This week's TGIF is inspired by the beautiful and wise lesson from an Irishman:

"See, in life, you’ll encounter this often. We may be looking at the same thing, but what we perceive and then interpret as fact can be quite different. We cannot judge another’s experience or opinions until we see through their lens.”

This week, my friend Dr. Aarti Soorya talked to our team about her holistic health and well-being perspectives. As the founder of Reset Brain and Body, most of what she shared was not new to me; instead, she validated everything Reset is built upon. I told the team - this is our why - this is a call to remember why we exist and operate in the mental health field the way we do. It was inspiring and educational and a great way to spend time together. So today, I want to refresh you, too, on why mental health is, in fact, all about nervous system health.

What resonated with me during that pivotal scene was the affirmation that life is messy. We can be grappling with our own struggles, inadvertently hurting those around us, and still acknowledge that we need to do better. It's a delicate dance of feeling immense emotions while understanding the need for personal growth.

As winter weather wanes, it’s easy to start to neglect those promises we made to ourselves at the start of the year. However, to keep you motivated to keep caring for yourself, I've got something incredibly vital to share with you today – a game-changer that science backs up, and it involves the magic of your morning routine.

And ultimately, our deepest relationships start at home. Where can we all be in more choice to put down the screens and turn towards each other?

Let’s be real- no matter how far mental health destigmatizing has come along, unfortunately there is still a stigma about being “someone who goes to therapy”.

And co-regulation is developed through cultivating calm. How do you get calm? You do the small things, every day, with extreme regularity that regulate your system.

Setting and following through on your own boundaries in life is central to wellbeing, so much so that we made it the number one recipe on this list!

This last year has been about finding my way back to myself. In the last 5 years of becoming a mom, it’s been really hard to remain centered within myself. Add managing a business and two little boys during a pandemic and it’s no wonder I (and most of us) feel a bit frayed.

Children especially should not and do not need to make decisions based on historical bias, gendered narratives, or most importantly, what other people may think.

Now, developmentally kids can be mean as they learn boundaries, press against authority, and work to establish emotional regulation skills. But she mentioned that it feels kids are more reactive and therefore less curious, compassionate, and calm.

So for today, I’m sharing with you my 2022 resolutions. Moreso intentions…purposeful and with a good old determination mixed with lots and lots of grace. I hope that they give you some validation and inspiration and that sharing my intentions for 2022 with you will help keep me accountable!

One, I’ve committed to moving my body every day. Exercise is a happy drug for me, and science repeatedly supports this argument.

Not enough, not enough, not enough.

Make others happy, do what’s best, here to please, take care of.

Do more, work harder, prove, never fail, don’t let it show.

What is coming out?

When you don’t fit the heterosexual and gender binary norms, coming out becomes a process that you do over and over again.

Too often people do not use the tool of therapy or ask for help because they think their problems are not big enough.

I can’t even tell you how many times during the past year I have uttered the statement, “I’m pretty sure going outside has been the only thing that’s kept me sane,” and I mean that with every fiber of my being.

What a different world!

I also think we’ve all learned a lot. Here are the top things I have learned that I hope either resonate with you or can help you, too.