Journal Entries

Things keep piling up. And no matter how many times the promise is made to slow down, it never actually happens.Here's what nobody tells you: taking a break won't fix it if you don't know what's actually driving the overstimulation in the first place. You'll just come back from your week off and fall right back into the same patterns.This journaling session gets you to the root. Four prompts that'll help you figure out if you're even doing things you want to be doing, what staying overstimulated might be protecting you from, and what you'd actually do with your time if you had space to think. No fluff, just the questions that create real shifts.Journal through these prompts:What is overstimulating me right now?Are the things that overstimulate me things I want to be doing? Or did I adopt them from someone else's expectations?Even though I don't want to be overstimulated, I keep finding myself here. What could this pattern be protecting me from?If I wasn't overstimulated and had more space in my brain and my day, what would I love to spend that time and energy doing?You'll finish this session with clarity you can't unsee. And you'll stop spinning in the same cycle of overwhelm, break, repeat.Resources Mentioned:Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-podNewsletter: www.samanthapenkoff.com/promptsWork with me: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 - 4 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoachingConnect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook

You keep telling yourself you'll rest after this project. After the busy season. After you get through this month.But here's what actually happens: you hit your breaking point, book a retreat or take a week off, feel temporarily better — and then you're right back where you started. Overstimulated. Exhausted. Running on fumes again.This episode pulls back the curtain on why we wait until we're desperate to prioritize ourselves, and why those big drastic measures (the retreats, the content courses, the "I'm taking next month off" declarations) aren't actually solving the problem. You'll walk away understanding what's really driving your overstimulation — and three practical ways to regulate your nervous system without needing to escape your life first.Key Takeaways:Why retreats should enhance your life, not be a lifeline to revive youThe question that reveals if you're actually prioritizing yourself (or just decision fatigued)How to stop the cycle of "I'll rest when..." and feel grounded in your actual everyday lifeThree tips to regulate your nervous system right now — no retreat requiredYou'll stop waiting for permission to feel calm. And you'll start trusting that you can feel less overstimulated without blowing up your schedule or booking a flight.Resources Mentioned:Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-podNewsletter: www.samanthapenkoff.com/promptsWork with me: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 - 4 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoachingConnect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook

You've been running on autopilot through the holidays — buying, wrapping, planning, coordinating — because that's what you've always done. But have you ever stopped to ask: why am I doing this?Most working moms don't question it. You just assume it's your job. That if you don't do it, it won't get done (or won't get done right). And honestly? Part of you might not even want to stop — because being the holiday coordinator gives you something. Control. Identity. Proof that you're a good mom.This episode isn't about adding more to your plate. It's about creating awareness around the beliefs that are keeping you exhausted. Strategic Journal Prompts:What would happen if you didn't coordinate everything this year?What are you afraid your family would think, feel, or say if you didn't coordinate everything this year?What does being the holiday coordinator give you? Is it identity, control, or maybe proof that you're a good mom?These prompts might make you uncomfortable. That's the point. This is how you start questioning the beliefs keeping you stuck — and find a way forward that doesn't require burning yourself out to prove your worth.Resources Mentioned:Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-podWork with me: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 - 4 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoachingConnect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook | Reply to my newsletter

You love Christmas. You want to create magic for your kids. But somewhere between the cookie baking and the coordinating and the shoulds, you realize the pressure to make it all perfect is keeping you from actually being present. And that's the thing you wanted most.This episode breaks down the belief driving the exhaustion — and what changes when you stop long enough to ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Do I even enjoy it?Key TakeawaysThe hidden belief behind holiday burnout (and how it shows up on autopilot)What you’re trying to protect when you take responsibility for every detailA simple question to ask before adding one more tradition, event, or expectationHow to create joy without performing perfectionAfter listening, you’ll feel lighter — like you can enjoy the season instead of choreographing it. Press play and give yourself permission to let something be easier this year.Resources Mentioned:Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-podNewsletter: www.samanthapenkoff.com/promptsWork with me: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 - 4 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoachingConnect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook | Reply to my newsletter

You're in a meeting and another woman says something brilliant. Everyone lights up. And you feel... small. Threatened. Like you just got replaced.Or maybe it's simpler than that — you see two women laughing together and your brain goes: they don't need you anymore.It's embarrassing to admit. You're a grown woman. You're successful. You know this is irrational. But the jealousy? The comparison? The exhausting need to prove you're still relevant? It's there. And it's quietly running your friendships, your collaborations, the rooms you avoid walking into.In today's journaling session, we're going straight to the root: the childhood moment that taught you connection = competition. And we're getting it out of your body.Inside the free journaling guide, you'll get:All 7 strategic prompts with space to journal directly in the docBonus prompts on breaking the cycle and identifying where this shows up in your lifeSomatic release practices to rewire your nervous systemNo email required - just click, make a copy, and start journalingGrab the complete guide here: Strategic Journaling to Process & Release Your Sister WoundsThis isn't just awareness work. This is nervous system rewiring so you can stop performing for belonging and start choosing it. Resources Mentioned:Grab the free Google Doc with all 7 prompts + space to journal right in the document (no email required): Strategic Journaling to Process & Release Your Sister WoundsFree Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-podWork with me: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 - 4 open spots: www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoachingConnect with Sam: Instagram | Facebook | Reply to my newsletter