The most important thank-you at the table: Happy Thanksgiving from PLB
Thanksgiving puts the focus on gratitude for what we have—our families, our homes, the food on the table. Sometimes we even squeeze in a nod to what we do—the meals cooked, the hours worked, the chaos managed.
But here’s something you probably don’t often stop to name: gratitude for who you are.
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Nov 25, 2025
Let desire speak: You can hold gratitude and growth
You love your family.You’re grateful for your job.You appreciate what you’ve built.
And you still want more.
More presence. More peace. More alignment. More joy.
But sometimes, wanting more gets tangled with guilt. As if your desire is a betrayal of your gratitude.
It’s not.
Gratitude and longing...
Nov 18, 2025
The case for doing things badly: You can love it without being good at it
Somewhere along the way, we picked up the idea that if we can’t do something well, we shouldn’t do it at all.
With this story, we accomplished many things.
But perhaps you’ve realized it means you stopped many things that you actually enjoyed just for the sake of them. Singing. Dancing. Tennis....
Nov 11, 2025
Emotional time zones: It's okay if your feelings haven't caught up yet
Ever have one of those days where everything is technically “fine”—but you still feel off?
Your to-do list is handled. The house is relatively clean. Your kids aren’t melting down. And yet, your body is bracing for impact, like it forgot to read the part of the memo that says “It’s okay now.”
We ...
Nov 04, 2025
Calm by association: Your nervous system has friends
You know that friend whose voice slows your heart rate just by answering the phone? Or the coworker who somehow stays steady during every crisis?
Sometimes, when our own calm is in short supply, we can borrow theirs.
We’re not talking about outsourcing our whole nervous system — just letting some...
Oct 28, 2025
Feedback isn't a verdict: Your worth isn't up for review
Feedback. Negotiations. Patient satisfaction scores. The “you’re the worst” comments from your teen.It’s so easy to absorb all of it as if it’s a verdict on who you are.
Your worth is not up for review.
Your salary can change. Your ratings can go down. Your adoring tween can shut the door in your...
Oct 21, 2025
When life won't make space: How to start before the dust settles
Ever catch yourself saying something like:
“I’ll start once the kids are settled in school.”“I’ll begin working out once life calms down a bit.”“I’ll focus on my eating after I survive the holidays.”
Here’s the thing: life is basically a string of busy seasons precariously taped together with the...
Oct 14, 2025
The pajama-day miracle: How to grab hold of some dopamine today
Some days, we wait for the big, shiny wins.The award. The thank-you note. The perfectly executed bedtime routine.
But let’s be honest—those days are rare. And even when they come, they don’t always feel the way we thought they would.You imagine the standing ovation, and instead you get polite app...
Oct 07, 2025
Hmm, what to write about this week: Three letters towards emotional freedom
Next time your brain says something harsh—like “I’m such a mess” or “That’s never going to work”—try this:
Pause. Then say: "Hmm."
Just that.
It might feel silly. But “hmm” is a bridge. It gets you from judgment to curiosity. From reactivity to reflection. From panic to possibility.
It keeps your...
Sep 30, 2025
The fixing can stay behind at work: The counterintuitive parenting move that works better than fixing
It’s bedtime. Your child is melting down. You’ve offered water, a snack, five different stuffed animals, and a second blanket—still, they’re sobbing.
You’ve hit the wall. The “nothing I do is working” wall.
This is usually where we launch into Fix-It Mode: search for the right strategy, the right...
Sep 23, 2025
Peace is not at the end of the list: How to see the unfinished list as proof of a full life
Ever feel like you’re falling behind… on your life? Of course you do (we all do!).
With your expert box-checking skills honed in medical school, you never imagined you’d end the day feeling behind. Yet somehow there’s always more you wish you could have gotten to before you go to sleep. The to-do...
Sep 16, 2025
One word to change your energy: A helpful reframe to create motivation with ease
Sometimes we say we have a “motivation problem”.
But often, it’s not motivation—it’s resentment. Because everything on the list feels like a Have-To.
Have to answer that email. Have to exercise. Have to make the dentist appointment.
But what if the real shift isn’t in what you do—but how you fram...
Sep 09, 2025
