My 41st Birthday Wishes: How I’m Celebrating & What I’m Manifesting
Let's talk about what I’m celebrating, cultivating, releasing, and receiving as I turn 41. We’re revisiting goals from way back when (2010!!), setting fresh intentions, manifesting shoes, finding fun in marriage, and remembering to adore the reflection in the mirror.
Links mentioned
schedule a 1:1 session → book An Hour of Answers
get on the AYOY waitlist → next enrollment: spring 2026
say hiiii on Instagram → DM me @kaileenelise
8 minute journaling practice → free journal with intuition workshop
blog post from 2010 that I mentioned → Looking Back to Look Forward
More birthday inspiration: listen to past episodes
I’ve been recording “birthday wishes” podcast episodes since 2021. Travel through the archives to find inspiration for an upcoming birthday or another kind of new beginning.
After freaking out about turning 40, I stepped into this new decade feeling sweeter than ever about life. We’re talking milestones, divine timing, and unexpected lights turning on at 2am.
Episode 196 from July 24, 2025
Listen here / Apple / Spotify
I turned 38 last week! To celebrate, I’m reflecting back on the past year of being 37 and sharing my intentions for the year ahead. I’m sharing my personal updates and insights, along with inspiration for doing this practice in your own life.
My birthday is coming up, so today I’m sharing a personal update with reflections on being 35 and the intentions I’m setting for being 36.
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Listen to Episode 224 of Celebrate Cultivate
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Hello, you are listening to Celebrate Cultivate. I am your host intuition coach and voice in your earbuds, Kaileen Elise Sues. This is a special episode as we are celebrating my 41st birthday. My actual birthday is on March 29th, and today we are going to talk through what I'm celebrating, cultivating, releasing, and receiving for this very special birthday occasion.
When I think about turning 41, there's just like so much less pressure and mental thought around it than what I was feeling when I was about ready to turn 40. I will link to a few things in the show notes when I was posting and talking about my 40th birthday if you are in need of inspiration or want to go back and visit that.
But for turning 41, you know, it just feels a little bit more like me. A little more settled in. I am not feeling any sort of pressure to have a big party or do a big thing. I'm gonna probably just get a hotel room at my favorite hotel here in Austin and maybe do a nice dinner or something, but nothing, nothing huge.
And so that pressure to like have a party or do a thing just isn't there. I am very much enjoying life right now. My big goal for the year was to live life as if I enjoy it because I do. And so I'm really just trying to embody that as much as possible this calendar year. And when I think about 41, I, I do want to kind of use this birthday time as a way to focus and.
Find what feels good and feels like flow to me, and those, those questions that, what are you celebrating? What are you cultivating? What are you releasing? What are you receiving? Those are questions I ask the folks in a year of view. All of the time that those are questions that when you do a year in review with me through the blog or if you listen to that podcast episode, those are the questions that we ask.
Like that's just, these are the anchor questions that I just enjoy. I find they provide so much insight and guidance and like enough of enough, like it's enough to just look at that. But also because I like to do a little extra sometimes I was doing research and like gathering things for that episode I did about what is the difference between setting intentions and setting goals.
And I don't really think I got into it in the podcast that much, but when I was looking through, I found this goal sheet from my journal. That I wrote for the second half of 2010. I'll link to that post in the the show notes for today because I just scanned in a copy of this like sheet from my journal.
And I used to love this particular journal, like even just looking at the pages that I scanned this in. I don't even know when, how, or why I have a digital copy of it is Beyond Me, but. I almost wanna just read you what these goals were in 2010. I was 25 years old, now I'm turning 41. So some of these things are very different, but some of 'em are like so similar to where I am now and like what I want for my life, which is both a sense of.
Good and bad, I think, you know, depending on how you slice it. So the first thing I wrote is connect with my inner yoga instructor, swim coach, teacher, parent, and best friend and spiritual guide. Rewrite the stories I tell myself and replay positive, healthy, and happy thoughts in my mind. If we are looking for a sense of.
Progress in my life. Here is certainly one. The, the inner like teacher, the inner guide is who we spend so much time connecting to. In my work with my clients, I help them access their inner voice and their inner wisdom. And then in my own practice of my living, my everyday life, I really do feel like I am leading myself in so many ways.
And even in just the last year, I have found myself kind of pulling apart like. Who I am following and whose guidance I'm trusting and really coming back to myself more and more, but also admitting when I don't know everything. 'cause obviously I don't, but this, I would say I feel pretty good about having achieved that.
We're gonna call it a celebration. Like I really do feel like this is something I'm, I'm not necessarily, I'm cultivating it because it's something I am in active practice of still doing, which is like. Yeah, not telling myself bad stories about myself, but really focusing on the positive and the healthy and the happy thoughts.
And not to be toxic positivity, but just to, to be, uh. Like we were talking about in the last episode, that self mothering, that self guiding, that self-love and self support from a real authentic place. Which brings me to the next goal, actually practice self love with plenty of sleep, hydration, healthy foods, great workouts, fun shopping trips, and lots of yoga.
Love the woman I see in the mirror. I mean the woman that I saw in the mirror when I was. 25 and the woman I see in the mirror now at 41, there is some stark differences to our appearance. I certainly do look older. I don't have any, any Botox, any filler, any of that stuff. I'm barely, I couldn't even tell you the last time I went to get a facial, but, and, and body-wise, obviously I've been through a lot since 2010.
