Help Reduce Stress and Ignite Well-Being With Our Weekly Newsletter, Create Your Values-Driven Life
Reconnect with Your Childhood Dreams
Reignite Your Childhood Dreams Through Your Core Values When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? What were your childhood dreams? Maybe you dreamed of becoming an astronaut, a veterinarian, a musician, or even a superhero. For me? I had a few big...
Panic Attack Relief
What My Worst Panic Attack Taught Me About Healing and Holding Space Ever since I was in middle school, panic attacks were a regular occurrence for me. I was living in an abusive home where expectations were high. And I had something diagnosed as, “testing anxiety.”...
From Painkillers to Peace: My Daily Practice
How a Spinal Injury Taught Me the Power of a Daily Practice Picture this: It's Friday night, and I'm playing lacrosse for fun after my college D1 career ended. As I go to catch the ball, I stretch a little too far and hear a pop. I catch the ball, shoot and score but...
When Your Plan Blows up and Fear Takes Over
How Facing My Biggest Fear on a Mountain Hike Helped Me Reclaim My Power Seven months ago, I broke my arm in a freak accident out on a hike with my mustang. So when I was forced to take him on that very hike to bring him home, every ounce of PTSD I still had in my...
Replace Your Numbing with This!
rHow I Used the Emotion Code to Stop Emotional Numbing and Start Healing Back in college and into my early 30s, I drank a lot. At first, it felt normal. I was a college athlete, surrounded by a culture that glorified partying. It was expected. Celebrated. I worked...
I was poisoning myself until I discovered meditation
How Slowing Down Helped Me Heal My eyes were completely swollen shut. And no level of testing or specialty doctor could figure out what was happening to me. Ongoing steroid treatments were the only thing that helped, and it was crushing my immune system. For months, I...
From Triggered to Transformed: My Healing Journey
How Releasing Trapped Emotions Transformed My Mental Health Ever since I had a back injury in my 20s, where the doctors told me I had the spine of a 70-year-old, I needed multiple surgeries, pain medicine, and would likely end up in a wheelchair, I have been on a...
Your Mental Health Matters (Now More Than Ever)
How to Improve Your Mental Health: Real Talk, Daily Tools, and Support for High Achievers ?♀️ Let’s Talk About Mental Health (For Real) May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to break the silence, reduce the stigma, and tell the truth about what it really means...
What Embracing Change Really Looks Like
How to Embrace Life Changes with Peace, Resilience, and Core Values A couple of years ago, I sat in a conference room listening to a speaker say something that stuck with me: “The only constant in the world is change.” It hit me hard. Because for most of my life, I...
10-Year Overnight Success for my Retirement Dream
Living My Retirement Dream 25 Years Early: How Following My Heart Led Me to the Mountains When people learn that I’m living my retirement dream 25 years ahead of schedule, by moving to the mountains of Idaho from the city of Baltimore, they typically have a strong...
Why I’m Leaving the City to Follow My Heart
Why Following Your Heart (Not Your Head) Leads to a More Aligned and Fulfilling Life When I first began my journey into consciousness and self-awareness, one quote stuck with me more than any other: “The longest journey you’ll ever go on is from your head to your...
Life Update: One-way Ticket Out West!
From City Life to Ranch Living: How I Made My Dream of Moving to the Mountains a Reality For the past 10 years, I’ve held a very clear vision. To build a life on our legacy ranch nestled in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. I dreamed of waking up every morning to the...
From Shadow to Light: My Journey Through the Storm
The Shadow Within: How to Find Peace During Emotional Storms The wind whistles and screams as a storm sweeps in. Thunder rolls and grumbles, echoing against the depth of your soul. Lightning cracks, startling you—spooked, scared, afraid. It moves fast, then faster,...
Overwhelmed? Build Your Silver Linings Playbook Now
How to Find Silver Linings in Uncertain Times: A 7-Step Resilience Playbook In a time when every day can feel like an unpredictable plot twist, it’s no wonder so many people are walking around with emotional whiplash. Whether you’re navigating transitions at work,...
The Weight of Water: A World Water Day Reflection
What Carrying 9 Tons of Spring Water Taught Me About True Hydration and Wellness We pull up to the freshwater spring just as the rain stops. A glimmer of sun cuts through the mist, and I take a deep breath and stretch. My mind, body, and soul crave movement and this...
Why High Achievers Can’t Sleep—And What To Do About It
Why High Achievers Struggle with Sleep (And How to Finally Get Restful Nights) Sleep is supposed to be restorative, a sacred pause between one day and the next. But for many high achievers, it feels more like a battle because they can't sleep. You climb into bed,...
Lessons from my Best Friend
Life Lessons from My Beloved Cat: Wisdom, Love, and Laughter from 16 Years with Fluffy This past week I lost my best friend—our 19 year old cat Mr. Fluffer Nutter aka Fluffy. He was with us for 16 years and I will never forget the first time I saw him. MaryBeth and I...
