Ever feel pressured to “finish the year strong” while you’re already running on empty? In this episode, I’m challenging that narrative and sharing why finishing steady might be exactly what you need this December.

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Why “Finish Steady” Beats “Finish Strong”

Here’s what I’ve noticed: December naturally invites us to slow down. It’s quieter, more reflective. Yet everywhere we look, we’re told to push harder, hustle more, squeeze out every last drop of productivity before the holidays.

But what if that approach is working against you? Instead of fighting December’s natural rhythm, what if you worked with it? There’s no prize for sprinting across December 31st, and there’s definitely no gold star for ending the year exhausted.

The Problem with Most Year-End Reflection Guides

Most self-reflection journals get it wrong. They jump straight to goal setting, more intentions, more habits, more things on your already overflowing list. It feels productive, but here’s the truth: you cannot pour into a cup that’s already full. You just make a mess.

Most of us don’t need more goals. We need less. Less noise, less obligations, less of the stuff that’s quietly making everything harder.

A Different Approach: Subtraction Before Addition

That’s why I created “Clear the Noise,” a free year-end reflection guide built on a simple philosophy: subtraction before addition.

It walks you through four parts: discovering what actually worked this year (not what looked good on LinkedIn, but what genuinely felt good), identifying what’s draining you, deciding what needs to go, and only then designing what’s next. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes over a cuppa, and it’s designed for the real you, not some fantasy version who wakes at 5am and meal preps every Sunday.

Three Key Takeaways

1️⃣ You have permission to finish steady. If sprinting feels wrong right now, trust that. Your energy levels are valid.

2️⃣ Clear before you add. Before setting new goals, declutter what’s no longer serving you. Make space first.

3️⃣ Reflection is about noticing, not fixing. The person you are today is different from who you were 12 months ago, and that matters, even if no one else sees it.

Resources Mentioned

Clear the Noise Guide – Free year-end reflection guide with 12 questions across 4 sections.

➡️ Grab it at unwritten.coach/reflect

Join the Movement! If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to love my newsletter! I dive deeper into these topics and share exclusive tools, guides, and behind-the-scenes insights that I don’t share anywhere else. It’s like getting your own coach in your inbox every week. Subscribe at www.unwrittenpotential.com to join our community to get unstuck, grow and unleash your Unwritten Potential!

Before we begin: if you’re already nodding along to the title, I’m launching something for people who are done with New Year resolutions but want to start the year with energy, clarity and momentum! The Anti-Resolution Reset drops January 1st and pre-orders are open now at 50% off, only $48 bucks. Grab your spot here or keep reading and I’ll tell you more at the end :)

I’m tired of being told I need to wake up at 4am to be successful, tired of watching influencers turn self-care into a competitive sport, and tired of feeling like I’m never quite doing wellness “right.” If you’ve ever felt the same, this episode is for you.

The 5am Morning Routine Myth

Here’s the truth nobody wants to admit: there’s zero evidence that waking up at 5am makes you more successful. What there IS evidence for? Consistent sleep. I tried the 5am club two years ago and it wrecked me. Real me wakes up at 6:30am, slurps a protein shake on my way to the gym, and meditates for about three breaths when I remember. It’s not filmable, but it’s sustainable. Your morning routine should serve your life, not become your whole personality.

Performative Wellness and Diet Culture’s Sneaky Rebrand

Whether it’s the “That Girl” aesthetic with matching workout sets and oat milk lattes, or men going “monk mode” with cold plunges for the gram, it’s the same performance. And wellness perfectionism has a shadow side: the guilt when you skip meditation, the shame when you break your fast early. As an elder millennial who survived peak 90s diet culture, I’m calling it out. Diet culture didn’t die. It just got a makeover. Now it’s “clean eating,” “gut resets,” and “reducing inflammation.” No thanks.

The Supplement Theatre and Anti-Science Rabbit Holes

Before you biohack your way through 20 pills a day, start with the basics. The evidence-based longevity strategies are painfully boring: sleep, vegetables, movement, water, and friends. That’s literally the list. And those anti-science wellness rabbit holes? They prey on people who feel abandoned by traditional medicine, then sell them $500 supplement protocols. Critical thinking IS wellness.

Three Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Your morning routine should fit YOUR life. Stop building habits for a fantasy version of yourself. What actually works for the real you, with your real constraints?

2️⃣ Real self-care is boring, and that’s okay. Going to bed on time, saying no, eating the carbs. The stuff nobody films because it’s dull is often exactly what you need.