In my body, I've had. Three kids. I've had some major back issues, but I do feel like I get plenty of sleep before a mother of three. Hydration is no longer on my to-do list. I eat pretty healthy and I enjoy the food that I eat for the most part. I'm working out consistently now, so we're calling that a huge win.
Fun shopping trips. I just, I love that for myself then, and now I'm not doing yoga. That's an interesting thing to, maybe I don't even, I don't feel the desire to like revisit that or or go back to yoga anytime soon. But the idea of loving the woman I see in the mirror is something I would really like to cultivate this year is just really loving that reflection.
The same way I wanna live my life as if I love it. I wanna lick at myself as if I love myself because I do. But I have certainly felt a lot more criticism. In my own little universe of me around my appearance. Like my hair isn't as full or as long as I would want, my skin isn't as fresh and plump as I would want, but other places are too plump.
And you know, it's just like the idea that I. Can only do so much and I only desire to do so much in my life. And that like the real work for me in this moment is to continue to do the healthy habits that I have, that I have cultivated, that I trust and honor and know that are right, but also to the, the real work is just to like love who I am in this moment.
And one of the things that does help with that. Is the little time travel thing that we do so often, which is, you know, connecting to the past versions of yourself and the future versions of yourself. If I were to ask my 25-year-old self to like sit next to me and have a conversation with how I look now, I think she'd be really proud.
I think she would love me. I think, I don't think she'd be embarrassed. I don't think she'd be ashamed. I think she'd be like you. Look so good and I love you so much and I think my 88-year-old self, like I know for sure, she is totally pleased with my appearance and she's like, your appearance is not everything, so don't worry about it so much.
Just love yourself. Love yourself. So loving the woman I see in the mirror, definitely in the. Cultivate category for this 41st birthday, and I hope that I can come back a year from now and report back that I have embodied that over this year. The next little goal on my list was to continue to build a loving, romantic joy infused, fulfilling an overall awesome relationship with my mister.
Which is what I used to call Adam, my husband. He was certainly not my husband then. He was who I was dating, and I just love this. For us, I love, I think it's like so cute. All of the adjectives, you know, the, the connection that we have, I feel like is such a long standing, strong foundation, though the word I don't see in this list that I would like to.
Cultivate this year is fun. I would like to have more fun with my partner because having three little kids running my own business, him having a very demanding job, us being people who like to travel, like there are just the divide and conquer ness of our weekends and the active lives that our children are starting to have.
Like there's just so much happening. A lot of it is really, really fun. And we just had a, a few weekends ago, an awesome, awesome day where Merri went to her first swim meet, which was huge because I grew up swimming, I swam in college. Swimming was like my entire identity for so long, and I don't wanna be one of those parents that's like, well, I swam so my children will swim, but.
The fact that she has an interest that she went to her first meet, that she actually liked it and it that it was so fun and just like being at the pool and experiencing something so familiar to me. But as a mother, it was a huge moment. Like I was on the verge of tears. All day. Just from like this sense of like, I don't even know.
It just like, it was so exciting, you know? And the fact that it went well was certainly a plus. And then I had Neil with me, our 4-year-old, so he tagged along and was just the sweetest little cheerleader and supporter. And, uh, I mean, he was such a trooper through the whole day. And after we finished the meet, we met up with Adam.
And our oldest Owen, who was at a three day chess tournament, and we caught his final game, which you don't actually get to watch the game, so we just like waited for him to come out. But he won his last game, so he won all three of his games that day. And then all five of us went to dinner afterwards and it was just like.
Such a fun day. Obviously a preview of all of the, the demands that may happen as we get pulled in different directions as a family with three active children. Hopefully Neil just does swimming or does chess. That way we don't have to grow a third human. To, to support all of us, but it was, it was so fun and I had a lot of fun with the kids, but I also had fun with Adam.
So I hope to cultivate this year more fun in my relationship with Adam and just really being in the moment and appreciating the good times that we do have because there are so many other. Times that are challenging and stressful and just being that sense of like being spread so thin. So that's my, my cultivate there.
My next point is to increase my net worth, break free from credit card debt and parent loans, make future minded purchases and enjoy saving, which is definitely 25 years old. Coded for me. I was in a very different financial situation at 25 as I am. So we'll just call that celebrate. I feel really solid and happy with, with where I am in my own experience of my own finances, which was like a huge, a huge thing for so long.
I feel super fortunate. Obviously very, very privileged to have the, the support that we have in, in our family's finances. But I think for, for me, in, in that category, it now very much plays into where I am in my. Business and my. Business has struggled to be profitable in past years, but I feel really positive about the choices that I've been making this year and, and last year.
Also very future minded. So we're gonna call this a celebrate, and I do hope to continue to enjoy saving money in my business and letting that grow over time. So that's certainly a, a goal for me this year, which. You know, flows really nicely into the next one, which was to develop a razor sharp focus for kaleen elise.com.
Post regularly and with a plan, connect with readers. Start a new project and complete it. It's so funny because I. I wrote this in 2010 and it is now 2026, and in all of this time I have, you know, had my website and it has, it has grown, it has been with me, it has changed. It has evolved over time and I feel really.
Solid about the podcast. I feel really happy with my coaching practice and all of the amazing clients that I work with. All of you in a year of you, which by the way, if you are interested in learning more about a year of you, I'm not going to like go into all of the promo of it right now 'cause this episode is about my birthday.
But. If you are interested in getting support with me, if you are interested in, in working with me, in listening to your inner voice, in your daily life, in your work, in your motherhood, in the expression of you, for a full year, a year of you is the place to be. And there's only three spots available this season.
