Hello 2026!  Let's Do This!

Wishing my family, chosen family, friends, and clients a spectacular 2026! 

The end of a year is a great time to reflect on what you accomplished, and the beginning of the year is a great time to double down and get those things done that you always wanted to do.

2025 was filled with some wonderful moments.  After battling Hashimoto's for three years, I finally felt well enough to exercise at the end of 2024.  I set a goal of 250 25-minute workouts with Nia, a holistic, somatic movement program.  In addition to completing my 250 workouts, I also earned my White Belt, Blue Belt, and Brown Belts (each belt takes about 30-40 hours to complete), and I'm halfway through my Green Belt now.   In January, I struggled to move for 20 minutes.  By December, I needed 2 days to recover from a 7-mile outing!  

In August, I enjoyed my pre- and post-classes at Hypnothoughts Live 2025! and presented my class, "Everything Your Client Says Can and Will Be Used to Help Them."  Doug and I enjoyed our much-needed downtime.  

The last half of the year...OMG.  Stress, stress, and STRESS!   Too many unhappy incidents to recount.  We were working non-stop.  My husband and I were angry, bitter, and miserable.  My health was declining.

We began re-evaluating our lives.  What was working?  What wasn't?  We made a list of everything we were involved in, and began asking, "Does this make us happy?"  If the answer was "no," we made plans together on how to change it.

We discovered we were doing a lot of things out of obligation.  We were doing things because they needed to be done...though we didn't necessarily have to be the ones doing them.  We found we weren't doing things we used to love because we didn't feel appreciated or were angry.  We realized we were drowning in negativity, and it was time to return to our happy, goofy, nerdy selves.  

Our new mantra became, "Does this make us happy?"  We went through our list of personal and business responsibilities. We began making the emotionally and financially challenging decisions needed to return to our "happy."   As soon as we began implementing those changes, we started to feel the difference.  Initially, we had to work harder to implement the changes, but once they were in place...our stress levels went way down.  We got rid of the busy work, and now we have more time for "us." 

If you find yourself in the same space as we did, use the tips below to help you make 2026 the best!

• Take an honest look at your life (not a highlight reel).
  The end of the year isn’t about pretending everything was amazing. It’s about asking, What actually worked? What didn’t? No judgment. Just honesty. You can’t change what you won’t acknowledge.

• Choose goals that support your health and energy—not just your ego.
  Significant change doesn’t come from pushing harder when you’re already exhausted. It comes from small, consistent choices that help you feel better over time. Meet yourself where you are, not where you think you “should” be.

• Stop doing things just because you feel obligated.
  Make a list of everything you’re involved in and ask, Do I really need to be the one doing this? A lot of stress comes from carrying things that no longer belong to us.

• Let “Does this make me happy?” guide your decisions.
  This became our mantra for a reason. If something consistently drains you, angers you, or leaves you feeling unappreciated, it’s worth asking whether it still has a place in your life—even if it’s uncomfortable to change.

• Clear out the busy work so you can get back to being you.
  When you remove the unnecessary stress, something magical happens: you have time again. Time to rest. Time to connect. Time to be your happy, goofy, nerdy self—and that’s where everything starts to feel lighter.

Of course, if you need help with this...I know this hypnotherapist... (nudge nudge, wink wink)