December 25, 2024 • 31 mins
This episode is OUR GIFT to you... an extra episode that walks you through 6 powerful questions to close out 2024 well.
AND ….
We are on the hot seat ourselves, answering these same 6 questions about our own lives.
It’s real, raw, and packed with insights to inspire your own reflection.
Grab your journal, tune in, and join us for this heart-opening practice. Let’s make space for more of what you desire in the new year.
Episode Highlights;
• Acknowledging the ups, downs and lessons learned from 2024
• Importance of daily habits and rituals to support our desires and growth
• Reflect and celebrate cherished moments of 2024
• Letting go of limiting beliefs and attachments
• Practicing gratitude as a path to having more of what we desire in life
Desire as Medicine End of Year Reflection Questions:
1. What challenges did you face, and how did you grow from them?
2. What habits or routines supported your growth this year?
3. What lessons or themes repeatedly showed up in your life this year?
4. What did you let go of that no longer served you?
5. What are some of your favorite moments of 2024?
6. What are you grateful for?
And, looking ahead:
What do you want to invite into your life? What are your desires?
>>TAG US ON INSTAGRAM with your answers!! @desireasmedicinepodcast
Thank you for listening. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.
How did you like this episode? Tell us everything, we'd love to hear from you.
If you'd like to learn more about 1:1 or group coaching with Brenda or Catherine message them and book a Sales Call to learn more.
Email:
desireasmedicine@gmail.com
goddessbrenda24@gmail.com
catherine@catherinenavarro.com
Instagram:
@desireasmedicinepodcast
@Brenda_Fredericks
@CoachCatherineN
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Desire is Medicine.
We are two very different womenliving a life led by desire,
inviting you into our world.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm Brenda.
I'm a devoted practitioner tobeing my fully expressed true
self in my daily life.
Motherhood relationships and mybusiness Desire has taken me on
quite a ride and every day Ipractice listening to and
following the voice within.
I'm a middle school teacherturned coach and guide of the
feminine.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
And I'm Catherine, devoted to living my life as the
truest and hopefully thehighest version of me.
I don't have children, I'venever been married.
I've spent equal parts of mylife in corporate as in some
down and low shady spaces.
I was the epitome of tired andwired and my path led me to
explore desire.
I'm a coach, guide, energyworker and a forever student.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Even after decades of inner work, we are humble
beginners on the mat, stillexploring, always curious.
We believe that listening toand following the nudge of
desire is a deep spiritualpractice that helps us grow.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
On the Desire is Medicine podcast.
We talk to each other, weinterview people we know and
love about the practice ofdesire, bringing in a very
important piece that is oftenoverlooked being responsible for
our desire.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Welcome to Desire is Medicine.
I am Brenda and I'm joined bymy lovely co-host, Catherine
Navarro.
Today, we are inviting you into a space of reflection, a
moment to pause, breathe andlook back on the year that's
passed.
(01:45):
As 2024 comes to a close, it'snatural to feel a mix of all
different emotions.
Maybe you're feeling proud,Maybe you're feeling nostalgic,
sad, regret, relief, gratefulit's all welcome here.
Relief, grateful, it's allwelcome here.
(02:10):
Wherever you are in yourjourney, this episode is here to
support you in uncovering yourlessons, celebrating your wins
and looking back at thechallenges of 2024.
So Catherine and I were thinkingabout this and we sifted
through a lot of questions andwe came up with six.
Of course, there's many morequestions that you can ask, but
(02:32):
we wanted to keep it potentexperiences of the past year,
acknowledge your growth,acknowledge your challenges and
(02:55):
really think about what you wantfor 2025.
And here's the special treatabout today.
Catherine and I are going to beon the hot seat.
That's right.
We are going to be answeringthese questions about our own
lives.
Don't worry, you don't have toremember all the questions.
We're going to take you throughKatherine's answers, take you
through my answers and we'regoing to post all the questions
(03:18):
that we asked, all six, in theshow notes so that you can do
this practice by yourself, withyour journal, with your computer
, however you like it.
This is a really gentle andpotent practice.
It's a way to really honor yourstory, honor your life, honor
your year and step into the newyear with clarity and purpose.
(03:40):
All right, let us jump in,Catherine.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I am here present.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
All right, you ready for question number one?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I am.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
What challenges did you face and how did you grow
from them?
Did you face and?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
how did you grow from them?
So a challenge that I facedthis year was I had moments
where I felt sad, where I wasn'tsure if it was like depression
and feeling like a loser.
That was new.
(04:30):
I wouldn't say that sadness isnecessarily like a home
challenge for me.
I grew from them, I think pointblank, because I haven't.
I hadn't really faced it in along time.
I hadn't faced sadness or griefin a long time.
So it was nice to sort ofrevisit and get to the other
side.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you, Number two .
What habits or routinessupported your growth this year?
Speaker 1 (05:04):
supported your growth this year Well.
So the discomfort this year wassadness and feeling like I had
not air quotes accomplished on,anything wasn't successful
enough, and so I reallygratitude, being grateful for
things, thanking God.
That's like a strong habit Ihave.
(05:25):
But one habit that I really putmy attention on this year was
asking myself what was my wintoday.
So I got into the habit ofwriting three wins every day,
and I cannot say that I wassuccessful every day, but more
(05:46):
often than not I wrote down mysuccesses and then I would write
my successes for the followingday.