So if you wanna get in and start with me in the spring, now is the time the group in a year of you right now is. Amazing. You will love them so much. There's such a, like, variety of women in there anyways, I, I feel like that razor sharp focus that I had has brought me to this point. But one thing that I do really want to cultivate is a.
Uh, a more consistent output of content via Instagram and my email newsletter. I want to get to a point where it's just part of my creative expression and my marketing practice, and I'm not exactly sure how I. Marry the two. So I am receiving some inspiration on that because I just think where I am in my life right now, having creative practice, having marketing output, like connecting with you, I've been so resistant to the idea of considering myself like a content creator.
But I do create a lot of content and I've also been very worried. Unnecessarily that when I put things out there that it's adding to the noise and I just don't think that what I share actually does add to the noise. I think if anything, one of my intention is is to help you. Mute the noise, turn down the volume on the noise.
I think my content and the things that I share help with that. So I've been very like, what am I doing? What, what do I, you know, just like very wishy-washy and, and there's been an inner battle happening and I, I feel a clarity around it in a way that I haven't in a long time, which is that. Like, it's not my responsibility to n to share less, so there's less noise for you and for the community that I have online.
It's like my presence is a way to combat that noise, to tune back into yourself, to remember that living in alignment with your intuition is a worthwhile endeavor. It's not easy. It doesn't always just happen automatically. We gotta like. Work for these things and working for these things is meaningful.
It matters, and being. In practice of that and sharing that with you, I think is, is a worthwhile thing to do. So last item on this 2010 goal sheet that we're just like repurposing for 2026. I love this, is to develop a consistently focused pace at work. This is when I worked a corporate job, deliver results ahead of schedule, carry a positive attitude, be confident.
I mean, I just love her. So funny because same, I, I want this now, like it's just, it is what I want now. I wanna have a consistent pace at work. I want to be ahead of my own schedule that I set for myself. I wanna be a positive presence in your lives and in my own life. And I wanna be confident. And I feel like that is an area where I, that isn't like a.
A goal anymore. Like I do feel very confident in what I do, but sometimes I do get sucked into that little wishy-washy mind trap that I was just talking about. So I feel like this was a fun little exercise way to look back in time and be like, yep, I'm still me. And even at 41, the goals that I had for myself at, at 25, a lot of 'em.
Still stand, but there's a different, a different flavor now as I, you know, think back on what we just talked through. Lots of celebrating and lots of cultivating, but I didn't really get into like what I'm releasing, what I'm receiving. I feel like the, the releasing, you know, all of that like. Yucky body drama, feeling like, oh, I'm aging.
That whole idea of like anti, I'm looking right now at my desk, gorgeous desk. I have hand cream in my little pen cup and it like right there is like anti-aging. Like why, why, why anti-aging? Like. The, the goal isn't to resist the passing of time. The goal is to be pleased with myself, and so I would like to moisturize my hands and I would like to be happy with, with where I am when it comes to my face and my body and all of that.
So that's definitely releasing the drama, receiving. Feeling good about all of that. Also just releasing some of that. Oh, there's this one habit that I have that is so annoying and I feel like I've talked about this enough already to have released it, but it's still unraveling, which is, you know, I like to check on my progress a lot.
It's as if, you know, when you're on a weightless loss journey and you, you step on the scale a hundred times in one day, it really does take the joy out of losing a pound. If you watch it tick down, you know, every ounce on its way down. There's so much more joy, I believe, and in my personal experience, it is way more fun to be like, oh my gosh, I lost.
Three pounds, you know, like, so when that translates to work or to, you know, connections or anything, like just giving myself. Less busy work on checking on progress and allowing things to happen in their own time, in their own ways without me micromanaging that is I'm releasing. I'm releasing that desire to double check and triple check and monitor progress and receiving excitement and joy and enthusiasm in the progress.
When I think about like turning 41, I don't have like this big list of things that I want, you know, like a, a new bag or new shoe. I definitely need new shoes. I have. I feel, I feel a deep need to, to buy some shoes. So maybe that's in the receiving categories, cute shoes that actually feel good when I put them on my feet.
The last few times I've shopped for shoes, it has not gone well. I've had a big intention to purchase shoes, and then like everything I try on, I either hate the way it looks or I hate the way it feels. So I would love to receive some. Super cute shoes that are tolerable on my feet. I'm not looking for like pillow level comfort in a, in a fashion shoe, but that would be something I would like to receive.
My, my list of things that I wanna receive is, is actually just, you know, receiving more, not more, but like receiving just. Love, abundance, magic, beauty, but in no measurable quantity. Just I think receiving what comes my way and trusting that what comes my way is for me and actually letting myself receive is probably my, my receiving And a good example of that, and this is probably where, where we're wrap up, but I, I'm reaching on my desk.
Okay. Sorry. I recently went to my favorite coffee shop that I go to pretty much every single day, and they have like a little merch area. Set up as you're standing in line. So there were these brand new candles in the little where I was standing, which most of the time I'm not waiting in line. So it was just like kismet that I, I found these and there was a whole collection of them, but I, I smelled one and it smelled so good.
I love a woodsy smell, and the, the scent on this one is bergamot oud. Is that how you say that? Wood, basil, vanilla, the name of the candle is Carlina. And then it has this, like on the side of the box it says, Carlina soft gold meets shadowed calm, warmth unfolding without efforts. And I all really feel like it was like.
