Finding Direction in Life: 4 Books for When You Don’t Know What’s Next

Four books this month, and I didn’t set out to pick a theme. Somewhere around the third one, I realized they were all pushing against the same idea: that you’re supposed to know exactly where you’re going before you start. I’ve spent enough of my life thinking I needed to figure things out first. These … Read more

How to Know When It’s Time to Quit Something

I’ve stayed with things longer than I should have simply because I’d already put so much time into them. Years ago, I decided to try selling some of the things I made at craft fairs. I spent weeks making inventory and getting everything ready for the first one. I hated it. Not making things. I … Read more

It All Stacks — Every Day You’re Building Something

Coffee Outside in the early morning

Almost every morning — or evening, or somewhere in between — there’s a version of the same conversation. Maybe I skip the walk today and just have coffee. Maybe I work on the project tomorrow instead. Maybe we stay home tonight because it’s been a long week. Maybe the dishes can wait. Tomorrow will be … Read more

Why Can’t I Start? (Even When I Finally Have Time)

Handwritten journal open on a dining table with a full list across life areas — the starting point for getting unstuck

I had days off and a list. Real plans — things I actually wanted to do. I finally had the time. And I still couldn’t start. Why can’t I start when everything is lined up? That’s the question this long weekend answered for me. The list was there. I was there. And somehow the distance … Read more

Stop Living a Life You Never Actually Chose

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park — where big trees have a way of putting things in perspective.

I spent years accumulating a life, and then I spent years quietly letting pieces of it go — without ever calling it that. I started as a secretary. Moved through accounting, became a controller, and then — gradually, for reasons that made sense at the time — stepped back. Part-time. Assistant work. Full charge bookkeeping. … Read more

You Don’t Need Better Goals. You Need a Direction

A tree-lined road stretching forward — finding direction in life one ordinary day at a time.

For most of my adult life, I thought having goals meant I had direction. I always had a list — career goals, health goals, financial goals, trips we kept saying we’d take someday. Some years I hit them. Some years I didn’t. Either way, January would arrive and I’d start over, because that’s what you’re … Read more

How to Build Momentum Without Burnout: My April Reading List

April is where people start pushing again. More movement. More plans. More energy. And with that comes the quiet pressure to do more than you actually need to. To catch up. To use the momentum. To not waste the season. This is where people burn out. Not because they’re doing nothing—but because they don’t know … Read more

Why You Feel Restless Even When Life Is Actually Good

A sun-drenched dirt path winding through a dense forest of tall redwood trees and green ferns, symbolizing a steady journey forward.

There’s a specific kind of restlessness that only shows up when things are finally working. Not when life is hard. Not when something needs fixing. When things are actually stable — routines holding, work manageable, relationships okay, health steady — and you look up and feel this low-grade urge to disrupt all of it. You … Read more

March Reading List: 4 Books That Make You Want to Move Again

March Reading

This March reading list is built for a very specific moment in the year. March is a strange month. You’re not in winter survival mode anymore — but you’re not at full momentum either. The days get longer.Your body starts asking to move again.But pushing too hard too fast is usually what burns people out. … Read more