who are filling out journals with loved ones struggling with dementia. I’m done waiting until “someday when I make more money.” You should be done waiting too.
Maybe You Shouldn’t Ask This Person Questions: How to Approach Toxic Relationships
Even as someone with dead parents who’s always reminding you that life is short, I still don’t think you should trade your own peace in order to have a relationship with someone toxic. I believe in working through issues and recognizing our life minutes as precious; in forging connections and also in having fierce boundaries.
Trust the Next Step: How Each Part of Our Path is Connected
When I started writing online five years ago, I talked a lot about life purpose and finding the right career. My focus as a coach was helping people to find work that lit them up, and then helping them be brave enough to think they deserved to do it. But I’ve changed a lot in these past five years. I don’t really talk about these things anymore because I am no longer sure how I feel about them. I have been busy unpacking how capitalism, patriarchy, and the conditioning of hustle culture infiltrated how I thought about work, meaning, and “life purpose.” It’s a lot of unlearning. It’s been humbling. But there’s one thing that’s clear as I look in the rearview mirror…
How Would You Treat Yourself Differently If Everything Mattered?
What Is True for You? How to Live the Questions When Life is Uncertain
Today I met with my mentor and shared how sad I’ve been lately. The state of the world, my own creeping depression, and then the unexpected loss of a friend last week…they’ve culminated into a giant inner emptiness. What am I even doing here? What are any of us doing? What actually matters? When we don’t have answers, it’s time to live the questions. Here’s one way to do that.
The Questions I Would Have Asked My Dad - How to Live in the Messy Middle of Life
Lessons From Regret: Do It Anyway (A Poem)
In the months before my mom died she fell in love with a poem. This poem was called “Do It Anyway.” She asked if I would find a way to paint it up on her bedroom wall, and I told her that I would. I thought it sounded nice and totally planned on it, but of course life was busy…and I didn’t get to it. This was one of the many things that haunted me after her death. Here’s how I moved past this regret and remind myself to “do it anyway.”