A spell cast upon me, like I was like, this is my candle. I must have it soft gold meets shadowed calm, warmth, unfolding without effort like that is, that is my mantra for this year. That is what I want, is shadowed, calm, warmth, unfolding without effort. Soft gold, like I just love that so much. So if this in all in any way inspires you to look at what you're celebrating, cultivating, releasing, and receiving for the season, 'cause obviously Spring is upon us.
Or if it's something that you'll save to come back to when you turn 41 or maybe when you have a birthday coming up, or maybe it's just a good way for you to kind of revisit, you know, where you were when you were 41. I just hope that you take a little bit of inspiration from this. Chat this conversation today.
If you are interested in working with me right now, my schedule's pretty booked for one-on-one sessions. I think I might not have any openings until May, but definitely get on the calendar that way you're, you're on there and if you want to work with me sooner or in a more regular sustained way, then check out a year of review.
It is. A program I've been running for several years now. It is a commitment to yourself that you're gonna live with intuition. In all those different areas of your life, but you're not gonna have to do it alone. You're not gonna have to figure that out on your own. I'm with you every step of the way with practices and prompts, with guidance, with coaching calls that we have twice a month with the group, but then we also have one-on-one sessions every season.
You can check it all out on the website, or I'll link to it in the show notes. If you are interested and have questions, send me a message, and if you want to give me a birthday gift, leave a review for the podcast. I don't think we've had any new reviews on the podcast in years. But I do see that there are downloads happening every single week as the show comes out.
So I know you're there. I know you're listening, and if you haven't left a review for the podcast yet, a birthday is a great occasion to do so. So thank you so much for listening. I will be back again with a new episode next week. We've got our monthly visioning practice for April, so stay tuned for that.
And thank you for joining me and celebrating my birthday. Goodbye.
You name it. There's all these times in our lives when we are just bubbling with enthusiasm and fresh ideas, and then we go back to regular life and the normal rhythms of things without ever really putting that inspiration. Into action. And this isn't just you, of course, it is also me, and I believe it's one of the reasons why so many of us are in a constant state of signing up for courses, joining programs, and then never finishing them.
I as somebody who holds courses, who runs programs, I feel the pain so acutely when I too sign up for something and don't show up with my whole self or my whole heart. I don't do it to the level that I wanted to, or I just straight up, don't even start, don't finish it. I think it's. Because we're all kind of addicted to the feeling of being inspired, like that is a very sparkly, enjoyable feeling.
We love a quick hit of insights and. You know, the other side of that is like when it comes to actually implementing change, that's a lot harder. It's boring a lot of times. It's like a little bit of just, you know, the basic work. And even if change doesn't feel exactly impossible, like, you know, you can make the change, you know, you can implement.
It still feels like it's gonna take a lot of patience and a lot of time, which again, sometimes it doesn't actually take as much time as we imagine, but we don't even give ourselves that time because it's not a sparkly, right? So it's so much easier to just sign up for another class or find a new solution.
Another quick hit of insight instead of really doing the work. So for today, I'm gonna share my personal, like my takeaways from the spring forward workshop that I held live last month, and I'm gonna talk through how I'm applying them to my life. If you were in Spring forward, this is gonna be a great continuation of the conversations that we had there.
And if you didn't join, my hope is that this episode is gonna give you enough of what you need to spring forward into the rest of the season. So it might. Make you wanna take the workshop, and if you want to, you can still sign up through the end of April. I'm gonna keep it open and then I'm gonna close it.
It's $198 and you'll get immediate access to the call recordings, to the worksheets, the guided meditations, everything in the platform. You still get my responses and feedback if you answer the questions in the platform. So you'll walk away with super clear. Desires in work, health and self, you're gonna release what's holding you back and you'll have a plan to call it in.
So you can do that, right? Or you could just listen to this episode and I think you're gonna take away a lot from just this conversation. It's, you know, I'm gonna talk you through all of it right now as much as I can in an episode. So as you're listening to this, it. This conversation is landing in your phone on April 9th.
Spring break is over. We are back from our family trip to Disneyland. We had an amazing time riding all the rides, eating yummy treats, and celebrating my mother-in-law. Brenda's 70th. Birthday and not to be one of those like super annoying birthday people, but I am still celebrating my birthday. I have a styling session booked tomorrow with my stylist here in Austin.
Her name is Natalie Frazier. Dinner planned with a group of girls tomorrow night, plus my bestie Christie Lepley is coming back to Austin in less than three weeks. If you are not already following Christie on Instagram and wanna know about all things investing and finance. As moms, give her a follow over on Instagram.
She's at Moms Who Invest. Okay, so there's like a lot of things going on right now, and I know the same is true for you. We have folks in the community who are looking for new jobs, launching new businesses, developing programs, recovering from spring break travel, which feels like honestly it takes forever to do, and.
Amongst all of that, you're getting back into healthy eating and working out all while trying to find this elusive thing called balance, which is truly a theme around here lately. It came up in both our March and April intuitive card readings and honestly that like. Wanting to take inspiration and put it into action is also a form of balance.
Because when we are inspired and we have all those sparks and ideas, it, if we just leave it, if we just go back to our everyday lives, it leaves an imbalance. It leaves these cravings, these wantings, these future possibilities, and it just kind of like lets them. Atrophy. And linger. And disappear. So finding a way to put inspiration into action is really important for feeling like.
Your time that you're spending at these workshops and courses and things, like it's worth it. You know, it's not just enough to be inspired or maybe it is. Maybe that's the thing, like maybe it is enough and you're happy with that. But for me personally, oftentimes that spark of inspiration isn't enough.
