Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.

This month we answered questions from:

• Ready to Move Forward, a highly sensitive person who's been deeply affected by the meanness and negativity of people around her. She's just now getting to the point where she's ready to share some of her creative work with the world, but she knows it will open her up to hurtful feedback. How can she stop absorbing negative energy so she can live her life in peace?
• Emily, a college senior whose parents have consistently told her she's "average" and "won't succeed." A lifetime of being torn down by the people meant to love and uplift her the most has left her fearful and lacking in confidence. How can she believe something different about herself, and stop allowing the toxic messages from her family into her life?

Leave a comment after you've listened to share how our advice for these listeners resonated with you!

Want to submit a question for our March episode of Dear Krachel? Fill out this form and you might hear us tackle your Q!

LAST DAY OF 1:1 COACHING ENROLLMENT!

Today, Friday, February 5, is the LAST day we're accepting sign-up forms for new clients! Keep in mind that:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave (and many of those spots are already taken).
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• You have the option of 2 or 6 months of coaching, though we'll prioritize people who want to do 6 months.
• We'll most likely open enrollment again in May/June. If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

Check out the details and fill out the form on this page, and we'll talk to you soon!

LISTEN TO THESE EPISODES NEXT

Blog: Keep new ideas to yourself (December 2020)

Blog: When you're tired of waiting for what you want to show up (January 2021)

Side Chat: Fruit of the poisonous tree (August 2019)

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We heard an anecdote recently about Navy SEALs that hit us so hard, we had to do a special episode about it:

Apparently, of all the extreme things they subject SEALs to during training, the part they find the most unbearable is not knowing when it ends. It's not the torturous conditions themselves, but not knowing how long they'll have to endure them, that makes it so difficult.

Of course, we immediately thought: This is the pandemic. Or a job you hate and have no idea when you'll ever be able to quit. Or a bad marriage. Or being single when you don't want to be. Or a health crisis.

There are so many things in life that feel impossible to quit, and are made that much more difficult because we have no light at the end of the tunnel.

But who's to say you can't create a light at the end of the tunnel? We believe it's possible, even in circumstances you think you have zero control over. So, in a special bonus Side Chat, we got into…

• Why it feels so heavy to have no light at the end of the tunnel, and what it does to us psychologically when we're in that state.
• A strategy you can implement that takes you from feeling like a victim to circumstance to empowered and energetic and hopeful.
• How we, and some of our clients, have taken this strategy and quit things that seemed impossible to quit, and created light where there used to be none!

Leave a comment after you've listened to share how this resonated with you, and how you might apply this to your situation!

1:1 COACHING ENROLLMENT IS OPEN!

We're accepting sign-up forms for new clients starting now through Friday, February 5! A few pointers to keep in mind:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave.
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• You have the option of 2 or 6 months of coaching, though we'll prioritize people who want to do 6 months.
• We'll most likely open enrollment again in May/June. If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

Check out the details and fill out the form on this page, and we'll talk to you soon!

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Calling all fellow bookworms, library nerds, and general lovers of literature — it's time for another book club episode of the podcast!

Whenever there are five Fridays in a month, we devote the extra Friday to a book that we can't get enough of. In this episode, we're diving into an age-old classic, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.

To be VERY honest, when we say "can't get enough," in this case we did get enough. Too much, even. Like, "throw this book across the room" levels of enough-ness.

And not because this book is awful. Quite the opposite! It's more like, too hot to handle. If you've got ~stuff~ … this book is going to bring it up. And you best be ready when it does! Listen in as we talk about:

• Why we were triggered by this book, and why Rachel in particular had a detox-level reaction to it!
• The two weekly activities you can do to unblock yourself, creatively or otherwise.
• Why this book is excellent for people stuck for any reason, not just in an artistic sense.
• Some next-level ideas that were new, even to us!

After you listen, come leave a comment to share how this conversation landed with you!

1:1 COACHING ENROLLMENT IS OPEN!

We're accepting sign-up forms for new clients starting now through Friday, February 5! A few pointers to keep in mind:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave.
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• You have the option of 2 or 6 months of coaching, though we'll prioritize people who want to do 6 months.
• We'll most likely open enrollment again in May/June. If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

Check out the details and fill out the form on this page, and we'll talk to you soon!

LINKS

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In times like these it can be especially hard to tune into your intuition and receive guidance. Fear and uncertainty create a LOT of noise, both internally and externally! And, ironically, it's exactly when we're most afraid and unsure that we most need to be able to receive wisdom and inspiration.

Last year we started doing "Message from the Universe" episodes to help get us through the pandemic. Though we stopped doing them regularly, we promised they'd be back at random, probably when you most needed a little encouragement—and it feels like we could all use that right about now!

So, if you're having a hard time getting calm, quieting your mind, and tuning in lately (understandable, if so!), we hope this message will give you an extra boost of guidance today.

