The Story in My Head: Healing & Self-Improvement for the Lazy

I met with the money expert to re-visit a few things. We agreed there's a lot of mis-information about money in The Story in My Head. I was reminded I MAKE THE RULES cause it's MY story now! 

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Steady Reset, a free three-day audio series to help women stop spiraling around money and start feeling steady ag...

Money is most definitely an emotional thing!  We can feel guilt and shame after spending money, embarrassed to talk about our earnings and spending, as well as feel confused about why and how we spend. We can not speak honestly about money without speaking about our emotions AND our emotional spending.  Whether we are sad, fearful, hormonally imbalanced or experiencing any kind of crisis; our emotions affect our money story. Let's begin to budget for emotional spending. 

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and...

Continuing my conversations with the money expert, I am learning to have honest conversations..... with my partner and with myself! To honestly look at my relationship with money is scary.  It's hard work to share the Story in My Head about money, even with people I love. I am capable of hard things.  So are you.  

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Stea...

I'm meeting with a financial expert to re-write the Story in My Head about MONEY.  It's hard work. It's a little embarrassing.  And it's totally worth it. Join me as I dive into my financial story, identify what is missing, let go of what is not needed and begin to feel financially "enough".

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Steady Reset, a fre...

I'm meeting with a financial expert to re-write the Story in My Head about MONEY.  It's hard work. It's a little embarrassing.  And it's totally worth it. Join me as I dive into my financial story, identify what is missing, let go of what is not needed and begin to feel financially "enough".

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Steady Reset, a fre...

I'm having conversations over coffee with Shannah Game. She's a money expert with all the letters after her name and all the professional bru-ha-has. More important to me? Shannah is a friend, a story-teller and someone who speaks my language.  We are gathering and telling stories about ourselves and our money.  Check it out!

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Steady Reset, a f...

I am listening to the Story in My Head about breaking ground and growing into a big, beautiful tree.  It's a bit scary being just a seedling. Afraid or not, I am ready to grow. I want to change the Story in My Head. Join me as I learn new skills and write a new narrative. A new series Money Mondays, beginning June 15th. 

growth, change, worth, self esteem, relationships, shame, anxiety, communication, self care    

The Story in My Head is going in a new direction.  I am not interviewing people, I am having conversations over coffee and re-writing my narrative.  It's going to be hard.  It's going to be worth it.  We are capable of doing hard things.  And we are worth it.  Let's change our story. 

Shannah Game is a CFP®, money expert, author, and emotional money guide who helps women understand the stories, shame, fear, and identity patterns behind their financial lives. She is the author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money and creator of The Steady Reset, a free thr...

We all know to learn new things requires at least some practice at some point in the learning process.  What about what we practice while NOT learning something new?  We practice daily. Do we practice what we are intending to practice?  Lately the Story in My Head is about intentional practice.  "Please be intentional"  I now say to myself 

self awareness, communication, modeling, teaching, learning, practice, skill building, change 

I'm working toward having calm within the storm, having peace within the chaos.  I have a long way to go and I feel I'm off to a good start this week.  I've practiced 'sitting a spell' every day for 1 week.  At times I can only be still a few seconds.  Other times I can carve out a few moments.  No matter how long a spell I sit, IT HELPS!!!!!!  I ask you to join me for a mid-week quickie experiment.  I ask you to join me sitting a spell.  

anxiety, stress, coping, balance, change, transiti...

BACK TO THE BASICS!  How to begin changing the narrative of my story? Be open to changing my perspective!  I've been reminded again, it can happen so quickly!  All I have to do is be open to something new. 

I'm sharing a quickie about mindful expectations.  The story in my head was "other focused" in regard to both expectations and creating change.  Now I'm practicing something different for making changes and setting expectations...being Me Focused. Join me.

expectations, relationships, communication, change, resentment, anger, healing 

Sometimes the Story in My Head becomes a set of expectations. And when things don't go as I expected, I get all twisted up! Here's a Spring Solstice quickie about adapting when life punches ya in the gut. Maybe the gut punch is a needed change in your story! 

expectations, self care, adjusting, healing, change, goals, action steps, direction 

Here's a quickie about giving yourself some grace.  Allow yourself the time to navigate your obstacles at your own pace.  They are YOUR obstacles, so take YOUR time! Let's change the stories in our heads together, and lets be less critical of ourselves. 