This habit comes from DanSullivan, from the Gap versus
the Gain, so it's not mycreation, but it definitely
helped me stay with where I waswinning this year, because my
(06:08):
default often this year was tolook at what I had not done.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Thank you, Number three.
What lessons or themesrepeatedly showed up in your
life this year?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Oh, lessons and themes I'm sure there were many,
uh, the one that shows up forme right now, as we're talking
right, is, um, how important itis to, how important it is to
celebrate myself, how importantit is to look at what I have
(06:51):
accomplished, how important itis to pause and be with what has
been done versus what hasn't.
I've always been sort of glasshalf full, so the lesson this
(07:13):
year, the theme around success,was slightly more nuanced for me
.
It was like really beingwilling to pat myself on the
back daily, even for the small,mundane things, and that wasn't
didn't come naturally for me.
I want to, you know, shop fromthe rooftops.
When it's congratulationsworthy, right, it's a balloon
worthy, it's like fireworksworthy.
(07:35):
But when it wasn't that big,that was something that I
definitely.
That was a theme Like can I bethat person?
Can I be the person thatcelebrates herself all the time?
Like a success is a success.
It doesn't matter how.
I don't have to measure thesuccess in order for it to be a
(07:58):
success.
Like it being a success isenough.
The other thing that came upfor me, my word of the year, was
consistently committed, and oneof the things that I learned
around that this year was thatcommitment is less about one
time.
It's like I have to commit allthe time.
That's what commitment is.
(08:18):
I've recommit, recommit,recommit.
So a much better relationship.
I have a much betterrelationship with commitment
this year.
And lastly, I would sayconnection over perfection was a
theme for me for sure this year.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That's such a good one, connection over perfection,
so powerful.
Thank you, okay, number four.
What did you let go of that nolonger served you?
It could be a belief, a habit,a relationship, an item or
something else.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Interestingly enough, this year, when I was really
working on paying attention tothe gain versus the gap, I
remembered that there's a threadof this habit that goes back to
my teen years.
I remember when I used to sayto myself, like there's no room
for failure, I really didn'thave compassion for failure.
I didn't see failure as part ofsuccess.
(09:21):
Like you need to fail, fail,fail, fail, fail until you
succeed.
Like we don't always just havelike, oh, I moved in this
direction and I won.
Yay, everybody gets a trophy.
Like that's not the way life is, and so that was like I had to
(09:42):
sort of massage that out.
All right, catherine, I can seewhere I had no room for failure
in the past, but now I do haveroom for failure.
Now I do understand that.
Well, I understood it before.
I think I embraced it more thisyear, really embracing failure
as part of the success model,really embracing that every time
I fail, I learn that this ishow not to do it.
(10:03):
Every time I fail, I get somuch closer to what I do want to
do and so, yes, I let go ofthat, I want to say, or I'm in
the process.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
In the process.
Oh yes, a lot of these thingsare just ongoing.
Okay, number five this is a funone.
They're all fun.
Number five what are somefavorite moments of 2024?
Maybe highlights, surprises,personal achievements, moments.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Highlights favorite moments of 2024 would definitely
be friends.
Favorite moments of 2024 woulddefinitely be friends.
It's a highlight.
I love my friends, I love myfamily.
They're a highlight.
I can't say that it uh.
It's interesting, right,because not something it's not
(10:59):
like in 2024.
This happened and it didn'thappen in 2023.
Nonetheless, it's what made2024 special.
So, my friends, my family, myloved ones, my time traveling
this year one of my brotherscame to visit this year so I
would say that the highlightsfor me this year have all been
around connection.
They have been my favoritemoments.
(11:21):
I had some business things thisyear.
I was in DC, I was in Paris, Iyeah, these would be my favorite
moments Just being aroundpeople that I love and being in
community.
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Thank you, and number six.
Feel free to say a few.
What are you grateful for?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
to say a few.
What are you grateful for?
This year was tough in that myown self-regulation, my own mind
, was tripping out for whateverreason.
Well, it's not for whateverreason.
That's not really an honestthing.
I think I really got to see how, in the past, I would be
(12:06):
motivated by the there's no roomfor failure motivated by sort
of punishing myself to getsomething done.
I was sort of my own drillsergeant inside.
So I got to revisit that thisyear and definitely bring in a
lot more love, compassion andkindness so, and I could not
(12:29):
have done it alone by any means.
So I am extremely grateful formy network.
I am extremely, extremelygrateful for my faith and I'm
extremely grateful in the trustthat I continue to cultivate in
(12:50):
myself, life and God.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Thank you.
Those are all really beautiful.
Is there anything that youwanted to add to any of those
that maybe you left out?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Okay, thank you.
Great, you're welcome.
It's always nice to just goback and reflect on the
reflections, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah, no, I'm good, I'm ready to get off the hot
seat.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You ready.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Let's keep you on the hot seat a little longer.
I am ready, I see what you'redoing I'm just kidding trading
spaces and I'm gonna go into thequestions asking the questions
now for Miss Brenda.
Let's take a deep breath in,let's just shake it off and I
encourage anybody who's doingthis with a friend, if you're
not doing it alone, that youjust take some space, sort of
(14:01):
switch seats, so you can equallywitness each other and equally
feel that heat in the seat.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Heat in the seat.
