You finally did the thing — got the promotion, hit the goal, made it through another hard week — but instead of feeling proud, you're already asking, "What's next?" Why is it so hard to just pause and celebrate yourself?

My client Kristi became CFO after 3 years of working toward it. When she told me, she said, "So I guess that means I'm officially the CFO"—like she'd just completed another Tuesday task. No excitement. No pride. Just... what's next?

If you're someone who keeps raising the bar higher every time you reach it, you're not alone. Most high-achieving women were taught that humility and hustle matter more than satisfaction. So even when you've earned the right to rest or be proud, it feels... uncomfortable. Like celebrating might make you lazy, or ungrateful, or seen as "too much."

1. What’s the last thing you accomplished that you didn’t celebrate?
2. When you think about celebrating it, what thought immediately follows?
3. If your child achieved the same thing, what would you tell them to believe about their worth?
4. What are you afraid might happen if you actually celebrated your wins?

These 10 minutes will help you see how the pattern started—and what it's costing you. Not just celebration, but the ability to feel successful no matter what you accomplish.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: (We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. You leave with a custom plan to feel fulfilled at work and present at home. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later.) https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching - 2 spots left: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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You love your kids more than anything… but sometimes it feels like every ounce of energy you pour into them leaves nothing for you. And on the rare days you do want to focus on yourself — a class, a coach, even just quiet time — that whisper of guilt shows up: “Shouldn’t I be doing something for them...or for work...instead?”

Most women I work with tell me they feel selfish spending money or time on themselves. But what if investing in your own leadership, clarity, and growth is actually the most selfless thing you could do? Not because it sounds good, but because it literally ripples into every area of your life.

In this episode (celebrating 3 years of Journal Entries!), you'll hear:

• Why the "selfish vs. selfless" question is the wrong one to ask
• The two types of fear (and which one means you should actually say yes)
• How my $2,500/month business coach investment led to this podcast existing
• The Bali retreat I didn't take — and why I still think about it

After listening, you'll stop apologizing for wanting more. You'll see that investing in yourself isn't taking from your family or team — it's giving them the best version of you.

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

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching - 2 spots left: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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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

Connect: Instagram | Facebook | Reply to my newsletter

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 Now a mini-course since we already had the original live session!- 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/