Do you have A LOT going on right now? You keep telling yourself you’re fine — you should be fine — but something still feels heavy?

You’re doing the things, showing up for everyone, checking the boxes… but underneath, you’re tired in a way that gratitude doesn’t fix. Maybe you’ve been carrying stress that no one sees. Maybe there’s a grief you’ve been trying to outrun. Or maybe you’re just exhausted from pretending you’re okay because “other people have it worse.”

Here’s the truth: you can be grateful and still feel overwhelmed. Both can exist. And in this episode, I’m vulnerably sharing the heavy things happening in my life currently + the moment I finally stopped minimizing what I was feeling — and the 2 shifts that helped me breathe again.

You’ll understand:

• Why naming hard things doesn’t make you ungrateful — it makes you honest
• The question that softened my hardest weeks: “How can this be easy?”
• How to stop carrying emotional weight that was never yours in the first place
• The journaling question that helped me see what I was carrying that wasn't mine

After listening, you’ll feel permission to stop “should-ing” yourself into silence and finally honor what’s heavy without getting swallowed by it.

• Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. Click here for details.
• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

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You're physically home, but your brain is still replaying that 2:30 meeting. Again. You're making dinner, but mentally drafting tomorrow's email. Your kid asks you a question and you have to ask them to repeat it—because you weren't actually listening.

You want to be present. You're just not sure how to turn your brain off when there's still so much left undone. This episode is for YOU. It will help you figure out what's actually keeping you mentally at work—and give you permission to let it go

Strategic Journal Prompts:

1. What specific work thought keeps replaying when you're trying to be present at home? Don't just say "everything." Name the exact thing—the decision, the email, the conversation—that follows you home.
2. If you let this go for the evening, what are you afraid would happen? Go to the worst-case scenario. Would you forget something? Would someone think you don't care? Write about the fear beneath the mental replay.
3. Think about the last time you were fully present at home. What was different about your internal state that day? Not just your schedule—but your nervous system. Were you calmer? More confident? What allowed you to be mentally there?
4. What if being present at home is the productive choice? If that were true, what would change? What would you give yourself permission to stop thinking about right now?

This is what one of my clients said after working with me:

"I've finally learned to leave work at work even if work is still stressful. I no longer bring work home with me and I'm a more supportive partner, especially when I don't explode at my husband from misplaced frustration at work."

• Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. Click here for details.
• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

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You're eating the "right" foods. You're trying to take care of yourself. But you're busy AF, still exhausted, your Googling if your hormones might be all over the place, and your kids are having meltdowns over everything...on top of stress at work.

Here's the thing: It's not about eating more protein or cutting carbs. It's about blood sugar — and how the way you start your day is setting you (and your kids) up for chaos. That coffee before breakfast? The banana as a snack? They're quietly sabotaging your hormones, your energy, and even your kids' ability to regulate their emotions. (Believe me, I felt attacked yet so understood since I always start my day with caffeine & no food for 1-2 hours lol.)

But we go way beyond nutrition advice. In today's episode, holistic nutrition expert Stephanie Adler breaks down exactly how blood sugar affects your hormones, why you're so depleted after having kids, and what minerals have to do with all of it. We go DEEP, and she provides her solution for how to slow down & how how to stress less!

You'll understand:

• Why coffee before breakfast is tanking your blood sugar for the entire day (and what to do instead)
• The "naked carbs" rule that will change how you snack — for you and your kids
• How mineral depletion after pregnancy is the real reason you're still tired years later
• What a hair mineral analysis can reveal about your stress, hormones, and inflammation

This isn't another list of things you're doing wrong — it's the missing piece that finally makes everything click.

• Click for Stefanie's website
• Follow Stefanie on IG: @stefanieadlerwellness
• Get 15% off your Hair Mineral Analysis Test w/ code JOURNALENTRIES. Click here for details & discount.
• Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

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When you're drowning in your to-do list, the last thing you need is another task. But what if four quick questions could help you actually breathe again?