It leaves me wanting more. Leaves me feeling like I should be able to make a change, but then I'm not really giving myself the time and the intention to change. So, a little bit of a backstory here about this idea of turning inspiration into action in 2013. So a long time ago I left my corporate job in HR and recruiting to help my dad launch his business, which is called Happy Living.
And over the years it has evolved and shifted and changed. But when we first started, we were attending a lot of conferences and trying to get the word out about what he was doing over at Happy Living. And one of the things we noticed was. The same issue at conferences is that you'd get all these bits of inspiration and then you'd just get back home and live regular life.
And so as inspiration from that, we created a platform that he could speak on, and he gave talks at conferences about turning inspiration into action. And he even went on to write a book about it, which I wasn't. Involved with, but I was certainly involved in those conversations and helping formulate this idea and get him in those speaking gigs and that sort of thing.
And this was a long time ago. Obviously I love my dad and we have a lot of similarities between us. Like he has a business called Happy Living, which isn't too far off of like what we're trying to do here, which is live. Happily. He's got a podcast. I have a podcast. We both are. I don't know if he would consider himself a coach.
I don't really know how he like defines himself, but we have pretty different vibes and very different approaches, so. I want to kind of just like say the thing, which is that this is maybe inspired by some of those seeds that were planted, but if you do a quick Google search, there's lots of people searching for answers and creating content around this topic of turning inspiration and putting it into action.
And I. My takeaway from that is that we're not alone in this struggle, right? This is a conversation that my dad and I kicked off more than 10 years ago. It is something that like we all are looking for ways to make the ideas that we get, make the inspiration that we gather worthwhile and actionable. But like, how do we do that?
Right? There's plenty of things that we can do, so I'm gonna talk you through. What spring forward was like, what I wrote down when I was going through the exercises, as like while everybody else was doing it, I was doing it right alongside them, and then what I'm doing with it now. So for the purposes of our conversation today, spring forward is held as a three day live workshop.
If you are doing the recorded version or catching up on the live session, you can space it out however you want, right? You can watch things on two speed. You could do it all in a day. Whatever, whatever. It doesn't matter. And I think that's one thing to think about when you are approaching a course or a workshop, if it is not live.
There is like a lot of magic in joining things live. And I know I've had a few conversations with some of you that you specifically didn't join Spring Forward because you couldn't make the Times work. And I think in next year I might make it earlier in March so that we're not intersecting spring breaks and that sort of thing.
But when you think about participating in something, oftentimes the coach, the teacher, whoever, if it is not live, gives you kind of like a timeline for you to follow, but you're a grown woman, you're an adult. Like you can adjust that and make it work in ways that fit your schedule. The one thing I would recommend is just to try to fit it into your calendar.
Stay accountable to that so that you do give yourself the space and time to actually finish it. That's been like my biggest downfall when I've been a participant is just like adding a class or a course on top of my normal everyday life and work and everything, and just like not making space for it, and that's a mistake, you know?
Okay. So we got that each day inside Spring forward, there's. A focus and two key worksheets which build on each other from day to day. So the focus for day one is awaken where we're getting clear on what matters most in work, wellness, and self so that you can stop running on autopilot and start moving with intention.
And the first worksheet inside of that is called clarity Circles, where you write down what matters most. What brings joy and ease and what are your dreams and desires for the different key areas of your life, which for this workshop, we were focusing on work, wellness, and self. While I'm looking at my clarity circles, this is totally an exercise that you could do yourself, but I'm gonna list out and like share with you.
What I wrote down, so in the what matters most category I put supporting my clients, which really means like helping my clients live with intuition, intention and inspiration through life seasons. I also wrote Feeling creatively expressed, which is something we talked a lot about in last week's episode, health Vitality, and a sense of pride in my choices being there for my family, having a sense of purpose and productivity, which I added to this when I was looking at it.
It's really a feeling of fulfillment, but also being able to. Get the satisfaction in the mundane. Seeing the magic in the mundane, letting the boring parts of life also hold purpose. And then being connected to my true self and loving my life. Those are all the things that matter the most. And then in the brings joy and ease circle.
I have feeling unhurried, having plenty of time. So this like very much aligns with my concept of all timing is divine. Having plenty of time feeling abundant and patient with time. Another thing that brings joy and ease is expression. Feeling proud of my choices. More overlap with what I just mentioned, knowing what I want to do, so when I don't suffer from debilitating deficient.
Decision fatigue. I feel more joy and ease. Feeling vitality is another thing that gives me joy. And I've noticed since I've been working out more, I do have like a little bit more pep in my step. Going up the stairs feels like easier, and so that is like. That's inspiring to me, like that is making me excited about working out more because I'm starting to feel that in a way that after having really bad back injuries and just going through life, like not having felt that for a while, I'm like, Ooh, yes, I want more of that.
And that gives me a sense of joy and it makes life easier to live honestly. Last bits on this one, were dressing well, like enjoying the clothes I'm wearing dance parties, like spontaneous dance parties with the kids. Going to concerts with my husband and friends, and also just like watching good shows, talking about good shows, reading good books, talking about books.
All of that gives me a lot of, of joy and a sense of ease and peace and happiness in my life. And then the dreams and desires circle. This has kind of been like a sticky point for me lately. I feel like we're, we continuously are talking about it and I. My answers are revealing because they're pretty vague and short term.
They're, you know, this isn't like a problem that I'm trying to solve. It's just something that I'm keeping an eye on right now. But what I wrote down was growing community, like what is in my work community, my client community right now. Times four with like even more spaciousness in the hours that I'm putting into my work every day.