3 Core Values on the Rise in 2025 (And What They Mean for You)
Top 3 Rising Core Values in 2025: Why Kindness, Responsibility, and Empathy Are on the Rise Our core values are shifting in 2025. As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2025, we've noticed some fascinating shifts from collecting core values data on over 7,000...
Setting Boundaries in Relationships Creates Deeper Connection
The Lesson That Changed Everything It was Valentine’s Day morning, and everything started like it usually did. MaryBeth and I had just finished our daily meditation, and instead of feeling the usual peace, I felt something heavy in my chest. Something had happened...
How to be an Island of Peace in a Sea of Chaos
How to Stay Calm in a Chaotic World: 3 Powerful Steps to Shift Your Energy Let’s be honest: stress levels are at an all-time high. The news is overwhelming. Work demands are relentless. Personal responsibilities pile up. And even when you try to relax, your mind keeps...
Relationship Boundaries: How They Strengthen Our Love
How Setting Boundaries with Love Strengthened My 20-Year Relationship One of the biggest things that has strengthened my relationship with MaryBeth over the last 20 years is learning how to set relationship boundaries with love. But I wasn’t always great at it. I’ve...
My Shocking Snake Medicine Experience
Year of the Snake: Shedding Fear, Embracing Growth, and Transforming Through Serpent Energy The ?Lunar New Year just ushered in the Year of the Snake?, a symbol of transformation, wisdom, and renewal. In many traditions, the snake represents shedding old skin—letting...
Stop Letting Negativity Drive Your Motivation
From Proving Others Wrong to Living in Alignment: How Intrinsic Motivation Leads to True Success I heard a college coach say his team was motivated to win because they “made it personal.” He used that to drive their motivation. Someone on the other team was talking...
2024 Year In Review
How I Turned My Worst Year Into My Best Year by Aligning with My Core Values If 2023 was the worst year of my life, then 2024 was hands down the best. And the real kicker? None of the conditions that made me depressed in 2023 actually changed all that much... What...
How to Release Tension in Body
How I Healed My Body, Mind, and Spirit to Overcome Chronic Pain and Regain Freedom In my late 20s, my doctor told me I’d likely end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I had so much body tension. I’ve been an athlete my entire life. I need to move to stay...
Top Shows, Movies, and Books of 2024 You Can’t Miss
Best of 2024: Must-Watch Shows, Movies, and Books That Inspire and Align with Your Values I don’t know about you, but we can’t resist diving into the “best of” lists from the year during our year-end reflections. Reliable recommendations that uplift, inspire, and...
End-of-year Burnout: How to Recharge Your Energy
How to Overcome End-of-Year Burnout by Aligning with Your Values I used to think end-of-year burnout was just part of the deal. There’s so much to do—how could I possibly find the time to do it all? And, of course, my ego told me I had to do it all. Because if I...
Recycled Holidays: Re-gifting goodness
How to Create a Meaningful and Sustainable Holiday Tradition with Recycled Gifts The holiday season. It’s magical, yes. And also filled with endless to-do lists, long lines, and the constant pressure to find “the perfect gift.” Many moons ago, I reached a breaking...
How to Connect with Nature in Winter
10 Practical Ways to Connect with Nature in Winter for Stress Relief and Well-Being We recently had a practical question in our Community of Alignment asking for advice on how to connect with nature in winter when it’s cold and dark out and all you want to do is...
Holiday Burnout: 5 Boundaries for a Peaceful Holiday
5 Essential Boundaries to Prevent Holiday Burnout and Reclaim Your Peace Every year, without fail, I’d get sick as soon as the holidays rolled around. Not just a sniffle, but the full-body-ache, feverish, can’t-get-out-of-bed kind of sick. It was holiday burnout. It...
How to Stop Judging People: A Holiday Mindset Shift
How to Recognize and Release Holiday Judgment for Greater Peace and Connection When you left your Thanksgiving or family celebration, did the car ride sound something like this… “I wished my mashed potatoes turned out better,” or “Uncle Steve’s turkey was great”, or...
Thanksgiving Questions for Deeper Connection
10 Meaningful Questions to Transform Your Turkey Day Conversations While the idea of Thanksgiving is about connection and gratitude, we all know it can sometimes turn into a series of polite, surface-level conversations or, worse yet, rude, judgmental debates. For me,...
How to Get Out of a Victim Mindset
How to Break Free from the Victim Mindset and Reclaim Your Inner Power Have you ever found yourself feeling like life is just happening to you? One moment, things are fine, and the next, you’re blindsided by an unexpected challenge, leaving you feeling frustrated,...
What my therapist said about Trump
How to Set Self-Boundaries During Political Triggers: Reclaim Peace and Protect Your Well-Being This Holiday Season I had a therapy session this week that opened up some mega insights about this time of year — as we enter into a season where both politics and family...