You're tired of being everyone's lifeline. 🛟 You're exhausted from keeping all the balls in the air. And somewhere between your overflowing inbox and your kid's forgotten permission slip, you started holding your breath — waiting for something to fall apart.

This episode isn't about gratitude lists or adding more to your plate. It's about using the right questions to shift what's happening inside so you can stop spinning and start seeing clearly.

You'll journal through:

1. What actually feels out of control (and how it's showing up in your body)
2. The real fear underneath trying to hold it all together
3. Where this drowning pattern started—and what you did to survive it back then
4. What you could release today that wouldn't cause the disaster you're imagining

Strategic Journal Prompts (extended in the episode):

• Prompt 1: What feels most out of control in your life right now?
• Prompt 2: If you stopped trying to keep all of these balls in the air, if you just let one drop, what are you terrified would actually happen?
• Prompt 3: Think back to the first time in your life that you remember feeling this same drowning sensation. And the key question: what did you do then to try and stay afloat?
• Prompt 4: Write this at the top of your page: "What if I'm not actually drowning? What if I'm just holding my breath?" What is one thing that you could stop white-knuckling today that wouldn't actually cause the disaster that you fear?

After these four prompts, you'll stop white-knuckling your way through the day. You'll see what you're actually afraid of — and realize you've been holding your breath for no reason.

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94
• Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

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The meditation apps aren't working. The bubble baths feel like another task. That morning routine everyone swears by? You're too exhausted to even start it. And somehow, you're still sitting at your desk at 9pm with your heart racing, completely fried from the day.

My client sent me a screenshot of her Oura Ring Results last month — during our one-hour coaching call, her stress level dropped to "restored." The lowest it had been all day. We weren't meditating or doing breathing exercises. We were talking about company policies, team structure, and how to stop putting out fires at work. Her nervous system regulated while we strategized the hard stuff.

After listening, You'll then know:

• Why your body stays in fight-or-flight even when you're "doing everything right"
• The two gut fears that keep you from getting the support you actually need
• How to stop making decisions from overwhelm (so your nervous system can finally exhale)

Stop blaming yourself for not meditating enough — and start addressing what's actually keeping your stress high.

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94
• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

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You wake up tired. You go to bed tired. And somehow, between those two points, you’re still holding it all together — work, kids, home, expectations — even though your body keeps whispering, “I can’t do this anymore.”

If you’ve been pushing through the fog and telling yourself you’ll rest “after this week,” this one’s for you. Burnout isn’t just about doing too much; it’s about carrying too much alone. And when you’re in survival mode, rest can feel impossible — or even unsafe.

In today's journal session, you’ll get space to pause and reconnect with yourself — not to fix the burnout overnight, but to finally name what’s really draining you and what you actually need. These prompts are designed to help you see the emotional patterns underneath the exhaustion, not just the packed calendar.

Journal Prompts:

• What specific moments this week made you feel the most depleted?
• If your burnout disappeared tomorrow, what would need to change — and what feelings might surface if it did?
• What would shift if you only gave 70% instead of 110% for the next three days?

Press play, grab your journal, and give yourself 10 minutes to breathe again.

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94
• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching
• Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call

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You've tried the probiotics. The massage appointments. The elimination diet. The therapy. You left the toxic relationship months (or years) ago. So why is your body still a mess?

Here's what nobody tells you: your body remembers what your mind wants to forget. Those chronic symptoms you can't shake? The digestive issues, the tension that won't release, the pain that moves around for no reason? Your body isn't broken. It's trying to tell you something.

In today's episode, I'm speaking with Maura Eliza about the mind-body connection most doctors don't understand — and why healing your nervous system might be the missing piece you've been looking for.

