Happy Sunday — and welcome to the very first edition of Looking Forward.

Every week I set a mantra or theme for the days ahead. I write it in my journal, on my calendar, sometimes even on a Post-it next to my desk. It’s a small grounding ritual that keeps me centered when life does what it always does: surprises me.

I’ll be sharing mine here every Sunday, and I’d love to hear yours too. Hit reply any time — I want this to be a conversation, not a broadcast.

My Weekly Mantra:

There are so many moments when things don’t go the way you pictured them. Maybe it’s something tiny, like imagining a perfect day on the couch watching football, only to have it derailed by an unexpected errand or a friend who needs a hand. Or maybe it’s something big, like planning to quit your job to focus on your own business and realizing the timing — or the income — isn’t there yet.

In those moments, it’s easy to spin out. It’s easy to take things personally, to get annoyed, to tell yourself the story that things “never go your way.”

That’s when this mantra helps me reset.

1. Breathe.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is pause and take one intentional breath. It signals your nervous system to calm down (vagus nerve breathing is magic), and it pulls you back into the actual moment you’re in.

2. Let go.

This is about releasing the version of how things “should have gone.” Expectations create tension; presence creates clarity. When you let go of the storyline in your head, you can actually see what’s happening right now — and that’s where the opportunity usually is.

3. Keep going.

Forward is always the move. Years ago, I used to tell myself: Time spent wishing is time spent wasted. Wishing feels comforting, but it doesn’t create change. Action does. So once I breathe and let go, the only thing left is to take the next step with the reality I have, not the one I wanted.

That simple reset has saved me more times than I can count.

If you want a calmer, more intentional week — without the burnout energy of hustle culture — you might love the weekly productivity system I’ve built over the last decade. It helps you stay focused on what actually matters while giving you room for life to be unpredictable. No guilt. No all-or-nothing. Just steady momentum.

You can grab it on Beehiiv for $1.99 and start planning one week at a time in a way that actually sticks.

(And if you try it, reply and tell me how your first week goes — I always want to hear.)

Until next Sunday, keep breathing, let go, and keep going.