3️⃣ You already have the answers. That pressure you’re feeling? That’s marketing, not reality. Trust the wisdom you already have. You’re the author of your own story.

Resources Mentioned

* The Anti-Resolution Reset — My answer for anyone tired of the January goal-crash cycle. Clarity before goals, subtraction before addition. Visit unwritten.coach/reset for more details.

⚡️ Pre-order here, 50% off until January 1st!

* Full deep-dive article — Available at unwrittenpotential.com

Join the Movement! If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to love my newsletter! I dive deeper into these topics and share exclusive tools, guides, and behind-the-scenes insights that I don’t share anywhere else. It’s like getting your own coach in your inbox every week. Subscribe at www.unwrittenpotential.com to join our community to get unstuck, grow and unleash your Unwritten Potential!

If gratitude journaling has ever felt like a chore, this episode is for you. I’m breaking down why traditional gratitude practices stop working and sharing three evidence-based alternatives that actually boost your wellbeing without the toxic positivity.

Why Gratitude Journaling Stops Working

I used to do daily gratitude journaling. At first it worked. Then it became another box to tick. Same things on autopilot every morning. Generic. Meaningless. The ritual was there but the attention wasn’t. Sound familiar?

Turns out there’s a reason for this. Our brains adapt to good things and stop noticing them (it’s called hedonic adaptation). That’s why “grateful for my health, my family, my home” feels empty after a couple of weeks. Add in the guilt spiral of feeling bad about not feeling grateful, and traditional gratitude practices can actually backfire.

3 Gratitude Practices That Actually Work

The research points to three approaches that don’t suck. First, less is more. Weekly gratitude practice beats daily. Specificity beats quantity. One deeply noticed moment is more powerful than a generic list. Second, subtract don’t add. Mentally imagining your life without something (the George Bailey effect) sparks more genuine gratitude than simply listing what you have. Third, express don’t just list. Gratitude letters and conversations have stronger effects on wellbeing than private journaling. A thank-you text counts.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ If gratitude journaling feels like a chore, try doing it less but meaning it more. Weekly beats daily.

2️⃣ Instead of listing what you’re grateful for, imagine your life without it. This cuts through hedonic adaptation.

3️⃣ Let gratitude out of your notebook. Tell someone exactly what they did and why it mattered.

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In this episode, I’m getting real about why December feels so much harder than it should. I break down the biology behind holiday burnout, why we keep making the same mistakes every year, and how to get through the season without completely abandoning yourself in the process. No toxic positivity, no unrealistic advice, just honest talk about navigating family stress, overspending, drinking culture, and the pressure to be “festive” when your nervous system is already depleted.

Key Takeaways

* December is biologically harder. Your serotonin drops with the daylight, your circadian rhythm gets scrambled, and you’re expected to do MORE right when your baseline capacity is lowest. Understanding this helps you stop blaming yourself for struggling.

* You’re solving emotional problems with behavioural solutions. Overspending isn’t really about gifts; it’s about proving you’re enough. That extra drink isn’t about celebration; it’s about tolerating uncomfortable situations. The real work is noticing what you’re actually trying to avoid.

* Every choice either maintains or erodes your baseline. You don’t need to be perfect or opt out of everything. You just need to pay attention to whether each decision is keeping you intact or pushing you further into deficit. The version of you that shows up in January is a direct result of how much you abandon yourself in December.

What’s Next:

Ready to Start 2026 Differently?

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This week marks six months (26 weeks straight) of publishing my podcast and my newsletter. Half a year of showing up through work, travel, illness, and mood swings. And here’s the thing: I’m not doing this because thousands of people are waiting for it or because I’m topping any charts. I’m doing it because I made a promise to myself.

In this episode, I’m unpacking the mind-bend of self-imposed standards, that tension between being kind to yourself and holding yourself accountable. I’ll share what I’ve learned about why self-compassion sometimes means doing the hard thing anyway, even when no one’s watching, even when it would be easier to quit.

This isn’t about hustle culture. It’s about trust, integrity, and treating yourself like someone worthy of your own commitment.

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💡 3 Key Takeaways

* Self-compassion isn’t always soft.Sometimes the most caring thing you can do for yourself is to follow through, even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or unseen.

* You build self-trust through consistency.Every time you keep a promise to yourself, you reinforce the belief that you can rely on you. That’s how real confidence is built.

* The magic is in the messy middle.Progress happens long before the results show. When the novelty fades and no one’s cheering you on, that’s when the real transformation begins.

