Did you ever watch the show Suits? It was a lawyer show running from 2011 to 2019. One of the lead characters, Harvey Spector, often had some great advice. He was a tough-love kind of man, and maybe even a little selfish once in a while, but man did he share some wisdom. I ran across a quote from him the other day and thought about you. 

As a kind-hearted human, you are so quick to share your love with others. To pour your energy into someone else in their hour of need, or just to put a smile on their face. 

You work so hard to put good into the world. 

You would move Heaven and Earth to ease the pain of someone you love or prevent that heartache altogether. 

You sacrifice your time and energy to lend a helping hand. 

And you do all of this without thinking twice. Because, why wouldn’t you? 

If someone has ever asked you why you do the things you do or told you you were crazy for putting in that much...

Last week we were discussing how often we use the lack of time as an excuse for not doing those things we said we were going to do. You can read the whole post HERE but the main jist of it is that we make time for the things we call a priority as long as we are clear about what those priorities are. 

If you feel like you’ve mastered that and you’re still struggling to find the time to do participate in the things you’d like to do, whether that is a hobby or simply keeping up with laundry then we have to change our approach a little bit. If you’ve already mastered the skill of staying committed to your goals, honoring your priorities, and avoiding distractions and you still end the day with unfinished tasks it can certainly make you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel and not getting anywhere. 

My number one tip for this: Outsource! Look to your friends, family, and small businesses to help you accomplish all the things. You can hire a cleaning...

The start of a new year, a new month, a new job, a new adventure creates an energy of new goals, dreams, and motivations. Have you ever noticed how the luster and excitement of starting something new wears off and all of a sudden you’re not interested anymore? Maybe you have a pile of yarn from that new crocheting hobby you were going to take up. Maybe you have an online course you bought to learn a new skill or some self-development. Maybe you bought a membership for a gym that you used 4 times and have never been back. Not because you didn’t enjoy any of it, but because the new wore off. Don’t judge yourself for this, it happens to the best of us—92% of us according to inc.com. So, what on earth are you supposed to do to stay motivated?

Step one: Stop shoulding on yourself.

So often we do things because we “should.” I should be going to the gym, so I’ll buy a membership. I should have a hobby to relax, so I’ll take up...

Here we are at the end of another year. I know we say this every year, but boy doesn’t it go by fast?! All of a sudden it’s the end of December and we’re rolling into yet another year. This is a time when I reflect on the last year and set my goals for the coming adventures--I’m currently loving my Passion Planner for this (no affiliation, I just like the product). I’m reviewing my goals and looking at what has been accomplished in the last year. Amazed at the progress and also how much has really changed for my family this year. A thought came to me while I was thinking about all the happenings of the last 12 months.

The year is going to pass you by, no matter what you do. The days will go quickly, the time will pass, and all of a sudden you’ll be looking back wondering how it’s already time to flip the calendar again. The sun rises and sets each day, whether we’re ready for it or not. So the question becomes, what are you going to...

What desires, goals, or dreams have been placed on your heart? I’m not just talking about sleeping in every day or your favorite drink from the coffee shop. Let’s get a little deeper than that… What are the things that you keep coming back to? Those dreams that just never go away? 

Maybe it’s having all your family together for a meal. 

Maybe it’s selling your paintings. 

Maybe it’s teaching kiddos how to work through their emotions on the back of a horse. 

Maybe it’s having an exceptional relationship with your partner. 

Maybe it’s running an animal sanctuary where you rescue pets from being euthanized. 

Maybe it’s finding peace and joy in your life again.

Maybe it’s something else entirely… 

These goals have been placed on your heart for a reason. Not just to daydream about it while you’re stuck in your 9 to 5. Not just to be that thing you never quite...

Let’s Celebrate! This is the 100th Purely You Blog! 

I remember in 6th grade we had to write one paragraph, at least 5 sentences, for homework every night. While I didn’t mind writing, that seemed exhausting. Here I am now choosing to write every week for the last 100 weeks! And every week for a few hundred more… Today we’ll take a beat to reflect on the most popular posts in the first 100. One dozen of them to be exact. So here we go…

Starting at the 12th most popular post

#12 Protect Your Space. This one is all about preventing people from sucking the life out of you and knowing how to protect your good mood even when you’re around a bunch of negative Nancy’s! “Listen, someone else's rain doesn't have to fall on your parade.”

#11 Hard Conversations. This chat is a reminder that we are the examples for our daughters and our daughters will have opportunities to make big changes in our world....

It is often said in the “coaching world” that we teach that which we need to learn. My goodness, how true that is. So often I find myself saying things in a session with a client and thinking, “Self, pay attention. You needed to hear that too!” The wisdom I have been blessed with over the last 7 years of this work has helped me to grow and evolve just as much as my clients do. As we’re all in the spirit of offering gratitude, I have to share my gratefulness for these lessons! I am a human and I face challenges just like you do. Sometimes I forget to ground, sometimes I don’t say “no” often enough, sometimes I don’t make self-care a priority and I end up burnt out… We are not meant to be perfect on this journey called life, we are simply meant to find peace in the process. Every time I find myself a little off, I remember the lessons I have learned from my clients. The ones that blow my mind and speak straight to my soul....

Who doesn’t love to be helpful? We have been told from the beginning of time to help our neighbors, help those in need, help each other out, lend a helping hand, etc… etc…etc… 

I’m all about being helpful, it's one of my most favorite things to do. I love to volunteer. I love to help those less fortunate than me. I love to be a part of something bigger than my own goals, dreams, and desires. And I love when others help me when I'm in need.  Here’s what I don’t love: when offering that help is at the cost of my wellbeing. 

You know how when you’re on a plane and the flight attendant reminds you to put your oxygen mask on first, then help those around you. Do you know why they do that? The reality is that once a plane cabin begins to depressurize, you have about 18 seconds before you start to be affected by the lack of oxygen. If you spend 15 of those seconds helping out someone else, you might not have time...

The other day I watched something happen that I think you’ll recognize in your own life. My husband and I were driving down the road and something fell out of the back of the truck. My husband got upset, stopped, backed up, and put it back in and we were off again. Less than a mile later, it happened again. And again he got upset, stopped, backed up, and put it back in. We go a little further and sure enough….we’re in the same situation for the third time, but he’s furious now. One could reason that it should have been tied down, the roads need to be bladed, etc… etc… but outside of that, what stuck out to me is that immediately after that happened he grabs for the bottle of Ibuprofen he keeps in the pickup and says, “I got so mad I gave myself a headache.” Now the nurse and healer in me know that this headache isn’t here to stay. It’s merely a side effect of his blood pressure skyrocketing due to his anger about the...

Sometimes it’s refreshing to not have any plans. To have a whole day open for whatever comes your way! However… it’s very hard to live every day like that. Most of us are driven by deadlines, points of necessity, and feelings of accomplishment. That is why we make to-do lists and schedules. Most of us get more done if we know what we are doing. As a general rule of thumb we do well with listing tasks for work, or getting the kids ready for the day, and maybe even our own daily routines as far as normal housework goes. But how are you doing on the road to your own wellness? Do you have a plan and goals for feeling better, more at peace, or less exhausted? Do you have any direction for having more positive relationships or a deeper connection with your partner? 

Here’s the funny thing about life. We get so caught up in helping everyone else achieve their goals that we forget about achieving our own. We forget to even set our own personal goals. I...