Intentions Are Better Than Goals (Especially for the New Year)

It’s a new year, same you, my love! Hurray! You are magical just as you are. Except you’re also not the same – because SOMETHING has changed since the last new year. Even if it’s just the aches in your knees, time means something has changed. Hopefully, it’s something you wanted to change. If it […]

In Praise of Gentle Consistency

I don’t know about y’all, but I am exhausted with the everything-ness of the world right now. It’s all just so much! Nevertheless, we persist. And I hope we are all persisting in whatever way we are able with a degree of gentleness. We all know that consistency is key to getting where we want […]

Befriending Your Nervous System Part 1 with Body Wisdom Coach Marjorie Schreurs

How well do you hear the signals your body is sending, my love? Most of us either don’t hear so well or too often choose not to listen… and the consequences can look like burnout, meltdowns, freak outs, and tantrums, or chronic fatigue, self-criticism, and general cranky-pants-ness.  So! Got a body? This episode is for […]

A Pep Talk for Patience!

Oh my goodness, thank you for your patience! Settling Is Bullshit is back! Season two of the podcast is officially here, and we have a glorious new logo to celebrate. I couldn’t be more delighted. I also was definitely on the struggle bus for a while – waiting to get this train rolling again. I […]

Making Brave Choices

We all have shit going on in our lives that scares us, even if we don’t necessarily think of it as fear. And that means we all have to make brave choices sometimes, even if we don’t necessarily think of it as bravery. But facing our shit – whether it’s the big, heavy stuff, or the […]

Habits and Routines and Rituals, Oh My!

Especially in an era that we weren’t evolutionarily designed for, there is way too much shit going on in our lives to get everything done. It’s also super hard to make changes when we’ve gotten ourselves into a rut. Generating momentum around something we want to do for ourselves takes a lot of effort and […]

Action Fuels Motivation (Seriously)

Do you dream about bigger, cooler, more joyful ways of being but just can’t quite seem to make them happen? Or, to maintain momentum once you start? If so, you are not alone, my friend. Not at all. It’s so fucking hard to stay motived – even around the things we deeply, desperately want for […]

Doing Things Imperfectly – In Public

What does it mean to have a perfect house? Perfect body? Perfect job? What does perfection feel like? Does it have a color, or a taste? Is it even real? When I stop to think about it, I don’t really know the answer to any of that. In my four decades on earth, I don’t […]

Forget Goals. Set Intentions Instead.

‘Tis the season for all of us to either contemplate the merits of New Year’s resolutions or ignore them completely. And while I do absolutely love a big, exciting goal, I’m also super aware of the ways goals can lead us astray, quickly become demotivating, or result in giving up before we ever get real […]

Start Small and You May Surprise Yourself

crochet hook with small row of stitches

Y’all, I started this blog a little over a year ago after a deeply painful breakup and a looming 40th birthday prompted me to re-evaluate what the fuck I was really doing with my life.  I set a goal of writing 6 posts in 6 weeks to see what would happen. That felt like a […]

What If *Everything* Counted?

Fitbits, Apple watches, apps upon apps upon apps… if you’re doing a thing and want to track it, the technology is there. Want to know how you’re sleeping? There’s an app for that. Want to keep an eye on water intake, or mood, or your cycle, or stress levels, or even your bowel movements – […]

Dreams Come True a Day at a Time

rainbow colored paper cranes hanging from string

When I was first getting sober, everyone kept saying how it happens a day at a time. We just don’t drink today, they said. Which, honestly, felt like a stupid, trite catchphrase that was designed to make me crazy.  What the fuck did they mean, “a day at a time?” What about next year? What […]

Whatever It Is, Just Pick It Back Up

You know the feeling – suddenly you look up and it’s been weeks or months since you did the thing that you used to do every day. And you feel both panicked and exhausted, and the prospect of getting back to it feels like doing a pull up with arms made of noodles. Or, maybe […]

Finding the Sweet Spot between Grit and Grace

I don’t want to write today, but I’m doing it anyway. Yay, I’m being gritty! And that is awesome, right? Maybe.  According to Angela Duckworth (who wrote the book on Grit), “grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” And every piece of writing advice ever will tell you that writing daily is the way […]

Hope Isn’t a Feeling – It’s a Choice

While we often talk about “feeling” hopeful, that phrasing is a little misleading – because unlike sadness or joy or fear, hope isn’t actually a feeling. It’s a mental process that we can choose to engage in. It’s not an internal signal that naturally occurs.  In other words, hope is something we do rather than […]

Whatever It Is, Just F**king Start

I’ve never actually read Goethe, but he’s got this lovely quote that you may have seen running around the internet: “Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.” It’s a great sentiment. And one that I’ve reframed a bit in the title […]

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