So I want like a bigger community and I want to work the same or less. It's the next step I have, feeling strong and skinny, proud of myself and my body, feeling good, having good energy, being honest and caring with my family. And when I say that I like what I really want is that my husband and I, and that I am safe and that we have fun and that I am this like place that my kids can come to and feel safe and know that they're loved and.
Believed in and that like I'm a fun part of their life, but it's like a grounded, safe kind of fun. And then aging with delight. That is a dream and a desire. It's just like enjoying that journey. So during the workshop I recommended that everybody go deeper than the surface answers. So sometimes when we have to like sit down and write about stuff, like the prompts are useful, they're good, but it's just a starting point and oftentimes.
When you're journaling with your intuition or when you're in a conversation or anytime that you're wanting to go beyond the surface, it takes a little bit of effort to dig deeper, to just remain where you are and ask the question why, and what and how come? So when I look at my circles and I ask those questions.
Like a few more things come through. So with work, what I really want is top of funnel growth and that will feel good. It will create more space, it will create more joy. And the reason why is because I've been really focused on serving my existing community you for like a really long time. And it's been a while since I've made any attempts to reach new.
Pockets and pools of potential clients. So growing doesn't take away from this current group. It will only add to it, enhance it, expansiveness, you know, it will like, it'll bloom and that feels joyful to me. So what is the like thing that I need to do? Hmm. There's lots of ideas and I'm not sure like what from these ideas I'll actually put into practice, but talking about them and letting them bloom is part of it.
So, mm. One idea I have is to create a new free resource to have more guests on the podcast 'cause it's been a while to be a guest on other shows and to start sharing on Instagram again, but maybe in like a different way that goes back to the basics and brings in new folks, but is also like a really good refresher and reminder to all of us.
And why do I desire this? Well, it's because I want more spaciousness in my business and I. Do know that I want to tend to my business in a little bit of a different way, so that it can continue to thrive. On the wellness side of things, I feel like I'm nearly there, like I just need to focus on what I'm doing and not get so distracted by the shiny things, the trends, the new ideas, and just give myself time, have that patience to trust the process.
In self. I wanna have more time and space with myself. And this is like a reminder to me, but also to all of you, that when you spend time with yourself and really work on being more of who you truly are, then there is more of who you truly are who can show up for everyone else. And I think when we want to be.
A safe place for people to land when we want to be a good, supportive, easygoing, loving friend. Like all of those things that we want in our lives for how we show up for others, showing up for ourselves and being our truest self is one of the ways that we can do that. So the other worksheet on day one is this like energy reset exercise.
It's similar to a post I shared back in the beginning of the year, and it's also inspired by slash you know, aligned with episode 222 on the show. So I'll just link to both of those in the show notes and we're gonna continue on this conversation. So the focus for day two is align, and in that we're defining measurable desires and designing self-care rituals that fit into your real life.
So that alignment isn't just a feeling, it's how you move through your days. And I'm not gonna talk about the self-care rituals in this episode, but I do wanna talk through the defining your smart desires exercise. So. Smart goals you've probably heard of, maybe you learned about them in middle school, but they're.
Old, you know, we've had smart goals for a really long time and they're way more masculine. So I put a more intuitive, fresh, feminine spin to S-M-A-R-T, so it's spacious, meaningful, aligned. Resonant and timeless, and as I worked through these, here's what I came up with. In work, I arrive to my work with supportive and open energy.
I trust myself and my intuition. The content I share helps my community feel understood and less alone. It gives them ways to feel more fulfilled and satisfied in work, relationships, and life. So for wellness, I have my actions align with my future self. She's vibrant and confident, strong and flexible.
She dances. She eats with pleasure. She trusts her body's cravings and hunger. She moves with ease. She dresses with grounded delight, and she gets plenty of sleep and feels rested. Oh my goodness. I love my future self so much. She sounds like such a dream. And creativity, which is sort of the, the self category.
But as I was doing the, the exercises, I really felt called to focus on creativity. Which is totally makes sense given the last week's episode and just kind of like the flow I've been feeling towards that. And what I wrote is I make space for creative expression without pressure or expectation. I give myself room to roam by clearing the calendar, taking away the extras, and prioritizing connection.
With others self and creative mediums. So these, as you can tell, like in terms of goal setting, they're not measurable, they are not bound to specific timeframes, but they do give me a clear picture of what I want and I could get even more specific, of course. Totally, and that's what we focus on in day three.
So day three of spring forward is accelerate, and this is where we turn clarity into action. We map out your next steps in work, wellness and self, so you can go forward with ease and confidence. And that day, the first exercise we go through is called the momentum map, and it's honestly my favorite of the whole workshop.
I'm not gonna talk through all of mine, but I'll give you an outline of how to walk yourself through this exercise so you can try it on your own. What you do is you make three columns on a piece of paper, and at the top you write appreciate, acknowledge, and affirm. So in the appreciate column, you're gonna write down all of the things that you can appreciate about where you are right now.
In the acknowledge column, you're gonna write all of the contrast. That's a Abraham Hicks word, but it really means like all the stuff that you don't have, the things that aren't working, the stuff that feels terrible or hard, like the stuff you hate, the barriers, the boundaries, the all of it. Like anything that.
Is not what you want. Write it down in the acknowledge column and then in the Affirm column, you're gonna write what you're calling in. You're gonna affirm your desires. And this is not toxic positivity. This is not spiritual bypassing. We're not glossing over the hard things. We're writing them down and sandwiching them in between what we appreciate and what we want.
