Summer is arriving at the perfect time. International conflict, cruel politics, and technological disruption are weighing heavy. Many of us are experiencing increased feelings of isolation, distrust, and hopelessness about the state of the world and our place within it. This is why summer matters.

Recently, I met a writer on the side of a highway in Rhode Island. When she asked me what I did, I said, “I’m a coach.” To which she asked, “What sports?” “Life,” I told her. I wonder, if we thought more about life that way—as a sport—would it feel more fun and fulfilling?

Believing in yourself means knowing you’re the author of your life—100% responsible for your experience, and capable of handling whatever comes your way. Believing yourself is being convinced, without inquiry, that your unconscious, auto-pilot thinking is accurate.

I’m noticing something. While the uncertain times we’re living through has caused many of us to cling to the familiar, I’m seeing an equally powerful counterforce: A deep desire for purpose, meaning, and alignment. Our brains may be wired for safety but our souls are not dead.

My clients create the agenda for their coaching sessions. This is one of several ways in which coaching is practice for taking responsibility for your experience. Some clients email me an agenda in advance. Some show up with a list. Some forget. All are okay—and an opportunity.

We’re living in uncertain times. Volatile markets. Turbulent politics. Disruptive technology. Particularly in the realm of money, many of us are tempted to hold steady. Cling to what we know. Stay on the default path. Defer big changes. This strategy is counterproductive.

There’s a saying: “We tend to over estimate what we can accomplish in a day and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.” How about 10 years? In my experience, we tend to way underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. Where do you want to be 10 years from now?

I started playing pickleball in 2021. It wasn’t long before most of my non-working hours were spent on the court or making plans to get on the court. For about three years, pickleball was my main source of exercise, community, and fun. Then sometime last year I stopped enjoying pickleball.

Ever hear something you’ve heard before but experience it in a whole new way? This happened to me when I came across an idea in Steve Chandler’s book Right Now. Steve says, “…most people…plan their future based on the past….what if I chose not to do that?”

“It’s fine.” “I’m fine.” “We’re fine.” How often do you say this? Things aren’t terrible and they aren’t great. They’re fine. Our default is to accept this as “life”—just the way things are. But nothing is fine. Fine is a label we give to things that are manageable yet lacking the life force we desire.

This year spring is arriving at an especially disruptive time. Many of us are feeling confronted by change, fearful of unknowns, and helpless amidst great suffering. The energy of spring offers an antidote, a blueprint for how to create from—rather than react to—this moment.

I’m developing my capacity to honor and appreciate all my feelings. But I can’t help it: I have a favorite. My favorite way to feel is “balm”—buzzy yet calm. Buzzy without calm borders on jittery and nervous. Calm without buzzy can be uninspired and boring. Balm is the sweet spot.

Which comes first? Do your feelings determine your actions, or do your actions determine how you feel? This chicken-or-egg question comes up a lot in coaching conversations. I don’t have definitive answers but I have some observations on the relationship between feelings and actions.

On most decisions, big and small, you’re probably spending more time and energy than you need to. We all do it. We get convinced that if we turn it over enough times in our brains, look at it from enough angles, the correct answer will present. The only problem with this is it doesn’t work.

I recently baked bread for the first time. After nurturing my sourdough starter and watching YouTube videos for almost a month, I felt ready to DO this. Then, as I found myself consumed by the process, I realized this felt different from doing something. I was making something.

If you knew with certainty that you had plenty of time for everything you want to do, what would you create? Most people go blank when I ask them this question. Or they tell me it’s impossible to answer because their responsibilities—never mind desires!—exceed the hours in a day.

Does this line of thinking resonate with you? You know things—things that, if addressed, could help you move closer to the life you want—and yet often you do nothing about them. For most humans, there’s a gap between knowing you want to shift something and actually doing it.

I just started a new training program on Positive Intelligence (PQ). The program is about how to strengthen the part of your brain that serves you and quiet the part that sabotages you. Here is the most useful thing I’ve learned so far for halting my thought loops. It’s weirdly simple.

I live in Los Angeles. My family and our home are safe. Many—way too many—were not so lucky. The devastation and loss being experienced in our city right now is overwhelming. This wasn’t the plan. For many of us, 2025 has started out much differently than expected.

I counted. In the days leading up to 2025, I read four separate articles containing a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke: “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.” I couldn’t resist following suit. Rilke’s quote cuts to the core of reinvention.