Do you struggle to love yourself? Do you know you're supposed to practice "self-love" but have no idea what that actually means? Do you feel like no matter what you achieve, it's never quite enough?

Here's what nobody's telling you: Loving yourself might be the quietest thing you ever do. And also the most powerful.

2025 has been hard. For so many of us. Some of us lost people we love. Some of us lost jobs, security, or the version of our lives we thought we were building. And even if your year had beautiful moments, there's something about carrying the weight of everything happening around us that settles into our bones.

This episode is different. It's short. It's a gift. It features a poem by nayyirah waheed that stopped me in my tracks - and 3 simple words that might just start your quietest revolution.

This is permission to start with yourself.

🌱 What You'll Discover

• Why self-love isn't selfish - it's foundational
• How to hold space for a hard year AND remember moments of joy
• A poem by nayyirah waheed on the quietest, most powerful revolution
• The 3 words that change everything: "I love myself"
• Why loving yourself is the foundation for truly loving others
• Permission to be exactly where you are today

💬 Powerful Quotes

"I love myself. The quietest, simplest, most powerful revolution ever."

"Joy and pain can coexist. And we need to remind ourselves of that."

"What if the most powerful revolution is the one no one else can see?"

"When we learn to love ourselves, we become capable of truly loving others. Not performing love. Not earning love. Real love."

"Your worth is not up for debate. It never was."

"Loving yourself - really, deeply loving yourself - might be the quietest thing you ever do. And it might also be the most powerful."

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 - Welcome (wherever you are today)
01:04 - Acknowledging the hard year
02:33 - Remembering moments of joy
04:07 - A poem by nayyirah waheed
05:48 - The 3 words: I love myself
06:28 - What if revolution is quiet?
08:05 - Start with yourself
08:41 - You are enough
09:40 - Closing: may you feel held

You’re not alone if…:

• You've had a hard year and need permission to acknowledge it
• You struggle with feeling "not enough"
• You want to learn how to love yourself but don't know where to start
• You need a moment of stillness in the chaos
• You're alone today and need to feel held
• You're surrounded by people but feel disconnected
• You're ready to start the quietest revolution of your life

💛 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear they are enough.

This is an inside job. Share this episode with those you love. 💛

Subscribe on YouTube for more content.

Let's Connect:
https://www.luluessey.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luluessey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucille-marie-essey/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lulu.essey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lulu.essey/

Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap – https://www.luluessey.com/freetool

Thank you for being here. You are enough. ✨

Running on fumes in December? Feeling like you should be "finishing strong" but you're barely making it through each day? Sluggish, foggy, ready to hibernate - while the world tells you to push through and whatever you do, don't lose momentum now?

Here's what nobody's telling you: You're not failing. Your body is doing exactly what it's designed to do.

Winter isn't just weather - it's biology. Your brain produces more melatonin when days get shorter. Your serotonin drops. You're literally designed to slow down right now. But hustle culture - and the "New Year, New You" pressure already building - tells you that rest is weakness.

This episode reveals the neuroscience behind December exhaustion, why fighting your biology makes everything harder, and gives you one simple evening practice that changes everything. No overwhelm. No adding to your plate. Just one question before bed.

This is permission to pause.

🌱 What You'll Discover

• The real reason you're exhausted (hint: it's not personal failure)
• What December actually does to your brain - the science behind winter fatigue
• Why the "finish strong" narrative works against your biology
• The "Enough for Today" Practice: one evening question that shifts everything
• Permission to rest without guilt (yes, really)

💬 Powerful Quotes

"What if the exhaustion you're feeling isn't a personal failing - it's your biology trying to tell you something important?"

"What if this tiredness isn't something wrong with you? What if it's something very right - your body doing exactly what it's designed to do?"

"What if the most rebellious thing you could do right now is rest?"

"We are not machines. We are not designed to operate at constant, relentless capacity."

"The space between isn't empty. It's essential."

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 - Why you're exhausted in December (it's not what you think)
03:05 - The science: what winter does to your brain
07:32 - Permission to let December be December
09:24 - The "Enough for Today" Practice
11:43 - You're allowed to pause

This is an inside job. Share this episode with those you love. 💛

Subscribe on YouTube for more content.

Let's Connect:
https://www.luluessey.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luluessey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucille-marie-essey/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lulu.essey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lulu.essey/

Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap – https://www.luluessey.com/freetool

Thank you for being here. You are enough. ✨

Have you spent your whole life trying to fit in? Are you the square peg in a round hole - exhausted from trying to smooth your edges, straighten your lines, and be more like everyone else? Do you feel like your difference is a flaw you need to fix?

What if it's not? What if the parts of you that don't fit are actually your greatest gifts?

This episode explores the "wiggly line philosophy" created by musician Jacob Collier: the radical idea that we weren't born to be straight lines. We were born to wiggle. Yet somewhere along the way, most of us learned to straighten ourselves out - to fit in, to be acceptable, to stop being "too much" or "too different."

Through neuroscience, personal stories (including my own crayon-coloring confession), and the power of celebrating difference over conformity, this conversation reveals why your wiggle isn't a flaw - it's freedom. And how giving yourself permission to be different might be the most powerful act of self-love you can practice this holiday season.

🌱 What You'll Discover

• Jacob Collier's wiggly line philosophy and why it matters for your mental fitness
• The literal ways we learn to "straighten" ourselves (and the cost of doing so)
• Heart rate variability (HRV) and why our bodies are designed for wiggle, not rigidity
• The crucial distinction between wiggly lines (freedom) and wobbly foundations (chaos)
• Why trying to fit in during the holidays amplifies the pressure to conform
• The Wiggle Check-In: a Tiny Tool to reclaim your authenticity in real-time
• How difference creates connection, not division - when you show up fully as yourself

💬 Powerful Quotes

"We weren't born to be straight lines. We were born to wiggle."

"When we can't wiggle 'correctly,' we often stop wiggling at all. We go silent. We withdraw. We make ourselves smaller."

"Your wiggle isn't a flaw. It's how you were designed."

"At a biological level, we're meant to wiggle. High heart rate variability - high wiggle - is a sign of health."

"The world needs wiggly lines. They're what create connection, real connection - because when you show up authentically, you give other people permission to do the same."

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 - When your crayons refuse to stay inside the lines
04:12 - Jacob Collier's wiggly line philosophy
07:33 - How we learn to straighten ourselves (and why we stop)
10:58 - The collective experience: we all do this
13:27 - Holiday pressure to perform "perfect"
15:49 - The neuroscience of wiggle (HRV and resilience)
18:22 - Wiggly lines vs. wobbly foundations
20:15 - The cost of straightening: what we lose
22:40 - The Wiggle Check-In (your tiny tool)
25:11 - Permission to wiggle: the invitation

This episode is for you if:

• You've always felt like you don't quite fit in
• You're exhausted from trying to be like everyone else
• You're navigating holiday expectations that don't align with who you are
• You want permission to celebrate your difference instead of hiding it
• You need the neuroscience behind why authenticity matters
• You're ready to stop apologizing for your beautiful weirdness

This is an inside job. Share this episode with those you love. 💛

Subscribe on YouTube for more content.

Let's Connect:
https://www.luluessey.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luluessey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucille-marie-essey/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lulu.essey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lulu.essey/

Free Guide: Break Free from the Success Trap – https://www.luluessey.com/freetool

Thank you for being here. You are enough. ✨