And when I look at mine, a few things really stand out, which is that it feels so good. To appreciate and acknowledge all that is good and right, and lovely and amazing in my life. Like taking the time to appreciate spending time and gratitude really does move the needle. And I mean, we have so many things that we're supposed to be doing on a daily basis, so if you ever feel like I'm not doing enough to appreciate, I don't have enough of, uh, a gratitude practice like.
Okay, well don't beat yourself up about it. Let's just find a way for you to add appreciation into your, into your days. And it could simply be just listening to this and like noticing that you're really. Comfortable and safe right now that you have enough gas in your car, or it could be much bigger things, you know?
So just taking the time to, to really appreciate does feel so good. And it's, it's a really important thing to make progress because if we are never happy, we're never satisfied, we're never okay with where we are. It makes it very, very difficult to get to where we wanna go. So. To continue on it. It also feels really, really good to acknowledge the gaps and the struggles.
Like so often I think that we're looking to other people to be like, yeah, that's really hard. I mean, I was on a walk with my husband recently and I was complaining to him about something and he immediately like offered a solution, well, you could just do this. I mean, that's such a guy thing to do. I was like, I don't.
And then he started talking about something completely different, which was actually connected to what we were talking about, but it took a while for him to get there. So then I thought it was like just a total non sequitur, like random topic that had nothing to do with what I was complaining about. So first I felt like he didn't acknowledge me, and then I felt like he was trying to fix it, which I didn't want.
And then I thought he was just like moving on, you know? And I mean, to his, to his, what is the word? Like to his. To his credit. Sorry, it took me a minute to get there. To his credit, I, he, he, he wanted to help me, so he was offering a solution. So what we're, what I'm trying to say is that we don't need other people to acknowledge our pain and our struggles and our issues.
We can acknowledge them ourselves, and that is so, so powerful. The other thing that I notice when I look at mine is that. When I name my issues, my struggles, it holds less power over me. So one of them on my, my worksheet is my inner girl boss wants more in my business, but she's not actually in charge.
You know, like just because there's a piece of me that comes from a very hustle grind, go, go, go. More, more, more, more is more mentality. Does not mean that that's my most evolved, aligned, and true version of myself. It's just like a little bit of an annoying voice in my head, but it's not the only voice that I have access to, and so just like naming it, it's like, oh, then I can see it.
Then I know like that is the girl boss and she. I mean, she can definitely do some things, but she doesn't have to be in charge of everything. In my Affirm column, what I notice is there are some consistent themes of wanting to feel proud of myself and my choices, not feeling ashamed or behind or regretful, but really wanting to enjoy the process of where I am and.
I think it's important when we look at like, how can we enjoy the process? Because the process is where we live. The middle is life, and so if the middle feels messy and the middle feels miserable, like how can we add more support, more structure, more love, more appreciation, more whatever, to make that messy middle feel.
Enjoyable. So if you're still with me, 'cause I know this is kind of getting like a little long. This whole conversation is really just confirming to me, and I'm curious if it's confirming to you that it takes time and effort to bundle up and package inspiration and insights and. Create a path forward for action and momentum.
So the last exercise of Spring forward is called Your Way Forward, and the first thing you do is name the three areas of your life. So in the workshop we talk about work, wellness, and self. But at this point, at the very end of it, the invitation is for you to define them. For your own, like use your own words.
I mean, you can use those words fine, or you can shift them for your season of life and where you are. And then for each of those, you choose one aligned action, one feeling to embody and one supportive ritual. So how that looks for me. I named them body work and expression, and I'll run through each of them.
So for body, my action is aligning with my future self. My feeling is proud of my choices and my ritual is a nightly body scan to release the day. This is a practice I love doing and you may or may not have heard me talk about it before, but it's like turning on the robot vacuum at night in the downstairs.
I, I love to do. That I don't do it every single night, but it is one of my happy household rituals. But when it comes to this nightly body scan, it's when you're going to bed just laying down in that quiet space where you feel your inner voice and just letting the body. Process, letting the body digest, acknowledging any sticky points from the day, any sticky pot points in the body, and handing them over to your subconscious, to the universe, to whatever, to process and digest and let go overnight.
It's such a. Nice way to close out the day. And it really does align with my future self because it's like clearing the clutter for her, because tomorrow I wake up and I'm closer to my future self. Right. In work, the action that I named was focusing on one thing at a time. What a novel concept, and then the feeling is pouring more pleasure.
I originally had appreciation written down, and then after I was listening to last week's episode, and also just thinking more about what I truly desire in my work. Pleasure is like kind of a. A weird word. Sometimes it's a word that my co, my business coach Xanthi Apple Yard uses quite often. And at first I was like, Ugh, that feels so like sexual and sensual.
And I don't know if like, I want that word, but the more I use it and the more I ex. Explore it. It's not about those things. That's not it at all. It's just more about like the sense the senses and like, how do I make this feel even better? How do I make this more pleasurable? Because I get to work and I'm so excited about my work and I love my work, so if I focus on one thing at a time and make it as pleasurable as I can.
That's like a huge win. Right? And the ritual that I'm choosing to pair with that is a welcoming ritual that before I sit down to work, I have this hallway that I have envisioned that has like come to me in visualizations before and I'm in this like. It's sort of like the love is Blind hallway, honestly.
But I've had this vision since before. I saw Love is Blind, but imagine a hallway, it's like a beautiful hallway and there's just like a ton of doors on either side. So it really is like the love is Blind hallway and, and the. All I do in this visualization is I like run down the hallway and open up the doors in this like exuberant, happy, energized way.