Protect Your Peace: Finding Unity in a Divided World
How to Set Values-Driven Boundaries Around Politics and Navigate Tough Conversations with Peace Whether you’re elated or exhausted after Election Day—or somewhere in between—it’s undeniable that the emotions are running high, and you most likely need to protect your...
Political Boundaries You Need for a Happier Election Season
How to Set Boundaries Around Politics and News to Protect Your Peace and Well-Being As election season ramps up, it feels like every conversation, social media post, and news headline is about politics. Everywhere you turn, someone’s ready to share a strong, often...
Boundaries in Relationships: It Starts with Your Values
How Respecting and Honoring Each Other's Core Values Leads to Stronger, Healthier Relationships Last week was a draining week for my partner, MaryBeth, and me. It all started with our loved one being airlifted to a hospital. Not long after, our horse baby, Ollie,...
Aspirational Values: Are You Chasing Yours or Someone Else’s?
How to Live Your Core Values While Balancing Aspirational Growth for True Alignment We recently received a question about aspirational values ? that got me reflecting deeply, and I think it’s one you can probably relate to: “How do I live my core values while also...
Faith Over Fear: How to Stay Calm in Chaos
How to Choose Faith Over Fear: 4 Powerful Tips for Staying Calm in Chaotic Situations Many years ago, I learned a life lesson that changed my perspective forever—one that’s proven valuable in many situations since then. And that has helped me choose faith over fear....
What Can a Boundary Be Used For? Shifting Your Mindset
How Shifting Your Mindset Can Transform Your Boundaries and Well-Being There was a time in my life when I was so caught up in saying yes to everyone else I couldn’t even hear my own needs. So, I started to wonder what can a boundary be used for... I spent years...
Setting Boundaries with Yourself
Stop Forcing It: Discover How Personal Boundaries Lead to Progress and Peace I pull with all my strength, but they don’t budge—not even an inch. My ego is shouting, “You’re strong! You can do this. Just keep pulling harder…” So, why aren’t they moving? I try again,...
40 Ways to Live an Abundant Life: My 40th Birthday Manifesto
40 Powerful Lessons to Live an Abundant Life: My Journey to Freedom, Boundaries, and Self-Love For the past 2 years, I’ve literally had a pity party for my birthday. I spent the day crying, judging myself, and being a victim for “not being where I should be by now in...
What Is a Values Test and Why It’s Essential for Personal Growth
Discover the Power of a Values Test for a Fulfilling Life We often hear about the importance of living in alignment with our core values, but how do you identify those values in the first place? A values test is a powerful tool that helps uncover the principles that...
How to Make Friends as an Adult
Unlock True Friendship: Building Meaningful Connections Through Shared Core Values More than 1 in 7 men have no close friends. When I read that, I wasn’t all that surprised. If you are anything like me, building friendships as an adult is challenging. American men are...
Importance of Values in Life
How Life Values Shape Our Actions and Decisions As human beings, understanding the importance of values in life is fundamental to living with intention and purpose. Values are the internal compass that guides our actions, decisions, and behaviors. They are intrinsic...
Wisdom Gained from Wild Mustangs: Part 3
Embracing Sensitivity: Lessons Learned from Wild Mustangs and Overcoming Emotional Challenges My entire life, I’ve been labeled, judged, and shamed as being “overly sensitive.” As a crybaby, I was taught that emotions weren't okay and constantly threatened with "I'll...
Am I A Workaholic? 10 Warning Signs
Are You a Workaholic? How Work Addiction Sneaks Up and Destroys Your Life I was wondering, am I a workaholic? Then, I was clinically diagnosed with a work addiction. You might think: Work addiction? Who the heck comes up with these things? Sure, I’m addicted to paying...
What Are Your Values Quiz: Discover Your True Priorities
Unlock Your Core Values for a More Authentic Life In today’s fast-paced world, losing sight of what truly matters to us is easy. We often find ourselves overwhelmed by external expectations, societal pressures, and daily grind. But underneath it all, our core values...
Wisdom Gained from Wild Mustangs: Part 2
Discover the Wild Within: My Transformative Journey with a Mustang and the Life Lessons I Gained Being face-to-face with a wild animal makes you feel fear and face the wildness in you. Whether it’s a deer, snake, chipmunk, mustang or cougar - wild animals evoke a...
Wisdom Gained from Wild Mustangs
Transformative Lessons from Gentling Wild Mustangs: How a Life-Changing Adventure Helped Me Reclaim My Power The past 24 days of observing and gentling wild mustangs were like a portal - where I walked in as one person and emerged as another. I will never be who I was...
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Our Weekly Newsletter Create Your Values-Driven Life
Create Your Values Driven Life, features unique ideas, common-sense reminders + inspiration to help you know and live your values.


















































