Happy New Year, my love. This bonus episode is a gentle but honest conversation about what so many of us unconsciously bring into a new year: intensity, pressure, and the belief that healing only counts if it hurts.

In this episode, I’m naming something I’ve lived, witnessed, and had to unlearn myself… the tendency to create struggle in the name of growth. The idea that if it’s not hard, painful, or dramatic, it must not be real healing. I want to offer you a different path as we step into 2026.

This is an invitation to choose integration over resolution, embodiment over force, and safety over intensity. Healing doesn’t have to break you to work.

TOPICS & TANGENTS:
• New Year energy and the addiction to intensity
• Masochistic healing and why we believe struggle equals worthiness
• The nervous system’s attachment to pain as proof
• Why healing doesn’t only “count” if it hurts
• Integration as the most powerful form of healing
• Embodiment over endless learning and fixing
• Self trust as the real root of transformation
• Daily micro healing versus massive emotional overhauls
• Seasonal wisdom and honoring winter energy
• Slowing down without falling behind
• Why burnout often comes from trying to heal “correctly”
• Letting safety, not force, lead your growth

POINT OF THE STORY:
Healing isn’t meant to be punishing. The real work isn’t in how much you can endure, but in how deeply you can integrate what you already know. Transformation happens when your body feels safe enough to embody change… not when you push yourself to the edge trying to prove you’re worthy.

MENTIONED:
• Episode 164: My 2026 Planning Process (Structure That Creates Freedom)

If you’re feeling the urge to sprint into this year, let this episode be your permission slip to slow down. You can’t rush what’s already meant for you. Integration is where the magic lives.

Happy New Year 🤍

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MORE ABOUT ASH
I am the definition of duality — I swear like a sailor and break rules like it’s my job, but I also hold incredible space for my clients and work my ass off to help them achieve the success they’re after. But I'm also here for the non-preneur woman, too. My background in counseling gives me a unique perspective on what it means to show up, serve, & create connection for those who feel like they've never belonged before.

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