I’m in the middle of packing up a home I’ve lived in for 10 years.
Let me tell you—nothing triggers a highlight reel of your life quite like peeling back layers of your own history, one drawer at a time.
This week, I found a tuft of fur from our Bailey Boy—the goodest boy, our 16 year old Cockapoo doggo—tucked in the corner of the closet. I sat on the floor and cried like it just happened.
Then, a few boxes later, I pulled out the framed certificate from when I was recognized as an HMSA Blue Zone Wellness Advocate for my Maui community. That moment brought me back to being in the Mayor's conference room full of people, laughter, pride, and Aloha.
Packing isn’t just packing. It’s a recognition. Of who you were. Who you thought you’d be. And who you actually became.
Here’s the part we forget too often: You’ve lived many lives inside this one.
There was the “just starting out” version of you. The “I have no idea what I’m doing but I’m doing it anyway” you. The “I made it through something I didn’t think I could” you. And dozens more.
Each version of you left something behind—a lesson, a heartbreak, a stretch mark, a certificate, a laugh line. Maybe even a dog’s fur.
That’s not just nostalgia. That’s neuroscience. Reflection releases oxytocin, the “bonding” chemical. It reduces cortisol (the stress one). It reminds your nervous system that you’re safe now. That progress has been made.
We spend so much time chasing goals, we rarely stop to recognize the goals that once chased us.
You wanted what you have now. You used to wish for what’s become your everyday. Even if you’re still reaching for more, that doesn’t mean you haven’t already climbed.
So here’s your invitation:
Before you sprint ahead, take a Power Pause.
Look at old photos, read an old journal entry, open your memories app.
Remind yourself of what you’ve survived, solved, built, and become.
Not to get stuck in the past.
But to make peace with your path.
Because your gain is not just in the achievements you can measure—it’s in the perspectives, habits, friendships, recoveries, and memories that shape who you are.
And when you pause to maintain the gain, you build something even better than momentum.
You build trust in yourself.
That no matter where you’re headed next…
You’re the kind of person who knows how to keep going and how to look back with love.
You’ve earned that.
So if you’re in a season of change—or packing up your own decade in a box—just remember:
You’re not starting over.
You’re starting again…with everything you’ve gained.
Want to dive deeper into this? Watch this week's podcast episode about it here
Press PAUSE on your busy life with this free 10 minute "Yoga at My Desk" video to instantly feel better!
