Returning to Yourself, Again and Again
As I shared in this week’s newsletter, summer break can feel heavy with shoulds and expectations. But what if this season could be different?
What would it feel like to be clearer, freer, and more attuned to your true self?
To be a mother who trusts her instincts.
A woman who moves from confident alignment instead of guilt.
A human being who knows that her worth isn’t measured by productivity, planning, or pleasing others?
This is the liberation I invite you to explore.
Not perfection.
Not some ideal version of peace and balance.
Just a gentle, loving return to yourself.
In my own life and my work with other moms, I’ve noticed how powerful it is to pause and ask:
Whose voice am I hearing?
What am I believing about myself?
Does this align with the woman, parent, or partner I actually want to be?
When we slow down and listen—whether in moments of stillness, in a journal, or during a quiet moment hiding in the pantry—we often find that our inner knowing is still there—waiting patiently. She’s quieter than the noise, but infinitely wiser.
A friend recently shared with me a moment when she had said yes to something that sounded great at the time, but later felt overwhelmed and stressed by the commitment.
Still, being a “good girl,” she decided to push through it. She set her needs aside and chose to do the “right” thing—the expected thing, the thing she thought she should do.
And it felt… yucky!
She dreaded it and was resentful, mostly toward herself for over-committing.
But then, the day before she was supposed to follow through, she did something super brave.
She made a phone call, acknowledged her feelings, and asked for help brainstorming alternative solutions.
And guess what?
The person on the other end of the line responded with understanding and reassurance.
How awesome is that? While it doesn’t always go that way, this time, it did.
And as it turned out, someone else was thrilled to step in and create something spontaneous and magical.
The reminder struck me: When we live in alignment with ourselves, life tends to flow.
We all want to be reliable and trustworthy—and that matters. But what if the most reliable thing we can do is to show up for ourselves first?
When we live, love, and give from a place of self-respect, self-care, and worthiness, that’s when we’re most trustworthy.
When I need support, I turn to the people I trust to take care of themselves – people who I know can say no and who speak their truth with kindness.
That’s the kind of person I want to be, too.
So I’m committing—recommitting, really—to myself.
To pause and check in.
To connect with my own needs (which can take some excavation).
To honor those needs and express them openly, respectfully, and without apology.
And then… to stay.
To witness what unfolds and resource myself so I can be there for what happens next, even when it’s hard, and it is so frickin hard and uncomfortable and scary if that hasn’t been your way of relating to yourself and to the world.
Because here’s what I’m learning: Having and expressing needs isn’t selfish, even if you’ve been led to believe otherwise. It’s an essential part of learning to trust yourself. Self-honoring isn’t self-centered. It’s sacred. It’s relational, and it’s how we move beyond surviving into thriving.
This is a journey. It can be a long one, but it’s one that’s worth practicing again and again.
You are not alone!
