We're making our way to winter solstice, or heading into the darkness. I love this time in some ways - I love twinkly lights, dusky walks in wooded trails, and listening inward as I prepare to wrap up the calendar year.

But at this time of year people are also tired and sometimes emotionally reactive. In this episode I share one of my favourite quotes along with a couple key things to pay attention to for your benefit and that of everyone around you.

Then I share with you how a practice of seasonal living helps you befriend yourself and build self-trust.

The Intention Setting Workshop*free today and tomorrow when you join the B+B Community or Life Visioning Course: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/intention-setting-workshop/

Join the Brave + Beautiful Community Winter Session: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/community/

Mentioned in this episode:

Seasonal Living clip

If you've ever felt overwhelmed, resentful, or disconnected during the holidays, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, I share practical strategies for being on your own side throughout the holiday season—without abandoning your needs or losing yourself in the chaos. You'll learn why I recommend setting a clear intention that helps you honour your boundaries and stay empowered rather than falling into old patterns of people-pleasing or self-neglect.

In this episode, you'll explore:

• How setting a clear intention for the holidays helps you quiet the noise, focus on what truly matters, and release unnecessary pressure or expectations.
• The difference between what's yours to carry and what belongs to other people—and how to stop getting pulled into other people's drama or emotions.
• Why the story "I have to" keeps you disempowered, and how owning your power of choice (even when it feels uncomfortable) brings you back into agency.
• Simple strategies for preparing yourself before holiday events, including identifying regulating strategies for when you get activated, pre-deciding your boundaries, and building in daily rest and recovery time.
• How to be honest about internal conflict without shame—and why truth-telling is the pathway to integrity, empowerment, and ultimately more freedom and joy.

Being on your own side during the holidays isn't selfish—it's the foundation for showing up regulated, present, and truly able to create the experiences you actually want.

Begin your year on purpose. Take a look at the January Intention Setting Workshop: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/intention-setting-workshop/

In this episode, I explore what it means to truly be on your own side and why this shifts everything else in life. The truth is, if you can't accept yourself today, you won't magically do so tomorrow. The goal line just keeps moving.

By the end of this episode, you'll understand:

• Why everything in life feels lighter and easier when you're on your own side.
• How being on your own side builds self-trust and helps your inner critic finally relax.
• Real examples of what becomes possible when you're on your own side: setting boundaries, advocating for yourself, trusting your body's wisdom, and asking for support, for example.
• Why self-acceptance isn't about lowering standards—it's about creating the foundation for real growth.

This isn't about perfection or pretending. It's about choosing to love yourself now, show up for yourself now, and stop abandoning yourself or rejecting any part of yourself. Because who you are is needed.

Sign up for the free Befriend Yourself Workshop: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/befriend-yourself-workshop/

Things break, people get sick, plans are disrupted, life is messy.

When we make peace with messiness, we make space for joy.

When we hit a bumpy patch or we feel discomfort because life is not going according to our thoughtful plans, and we believe that surely we must have done something wrong, or worse that WE ARE bad, wrong, or broken we are 1) resisting the reality of life and 2) causing our own suffering. Not everything is on your shoulders.

What you CAN do is 1) build examination into your day, week, and year so that you can mine for the wisdom in each life experience and 2) remind yourself often that the messiness or imperfection of life does not disqualify you from a brave, beautiful, meaningful life.

*In the episode I share how a friend and I both hate dipping into our emergency funds even thought that's what they're there for (but I said our "spending plans")

I had to postpone my befriend Yourself Workshops due to illness. So there is still time to register: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/befriend-yourself-workshop/

Today I'm sharing a recording I made for a lesson inside my Life Visioning Course. It speaks to the importance of recognizing and taking responsibility for who you are BEING - your current identity.

Often, we want to change the circumstances of life but we don't realize that the only way to do so in a sustainable and soul-honouring way, and in order to truly craft lives in which we feel at home, on purpose, and joyful... we must be or become the person who can and is open/willing to create and receive what we truly want.