grace, criticism, judgment, self awareness, timing, healing, facing obstacles, hell  

How many of your ideas have you shot down calling them stupid, or crazy or just plain not good enough?  How often do the voices in your head keep you from sharing your ideas, your dreams, your stories?  What if Dr Seuss listened to the voices judging the stories in his head?  We'd miss the wonderful world of Dr Seuss!!!!    

courage, self esteem, enough, be authentic, sharing your story, vulnerability, intimacy, 

BOY how the Story in My Head has changed!!!!!  It's amazing how very small turns of the dial can change our course so very much!!! I'm excited to share the Story in My Head today, as it compares to when I began listening to myself AND as it has evolved into a new direction for myself. I invite you to share this journey of change with me and I appreciate your participation in the experiment I call... THE STORY IN MY HEAD

change, anxiety, depression, growth, roots, hope, self esteem, healing, self care, judgment   

Miss you...

Change, whether unexpected or foreseen, is often difficult.  We question everything during change, including where to begin!!!!  Today's quickie may offer you a starting place for any changes you'd like to make in 2026.  Begin by giving yourself some Kudos for how amazing you already are!!!! Happy New Year and Here's to Micro Changes!!! 

change, transition, New You, self care, resolutions, self talk, positive attitude, positivity 

Happy Thanksgiving!  This mid-week quickie (Q) is the story in my head about giving thanks. 

gratitude, self care, transition, holidays, self esteem, change, acceptance, joy, love 

One may say you can't have courage without first having fear.  I'm learning to navigate having both at the same time and it's hard to do!  At times, fear wins. Other times I seem to have more courage. Either way, as I am moving between the two; I am loosening my grip and learning to let go.  Here's the latest story in my head.

letting go, anxiety, fear, courage, change, transition, moving forward, progress

It's hard for most of us to accept situations we don't like.  However, it is a critical aspect of change.  Not liking where we are motivates us to get moving! If you don't like where you are, work on getting ready for where you want to be.  Don't waste energy on criticizing how you got here, use your energy to prepare for where you are going! 

awareness, acceptance, action, change, self care, feeling stuck, healing  

Have you been told you overreact? Do you react rather than respond? You are like me.  The stories in our heads are never an exact match to the reality of a situation. How accurate is your story? For it is the story we mostly react to! 

Today's quickie is a dare.  I DARE YOU to explore and gather more pieces to your puzzle!!!!  

relationships, communication, change, anxiety, depression, fear, self awareness, addiction

I woke up with an attitude problem.  I had a poor attitude about myself and the way I was talking to myself was the problem.  My self esteem needed some adjustments.  For me, that means the Story in My Head needs adjusting!  Here's a mid-week quickie about raising my self esteem one step at a time. 

self esteem, self worth, self love, self, self care, change, trust, respect, acceptance  

It sucks when we are faced with a decision to make or a problem to solve and we don't know what to do.  At times we have too many options, at times there seems to be too few.  The worst times are when can't perceive of options we like!  Regardless, we all know feeling stuck or trapped SUCKS!  Here's a mid-week quickie on decision making.  This time, use your change (yep, coins!) to help you make a change.  Just an experiment.  Try it! Ya just may change the way you see things.  And when we change the way we see the...

The Story in My Head often leads to expectations.... unrealistic ones!  And to be honest I've had expectations of how people around me 'should communicate, should behave, and should provide' whenever I am experiencing angst or am in a crisis.  Well, needless to say, my unrealistic expectations were not met and I was angry about it!!!  I was hurt and I felt more alone.  Today's quickie is about knowing we are not alone, even when we feel as though we are.  Cause most of the time when we are in crisis, those around us are in crisis too!  Let's give o...

This mid-week quickie starts fun and ends serious.  This Story in My Head begins dark and smelly, and now offers me permission to feel proud of myself.  Celebrate your skills, successes, accomplishments and talents.

success, humility, arrogance, self care, pride, self love, change, self esteem 

Kudos to Kate!

