Your Foolproof Self-Care Regimen for 2021

If there is one myth I’d love to blow up it’s this: Self-care is selfish. Okay, maybe two: Therapy is for the weak.

I’d also love to rebrand self-care as self-compassion. It’s more a way of being with yourself rather than a way of doing for yourself. Sure, both are important, but I believe if we know how to be with ourselves, befriend ourselves, and speak to ourselves like we would a loved one, the loving actions will surely follow.

And so the basis for self-care is really self-understanding. Thich Nhat Hahn said, “Understanding is love’s other name.” I surely believe this. And so the basis of any self-care regimen is just that: to understand ourselves.

The Enneagram is the best tool we have for developing more self-understanding. This is one of the reasons I believe that it is the basis for any self-care regimen or mindset. We can be with ourselves with more ease when we understand the motivations for how we think, feel, and act. These motivations populate our thoughts and as a result, our beliefs about life, relationships, and the world around us.

Again, the beginning of love is understanding. This is crucial.

You may be very familiar with your Enneagram type wondering, what next?

As we develop greater self-awareness and understanding, we build a beautiful foundation to then create rhythms, rituals, or practices in our daily lives to further bake-in this loving relationship with ourselves. These practices help us solidify the true, essential desires and intentions we have for ourselves. In essence, they improve our overall quality of life, mind, body, and heart, bringing balance where there is imbalance.

They also help us process and manage the stressors we bump up against each and every day. I think we’ve all become increasingly aware of the uncertainties and difficulties of life in 2020. Creating a self-care regimen allows us to control that which we can: our choices, habits, and mindset.

I’ve created a simple plan for us to practice, taking the guesswork out of self-care. It involves three pillars, or parts: meditation, self-compassion, and writing. These are built on the baseline of self-understanding which I prescribe through the Enneagram.

If you are longing for a deeper, more accepting relationship with yourself this year, I invite you to join me in The Practice, my brand new self-care subscription program. You can learn more about The Practice in the video below.

Next week, I’ll walk you through the three pillars of the Practice, unpacking each one so you can better understand what to expect.

Whereas life is wrought with uncertainty, you are not powerless! It’s time to take back that power. I hope you’ll join me.

Love & Gratitude,

Katie

P.S. Need a little nudge? I’d love for you to sign up for The Practice, my new monthly subscription that helps take the guesswork out of self-care. Watch the video below to learn more.

Hurry up and wait...this might surprise you

It’s weird, but January is one of my favorite months. It’s like waking up in the morning, walking outside, and discovering a thick blanket of powdery-white snow covering every surface, untouched. The often charged emotions that accompany the holidays (especially in 2020) have subsided. The chaos of consumerism has quieted down a bit. We all wake up to a fresh new start, hopefully without a pounding headache.

If you’re like me, and I have a hunch you are, it’s tempting to get sucked into a different kind of noise, equally as distracting, yet cloaked in the subtle sounds of “self-improvement.”

In fact, your inbox is probably chock-full right now of emails screaming, “New Year, New You!” or “Five fail-proof ways to lose the holiday bloat,” or even, “Manifest your best year yet!”

While well-intentioned, I think there’s a better approach to “turning over a new leaf” that doesn’t leave you whiplashed and disappointed.

It might not sound as sexy, but in my seasoned experience biting off all kinds of extremes, the sparkle tends to fade about two weeks in, right about now, when the hype of sweeping promises won’t carry me one minute further into this or that resolution, goal, or intention. In fact, I might even land myself flat-faced in the quicksand of self-sabotage. That shame spiral is a ride I’d like to avoid this year.

Make no mistake, I wholeheartedly believe we must live with intention. And I love a proper goal-setting. Yet, I’ve also become keenly aware of my tendency to rush into the general direction of, you guessed it, just another distraction in an effort to escape what it is I really want deep down.

So what’s the solution? How do we make lasting, life-giving changes in order to build out the new year and beyond?

We.....listen.

Oh and another thing. We....slow down.

This might seem counterproductive, especially in light of what the experts might be saying. But I believe you are your own expert and the fastest way to get where you’re trying to go starts with your deep-down desires. Your desires speak from your bones—your body—your heart.

We’ve just been on a wild goose chase to survive the swirl of the holidays. This is a time to connect back to that wise voice inside. This is NOT a time to jump on someone else’s bandwagon boasting fast results.

Let’s resist the temptation to blindly rush into 2021. It’s time to take the reins back.

Let’s get quiet and listen to that still small voice inside. She knows a thing or two. And she loves you...desperately.

She also knows exactly how and when to soar. She was born to.

Love & Gratitude,

Katie

P.S. Need a little nudge? I’d love for you to sign up for The Practice, my new monthly subscription that helps take the guesswork out of self-care. It combines practical ways of using the Enneagram, mindfulness, and self-compassion in your everyday life in order to retrain your brain and build out the life you love.

2021, Hello Gorgeous

I’ve been itching to say these words for a while now: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Whereas tangibly nothing is different and the clock just rolls over as it does every December 31st, what does seem to change is our mindset—how we approach time.

There’s a stirring in the air, a blank slate if you will, and yet nothing has really changed. 

Interesting isn’t it?

I love what Meister Eckhart said, “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” A new year presents the invitation to begin again. I believe every morning presents the same life-giving invitation as well. It’s an opportunity to live wholeheartedly, with purpose and curiosity. It’s the opportunity to step into your God-given shoes of worthiness no matter what is achieved, accomplished, or lost.

You see, you are the hero of your own journey. In every single good story, the hero is met with upending challenges that test belief, identity, and most of all, hope. And yet you, the hero, have the opportunity to begin again, every single day, with fresh vision and commitment.