I feel the heat in the seat.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Great.
So question number one whatchallenges did you face in 2024?
How did you grow from them?
You can reflect on how youovercame the obstacles and what
you learned.
Thank, you.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's funny, even though we wrote the questions
together, when I'm asked them itfeels completely different.
So challenge that I faced wastwo big ones really come up.
I moved this year.
I closed out my apartment,which felt really hard.
I've moved many times and I'veclosed out two big houses.
I've owned two houses in my lifethat I've packed up with
(14:57):
children and I thought closingout a one bedroom apartment
would be easier and in some waysit was, but it was hard and
it's hard doing it with anotherperson.
You know you could always dosomething yourself, your own way
, but when you're with anotherperson and you're not only you
(15:18):
have your own preferences andneeds, you're working with
another person.
That's challenging, and it'schallenging to on the earthly
level level, to take everysingle item out of your house,
of your home, and put it in abox and move it somewhere else.
(15:39):
I found that to be reallychallenging and it took me a
long time and I was tired.
Which brings me to my othermini challenge that I want to
say is that I had a muscleinjury this year and it really
slowed me down and that wasreally hard.
That was really hard for me andwhat I learned from that was to
(16:05):
really attune to my body evenmore, even though I feel like
I've learned that a lot.
Like you said, I learned thatlast year and the year before,
but this year was a really biginvitation to slow down and
really listen to my body,because overriding it didn't
work and maybe 10 years ago Icould have overridden my body in
(16:30):
some ways and I just can't doit anymore.
It doesn't work.
The cost is too high and thosethings went together because
moving was tiring and so it tookme longer, because I needed to
go slower.
I would pack rest, pack a boxrest, and that was really
(16:50):
challenging because I just wantto get it done.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Thank you so much for that.
Question number two what arehabits or routines supported
your growth this year, in 2024?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
growth this year, in 2024?
Hmm, this is such a greatquestion.
Every morning I take a walk andthis year I started going
outside first thing and gettingthe sun on my face, drink a big
glass of water, and go on a walkand have a daily morning call
with a friend and we do a toolwhere we kind of release what's
(17:37):
happening in our, in our bodies,in our minds and our thoughts
to get clear, and it's abeautiful connection that we
have.
And so that is so multi-layered, because, number one, I'm
getting outside and I'm gettingfresh air.
There's something so big for meabout just getting out of the
space I'm in and getting into adifferent space, like it
(17:59):
actually helps me get into adifferent head space.
And then the movement, gettingthe sun on my body and then also
connecting with a friend andhaving the space to get out
whatever's happening inside isreally huge.
And I also do yoga every morningand I do prayer and meditation
(18:24):
and I do a desire quad, which wedid an episode on a swamp, a
bread, a gratitude and a desire.
I literally state my desiresevery day because I want to
always keep them in my field,even if it's not happening today
.
I want to have my focus and myattention on my desires and then
(18:47):
have one more focus on myattention on my desires and then
have one more Every day.
I am on a thread with two otherpeople from a mastermind I did
in 2019.
So this is how long we've beendoing this, and every single day
, the three of us write down ourtoday's top three, the three
things that we would like toaccomplish today.
(19:07):
So that keeps me really focusedon what I want to accomplish,
and sometimes I'll put things onthere that I'm avoiding.
It's easy to do things that arefun, but sometimes, if I notice
I'm putting something off, I'llspecifically put it on that
list and it helps me stayaccountable.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Love that.
You have such great practicesreally, really really do thank
you we're going to move on toquestion number three, I'm ready
give it to me what lessons orthemes repeatedly showed up in
(19:49):
your life this year.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Oh, so many.
I'm going to say change.
I had a lot of change this year.
I really did, because when Iclosed up my apartment, first of
all, moving homes is huge, likeone of the biggest things that
you could do.
It's just tremendous.
And my partner and I didn't setup another house, we decided to
(20:13):
put our stuff in storage andwe're going to travel for the
winter, but first we had topause for the summer, so we hung
out at our lake for severalmonths and we're actually still
in New York we haven't left yet,but it's just been a lot of
change.
Moving from one place to theother by choice it's great and
(20:34):
it's wonderful, and it's hard topack up your stuff and move it
and then be in a new place andget used to what is this space
feel like.
And here's one of thechallenges that I faced inside
of that was, um, when I was atmy lake, I was with people every
(20:56):
day.
It's a, it was.
There's a lot of people around,and I really loved that.
And so one of the challengesthat I had was when I left there
and even in my apartmentbuilding living in an apartment
building there's always peoplearound in the lobby Um lobby?
Not, I don't have that in thecurrent place that I'm in right
now and I'm really missing it.
So change, change is hard.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I am going to move on now to question number four.
Mm-hmm, what did?
What did you let go of that nolonger served you and take into
consideration beliefs, habits orrelationships that you released
?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
oh well, I could say my apartment, because I did let
go of that.
It really was true to move, butI'm not going to say that just
for a little change here.
Another thing that I let go ofthat it really was true to move,
but I'm not going to say thatjust for a little change here.
Another thing that I let go ofthat was actually really hard
was my car.
I let go of my car this year.
I had my car for 15 years.
(22:02):
It was a 2009.
I bought it when my kids werepreteens.
I bought it to like this bigcar to drive them and their
friends around, and Ispecifically wanted to have it
paid off so I could during thecollege years.
And it lasted me well beyondthat.
But, like cars often do, itstarted.
(22:25):
It started costing me money, itstarted breaking down and that
was about two years ago and Iwasn't really sure how I was
going to have the new car.
I wanted to really make sure itwas a financially sound
decision, because I had a carthat I loved that was paid for,
um, and it was time this year itwas time to let go of my car
(22:49):
and my partner and I bought acar together and part of having
the new car is, like my steppinginto my expanded capacity, self
part of letting go ofscrappiness, survival patterns,
letting go of holding on tightto something out of fear and
(23:15):
stepping into something withmore expansion.
Because it's very easy to keepmy old car, because it was safe,
but taking on another carpayment asked me to step into
something new and so thatdefinitely has been expanding me
(23:36):
.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yay, expansion, oh yeah, Okay, question number five
what are some of your favoritemoments of 2024?
You can include highlights,surprises and personal
achievement.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Oh, my goodness, so many.
First of all, I do want to sayour podcast.
What a joy.
It is so much fun to show uphere with you every week,
Catherine.
It is so much fun to show uphere with you every week,
Catherine, and record and likeflesh out what we want to talk
about and just have fun Like wehave a really good time.
(24:19):
So podcasting definitely andit's super helped me grow.
I could do all, I could answerall these questions just on our
podcast, because there were alot of challenges and lessons
and all of that.
Um, so that was one of them.
Um, other favorite moments wereright now I'm living on the
(24:40):
beach.
I love it.
I go to the beach every morning.
That walk that I talked aboutin the last question or two I do
that on the beach every morning.
The beach is one of my absolutefavorite places to be and I get
to go there every singlemorning.
Same with the lake.
When I was at the lake, I wouldgo swimming every day, Every day
(25:02):
.
That makes my body and soul sohappy.
I feel like I am most myselfwhen I could just swim in the
water and flow.
I'm like being my best, Brenda.
And then also I want to includebeing with people.
(25:24):
I love being with people.
I love In 2024, like you said,also in other years but I really
made a point to spend time withpeople that I love.
That's so important to me and Ispent a lot of time with my
kids.
My daughter visited me here.
I went to visit her where shelives.
(25:45):
My son visited a lot.
I spent time with my sistersand my mother and my friends.
I I really loved that.
I think it's funny how we bothanswered that about connection.
Those are the favorite moments.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I love that.
Yes, I mean it's, it's funnyand it makes sense, right, I
mean?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
it does.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
We look at statistically speaking.
Usually life is aboutconnection, loving connection,
you know.
Okay, so here we are moving toquestion number six what are you
grateful for?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Oh, my goodness, so many things.
I was walking on the beach thismorning, thinking I am so
grateful that I can walk on thebeach.
I'm so grateful, so gratefulthat I can walk on the beach.
I'm so grateful I have a bodythat can walk me on the beach,
especially with that muscle painthat I was talking about.
There were many times this yearwhere I couldn't take long
walks.
(26:45):
I'm still not back up to thelong, long walks that I would
love to go on, but I was able towalk pretty far today without
any muscle pain and, wow, thatis really wonderful.
So I am happy to have a bodythat is healthy and well.
Number one I'm happy for thispodcast.
(27:08):
I'm so grateful for thispodcast and how it's helped me
grow.
I'm grateful for my partner,who shows up and his willingness
to meet me every day, and formy dog.
Oh, my God, I love my doggy.
He brings me so much joy.
He's just so precious.
(27:35):
I am deeply grateful for therelationship that I have with
both of my kids.
It's really beautiful, it'shonest and real and it's not
without its challenges.
We've had many challengingconversations, even this year,
but I'm grateful that it keepsevolving and I'm grateful for my
(27:55):
mom evolving, and I'm gratefulfor my mom that she's still here
with me, and I'm just gratefulthat I get to live this life,
that I had a whole other careerbefore I had my own business,
and that I changed everythingand that I left teaching in 2016
and now it's 2024.
And I was thinking just lastweek wow, it's been eight years
(28:20):
and I feel like I am finallystarting to know what I'm doing,
I'm dialing in who I'm here tohelp, and that people are coming
to me for that, and that I getto do this podcast and bring my
heart and what matters to me outinto the world.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Gratitude is just so precious.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
It really is.
I mean, I could go on and on.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Makes sense.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You know, I'm thinking right now, as you're
talking about gratitude, and I'mfeeling in my heart I'm like,
yeah, as we were curating thesequestions for each other, and
thank you so much for all ofyour lovely answers, brenda.
Brenda and I came across somequestions that wouldn't even be
questions and it was reallyinteresting.
It's sort of like, as you dothis work and as you honor
(29:14):
yourself, there are certainthings that are just not a
problem.
You know, like even thequestion of what did I do, what
did I let go of that no longerserved me For us here in 2024,
it looks so different than whatthat would look like.
You know that looks sodifferent than what that would
(29:36):
look like.
You know and I know I've sharedthis, I think, in previous
episodes how in my thirties,right when I decided, oh, I'm
not bringing my phone into thebedroom anymore or, oh, I'm
turning my answering machine off.
So I just want to encourageeveryone that the review and
(29:57):
reflect is a great way to pauseand look at what has happened,
but it's not a death sentence,meaning like 2025 is right
around the corner and the greatnews is that you can do better.
When we know better, we dobetter, and even I can be so
(30:19):
doom and gloom like this, andeven if we don't get to live it,
we won't know that wedisappointed ourselves.
It's fine.
Keep going for it.
So I just want to tell you tokeep going.
Keep putting yourselves first,keep leaning into your desires,
keep feeling into what you want.
Pause, breathe, reflect.
(30:41):
I really want to invite you tohonor who you are.
Who were you in 2024, who doyou want to be in 2025, and then
sneak peek.
Brenda and I will be definitelyhelping you with your reset in
a future episode.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Thank you for joining us on the Desire Medicine
Podcast.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Desire invites us to be honest loving and deeply
intimate with ourselves andothers.
You can find our handles in theshow notes.
We'd love to hear from you.
Welcome to Desire is Medicine.
We are two very different womenliving a life led by desire,
inviting you into our world.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm Brenda.
I'm a devoted practitioner tobeing my fully expressed true
self in my daily life.
Motherhood relationships and mybusiness Desire has taken me on
quite a ride and every day Ipractice listening to and
following the voice within.
I'm a middle school teacherturned coach and guide of the
feminine.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
And I'm Catherine, devoted to living my life as the
truest and hopefully thehighest version of me.
I don't have children, I'venever been married.
I've spent equal parts of mylife in corporate as in some
down and low shady spaces.
I was the epitome of tired andwired and my path led me to
explore desire.
I'm a coach, guide, energyworker and a forever student.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Even after decades of inner work, we are humble
beginners on the mat, stillexploring, always curious.
We believe that listening toand following the nudge of
desire is a deep spiritualpractice that helps us grow.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
On the Desire is Medicine podcast.
We talk to each other, weinterview people we know and
love about the practice ofdesire, bringing in a very
important piece that is oftenoverlooked being responsible for
our desire.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Welcome to Desire is Medicine.
I am Brenda and I'm joined bymy lovely co-host, Catherine
Navarro.
Today, we are inviting you into a space of reflection, a
moment to pause, breathe andlook back on the year that's
passed.
(01:45):
As 2024 comes to a close, it'snatural to feel a mix of all
different emotions.
Maybe you're feeling proud,Maybe you're feeling nostalgic,
sad, regret, relief, gratefulit's all welcome here.
Relief, grateful, it's allwelcome here.
(02:10):
Wherever you are in yourjourney, this episode is here to
support you in uncovering yourlessons, celebrating your wins
and looking back at thechallenges of 2024.
So Catherine and I were thinkingabout this and we sifted
through a lot of questions andwe came up with six.
Of course, there's many morequestions that you can ask, but
(02:32):
we wanted to keep it potentexperiences of the past year,
acknowledge your growth,acknowledge your challenges and
(02:55):
really think about what you wantfor 2025.
And here's the special treatabout today.
Catherine and I are going to beon the hot seat.
That's right.
We are going to be answeringthese questions about our own
lives.
Don't worry, you don't have toremember all the questions.
We're going to take you throughKatherine's answers, take you
through my answers and we'regoing to post all the questions
(03:18):
that we asked, all six, in theshow notes so that you can do
this practice by yourself, withyour journal, with your computer
, however you like it.
This is a really gentle andpotent practice.
It's a way to really honor yourstory, honor your life, honor
your year and step into the newyear with clarity and purpose.
(03:40):
All right, let us jump in,Catherine.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I am here present.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
All right, you ready for question number one?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I am.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
What challenges did you face and how did you grow
from them?
Did you face and?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
how did you grow from them?
So a challenge that I facedthis year was I had moments
where I felt sad, where I wasn'tsure if it was like depression
and feeling like a loser.
That was new.
(04:30):
I wouldn't say that sadness isnecessarily like a home
challenge for me.
I grew from them, I think pointblank, because I haven't.
I hadn't really faced it in along time.
I hadn't faced sadness or griefin a long time.
So it was nice to sort ofrevisit and get to the other
side.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you, Number two .
What habits or routinessupported your growth this year?
Speaker 1 (05:04):
supported your growth this year Well.
So the discomfort this year wassadness and feeling like I had
not air quotes accomplished on,anything wasn't successful
enough, and so I reallygratitude, being grateful for
things, thanking God.
That's like a strong habit Ihave.
(05:25):
But one habit that I really putmy attention on this year was
asking myself what was my wintoday.
So I got into the habit ofwriting three wins every day,
and I cannot say that I wassuccessful every day, but more
(05:46):
often than not I wrote down mysuccesses and then I would write
my successes for the followingday.
This habit comes from DanSullivan, from the Gap versus
the Gain, so it's not mycreation, but it definitely
helped me stay with where I waswinning this year, because my
(06:08):
default often this year was tolook at what I had not done.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Thank you, Number three.
What lessons or themesrepeatedly showed up in your
life this year?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Oh, lessons and themes I'm sure there were many,
uh, the one that shows up forme right now, as we're talking
right, is, um, how important itis to, how important it is to
celebrate myself, how importantit is to look at what I have
(06:51):
accomplished, how important itis to pause and be with what has
been done versus what hasn't.
I've always been sort of glasshalf full, so the lesson this
(07:13):
year, the theme around success,was slightly more nuanced for me
.
It was like really beingwilling to pat myself on the
back daily, even for the small,mundane things, and that wasn't
didn't come naturally for me.
I want to, you know, shop fromthe rooftops.
When it's congratulationsworthy, right, it's a balloon
worthy, it's like fireworksworthy.
(07:35):
But when it wasn't that big,that was something that I
definitely.
That was a theme Like can I bethat person?
Can I be the person thatcelebrates herself all the time?
Like a success is a success.
It doesn't matter how.
I don't have to measure thesuccess in order for it to be a
(07:58):
success.
Like it being a success isenough.
The other thing that came upfor me, my word of the year, was
consistently committed, and oneof the things that I learned
around that this year was thatcommitment is less about one
time.
It's like I have to commit allthe time.
That's what commitment is.
(08:18):
I've recommit, recommit,recommit.
So a much better relationship.
I have a much betterrelationship with commitment
this year.
And lastly, I would sayconnection over perfection was a
theme for me for sure this year.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That's such a good one, connection over perfection,
so powerful.
Thank you, okay, number four.
What did you let go of that nolonger served you?
It could be a belief, a habit,a relationship, an item or
something else.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Interestingly enough, this year, when I was really
working on paying attention tothe gain versus the gap, I
remembered that there's a threadof this habit that goes back to
my teen years.
I remember when I used to sayto myself, like there's no room
for failure, I really didn'thave compassion for failure.
I didn't see failure as part ofsuccess.
(09:21):
Like you need to fail, fail,fail, fail, fail until you
succeed.
Like we don't always just havelike, oh, I moved in this
direction and I won.
Yay, everybody gets a trophy.
Like that's not the way life is, and so that was like I had to
(09:42):
sort of massage that out.
All right, catherine, I can seewhere I had no room for failure
in the past, but now I do haveroom for failure.
Now I do understand that.
Well, I understood it before.
I think I embraced it more thisyear, really embracing failure
as part of the success model,really embracing that every time
I fail, I learn that this ishow not to do it.
(10:03):
Every time I fail, I get somuch closer to what I do want to
do and so, yes, I let go ofthat, I want to say, or I'm in
the process.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
In the process.
Oh yes, a lot of these thingsare just ongoing.
Okay, number five this is a funone.
They're all fun.
Number five what are somefavorite moments of 2024?
Maybe highlights, surprises,personal achievements, moments.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Highlights favorite moments of 2024 would definitely
be friends.
Favorite moments of 2024 woulddefinitely be friends.
It's a highlight.
I love my friends, I love myfamily.
They're a highlight.
I can't say that it uh.
It's interesting, right,because not something it's not
(10:59):
like in 2024.
This happened and it didn'thappen in 2023.
Nonetheless, it's what made2024 special.
So, my friends, my family, myloved ones, my time traveling
this year one of my brotherscame to visit this year so I
would say that the highlightsfor me this year have all been
around connection.
They have been my favoritemoments.
(11:21):
I had some business things thisyear.
I was in DC, I was in Paris, Iyeah, these would be my favorite
moments Just being aroundpeople that I love and being in
community.
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Thank you, and number six.
Feel free to say a few.
What are you grateful for?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
to say a few.
What are you grateful for?
This year was tough in that myown self-regulation, my own mind
, was tripping out for whateverreason.
Well, it's not for whateverreason.
That's not really an honestthing.
I think I really got to see how, in the past, I would be
(12:06):
motivated by the there's no roomfor failure motivated by sort
of punishing myself to getsomething done.
I was sort of my own drillsergeant inside.
So I got to revisit that thisyear and definitely bring in a
lot more love, compassion andkindness so, and I could not
(12:29):
have done it alone by any means.
So I am extremely grateful formy network.
I am extremely, extremelygrateful for my faith and I'm
extremely grateful in the trustthat I continue to cultivate in
(12:50):
myself, life and God.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Thank you.
Those are all really beautiful.
Is there anything that youwanted to add to any of those
that maybe you left out?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Okay, thank you.
Great, you're welcome.
It's always nice to just goback and reflect on the
reflections, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah, no, I'm good, I'm ready to get off the hot
seat.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
You ready.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Let's keep you on the hot seat a little longer.
I am ready, I see what you'redoing I'm just kidding trading
spaces and I'm gonna go into thequestions asking the questions
now for Miss Brenda.
Let's take a deep breath in,let's just shake it off and I
encourage anybody who's doingthis with a friend, if you're
not doing it alone, that youjust take some space, sort of
(14:01):
switch seats, so you can equallywitness each other and equally
feel that heat in the seat.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Heat in the seat.
I feel the heat in the seat.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Great.
So question number one whatchallenges did you face in 2024?
How did you grow from them?
You can reflect on how youovercame the obstacles and what
you learned.
Thank, you.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's funny, even though we wrote the questions
together, when I'm asked them itfeels completely different.
So challenge that I faced wastwo big ones really come up.
I moved this year.
I closed out my apartment,which felt really hard.
I've moved many times and I'veclosed out two big houses.
I've owned two houses in my lifethat I've packed up with
(14:57):
children and I thought closingout a one bedroom apartment
would be easier and in some waysit was, but it was hard and
it's hard doing it with anotherperson.
You know you could always dosomething yourself, your own way
, but when you're with anotherperson and you're not only you
(15:18):
have your own preferences andneeds, you're working with
another person.
