You tell yourself you’ll only check one thing. Fifteen minutes later, you’re still working.

It’s late, your body is tired, and you’re frustrated because you meant to stop.

Today, we slow the moment down and look at what actually keeps pulling you back to work - the “just in case,” the fear of what might happen if you stop, and the belief about your worth that’s tied to staying available.

Journaling Prompts

1. What is one work behavior you know you should stop, but can’t make yourself stop?
2. What do you think will happen if you stop doing this behavior? What’s the fear underneath it?
3. What does this behavior give you? Or what would you lose if you stopped?
4. What belief about your worth or value is tied to this behavior?

This belief is the root. It’s what keeps you working at 9 PM. It’s why turning notifications off feels uncomfortable. It’s why willpower, discipline, and tighter boundaries don’t actually solve the problem.

1. Breakthrough Intensive - You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting & be emotionally present. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes + integration call 2 weeks later. Book your Breakthrough
2. Exhale: Private Coaching - For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 4 open spots: Work with me

Connect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook

You leave therapy feeling clear. Validated. Aware. And a few days later, the stress is still there.

You understand your patterns. You know why you react the way you do. But your body is still tense. Your nervous system is still on edge. Burnout hasn’t lifted.

Therapy creates insight - but insight alone doesn’t change how you live. The relief comes from what happens between sessions, not just inside them.

In this conversation, I explain the two gaps therapy doesn’t close on its own: The space between insight and reflection, and the space between knowing and doing.

We talk about why awareness without embodiment keeps people stuck, how old patterns like people-pleasing and over-functioning survive even after big realizations, and what it actually looks like to practice change in real life.

If therapy has helped you understand yourself, but you’re still tired, this episode shows you what’s missing - and how to use what you’re already learning to create real relief.

1. Breakthrough Intensive - You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting & be emotionally present. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes + integration call 2 weeks later. Book your Breakthrough
2. Exhale: Private Coaching - For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 4 open spots: Work with me

Connect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook

Have you noticed how your body can be still, but your mind keeps going?

The same thought. The same worry. The same unfinished conversation looping, even after you’ve rested. You might be sleeping more. Taking breaks. Trying to slow down. And yet, you still wake up tired.

In my conversation earlier this week with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of The Seven Types of Rest, she shared something important: emotional rest doesn’t come from stopping the noise. It comes from processing what your mind is holding onto.

Today, we slow things down. Not to fix anything. Not to solve the problem. But to create space for what’s been quietly draining you.

Journal with me using these prompts:

1. What thought, worry, or conversation keeps replaying in my mind right now? Write it down exactly as it sounds in my head. No filtering. Just capture the loop.
2. What type of rest deficit might this be pointing to? Mental, emotional, social, spiritual, physical, sensory, or creative.
3. Why am I actually holding on to this thought? What do I believe will happen if I let it go or don’t solve it right now? What am I afraid this situation means about me?
4. If I truly wanted to pour back into this depleted area — not just stop the bleeding — what would that look like? What would help me feel restored, not just less drained?

By the end of this episode, you’ll feel calmer and clearer — not because everything is resolved, but because you understand what your mind has been trying to protect.

1. Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
2. Newsletter: www.samanthapenkoff.com/prompts

1. Breakthrough Intensive - You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes. Plus integration call 2 weeks later. Book your Breakthrough
2. Exhale: Private Coaching - For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 4 open spots: Work with me

Connect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook