You handle it all — the business, the home, the emotions, the logistics — and still feel like admitting “this is hard” means you’re weak.

But what if saying “this is hard” is actually the first sign of strength?

In this 5-minute journaling episode, I share a story about meeting another woman who was doing it all — and realizing I couldn’t see my own load until I saw hers. Together, we’ll journal through the hidden pressure successful women carry and what happens when we finally tell the truth about it.

1. What’s currently on your plate that you haven’t fully acknowledged or spoken out loud?
2. What story are you telling yourself about why this should or shouldn’t feel hard?
3. What are you afraid would happen if you fully acknowledged how much you’re carrying?
4. Where did you learn that you have to carry everything silently?

If you journal through this one, DM me on Instagram (samantha.s.says) or email me (hello@samantha-says.com) and tell me what came up for you — I love hearing what these prompts unlock for you.

🧠 How to Clear Your Mental Load Workshop (Tuesday, Oct 21st — 4 spots left) - You're not working too hard to accomplish more at work, or a "bad mom" for not being more present with your kids...your brain is just trying to manage something deeper than your to-do list. Let's fix it!

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• 📞 Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

For when life feels like nothing you had planned. You did the thing — the career, the family, the move, the reinvention — but you wake up with an ache or disconnect you can’t name.

Everything looks “fine” from the outside, but inside, something feels off. That might be grief — and no, nobody has to die for you to feel it.

Alyssa Rose joins me to unpack what grief can look like when it’s not about death — but about change.

We talk about the quiet ways grief shows up during major life transitions — career pivots, identity shifts, or the loss of the life you expected — and what it really means to honor those emotions instead of rushing past them.

This episode is for you if:

• You're grieving a career pivot, relationship shift, or identity change but feel guilty calling it "grief"
• You avoid going deep with your emotions because you're scared of opening the floodgates
• You and your partner are navigating the same loss in completely different ways (and it's causing distance)
• You're a former "positive person" who's finally letting yourself feel the hard stuff

You'll learn how to build trust with yourself to "go there" without losing it, how to ask for support in a way people can actually show up for you, and why tending your grief is actually the most loving thing you can do.

Your turn! Try this quick reflection after the episode:

Open your journal and write two short lists side-by-side:

1️⃣ What I thought this season would feel like

2️⃣ What it actually feels like

Don’t judge or fix it — just notice the gap.

That space between the two lists? That’s where your grief lives. Naming it is the first step to freeing it.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Alyssa Rose's Website: alisarosehealingarts.com

Instagram: @alisarosehealingarts

Email: alisarosehealingarts@gmail.com

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook

You know that thing where you're about to go through a big change and suddenly you're up at 2am planning for every possible scenario?

I made THREE different Google Docs for my son's school transition. Three. Each one mapped out a different morning routine depending on what time he woke up. I was literally scheduling my coffee time down to the minute.

Looking back? That wasn't planning. That was me trying to control something I couldn't control because I was scared.

You'll journal through:

• What's actually keeping you up at night about this transition (hint: it's probably not what you think)
• The sneaky ways you're trying to make change feel "safer"
• What you're most afraid would happen if you just... let it unfold
• Your personal pattern when things feel uncertain

Plus: The reframe that changed everything - what if your discomfort isn't a problem to fix but information about what you actually need right now?

Journaling Prompts from this episode:

1. What specific part of this transition is making you feel the most anxious or unsettled right now? (Go deeper than "change is hard")
2. What have you been doing to try to make this transition feel easier or less overwhelming?
3. What are you most afraid would happen if you stopped trying to control how this transition goes?
4. When was the last time you went through a major change in your life? How did you handle it? What patterns are showing up again now?

Resources Mentioned:

Calm Mind Blueprint - my framework for processing emotions and making decisions with clarity: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod

• Book a free Clarity Call → https://calendly.com/samanthasays/clarity-call
• Private 1:1 Coaching (2 spots open, start with a 4 month container instead of 6 in October only) → https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching

Connect: Instagram | Facebook