Opening the doors to aligned, excited, inspired clients and community members who will benefit from my work, but also like co-create and enhance and elevate this community. So that's the welcoming ritual. It's really just a, a visualization before I sit down to work. And then on the expression category, the action is to create just for fun.
The feeling is the thrill of not knowing what it is or how it'll turn out. So when I write for work, when I create for work, there's like, obviously I have like a desired outcome in mind, but with making just for fun, it's like, I don't know what this is. I don't know how it's gonna turn out when I take.
Pictures with my new film camera, which is not new at all. It's older than I am. When I take pictures with my film camera, I have no idea if they're gonna turn out. I'm still not a thousand percent convinced that I know how to load the film into the camera. So with that, there is a very much a thrill of like having no idea how it's gonna turn out.
And that feels. So fun to me and the ritual that I'm pairing with, this is my first thing morning routine, which I know I've mentioned before, but what I do is I write in my five-year journal and I write eight minutes with my inner voice, and I have a free workshop if you have no idea what I'm talking about.
Inner voice journaling is a really simple practice, but it is a super transformative. Practice and it only takes eight minutes. So I find it to be one of the most grounding, accessible resources that I have as a coach, but also as somebody who does it on a daily basis. And what it does is really help me feel connected to my intuition at the very beginning of the day.
So this all kind of feels like a lot, like as I'm talking through it, as I'm processing it with you. It is kind of a lot, but ultimately that whole three day workshop, 90 minutes each day leads you to this your way forward. Exercise. And I'm not saying every workshop and course that you ever take is gonna be like structured in this way, but my invitation, my encouragement to you is as you embark on any sort of program, as you start to find the bits of inspiration, can you break it down to a few.
Tangible, actionable things. So what I did as I was working through this episode and preparing to talk through it, is I felt inspired to write down my takeaways on little. Four by six index cards, or maybe they're three by five. Looks like they're three by five. I love index cards. I have them in my drawer next to my desk, and I just pulled them out.
So I have my ritual. So the first thing routine, the doors opening ritual, the nightly releasing, I have all of those written down on one index card. And the way I wrote them was not the order that I just said them to you. It's like morning. Midday evening, and then I have my body, my work, my expression written on another one.
And now that I'm looking at 'em, I'm like, I can do this. I can totally do this. And that's how I want you to feel when you are wrapping up some sort of workshop or course or whatever is just like, I can do this. I can implement this. And I put them. My little note card's up on my bulletin board behind my desk, and I'm gonna also write these exact same things down on my Notion board because I use Notion Daily, and that's another idea that I want to offer you is that, you know, putting things where you can see them.
Where you'll revisit them. That's really important because the only way you're going to actually be able to like confirm that you did it is if you have a way to reference it later. And so often, I know as busy moms and business owners and everything like things, it, I, I can't tell you how many times I think to myself, oh, I'll remember that.
And then like, I totally don't, I lose it, you know? And that's fine. Like. That is not me losing my mind. That's just, I have a lot going on and sometimes I lose an idea. Right. That's, that's okay. That's normal. So if you're listening to this and you're like, I want that same feeling of clarity and momentum.
You can totally purchase Spring forward. It's $198 when you're using Spring forward, when you're going through the workshop, if you've already purchased it or if you're gonna buy it right after this, answer the prompts and submit the questions inside the studio. I will see those and respond to you. So you can totally get coaching from me as you're working through the workshop by just answering what is inside the studio, which is the online platform where all of this is happening.
Housed, or you could also just book yourself a one-on-one session, either to continue the insights from spring forward or just to go straight in, give yourself an hour of quiet to. Just mute the outside noise of summer camps and travel plans, the demanding bosses, the spiraling about whether or not you're getting enough protein or that mom group drama about sports teams.
I know you're juggling a lot, so that quiet is so valuable. And in the session I will help you face the questions that your mind will not let go of and get you answers from your inner voice. It's audio only on Zoom, and it often feels like a guided meditation where you release the emotions that are on your back, that are over your shoulders, that are just making you feel like you cannot move forward, so that you can get the insights, get the clarity, and after the call you, I'll send you your audio recording so you can listen back to it.
Plus detailed notes of what your inner voice said so that you can put those insights into action. The price is $444. I'm now booking for May and June sessions. April's totally sold out, but when you book, if you mention this podcast episode, you will get a free intuitive card reading added as a special gift after the session. You can visit kaileenelise.com/session to book or click the link in the show notes. I will add that plus the spring forward and all the other like prompts and practices that I mentioned today. You'll find that over on kaileenelise.com. That is it for today's episode. Thank you as always for being here.
Come say hi to me on Instagram and let me know how you are putting inspiration into action. Have you already cracked this code for yourself or are you going to be taking some ideas from today and applying it to your life? Send me your thoughts, your questions, and whatever else you have to share. I'm @kaileenelise.
I will be back next week with a fresh episode about reality TV manifesting in something I'm doing differently this season. I'll talk to you then.
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Come find me in the DMs, I’m @kaileenelise
Heeeey! I’m Kaileen Elise Sues.
Former HR girlie, failed SAHM, fresh 40-something. Your favorite coach and voice of calm with useful practices, intuitive insights, and small shifts that make a real impact.
My approach isn't about forcing you onto a proven path. It's about helping you break through emotional blocks and discover your true north. Because it’s about time you embraced your deepest wisdom and started living the life of your dreams.