Today I am practicing new coping skills to help reduce stress and anxiety.  I've learned I need to practice when I am NOT feeling stressed or overwhelmed.  I'm committed to setting myself up for success; and I invite you to join me in my latest experiment.  Today we are going to practice Being Present. 

anxiety, grief, depression, addiction, stress, coping, change, awareness, self care

Over the last week I have used visualization to help me inventory the tools I have to reduce anxiety, and then I began creating an Anxiety Toolbelt.  The process has been more difficult than I had expected.  The process has proven quite effective in increasing my self awareness about the coping mechanisms I currently use, as well as the ones I want to practice.    

anxiety, depression, grief, self awareness, honesty, change, transformation, coping

I'm starting a new project...REDUCING ANXIETY!  I am motivated to do the work required to make the changes.  I am determined to tackle this project honestly.  I am hopeful I will succeed in this project once I have the right tools for the job.  Today I began building my Anxiety Toolkit.  

anxiety, fear, stress, coping, change, self talk, self aware, self esteem, self care  

We all have stories of good versus evil, the heroes and the villains, the good guys versus the bad guys.  Where do your stories come from?  Are they based in YOUR experiences or someone else's?  The villainous characters in the stories in our heads are just that...characters!  Sometimes we need to change the story, and sometimes we just need to change the characters.  This is my story of how the villain in my head changed, which completely changed the story and me!  

disability, addiction, poverty, racism, sexism, bias, tolerance, CHANGE 

The Story in My Head this week was a product of my insecurities, my attitude and my imagination!  I re-told an event in my head several times, and I changed it slightly each time.  I ended up with a whole new version of the event and shot myself in the foot.  Here is a mid-week quickie about changing the tone of your story. 

anxiety, insecurity, communication, tone of voice, self awareness, relationships

The Story in My Head about being a failure changed dramatically (and quickly) when a man in a coffee shop called me a failure... and my insides went nuts!  Today's mid-week quickly is my experience changing my definition of being a failure.  

self esteem, self image, anxiety, depression, failure, success, change, healing  

The Story in My Head has completed creating Frank the Forgiveness Octopus.  Today's quickie is the fifth segment of my story...my journey of forgiving myself and others. 

apologizing, making amends, self care, transformation, healing, grief, addiction, change, relationships, communication  

The Story in My Head has a main character named Frank.  He's a forgiveness octopus.  I'm focusing on Frank's 8th leg (tentacle / arm) of my forgiveness octopus...forgiving myself!  Today's quickie is the fourth part of my story...my journey towards forgiving myself and others. 

self esteem, worth, anxiety, depression, relationships, self care, transformation, healing, grief, addiction, change, authenticity 

I've decided it will be helpful for me to practice apologizing and asking for forgiveness.  The Story in My Head has told me making amends is just too hard to do sometimes.  I want to practice and make it easier.  Today's quickie is the third part of my story...my journey towards forgiving myself and others. 

forgiveness, apologies, amends, relationships, self care, transformation, healing, grief, addiction, change, marriage, parenting 

I've decided it will be helpful for me to practice forgiveness.  The Story in My Head about forgiveness is a long one and I'm working to sort it all out.  Today's quickie is the second part of my story...my journey towards forgiving myself and others. 

forgiveness, amends, relationships, self care, transformation, healing, grief, addiction, change, marriage, parenting

I've decided it will be helpful for me to practice forgiveness.  The Story in My Head poses a lot of questions about forgiveness.  Today's quickie is the first part of my story...my journey towards forgiving myself and others. 

forgiveness, amends, relationships, self care, transformation, healing, grief, addiction, change, marriage, parenting 

Even as an adult, the Story in My Head still includes a longing for and, at times, a need for permission.  Permission to act, to speak, to react, to change.  At times I feel a desire for someone to offer permission for me to be me!!!!  In this mid-week quickie I'm changing the Story in My Head by giving myself some permission. 

self care, self awareness, acceptance, forgiveness, healing, change, decision making  

Pushing boundaries is part of human nature.  It allows our curiosity to wonder and it encourages us to explore new things.  We push boundaries to investigate the consequences and discover our limits.  But when someone pushes MY boundaries? I get pissed! Today I'm working to have realistic expectations about my boundaries.  People are gonna push them.  So I'm gonna tighten them to keep myself and my feelings safe.  Check it out.     

boundaries, trauma, expectations, healing, change, relationships, self care, self love

Letting Go seems daunting at times.  Today I present a mid-week quickie visualization to experiment with for yourself.  I've practiced it a lot and found it to be helpful so I decided to share this Story in My Head. 

boundaries, change, grief, relationships, marriage, parenting, addiction, self care