What You’ll Reflect On:

• Why symptoms can be messengers (not malfunctions) — and what they're actually trying to tell you
• How unresolved trauma from a toxic relationship can create physical symptoms that won't respond to traditional treatment
• What German New Medicine reveals about the real root cause of chronic health issues
• How to start listening to your body differently (instead of fighting it)

After this episode, you'll stop thinking your body is attacking you — and start seeing it as an ally trying to get your attention. And that shift changes everything. Don't forget to Tag us on Instagram if this episode hits different. We see you.

• Connect with Maura: https://www.instagram.com/flex.health.with.maura
• The Vibrant Way program — https://thevibrantway.com/
• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later. https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94
• Private Coaching - 2 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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You finally did the thing — got the promotion, hit the goal, made it through another hard week — but instead of feeling proud, you're already asking, "What's next?" Why is it so hard to just pause and celebrate yourself?

My client Kristi became CFO after 3 years of working toward it. When she told me, she said, "So I guess that means I'm officially the CFO"—like she'd just completed another Tuesday task. No excitement. No pride. Just... what's next?

If you're someone who keeps raising the bar higher every time you reach it, you're not alone. Most high-achieving women were taught that humility and hustle matter more than satisfaction. So even when you've earned the right to rest or be proud, it feels... uncomfortable. Like celebrating might make you lazy, or ungrateful, or seen as "too much."

1. What’s the last thing you accomplished that you didn’t celebrate?
2. When you think about celebrating it, what thought immediately follows?
3. If your child achieved the same thing, what would you tell them to believe about their worth?
4. What are you afraid might happen if you actually celebrated your wins?

These 10 minutes will help you see how the pattern started—and what it's costing you. Not just celebration, but the ability to feel successful no matter what you accomplish.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: (We get to the root of what keeps you performing instead of enjoying. You leave with a custom plan to feel fulfilled at work and present at home. Plus a 30-minute follow-up call 2 weeks later.) https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching - 2 spots left: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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You love your kids more than anything… but sometimes it feels like every ounce of energy you pour into them leaves nothing for you. And on the rare days you do want to focus on yourself — a class, a coach, even just quiet time — that whisper of guilt shows up: “Shouldn’t I be doing something for them...or for work...instead?”

Most women I work with tell me they feel selfish spending money or time on themselves. But what if investing in your own leadership, clarity, and growth is actually the most selfless thing you could do? Not because it sounds good, but because it literally ripples into every area of your life.

In this episode (celebrating 3 years of Journal Entries!), you'll hear:

• Why the "selfish vs. selfless" question is the wrong one to ask
• The two types of fear (and which one means you should actually say yes)
• How my $2,500/month business coach investment led to this podcast existing
• The Bali retreat I didn't take — and why I still think about it

After listening, you'll stop apologizing for wanting more. You'll see that investing in yourself isn't taking from your family or team — it's giving them the best version of you.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• 90 min Breakthrough Intensives: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching - 2 spots left: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

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You keep telling yourself you should be excited — the holidays are coming, right? But instead of peace or joy, it just feels like one long performance. Like no matter how early you start or how much you cross off the list, you’re still on all the time.

You’re managing a dozen invisible jobs — gifts, kids, deadlines, emotions — while trying to be grateful and present. You want to slow down, but your brain doesn’t know how to stop running ahead. The pressure to make everyone else’s season special is stealing the calm you keep promising yourself.

Strategic Journal Prompts:

1. Who am I trying to be for everyone else right now — and what’s it costing me?
2. What would I actually choose to do if no one expected anything?
3. Where do I stay busy as proof that I’m fine?
4. What does being present look like for me this season — not just in theory, but in practice?

After journaling through these prompts, you'll understand why you can't seem to turn off—and that awareness alone will help you stop going through the motions and start actually being there. Don't forget to DM me on Instagram (samantha.s.says) or email me ([email protected]) and tell me what came up for you — I love hearing what these prompts unlock for you.

• Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
• Breakthrough Intensives: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94

• Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private coaching: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook | Reply to my newsletter