You keep telling yourself you should be excited — the holidays are coming, right? But instead of peace or joy, it just feels like one long performance. Like no matter how early you start or how much you cross off the list, you’re still on all the time.

You’re managing a dozen invisible jobs — gifts, kids, deadlines, emotions — while trying to be grateful and present. You want to slow down, but your brain doesn’t know how to stop running ahead. The pressure to make everyone else’s season special is stealing the calm you keep promising yourself.

Strategic Journal Prompts:

1. Who am I trying to be for everyone else right now — and what’s it costing me?
2. What would I actually choose to do if no one expected anything?
3. Where do I stay busy as proof that I’m fine?
4. What does being present look like for me this season — not just in theory, but in practice?

After journaling through these prompts, you'll understand why you can't seem to turn off—and that awareness alone will help you stop going through the motions and start actually being there. Don't forget to DM me on Instagram (samantha.s.says) or email me (hello@samantha-says.com) and tell me what came up for you — I love hearing what these prompts unlock for you.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• Breakthrough Intensives: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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You handle it all — the business, the home, the emotions, the logistics — and still feel like admitting “this is hard” means you’re weak.

But what if saying “this is hard” is actually the first sign of strength?

In this 5-minute journaling episode, I share a story about meeting another woman who was doing it all — and realizing I couldn’t see my own load until I saw hers. Together, we’ll journal through the hidden pressure successful women carry and what happens when we finally tell the truth about it.

1. What’s currently on your plate that you haven’t fully acknowledged or spoken out loud?
2. What story are you telling yourself about why this should or shouldn’t feel hard?
3. What are you afraid would happen if you fully acknowledged how much you’re carrying?
4. Where did you learn that you have to carry everything silently?

If you journal through this one, DM me on Instagram (samantha.s.says) or email me (hello@samantha-says.com) and tell me what came up for you — I love hearing what these prompts unlock for you.

🧠 How to Clear Your Mental Load Workshop (Tuesday, Oct 21st — 4 spots left) - You're not working too hard to accomplish more at work, or a "bad mom" for not being more present with your kids...your brain is just trying to manage something deeper than your to-do list. Let's fix it!

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• 📞 Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

For when life feels like nothing you had planned. You did the thing — the career, the family, the move, the reinvention — but you wake up with an ache or disconnect you can’t name.

Everything looks “fine” from the outside, but inside, something feels off. That might be grief — and no, nobody has to die for you to feel it.

Alyssa Rose joins me to unpack what grief can look like when it’s not about death — but about change.

We talk about the quiet ways grief shows up during major life transitions — career pivots, identity shifts, or the loss of the life you expected — and what it really means to honor those emotions instead of rushing past them.

This episode is for you if:

• You're grieving a career pivot, relationship shift, or identity change but feel guilty calling it "grief"
• You avoid going deep with your emotions because you're scared of opening the floodgates
• You and your partner are navigating the same loss in completely different ways (and it's causing distance)
• You're a former "positive person" who's finally letting yourself feel the hard stuff

You'll learn how to build trust with yourself to "go there" without losing it, how to ask for support in a way people can actually show up for you, and why tending your grief is actually the most loving thing you can do.

Your turn! Try this quick reflection after the episode:

Open your journal and write two short lists side-by-side:

1️⃣ What I thought this season would feel like

2️⃣ What it actually feels like

Don’t judge or fix it — just notice the gap.

That space between the two lists? That’s where your grief lives. Naming it is the first step to freeing it.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Alyssa Rose's Website: alisarosehealingarts.com

Instagram: @alisarosehealingarts

Email: alisarosehealingarts@gmail.com

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

You know that thing where you're about to go through a big change and suddenly you're up at 2am planning for every possible scenario?

I made THREE different Google Docs for my son's school transition. Three. Each one mapped out a different morning routine depending on what time he woke up. I was literally scheduling my coffee time down to the minute.

Looking back? That wasn't planning. That was me trying to control something I couldn't control because I was scared.

You'll journal through:

• What's actually keeping you up at night about this transition (hint: it's probably not what you think)
• The sneaky ways you're trying to make change feel "safer"
• What you're most afraid would happen if you just... let it unfold
• Your personal pattern when things feel uncertain

Plus: The reframe that changed everything - what if your discomfort isn't a problem to fix but information about what you actually need right now?

Journaling Prompts from this episode:

1. What specific part of this transition is making you feel the most anxious or unsettled right now? (Go deeper than "change is hard")
2. What have you been doing to try to make this transition feel easier or less overwhelming?
3. What are you most afraid would happen if you stopped trying to control how this transition goes?
4. When was the last time you went through a major change in your life? How did you handle it? What patterns are showing up again now?

