💌 What’s happening this week:

• The ‘unsexy’ side of planning

• Journaling prompt: Your wishlist

• I don’t care to be ambitious anymore

• Monthly review & reset

Y’all - for the past two weeks, I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I’m like, a totally new person, and while it’s actually a lot of work… I’m… kinda… loving it? 😱

You mean, if I get ‘tired of my own shit’ and ‘sick of hearing my own excuses’...

I can actually…

CHOOSE DIFFERENTLY AND MAKE A CHANGE?

🤪🤪🤪

The past two weeks, I’ve been calling my ‘LOCK-IN’ weeks 🔐 because the week after my staycation, I had a lil’ bit of a freak-out moment and thought:

• “OMG, we have 4.5 months left out of the year, and I am NOT where I want to be with my goals.”

• “OMG, mom and dad are right… I’m not applying myself!!”

• “OMG, if I keep up with what I’m doing, it’s not actually setting me up to reach my goals in a timeframe that I want (aka driver’s license and financial goals).”

So, I got sick and tired of my own shit and excuses on why I couldn’t do/be/have XYZ and then woke up and just decided… 

Fuck it, I need to do this.

And not really for anyone else, but just for myself… because I was tired of not honoring MY OWN WORDS TO MYSELF 😭😭😭

So that takes me to where we are now, two weeks of consistently showing up and honoring my word, my goals, and the change I actually want to create… and y’all, it’s been HARD.

I’ve been clocking in more hours to finish work ahead of time for my clients so that I can dedicate time to my YouTube channel again, spending 1hr a day studying for my driver’s license and NOT missing a day, waking up 2ish hrs before I start my work day to exercise, picking up my hobbies or a book after work instead of scrolling, and making plans to get out of the house (instead of holing myself up inside).

And while it’s been hard, it’s also been equally ENJOYABLE!

Which got me thinking about how most of the time we think that implementation and getting started is the hard part of going after our goals, creating change in our lives, or doing something new…

And yes, I do think that the initial step TO start can be hard and uncomfortable… 

But I think that’s actually not the hardest part of the whole process.

Let me explain, the reason why I think starting isn’t the hardest part is because once we’ve started something (albeit scary), there is an initial dopamine hit and sense of pride that WE DID THE THING.

Some of us share that first step on social media, and now the initial dopamine hit gets fed by others validating the courageous first step. We’re celebrating the milestone OF starting (very important, btw, I’m not saying not to celebrate it). The same goes if we share that first step with our closest network, and they’re supporting us and celebrating the fact that we did it! Also important, btw, all for sharing that celebration with your people…

Now that the initial dopamine boost of taking the first step wears off, what happens next?

Because the second time we show up for ourselves and our goals, the third, fourth, fifth, etc. aren’t as exciting…

No one celebrates the ‘same way’ as the first step we took… so the initial pride and excitement we have starts to dwindle, and that’s when the inner critic thoughts and excuses come in…

THIS is what I consider to be the hardest and most ‘unsexy’ part of planning and taking action towards our goals…

🚜🚧THE MAINTENANCE MODE 😫⚠️

And that’s the stage I’m currently in… the maintenance mode of keeping up with this new routine I’ve set for myself, the initial excitement I had to change my life, and keeping the excuses quiet…

For example, on Friday morning, I didn’t get up as early as I had been for the past 2 weeks. Instead, I spent an extra 30min scrolling on my phone… even though I knew that was my morning journaling time.

Then, by the time I got up and did my morning journaling and studied for my driver’s license, I started getting time anxiety because I had a smaller window for my morning walk before a client meeting. Past me would say, “Forget the walk, let’s try and catch up on work and go for a walk later.”

It took A LOT of my own willpower to quiet that old habit of mine to prioritize ‘catching up with work’, and change to take a walk. I didn’t have my 45min walk that I wanted, which old me would’ve said it wasn’t worth it if I couldn’t have that time… but instead I told myself 25min is what we have, so let’s just do it.

By the time I got home for my walk, a few things came up:

1. I’m proud of myself for taking the walk anyway, because my body was craving it and my mental health!

2. I knew scrolling through social media in the morning wasn’t serving me, so this was a reminder that I don’t need to be doing that!

3. Because I let my excuse override what I knew was good for me (scrolling my phone and staying longer in bed vs. getting up early), I lost out on time that I really enjoy (journaling).

4. I can give myself grace for not ‘following the plan’ and adjusting to do better next time.

I think if you are finding that you’re also in maintenance mode with your goals, one of the things that’s helped me most is A LOT of grace and self-compassion to acknowledge I didn’t show up in the best way for myself…

But I have the opportunity to take that and do better next time.

And that’s some powerful stuff - I get to honor myself by doing better next time 💖

✍️ THIS WEEK’S JOURNALING PROMPT

“Braindump a wishlist of things you’d like to purchase by the end of the year.”

Not sure why I had the strange urge this week to braindump an entire wishlist of items I want to buy by the end of the year 😅 But… it helped me prioritize some items that my partner and I want (hello, robot vacuum cleaner!!) and some extra investments for me (ie: I really want to buy a printer…).

Now, I have a very early Christmas wishlist that I can share with my partner and an idea of where I want my finances to go for the remainder of the year when it comes to making large purchases.

💻 THINGS THAT STUCK OUT TO ME ON THE INTERNET

• LIVING A GOOD LIFE: The Washington Post shared this carousel on their IG page on “The Scientifically Proven Way to Live a Good Life” and I love that journaling and recording your experiences is one of them!!

• SIMPLIFIED MONEY ROUTINE: I listened to this episode on the Get Organized HQ Podcast on my morning walk and LOVED the idea of simplifying my money routine and actually setting up a daily one. Such great actionable tips!

• FORGET BEING AMBITIOUS: I shared this reel on IG earlier this week and was surprised that so many people resonated with the idea of ‘not being ambitious’ anymore! Y’all, I just want to leave a good life, without burning myself out for ‘external things’, and spend quality time with my people doing things I enjoy!! Is that so hard?!

🗓 PREPARING FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

🌻 GOODIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

🤝 HOW TO WORK TOGETHER

Want to work together to create time and space for intentional connections? Here are a few ways to do that through marketing support, journaling, and education.

• 📓PLANS TO PROGRESS MEMBERSHIP: A quarterly membership for big dreamers to intentionally plan each month with the accountability to transform your ideas into actionable steps and projects. Join us inside the Lounge here!

• ⭐ SIGNATURE BRAND & WEBSITE DESIGN + COPYWRITING PACKAGE: Get 2 brand strategists on your team to elevate your brand visuals, website, and messaging. We have 2 spots to start this summer. Learn more and apply here.

• 🇪🇸 JOIN ME IN SPAIN!! IN-PERSON PLANNING RETREAT: September 2026. Granada, Spain. 6 days, 5 nights. 10 spots available. Join us for an intentional week of cultural immersion, good food, and intentional time for planning and sharing with a group of like-minded people. Learn more and reserve your spot here.

Just a reminder that in September, I’m switching email platforms and you’ll now be receiving Sunday Reset ☀️ newsletters from my [email protected] email!

And I’ve decided I will be lowering the cadence of these emails to 2x a month (instead of 4), so that I can adjust to my new work schedule at the University and have time to build out my 2 new projects - something I’m really excited about!

So, I’ll see you in two weeks with a fresh August revenue & income review!

Until then…

💖 #stayfierce,
Cassandra