We pulled 3 cards from The Enchanted Map deck by Colette Baron-Reid. One or all has a message for you — come find out what it is!

Click here to see the cards, as well as read the description of each!

After you listen, come leave a comment to share how the message landed with you.

1:1 COACHING ENROLLMENT IS OPEN NOW!

We're accepting sign-up forms for new clients starting today, Friday, January 22 through Friday, February 5! A few pointers to keep in mind:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave.
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• You have the option of 2 or 6 months of coaching, though we'll prioritize people who want to do 6 months.
• We'll most likely open enrollment again in May/June. If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

Check out the details and fill out the form on this page, and we'll talk to you soon!

LINKS

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I have this fantasy of one day having a life where everything is in perfect balance.

I'm putting out quality work, exercising daily, nurturing all of my relationships, getting plenty of sleep, making smart financial decisions, maintaining a clean home, making green juices every morning and healthy meals every night, and leaving plenty of time for fun and relaxation. And eventually I imagine adding kids and pets into the equation (without disrupting the balance of everything else, of course).

Intellectually, I know this is unrealistic, but I can't help that a small part of me still hopes this fantasy will come true.

Can you relate?

I'm reluctantly realizing that, as long as I stay attached to the myth of a perfectly balanced life, I'll always be slightly critical of my current, imbalanced, messy life, judging it for what it *should* be.

So I've decided I need to take a good, hard look at this whole "balance" thing and shift my mindset around it once and for all. Otherwise, my longing for a perfectly balanced life will perpetually steal any contentment I could be feeling with my life just as it is.

In this week's throwback blog from 2019, I'm sharing 4 hard truths that I've come to believe about balance…

After you've listened, come leave us a comment over on the blog to let us know all your thoughts about what it means to live a balanced life.

SERIOUS ABOUT SOME 1-ON-1 COACHING?

One-on-one coaching will be open for enrollment again this Friday, January 22! A few pointers to keep in mind:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave.
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

If you're seriously considering coaching, check out this page for all the details so you know what to expect!

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU'LL ALSO LOVE…

How to make your own Rules for Sane Living (August 2018)

My go-to move for getting out of overwhelm (July 2019)

Moving past the worst years of your life with Lauren Mowbray (February 2019)

LINKS

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Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

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A decade ago both of us cared a lot about finding our purpose. It was more than just a want—it was a need. If we didn't hurry up and find a path that gave our lives meaning we felt like something cataclysmic would happen.

And now … well, to be honest, neither of us really care all that much about life purpose anymore. We've wondered if it even exists, period!

In this month's brand-new Side Chat, we're getting into how we went from obsessed with life purpose to feeling 🤷🏼♀️ about it.

We got into…

• Our definition of life purpose, and why people crave it so badly.
• Why it's a mistake to conflate purpose with career.
• The mental shift we each made that allowed us to feel purposeful more often, without having to be panicked about whether we had a purpose.
• Ideas about what your purpose could be … if you have one at all.

Leave a comment after you've listened to share your take on life purpose, and whether this conversation gave you permission to think about it differently!

SERIOUS ABOUT SOME 1-ON-1 COACHING?

One-on-one coaching will be open for enrollment again next Friday, January 22! A few pointers to keep in mind:

• We'll be taking on about 10-15 people in this new wave.
• This is for people interested in getting started ASAP (within the next month).
• You don't have to know for sure that you want to move ahead with coaching. You just have to be serious enough about it to want to have a conversation.
• If you're not ready now, or you've found us in-between "official" enrollment periods, then you can add your name to the wait list and we'll contact you if and when we have an availability.

If you're seriously considering coaching, check out this page for all the details so you know what to expect!

LISTEN TO THESE EPISODES NEXT

You can't cure the human experience with Kyle Ramsvig (April 2018)

Blog: Here's what I know for sure is NOT the point of life (January 2019)

Blog: For the love of god, stop asking people, "So, what do you do?" (October 2019)

Magic 8-Ball: Netflix is my secret life purpose (March 2020)

LINKS

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If 2020 left you a bit world weary and you're craving a spark of hope, optimism, and magic … today's episode might be just what the doctor ordered.

Christina Hart's story is about finding a new job, and in record time to boot! But it's also about something much deeper than that: trusting that things are always ultimately working out for you and opening up for life to surprise and delight you.

Tune in to this week's episode with a normal person to get inspired by Christina's story. Kristen asked Christina about…

• How she built up the confidence to finally speak up for herself (even to her boss!), and the unexpected outcome of that.
• The story of how she quit her job with no plan, and ended up unemployed for less than 24 hours in the midst of a global pandemic.
• The seemingly magical bread crumb trail she followed that led her to the perfect next job.
• Her personal journey of building her intuition and trust in the universe, and her advice for how you can start developing this for yourself.

After you've listened, leave us a comment to share how Christina's story resonated with you!