Resources Mentioned:

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

A month ago I recorded an episode where I was completely spiraling about my son starting Montessori & my business hours changing. I walked you through my anxiety, my fears about losing work hours, all of it.

Today? I'm giving you the raw update. Week one was a disaster. Week two, I sat in my car for 4 hours taking coaching calls with the engine running. Week four, my anxiety is completely gone

...even though I'm recording this while Griffin interrupts me every 3 minutes asking for a bandaid because he cut himself on a cardboard knife. (Fact lol I may have edited that one out bc #momfail, but you'll hear his tiny voice!)

You'll hear:

• Why my anxiety disappeared once I stopped comparing schedules
• How losing work hours made me fitter (counterintuitive but true)
• What actually worked vs. my three planned Google Doc schedules
• My almost 5 year old's transformation in 4 weeks

Once those 7-hour daycare days weren't an option anymore, it stopped being "how will I ever make this work" and became "this IS working."

I'm not saying it's smooth. Last week I carried Griffin out without shoes. The library internet keeps dropping calls. But I can breathe now.

If you're in your own messy middle trying to make something work that feels impossible—you figure it out by doing it. Even from your car in a parking lot.

Mentioned in this episode:

Cindy from @mama_vision: mom coach who helped me through this transition (and many other parenting ones!)

Work with me:

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

You've got the career, the title, maybe the income you worked for. So why does success feel like you're constantly running on empty?

If you're burned out behind closed doors while everyone else sees you "having it all," this quick journaling session is for you. I'm walking you through 4 prompts that help you see the gap between how your life looks and how it actually feels—so you can finally figure out what needs to change.

Grab your journal and work through:

• The real disconnect between your external success and internal reality
• What you're actually afraid people will think if you admit you're struggling
• Your automatic response when overwhelm hits (and where else it's sabotaging you)
• What the aligned, peaceful version of you would do differently starting today

This episode is for you if:

• You're successful on paper but constantly exhausted
• You snap at your kids even though you don't want to
• You keep thinking "this isn't what I worked so hard for"
• You're barely present at home or at work
• You want to stop just surviving your success

• Calm Mind Blueprint: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

1:1 coaching: Now accepting applications, 2 spot opens. Learn More here: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect with Sam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says

DM Sam on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachSamanthaHawley/

I opened Google Docs at 9am and just started typing. Bullet points, random thoughts, full-on word vomit. My brain was spiraling about something I actually WANTED for my son—sending him to Montessori.

I'd been dreaming about this since he was a baby. But as the start date got closer? How will I work with only 2 hours to myself? What if I can't handle being in mom mode all morning? What if I become that overstimulated, impatient version of myself I hate?

In this episode, I walk you through my actual brain dump from February—the fears, the scheduling panic, the limiting beliefs, and exactly how I used strategic journaling to process it all instead of just white-knuckling through.

You'll hear:

• Why wanting something can still feel terrifying (and what that means)
• The two things I did OUTSIDE of journaling that regulated my nervous system before the change even happened
• How to untangle "I'm excited" from "I'm overwhelmed" when they're happening at the same time

If you're staring down a major schedule change—less childcare, a new job, homeschooling, or just life throwing you a curveball—this will help you move from "I can't do this" to "okay, I can figure this out."

Next Tuesday, Part 2 drops with the real update after a month of living this new reality. Did I spiral? Thrive? Find my flow? You'll find out.

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Reserve 1:1 coaching (2 spots open) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

September energy hits different, doesn't it? While everyone's making January resolutions, you're over here actually ready to change things. New routines, boundaries you've been avoiding, that business idea collecting dust - all because you keep telling yourself "when things calm down."

Plot twist: They never do. 😂

Perfect for working moms who are: Tired of waiting for permission, ready to disappoint a few people to save themselves, done putting their dreams on layaway.

Your 4 Strategic Journaling Prompts:

1. What have you been telling yourself you'll get to once things calm down?
2. Pick the biggest one - if you actually did this, the worst thing that could happen is...
3. What's the real fear underneath it all?
4. I give myself permission to _____ even if it means _____

Take action: Save this episode, grab a coffee, and work through these prompts. Then watch how different September feels when you stop waiting for perfect timing.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

1:1 coaching: Now accepting applications, 1 spot open. Learn More here: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect with Sam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says

DM Sam on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachSamanthaHawley/