Feeling Drained? Your Environment May Be Out of Alignment With Your Values

This holiday season, I went back to Baltimore for the first time in about eight months.

If you’ve been following along, you know MaryBeth and I have been on a steady transition out west for the past few years—more time in the mountains of Idaho spring – fall, then in the warm Tucson sun this winter… less time in bustling city.

But this trip was different.

It was my first time coming back to Baltimore after we had officially left the East Coast as residents.

And whoa… my body noticed.

When I landed in the city, I began to observe what was happening inside me.

My eye kept twitching.
My skin felt itchy, and my body started to ache.
There was this low-level hum of anxiety riding underneath everything.

The noise, the sirens, the pollution, the traffic, the density of people and energy—it all felt so intense.

And I caught myself wondering:

“How did I do this every day for over 15 years?”

How did I normalize this much stress as “just life”?

While I was there, I also noticed something else:
Old numbing patterns started whispering in my ear.

The part of me that used to reach for “escape” when the environment felt too loud, too tight, too much…

Began to stir again.

I remembered how often I used to numb out in Baltimore—because of the noise, the tension, the stress, the pressure, the constant stimulation.

It reminded me of how I used to eat.

I’d eat all kinds of things that didn’t serve my body, then just take some medicine to mask it and pretend like nothing happened.

I didn’t realize how bad I felt and how the food was impacting me…until I stopped.

Once I removed those foods, my body finally got to say:

“Oh my gosh. THIS is how good I can feel?”

Coming back to Baltimore showed me the same thing.

By changing my environment…

I got to feel how much better my mind, body, and spirit actually function when I’m not constantly feeling stress.

Here’s the important part:

Baltimore isn’t “bad.”
It served me so well for a long time. It taught me so much.

It’s where MaryBeth and I built our life together.
We have incredible friends, family close by, meaningful work, growth, some of the best food and memories.

Just like my old corporate career in finance. There was a season where it was deeply aligned with my values.

And then… it did not.

Over the last few years, we’d go out to Idaho for a couple of weeks… then a couple of months… and each time we came back to Baltimore, I felt worse.

Heavier.
Tighter.
More anxious.

My body was sending a clear message:

“You are not meant to be here anymore.”

Baltimore had served its purpose. I’d learned what I was meant to.
But my values had shifted.

My heart was now saying:

You’re not designed to be a city person anymore.
You’re designed to be in nature.
In the mountains.
With animals.
With quiet and space and sky.

And since we started truly honoring that—investing more and more time out west—so many things have opened up.

Do hard things still happen? Of course.
Life doesn’t stop being life.

But when your environment aligns with your values, even the challenges feel different.

You feel more grounded, more energized, more yourself.

Coming back to Baltimore helped me see something really clearly:

You can be living in a life you worked hard to build… and still feel like you’ve quietly outgrown it.

It’s not that the place (or the job, or the routine) is “bad.”
It’s that your body and your values are telling you,

“This doesn’t fit who I am anymore.”

You can change your habits, your schedule, even your to-do list…

But if your environment is built around an old version of you, it will keep pulling you back into old patterns.

Your environment is that powerful.

So I want to ask you:

• What is your current environment like?
• Does it feel aligned with your values—or does it quietly contradict them?
• Do you feel calmer and grounded or more tense and drained in your regular surroundings?
  And I don’t just mean your city or town.

Your “environment” is:

• The room(s) you work in
• Your home, apartment, or shared space
• The energy of the people around you
• The pace, noise, and demands of your day-to-day life

Not everyone can just pick up and move across the country. I get that.

But you can start aligning your environment—right where you are—with your values.

For example, that might look like:

• Unity with Nature: bring more plants into your home, visit parks regularly, or invest more time with animals.
• Inner Harmony: reduce clutter, say no to one draining commitment, or create a small corner of your home that feels like a sanctuary.
• Creativity: carve out a spot where you can write, draw, or dream without interruption.

Small environmental shifts create real energetic shifts.

And this time of year is a powerful moment to look at that closely—not from a place of pressure or perfection, but from a desire to live a life that feels more like you.

If you’re feeling the nudge to align your life—and your environments, behaviors, and habits—more closely with your values in 2026, this is your sign. ✨

MaryBeth and I created the New Year, More Me Challenge to make this your best year ever.

New Year, More Me Challenge: Stop Feeling Drained and Start Living Aligned

Instead of writing more New Year’s resolutions that fizzle out by February, this challenge helps you:

• 🔎 Get clear on your unique core values
• 🙏 Understand how they’ve been shaped over time
• 👁️ See where your life, habits, and patterns are out of alignment
• 👣 Take simple, doable steps to shift things—right now

For 30 days, you’ll get bite-sized teachings, guided practices, and live coaching designed to help you actually live your values in real time—and you’ll be supported with a year’s worth of ongoing practices after the challenge ends.

You can see the full breakdown, dates, bonuses, and everything that’s included on the sign-up page.

All of this is $111, with a payment plan available.

There are only 24 spots left. It’s a small group because we really want you to feel truly seen and supported.

👉 If you’re ready to move beyond generic New Year’s resolutions and start aligning your actual life, behaviors, and habits with your values, join the New Year, More Me Challenge.

You can save your spot here:

Sign up for New Year, More Me

We’d be honored to support you in creating a life—and a way of showing up each day—that finally feels like it fits.

P.S.

If your body has been sending little signals—tension, anxiety, heaviness—every time you enter certain spaces or situations. Please don’t ignore that.

This isn’t just about changing habits. It’s about listening to your values and letting them guide your next chapter.

Instead of another year of abandoned New Year’s resolutions, you can:

• Understand what truly matters to you
• Align your environment (and your energy) accordingly
• Create changes that feel sustainable, not forced.

👉 Join the New Year, More Me Challenge here

Step into 2026 in alignment with who you really are.