A person can reach a surprising amount of clarity in a relatively short amount of time when curiosity, compassion, and intention come out at play.

CoachingJena SchwartzFebruary 5, 2021coaching, personal growth, personal coaching, writing coach, listeningComment

Learning How to Pace Myself (Or, How My Bulldog and I Are the Same Person)

I was talking to my wife yesterday about being tired. I don't know exactly where it comes from, but I have some residual shame about being tired. I'm a person who gets a lot done and also crashes hard. I don't always pace myself well.

Real LifeJena SchwartzFebruary 17, 2020personal growth, English Bulldog, english bulldog, bulldog, Chalupa, Slowing DownComment

Success: Looking Behind the Curtain

The more we look behind the curtain, the healthier we can be in our expectations of ourselves and the more compassionate we can be with each other.

Real Life, Creative ProcessJena SchwartzDecember 8, 2019success, self-employment, personal growth, personal coaching, behind the scenes, anxiety, depression, Mental Health, finances, fear Comments

Playing with Affirmations

As I enter a new season in my life and work, I need more encouragement than ever — and it feels right to be finding new ways of offering that to myself.

CoachingJena SchwartzSeptember 4, 2019affirmations, positive thinking, gratitude, abundance, enough, entrepreneur, self-confidence, confidence, competence, CBT, Healing, personal coaching, personal growthComment

Something Good Is Worth Finding

We all have our stories about when we stopped. Stopped playing. Stopped creating. Stopped doing something that brought us joy because it wasn't practical or lucrative or productive.

Creative ProcessJena SchwartzSeptember 3, 2019coaching, joy, creativity, writing, self-love, practice, writing practice, connection, writing coach, life coach, personal coaching, personal growth, something good, belongingComment

"You Really Look Like You Know What You're Doing"

What if playing with balance was the very thing that made me good at this thing?

Real Life, ObservationsJena SchwartzAugust 26, 2019Paddleboarding, perspective, personal growth, letting go, trust, parenting, presence, present moment, Being present Comments

"Be Good to Yourself" :: Not Just Some Pithy Pablum

Hating on yourself is not cool. It doesn't exactly open the creative floodgates. And "being good to yourself" is neither as easy as it sounds or as shallow as it may seem. In fact, I'd argue that its depths are vast, and when you dive down, you'll find wreckage and treasure alike. And isn't that where the writing lives?

Creative Process, ObservationsJena SchwartzJune 28, 2019writing, self-love, perfectionism, practice, writing practice, coaching, lightworkers, habits, personal growth, creativity, accountability, privilege Comment

On Not Bypassing Anger

What I have experienced is that by giving myself space to FEEL anger, to truly just feel it, the pressure to "make it something" is lessened and I do, in turn, feel more able to take action.

ObservationsJena SchwartzJune 13, 2019Anger, Rage, Martyrdom, Marriage, Motherhood, Power, personal growth, Emma Lazarus, Liberation, Freedom, coaching Comments

In My Reality, I Make a Mess

Creative ProcessJena SchwartzJune 11, 2019writing, creativity, life, clarity, expectations, messy, learning, personal growth Comment

Breathe Easy

What do I want to feed my imagination? Now that feels like a question worth spending time with.

ObservationsJena SchwartzJune 9, 2019Time, Memory, Imagination, Healing, personal growth, coming out, Grief, Marriage, remarriage Comment

Stress, Emergencies, and the Big Reset

When I feel stress today, I will pause and ask myself: Is it an emergency? I am making this more stressful and complicated than it really is? What is the next step?

Real Life, ObservationsJena SchwartzMay 2, 2019stress, emergency, Maslow's Hierarchy, Natalie Goldberg, Writing, Breathing, Trust, Veronica Walsh, CBT, Mental Health, personal growth, adrenaline, self-inquiry, writing practice Comments

Magnolia Blossoms and Rain

You can cover the past / but until you speak the truth / you will never heal

Real Life, PoetryJena SchwartzApril 27, 2019Healing, Codependence, Addiction, Struggle, Truth, Nature, personal growth, kindnessComment

Accidents Happen, Learning Happens

She went back to her car and the officer came back to ours a few minutes later. Apparently, this was not her first encounter with the other driver. “Oh, I’ve dealt with her before. She’s always like that,” she said.

ObservationsJena SchwartzDecember 15, 2018boundaries, learning, personal growth, accidents, communicationComment

Promise Me You’ll Never Abandon Yourself Again

Real Life, ObservationsJena SchwartzMarch 7, 2018body image, self-love, beauty, women's bodies, personal growthComment

I’ve Lost Touch with Her

ObservationsJena SchwartzDecember 8, 2014Joan Didion, Lot's Wife, Emily Dickinson, Anna Swir, poetry, personal growth, women's livesComment

Blog

We all have our stories about when we stopped. Stopped playing. Stopped creating. Stopped doing something that brought us joy because it wasn't practical or lucrative or productive.