I’d love to be your guide this year on the blog. I’d love to support you with tools, practices, and self-care opportunities I have been creating for a while. You can expect to gain short, practical insights every Tuesday that make it just a bit easier to show up for yourself—and be with yourself—in a courageous and loving way.

I’ll also be offering online Enneagram and self-care classes each month for a deeper self-development dive.

Of course, I’d love for you to join me in my new monthly subscription program called The Practice, if you’re interested in creating structure and accountability as you set out to meet the goals and intentions you’ve set for yourself this year. The Practice is a self-care toolkit that combines practical ways to use the Enneagram, mindfulness, and self-compassion in your daily experience.

Wherever you decide to join me, I want you to know how grateful I am to be a part of your wellness journey. It’s such an honor to have your company.

I’ll leave you with a question:

If you continue on the self-development path you are on, where would you like to be a year from now? What does your life look like? What’s different? The same?

I’d love to hear your answers! Drop me a line if you’d like. 

Alright, friends! It’s showtime...

Love & Gratitude,

Katie

P.S. Registration for The Practice is now open. Register today.

Drumroll, Please...Announcing The Practice!

As we move through the final week of 2020, I can’t think of a better time to announce my new self-care subscription called The Practice! I told you a bit about it last week and thought it a good idea to give you a little demo, so you can test drive the basics of the program for yourself. I also want to give you a breakdown of what you will get when you subscribe.

As I mentioned last week, the practice is a self-development toolkit that combines practical ways to use the Enneagram, mindfulness, and self-compassion in your daily experience in order to truly thrive and create the optimal life and relationships you desire.

• The Practice is for anyone who wants to better understand themselves and become the absolute best version of who they are. It’s for those longing to deepen their level of self-awareness and lead their lives with intention and confidence. It’s for anyone who is ready to love and accept themselves as well as improve overall health and wellbeing, mind, body, and spirit.

• It’s a monthly subscription full of personalized meditations for enneagram type and targeted to help you cultivate more presence and grounding in your life. It also combines the power of writing and self-compassion to fine-tune your self-care regimen and soften that often harsh inner dialog that keeps us stuck. You’ll also have access to candid conversations with experts in their field in the wellness and enneagram world.

• I’d love for you to sign up for the waiting list now because let’s face it, New Year’s is right around the corner, and keeping those Resolutions can be tough! Yet 2021 holds so much hope and opportunity waiting to be harnessed. If you are like me, you need a plan and some continued support in order to achieve the personal goals you’ve wanted to meet year after year.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll receive each month in your subscription:

• A weekly guided meditation and self-compassion practice

• Daily journaling prompts

• Weekly “pep talk,” check-ins & support

• Monthly Zoom teaching with Enneagram and wellness experts

You’ll also gain access to nine unique meditations designed for each Enneagram type (yes, you’ll get all nine!).

I wanted to give you a little taste of what it will be like, so here is a link to test drive one of the meditations. After you listen to the meditation, I want you to stay in that quiet space to reflect on this journal prompt: My biggest takeaway from 2020 was ____________ (write for 10-30 minutes).

If you sign up in the first month, you’ll get a locked-in price of $14.99/month as opposed to $19.99. And this is just the beginning. I’ve got so much more material that will drop later in the spring so get excited!

You are meant to thrive, not merely survive. This is your opportunity to tap into a more vibrant, unhindered experience. I can’t wait to share this journey with you. We officially kick it off Monday, January 4th. Click here to be the first to know.

Love & Gratitude, 

Katie

I've been dying to share this with you

I sincerely hope you are taking good care of yourself as we move through the holidays and wrap up 2020. It’s been a trying year for all of us, yet I feel a sense of anticipation stirring in my bones. Why? For several reasons, but namely, because I believe we have gone through the crucible of loss and pain that inevitably invites us to wake up.

I believe suffering has the ability to truly transform us into more compassionate, more spiritual beings. If we let it that is.

Not only that, but 2020 has been an invitation to take a long, soft look into the eyes of mental health as a more normalized and necessary conversation, and I’m so here for it.

So much so that I’ve created a really special gift for you.

Over the last decade of research, client work, and navigating the peaks and valleys of my own emotional journey, I’ve been creating a program I call The Practice.

The Practice is a specialized tool kit designed to support your journey of self-development and growth. It’s meant to take the guesswork out of self-care and is based on the premise that whatever we practice we improve. The Practice combines mindfulness and self-compassion with the Enneagram to help you achieve the lasting transformation you desire.

So, why mindfulness? Mindfulness exercises such as meditation are scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep and overall functioning, and bring awareness to what’s happening moment to moment so we can choose to consciously respond to life’s circumstances rather than react out of automatic, self-defeating patterns.

What about self-compassion? I’ve learned first-hand we simply can’t thrive if we’re constantly working against ourselves. Shame-based striving won’t cut it because we’ll constantly be hustling for our worthiness as opposed to growing from a place of self-acceptance and love. We need true self-compassion which teaches us to treat ourselves like we would a dear friend or family member in need. It’s only from this place of unconditional, loving-kindness that we can effect transformational change.

Finally, why the Enneagram? The modern Enneagram of personality is the most powerful tool we have for deeper self-understanding and growth. It helps us understand more about our personality and deeper character structure, shining a light on limiting automatic patterns and beliefs that have been operating within us for years. As we wake up to our unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors, we are able to practically apply Enneagram’s wisdom in our lives and choose something life-giving and true.

Quite simply, The Practice will give you the tools you need to retrain your brain and body and actually befriend yourself in a way that leads to deep and lasting change by supporting processes such as resilience, integration, and motivation. Along the journey, you’ll experience the wholeness and freedom you seek.

I can’t wait to officially share this with you in early January! Stay tuned next week as I am giving away a free demo so you can take it out for a test drive.

Until then, I hope you and yours have a safe and very Merry Christmas.