That's challenging, and it'schallenging to on the earthly
level level, to take everysingle item out of your house,
of your home, and put it in abox and move it somewhere else.
(15:39):
I found that to be reallychallenging and it took me a
long time and I was tired.
Which brings me to my othermini challenge that I want to
say is that I had a muscleinjury this year and it really
slowed me down and that wasreally hard.
That was really hard for me andwhat I learned from that was to
(16:05):
really attune to my body evenmore, even though I feel like
I've learned that a lot.
Like you said, I learned thatlast year and the year before,
but this year was a really biginvitation to slow down and
really listen to my body,because overriding it didn't
work and maybe 10 years ago Icould have overridden my body in
(16:30):
some ways and I just can't doit anymore.
It doesn't work.
The cost is too high and thosethings went together because
moving was tiring and so it tookme longer, because I needed to
go slower.
I would pack rest, pack a boxrest, and that was really
(16:50):
challenging because I just wantto get it done.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Thank you so much for that.
Question number two what arehabits or routines supported
your growth this year, in 2024?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
growth this year, in 2024?
Hmm, this is such a greatquestion.
Every morning I take a walk andthis year I started going
outside first thing and gettingthe sun on my face, drink a big
glass of water, and go on a walkand have a daily morning call
with a friend and we do a toolwhere we kind of release what's
(17:37):
happening in our, in our bodies,in our minds and our thoughts
to get clear, and it's abeautiful connection that we
have.
And so that is so multi-layered, because, number one, I'm
getting outside and I'm gettingfresh air.
There's something so big for meabout just getting out of the
space I'm in and getting into adifferent space, like it
(17:59):
actually helps me get into adifferent head space.
And then the movement, gettingthe sun on my body and then also
connecting with a friend andhaving the space to get out
whatever's happening inside isreally huge.
And I also do yoga every morningand I do prayer and meditation
(18:24):
and I do a desire quad, which wedid an episode on a swamp, a
bread, a gratitude and a desire.
I literally state my desiresevery day because I want to
always keep them in my field,even if it's not happening today
.
I want to have my focus and myattention on my desires and then
(18:47):
have one more focus on myattention on my desires and then
have one more Every day.
I am on a thread with two otherpeople from a mastermind I did
in 2019.
So this is how long we've beendoing this, and every single day
, the three of us write down ourtoday's top three, the three
things that we would like toaccomplish today.
(19:07):
So that keeps me really focusedon what I want to accomplish,
and sometimes I'll put things onthere that I'm avoiding.
It's easy to do things that arefun, but sometimes, if I notice
I'm putting something off, I'llspecifically put it on that
list and it helps me stayaccountable.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Love that.
You have such great practicesreally, really really do thank
you we're going to move on toquestion number three, I'm ready
give it to me what lessons orthemes repeatedly showed up in
(19:49):
your life this year.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Oh, so many.
I'm going to say change.
I had a lot of change this year.
I really did, because when Iclosed up my apartment, first of
all, moving homes is huge, likeone of the biggest things that
you could do.
It's just tremendous.
And my partner and I didn't setup another house, we decided to
(20:13):
put our stuff in storage andwe're going to travel for the
winter, but first we had topause for the summer, so we hung
out at our lake for severalmonths and we're actually still
in New York we haven't left yet,but it's just been a lot of
change.
Moving from one place to theother by choice it's great and
(20:34):
it's wonderful, and it's hard topack up your stuff and move it
and then be in a new place andget used to what is this space
feel like.
And here's one of thechallenges that I faced inside
of that was, um, when I was atmy lake, I was with people every
(20:56):
day.
It's a, it was.
There's a lot of people around,and I really loved that.
And so one of the challengesthat I had was when I left there
and even in my apartmentbuilding living in an apartment
building there's always peoplearound in the lobby Um lobby?
Not, I don't have that in thecurrent place that I'm in right
now and I'm really missing it.
So change, change is hard.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I am going to move on now to question number four.
Mm-hmm, what did?
What did you let go of that nolonger served you and take into
consideration beliefs, habits orrelationships that you released
?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
oh well, I could say my apartment, because I did let
go of that.
It really was true to move, butI'm not going to say that just
for a little change here.
Another thing that I let go ofthat it really was true to move,
but I'm not going to say thatjust for a little change here.
Another thing that I let go ofthat was actually really hard
was my car.
I let go of my car this year.
I had my car for 15 years.
(22:02):
It was a 2009.
I bought it when my kids werepreteens.
I bought it to like this bigcar to drive them and their
friends around, and Ispecifically wanted to have it
paid off so I could during thecollege years.
And it lasted me well beyondthat.
But, like cars often do, itstarted.
(22:25):
It started costing me money, itstarted breaking down and that
was about two years ago and Iwasn't really sure how I was
going to have the new car.
I wanted to really make sure itwas a financially sound
decision, because I had a carthat I loved that was paid for,
um, and it was time this year itwas time to let go of my car
(22:49):
and my partner and I bought acar together and part of having
the new car is, like my steppinginto my expanded capacity, self
part of letting go ofscrappiness, survival patterns,
letting go of holding on tightto something out of fear and
(23:15):
stepping into something withmore expansion.
Because it's very easy to keepmy old car, because it was safe,
but taking on another carpayment asked me to step into
something new and so thatdefinitely has been expanding me
(23:36):
.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yay, expansion, oh yeah, Okay, question number five
what are some of your favoritemoments of 2024?