MORE ABOUT CHRISTINA HART

Christina works as a Sports Physiotherapist (aka Physical Therapist) in Australia. She spent the early days of her career trying to prove the professors that told her she would never make it in the sports world wrong. She went on to work with professional athletes from multiple countries for many years before settling down in private practice. Now after 13 years in the industry, this highly sensitive, introverted Thriver and recovering people pleaser has learned how to speak up for herself. This shy small-town girl has finally found a voice and is enjoying the benefits that come with no longer pretending to be ok with everyone else's expectations for her.

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU'LL ALSO LOVE…

Bonus Book Club! Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver (November 2018)

Magic 8-Ball: Honing your intuition (& knowing when it's really fear) (March 2020)

Treating life like a magical scavenger hunt with Francisca Hernandez (November 2018)

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Submit your question for a future episode of Dear Krachel

Check out our YouTube channel

There are a fair amount of things in life that we have some degree of control over.

If you want to lose weight, you could follow a nutrition plan and work with a personal trainer. It might take time, but with consistent effort you would be guaranteed to see changes.

Or maybe you decide to go back to grad school, but you've got to take the GRE first. So you buy the prep books, enroll in a class, and take practice exams until you feel positive that you'll ace the test.

And if you feel the urge to up and move to Colorado, you could save money, hire movers, rent an apartment, and haul yourself across the country. No need to wait on anything or anyone to make that happen.

But there are just as many things that we have no control over—things that matter to us a whole lot that we can't guarantee or force to happen at all.

Finding a dream job. Meeting your life partner. Having your business take off.

It's waiting for these things — the things we can never guarantee, that could potentially never happen — that drives us nuts. While we're waiting, it's SO easy to start wondering:

"What am I doing wrong?" and "Is there something about ME that's making this not happen?" and "What if this just isn't in the cards for me?" Cue instant depression, hopelessness, and malaise.

In this blog (originally from 2016!) I'm diving into how to wait in a way that feels productive and hopeful, instead.

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Happy New Year! We're starting off 2021 right with a brand-new episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.

This month we answered questions from:

• Diana, who made a load of personal progress last year, but after a period of time woke up one day somehow back in the same old stuck place she was before. Does that mean she never made progress at all? What gives?!
• Good & Poor, who had the guts to ask for a raise and got unexpectedly denied. Worse, her boss heavily implied that she should be "grateful for what she has," as if it's shameful to ask for more. How can she let go of the guilt for wanting to earn more money?
• Trying not to be desperate, who is turning 34 and feeling panicked about not yet having a spouse or children, which she very much wants. Friends keep telling her "it'll happen when she stops trying," but her desperation won't allow her to stop trying. What do you do when letting go of a lifelong dream feels impossible?

Leave a comment after you've listened to share how our advice for these listeners resonated with you!

Want to submit a question for our February episode of Dear Krachel? Fill out this form and you might hear us tackle your Q!

LISTEN TO THESE EPISODES NEXT

Bonus Book Club! The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (August 2018)

Side Chat: What if you never get what you want? (December 2019)

The magic of thinking like a happily single woman (April 2020)

Side Chat: The 4 Attachment Styles (October 2020)

LINKS

Leave us a comment on this episode

Blog: What to do when you're tired of waiting for the thing you want to show up

Take the Passion Profile Quiz

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Check out our YouTube channel

If you're reading this, congratulations. You made it to the last days of 2020—maybe exhausted, burnt out, lost, confused, and a little worse for wear—but nevertheless, you did it.

And if ever a year needed processing, it's this one. So, in our final episode of the year we're sitting down to work through some feeling and make some confessions.

We got into…

• How the "no expectations for the rest of 2020" challenge went—in an interesting plot twist, Kristen is feeling saltier than Rachel for potentially the first time ever.
• Two confessions from Rachel, one of which she's positive you're going to hate (Kristen sure did!)
• Some VERY helpful do's and don'ts for analyzing how this year went for you.
• A big question to help lift your spirits as we go into 2021.

Leave a comment after you've listened to share how this one landed—there's a lot to unpack!

LAST DAY OF CLARITY IN A TIME OF COVID!

2020 has been a YEAR, and you deserve something good! So, through the end of TODAY (Friday, December 18), you can get access to the super-popular promotion we did during the height of lockdown earlier this year:

Get the Passion Profile Short Course, our intro course that helps you get clear on your career direction in as little as 1 day, for 50% off its usual price ($125 instead of $250). No discount code needed! Price is automatically lower on our site.

Get a single coaching session with one of us! We normally only offer one-off sessions to former clients, but we're now opening this option up to everyone. When you buy a session, we'll reach out within a couple days to schedule it with you (which might end up being in January, depending on availability).

Get both the PPSC and a single coaching session as a bundle! When you check out for either the PPSC or a single session, add the other to your cart as an upgrade. It's $125 for the PPSC, $150 for a single session, or $225 for the bundle!

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