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Last year, I did something shocking: I stopped therapy. Not because I was magically healed, but because I’d become tired of constantly looking inward. Every moment needed analysing, every feeling required processing, and I’d forgotten how to just exist. That’s when I realised something crucial: maybe the problem isn’t that we’re not trying hard enough. Maybe we’re trying too hard.

The Wellness Industry Paradox

Here’s what keeps me up at night. We’re spending 6.8 trillion dollars globally on self-improvement, yet 82% of employees are at risk of burnout. The wellness industry is booming while our actual wellbeing collapses. This isn’t coincidental. It’s what researchers call “the curse of constant self-optimisation”, and it’s destroying us from the inside out.

I know this intimately. I spent 500 Singapore dollars on a fancy Garmin smartwatch after weeks of research. It tracked everything: sleep stages, stress levels, body battery, VO2 max. The constant data stressed me out so much that I ended up using it for basic step counting. Things a twenty-dollar watch could do.

The trap works like this: you spot a flaw, anxiety kicks in, you find a solution, get temporary relief, then immediately scan for the next thing to fix. This isn’t growth. This is anxiety management disguised as productivity.

When Hustle Culture Wears Therapy Language

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: hustle culture didn’t die during the pandemic. It just learned to speak therapy language. Meditation apps gamify inner peace with streak counters. Morning routines become rigid optimisation protocols. Rest gets rebranded as “recovery” so we can justify it. Hobbies transform into side hustles because apparently we can’t do anything just for fun anymore.

We’re literally buying programmes to teach us how to stop buying programmes. The irony would be funny if it wasn’t so depressing.

Breaking Free: Healthy Growth vs Toxic Optimisation

Growth isn’t the problem. The problem is how optimisation culture has hijacked healthy practices. Toxic optimisation ties your worth to productivity, makes rest impossible without guilt, and pursues goals from shame. Healthy growth aligns goals with your actual values, combines self-compassion with self-improvement, and treats rest as necessary, not something to earn.

The most radical act of self-improvement? Sometimes it’s improvement by subtraction, not addition. What would you do differently if you stopped treating yourself like a broken thing that needs fixing?

3 Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Learn the difference between toxic optimisation and healthy growth. Next time you set a goal, pause and ask: Is this coming from self-compassion or self-punishment? Is this aligned with my values or just what I think I “should” do? That question changes everything.

2️⃣ Recognise when hustle culture is wearing therapy language. If your wellness routine requires a spreadsheet, it’s not wellness. If you feel guilty skipping one day, that’s pressure, not self-care. If you’re optimising sleep but losing sleep over the optimisation, you’ve spotted the problem.

3️⃣ Try the practice of stopping. Pick one tracking app, one “should”, one wellness practice creating more stress than benefit. Stop it for a week. See what happens. You’re not abandoning growth, you’re creating space to figure out which goals are actually yours.

Join the Movement!

If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to love my newsletter! I dive deeper into these topics and share exclusive tools, guides, and behind-the-scenes insights that I don’t share anywhere else. It’s like getting your own coach in your inbox every week. Subscribe to join our community to get unstuck, grow and unleash your Unwritten Potential!

What scares you more: the thing you might fail at, or never trying at all?

In six weeks, I’m packing a suitcase and flying one-way to Buenos Aires for a year-long Latin American adventure.

Am I terrified? Absolutely.

Am I doing it anyway? Abso-f*****g-lutely.

Today, I’m sharing how to take action despite fear and why courage isn’t about being fearless.

Three Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Your fear response is often your brain being overprotective, not logical. Understanding that your amygdala can’t tell the difference between real danger and discomfort helps you question whether the fear is actually valid or just your ancient wiring being dramatic.

2️⃣ Use the 1% strategy to make scary things manageable. Take whatever terrifies you and break it down into the tiniest possible version. Do that 1% thing this week, then build from there. Small steps create confidence for bigger leaps.

3️⃣ The fear of regret should be bigger than the fear of the unknown. Five years from now, you won’t regret trying. You’ll only regret not trying. Ask yourself what you’d do if you weren’t afraid, then do the smallest version of that today.

Join the Movement! If you enjoyed this episode, you’re going to love my newsletter! I dive deeper into these topics and share exclusive tools, guides, and behind-the-scenes insights that I don’t share anywhere else. It’s like getting your own coach in your inbox every week. Subscribe at www.unwrittenpotential.com to join our community to get unstuck, grow and unleash your Unwritten Potential!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​