When we take ownership for who we are being, we stop feeling disempowered and step into agency. We stop letting our emotions or thoughts (or other people insofar as we have power of choice) control our lives. And instead we build the habit of interrupting unhelpful thoughts and redirecting our thoughts toward what we DO want or what we CHOOSE to grow/water. We stop letting ourselves get away with mean self-talk and we commit to a no-bullying policy and to being on our own side.

At the core of all of this is your relationship with yourself. Do you value yourself, respect yourself, and believe that you are capable and worthy of safety, love, belonging, and goodness? Or do you not?

Your past, your previous struggles, your old ingrained patterns... they don't, determine your future. You have permission to heal, grow, and become.

You have permission to change - to change your story, change your relationship with yourself, change the people you allow to speak into your life, change your relationship to money, creativity, using your gifting, and more.

Learn more about walking in agency in episode 66, Sep 25.

Join me for the free Befriend Yourself Workshop on November 19th: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/befriend-yourself-workshop/

If you talk to yourself (out loud or in your head) and wonder if it's weird, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I break down the science of self-talk and share practical ways to use it to reduce stress, improve performance, and strengthen your relationship with yourself. You'll discover why the WAY you talk to yourself matters more than you might think.

By the end of this episode, you'll understand:

• Why talking to yourself out loud is actually healthy and research-backed (not weird!).
• The surprising difference between first-person, second-person, and third-person self-talk—and which creates the most emotional distance from stress.
• How negative self-talk increases cortisol, impairs memory, and makes tasks feel harder.
• Why speaking to yourself like a good friend activates different brain regions and helps you regulate emotions faster.
• Simple ways to use self-talk during complex tasks, before high-pressure moments, and when you're feeling overwhelmed or alone.

Talking to yourself is a free, accessible tool to help your nervous system regulate, help you think more clearly, and practice being on your own side.

Sign up for the (free) Befriend Yourself Workshop: go here

Or set up a time to talk about working together: Contact Krista | A Life In Progress

If you've ever heard someone (me!) talk about "befriending yourself" and thought, "That's nice, but I actually need to change" this episode is for you.

In this episode, I examine 5 common objections I hear from growth-minded women who are skeptical about self-compassion and befriending themselves. The resistance comes because you've been taught that being hard on yourself is the only path to growth.

By the end of this episode, you'll understand:

• Why self-criticism keeps your nervous system in threat mode and how that actually prevents the change you're working so hard for.
• Why the words you use matter more than you think. It's not semantics; it's neuroscience.
• Why years of "working on yourself" may have left you exhausted and what to shift to make real, sustainable progress.
• Why taking care of yourself isn't selfish, it's the only way to show up fully for the people you love.
• Why "being gentle" doesn't mean being complacent and how fierce self-compassion creates lasting change.

This isn't about lowering your standards or letting yourself off the hook. It's about creating the internal foundation that makes growth actually possible and sustainable.

Grab the Autumn Self-Care Guide: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/autumn-guide/

This is a super short episode today in honour of my son Jairus who died this day 6 years ago. And in honour of myself and my choice to keep living fully and thriving forward beyond grief and trauma.

The thoughts you think regularly or allow to run unchecked are not neutral. They have the power to harm or help you. It's critical that you notice your thoughts, learn to interrupt unhealthy thought patterns, and intentionally plant and water affirming and life-giving thoughts.

Even 30 seconds or three minutes a day will help intentional thoughts put down deep roots and bear fruit in time.

Take good care of yourself. You matter.

Krista xo

NOTE: Regarding the number of thoughts we have each day, sources differ and offer ranges of 6k to 60K/day.

Midlife women are chronically hard on themselves. But everything in life feels lighter and easier when we’re on our own side. My free assessment and Befriend Yourself Workshop will help: https://www.alifeinprogress.ca/assessment/