You can include highlights,surprises and personal
achievement.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Oh, my goodness, so many.
First of all, I do want to sayour podcast.
What a joy.
It is so much fun to show uphere with you every week,
Catherine.
It is so much fun to show uphere with you every week,
Catherine, and record and likeflesh out what we want to talk
about and just have fun Like wehave a really good time.
(24:19):
So podcasting definitely andit's super helped me grow.
I could do all, I could answerall these questions just on our
podcast, because there were alot of challenges and lessons
and all of that.
Um, so that was one of them.
Um, other favorite moments wereright now I'm living on the
(24:40):
beach.
I love it.
I go to the beach every morning.
That walk that I talked aboutin the last question or two I do
that on the beach every morning.
The beach is one of my absolutefavorite places to be and I get
to go there every singlemorning.
Same with the lake.
When I was at the lake, I wouldgo swimming every day, Every day
(25:02):
.
That makes my body and soul sohappy.
I feel like I am most myselfwhen I could just swim in the
water and flow.
I'm like being my best, Brenda.
And then also I want to includebeing with people.
(25:24):
I love being with people.
I love In 2024, like you said,also in other years but I really
made a point to spend time withpeople that I love.
That's so important to me and Ispent a lot of time with my
kids.
My daughter visited me here.
I went to visit her where shelives.
(25:45):
My son visited a lot.
I spent time with my sistersand my mother and my friends.
I I really loved that.
I think it's funny how we bothanswered that about connection.
Those are the favorite moments.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I love that.
Yes, I mean it's, it's funnyand it makes sense, right, I
mean?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
it does.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
We look at statistically speaking.
Usually life is aboutconnection, loving connection,
you know.
Okay, so here we are moving toquestion number six what are you
grateful for?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Oh, my goodness, so many things.
I was walking on the beach thismorning, thinking I am so
grateful that I can walk on thebeach.
I'm so grateful, so gratefulthat I can walk on the beach.
I'm so grateful I have a bodythat can walk me on the beach,
especially with that muscle painthat I was talking about.
There were many times this yearwhere I couldn't take long
walks.
(26:45):
I'm still not back up to thelong, long walks that I would
love to go on, but I was able towalk pretty far today without
any muscle pain and, wow, thatis really wonderful.
So I am happy to have a bodythat is healthy and well.
Number one I'm happy for thispodcast.
(27:08):
I'm so grateful for thispodcast and how it's helped me
grow.
I'm grateful for my partner,who shows up and his willingness
to meet me every day, and formy dog.
Oh, my God, I love my doggy.
He brings me so much joy.
He's just so precious.
(27:35):
I am deeply grateful for therelationship that I have with
both of my kids.
It's really beautiful, it'shonest and real and it's not
without its challenges.
We've had many challengingconversations, even this year,
but I'm grateful that it keepsevolving and I'm grateful for my
(27:55):
mom evolving, and I'm gratefulfor my mom that she's still here
with me, and I'm just gratefulthat I get to live this life,
that I had a whole other careerbefore I had my own business,
and that I changed everythingand that I left teaching in 2016
and now it's 2024.
And I was thinking just lastweek wow, it's been eight years
(28:20):
and I feel like I am finallystarting to know what I'm doing,
I'm dialing in who I'm here tohelp, and that people are coming
to me for that, and that I getto do this podcast and bring my
heart and what matters to me outinto the world.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Gratitude is just so precious.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
It really is.
I mean, I could go on and on.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Makes sense.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You know, I'm thinking right now, as you're
talking about gratitude, and I'mfeeling in my heart I'm like,
yeah, as we were curating thesequestions for each other, and
thank you so much for all ofyour lovely answers, brenda.
Brenda and I came across somequestions that wouldn't even be
questions and it was reallyinteresting.
It's sort of like, as you dothis work and as you honor
(29:14):
yourself, there are certainthings that are just not a
problem.
You know, like even thequestion of what did I do, what
did I let go of that no longerserved me For us here in 2024,
it looks so different than whatthat would look like.
You know that looks sodifferent than what that would
(29:36):
look like.
You know and I know I've sharedthis, I think, in previous
episodes how in my thirties,right when I decided, oh, I'm
not bringing my phone into thebedroom anymore or, oh, I'm
turning my answering machine off.
So I just want to encourageeveryone that the review and
(29:57):
reflect is a great way to pauseand look at what has happened,
but it's not a death sentence,meaning like 2025 is right
around the corner and the greatnews is that you can do better.
When we know better, we dobetter, and even I can be so
(30:19):
doom and gloom like this, andeven if we don't get to live it,
we won't know that wedisappointed ourselves.
It's fine.
Keep going for it.
So I just want to tell you tokeep going.
Keep putting yourselves first,keep leaning into your desires,
keep feeling into what you want.
Pause, breathe, reflect.
(30:41):
I really want to invite you tohonor who you are.
Who were you in 2024, who doyou want to be in 2025, and then
sneak peek.
Brenda and I will be definitelyhelping you with your reset in
a future episode.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Thank you for joining us on the Desire Medicine
Podcast.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Desire invites us to be honest loving and deeply
intimate with ourselves andothers.
You can find our handles in theshow notes.
We'd love to hear from you.
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