Hi, and welcome to the awfully quiet podcast. I really hope you're enjoying some blissful quiet time right now, because this week that strange floaty, what day is it again, stretch between Christmas and New Year's, has always felt a little magical to me. It's as if the world collectively loses its sense of urgency.

Things slow down, get softer, quieter. And you know what? That is our time to thrive. So where I hope this podcast finds you today, is somewhere in between. Between elaborate family meals and lazy couch marathons of Christmas movies. Between not attending team's calls and not meeting deadlines. Somewhere between the old year and the new one.

The in between can be a beautiful place to be, but I know it can also feel daunting. So let me hold space for you in this moment. Let's release some of that tension. Guide where your mind goes. Nudge it in a direction that feels grounded, inspiring, and maybe even a little rebellious. Because the world right now, it's gearing up for that new year, new me rush.

The blank slate, fresh start, glow up, level up mania. And I get it. I love a blank page too. Starting a fresh notebook, the crisp promise of a clean canvas, that electric, overwhelming mix of new year new me energy that can feel like a sugar rush. I am no stranger to the pull of reinvention. I want the glow up, the level up, the next chapter, just as much as the next person.

But this year, I think I finally cracked the code on what that actually means. It's not about becoming a new me. It's about reconnecting with the version of me that feels truest, the purest, the me that existed before the world handed me a checklist of ways to be better. In a way, it's not about moving forward at all.

It's about turning back to the version of yourself you've quietly drifted away from. The version you left behind when you started meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, adjusting, adapting, getting louder, showing up, and putting yourself out there. Because that's what you thought better was supposed to look like.

But maybe the best version of you has been there all along. You just forgot how to trust it. You know that saying, be who you were before all that stuff happened that dimmed your fucking shine. That's my mantra for 2025. So, What I want you to do is ditch the new you this year. Trust the you that has always been there.

When we think new year new me, we look for clues outside ourselves. The way we look, the way we move, the way we show up. But the real answers, they're inward, always have been. So I want to use this in between time today. This quiet, this pause is our time to thrive. Not by rushing forward, not by chasing resolutions, but by slowing down just enough to hear what's already inside of us.

So I invite you to make this moment yours. Find a spot that feels good. Your bed, your favorite chair, even a corner of the room where you can just be. Let yourself sink into the space. Feel the support beneath you. Let it hold you. And then slowly close your eyes.

Let the world outside soften. Let the edges blur. Take a deep breath in.

Fill your lungs up completely, and as you exhale, imagine releasing the weight of the year behind you.

The to do lists, the deadlines, the unspoken pressures. It's all dissolving, melting away with each breath. Let yourself arrive here now.

And then let's start with a question. Who are you when no one is looking? Not the version of you that shows up at work or with friends or even family, but the version of you that exists when it's just you. Think about a time when you felt completely in sync with yourself. Maybe it was a moment of quiet pride, finishing something meaningful.

Even if no one noticed. Or a moment when you said no to something because you knew it wasn't for you. Or maybe it's simpler than that. A time when you just sat in your own company and felt great. Let yourself go there for a moment. What did it feel like? What were you doing or not doing? that made you feel so purely yourself.

Breathe into that memory. Let it settle in your chest. Now let's

go back a little further. Can you remember a time before the world told you who to be? Maybe it's a version of you from childhood. Curious, unguarded, full of life in a way that didn't ask for permission. Or maybe it's not even that far back. Just a moment before you adjusted, adapted, or edited yourself to fit.

What did that version of you love? What lit you up? What was your energy like? When you weren't trying to be more, do more, or prove yourself, breathe into that. Let yourself remember

that version of you hasn't disappeared. They've just been waiting for you to look their way again.

Take another deep breath in, and as you exhale, I want you to let this question settle in your mind. What if you're already enough? Not enough as in good enough to meet some standard, but enough simply because you are. Feel the weight of that. You don't need to transform. You don't need to blow up. You don't need to level up.

All those expectations, all that noise telling you to be a better version of yourself. That is not where the magic is. The magic is in reconnecting with what's already there. Take another deep breath into your belly.

And as you exhale, let go of the idea that you need to chase anything outside yourself.

Now slowly bring yourself back to this moment. Feel the surface beneath you. Wiggle your fingers, your toes, let yourself stretch if that feels good. And when you're ready, open your eyes.

And as you do, carry this truth with you. You don't need to become someone else to step into the new year. You're not starting over. You're stepping forward, fully, as you are. I wish you all the best in the world for 2025. Happy new year. I can't wait to be there every step along the way. And I can't wait to be awfully quiet with you.