Sonia Jhas is a mindset & wellness coach, a TEDx speaker, and the author of I’ll Start Again Tomorrow: And Other Lies I’ve Told Myself. In 2012, Sonia gave up her successful corporate career and began searching for a new path that resonated with her core. Through her journey, she uncovered a driving desire to help others bolster their self-confidence and become the boss of their own life. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids.  Connect with Sonia at soniajhas.com or on Facebook & Instagram! Welcome to the podcast, Sonia! Dismantling Legacy Values To Become Who You Are ..read more

I vaguely remember signing the permission slip—a paper and pen shoved into my hands amid the morning hustle. A couple of weeks later, my son woke up at 7am, just like my kids do every weekday, and told me with a smile in his eyes that he was staying home—he was job shadowing me.  The memory of a permission slip flashed in front of my eyes. I had agreed to this?? Oh. RIGHT. I HAD agreed to this.  My son was staying home to watch me work.  My heart dropped to my stomach as I realized that I had appointments out of the house that day that weren’t related to my work ..read more

Tracy is the founder and CEO of dClutterfly—an organization and decluttering company in Los Angeles, California. Which means—she has been inside of hundreds of homes and helped thousands of people with their clutter.   She’s also the author of two beautiful books:  Her first book – Making Space, Clutter Free: The Last Book on Decluttering You’ll Ever Need Her latest book – Make Space for Happiness: How to Stop Attracting Clutter and Start Magnetizing the Life You Want My personal favorite part of her bio: “Tracy lives in Los Angeles and knows where her keys are.” (Not everyone ..read more

Recently, a client of mine started talking about her den, saying it was her dumping ground and always the last place in the house to get any attention.  Clearing it out had been her new year’s resolution but, a month into the new year, she’d barely touched it.  She went on to describe how the cluttered den represents her inclination to collect unnecessary things, start too many projects, procrastinate important stuff, and fail to follow through.  As she spoke, I randomly started envisioning her den as a human face. I personified it. With each description she layered on, I mental ..read more

I have a question for you. Which gets more air time in your head—your perceived weaknesses as an introvert… or your strengths? When I’m not on top of it, weakness easily wins out. It’s far too easy to feel like I’m falling short, to worry that my kids will remember a mom who was always shuffling them off to different parts of the house so she could get some space. A mom who seemed agitated and discouraged. A mom who doubted whether she was really suited for the craziness of parenthood. There’s a reason for this! We’re biologically wired to dwell more on the negative than the positive, to ensur ..read more

I used to feel helpless.  Not all of the time. But a lot more often than I do now.  Sometimes in my mind, I pictured myself as a caged little bird. Sure, I lived in a lovely cage, with a lovely little bird family inside of it with me. But my life still felt a bit like a cage. I could just sense it.  Eventually, I learned that the cage was largely of my own making. I built it, one stake at a time with thoughts and beliefs that put me in a disempowered position.  I never would have characterized myself as someone with a victim mentality, which is generally defined as believin ..read more

Every now and then, when someone hears that I wrote a book on minimalism, they’ll say, “Ugh, I want to declutter, but it’s so exhausting! I usually give up before I get very far.”  I get that. Decluttering means making a thousand tiny decisions, taking a thousand steps around your house, and hauling dozens of bags and boxes to your car. The process—especially if you have a lot of clutter to clear—can be physically and mentally draining. Of course, there are things you can do to make it more fun and sustainable (think: putting on great music and lighting a great-smelling candle, declutteri ..read more

I sat criss-cross applesauce, old journals fanned out around me. I was looking for evidence. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to find, and it wasn’t. Dated January of 2011: “Today, at least, I am completely overwhelmed by my life. I’m in a continual state of shock at how much work this is. And how much more I wish I enjoyed it.” My heart breaks for 2011 Erica. She spent years carrying those thoughts and feelings around like an ugly, heavy purse she could never set down. Pages and pages later, in a whole ‘nother journal, that Erica wrote: “But you know what? I’m the only one who can set me free.” Sh ..read more

So my oldest kid is old enough to follow me on Instagram now, which is mostly WEIRD and also  kind of unexpectedly fun.  But the other day he looked up from Instagram with this glint in his eye and said, “There goes Mom again, talking about mindfulness and stuff while she’s over here yelling, ‘I’m CODE RED! CODE RED! Everybody get out of my space!'”  I knew he was trolling me (he IS his father’s son), but I still felt an initial ping of hypocrisy and probably even shame.  That said, those feelings stayed with me for no more than a couple seconds. It was almost like I was st ..read more

Today’s article & podcast episode is an interview with certified parenting coach Crystal Haitsma! About Crystal Crystal Haitsma is a Canadian homeschooling mother of four and a Certified Professional Life Coach. She works with parents to help improve their relationships with their kids, so they can enjoy parenting again. Her approach combines mindset, emotional processing, and connection-based parenting philosophies and focuses on healing our own relationships with us, so we can change generational patterns of parenting. Connect with Crystal by listening to her podcast or following her for ..read more