January is loud.
Everyone is telling you to set goals.
Everyone is selling their newest, greatest products.
Your brain is telling you to fix your habits.
You vow to try harder this year.
You pick a “word” for your year.
But here’s what I’ve learned as a nurse and a coach:
Most people don’t need more discipline. They need clarity and safety first.
When I left my corporate healthcare role, I didn’t leave because I lacked motivation. I left because my nervous system was fried. I was competent, accomplished, and deeply out of alignment.
From the outside, everything looked “fine.”
I regularly met with my team to support them, I said yes to every new project, new pivot, new everything. I never said no.
Inside, I felt disconnected, exhausted, and unsure of what I actually needed anymore. I only knew I couldn’t do this for 10 more years until “retirement”. I knew sitting in front of my computer every day for hours on end in Zoom’s that I was withering away as a person. I was only prioritizing the work.
I pretended ‘self-care’.
I went out with my friends
I zoned out on my phone
I avoided, avoided, avoided all the things that would make my life better.
Why? Because of fear. Because of being uncomfortable.
That’s the part no one talks about.
When you’ve spent years being capable, reliable, and strong for others, you lose touch with your own internal signals. You don’t know what you want because you’ve been responding to what’s required.
So you try to reset.
New routines.
New plans.
New promises.
And they don’t stick.
Not because you failed. But because you skipped the first step.
What Coaching Actually Solves
Real coaching is not about fixing you.
It helps you:
- slow down enough to hear yourself again-no matter how loud it is
- understand why change feels hard instead of blaming yourself-it’s not your fault, our phones are created to keep you distracted for quick dopamine.
- reconnect with what actually matters before you commit to anything
- create forward movement that feels calm, not forced
Before habits.
Before goals.
Before another plan.
We find your compass.
When people come to me, they often say:
“I don’t know what’s wrong. I just know this isn’t working anymore.”
That’s not confusion. That’s information.
And January is actually the perfect time to listen.
If You’re Reading This…
If you’re tired of starting over every yearIf rest hasn’t fixed the exhaustion.If you feel capable but quietly lost.
Nothing is broken.
You don’t need a resolution.
You need orientation.
This month isn’t about doing more.
It’s about getting clear enough to move in the right direction.
And that changes everything.
If you want support slowing down and getting clear before you change anything, this is the work I do. You can start with a simple reset conversation when it feels right.
I’m Kathleen, a registered nurse and nurse coach living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I’ve spent decades working in healthcare, alongside people in some of the most vulnerable, high-stress moments of their lives. Over time, I began to notice a pattern, both in my patients and in myself. The most capable, caring, responsible people were often the most depleted. They knew how to show up for everyone else, but had lost touch with how to care for themselves in a way that was sustainable.
That realization, and my own lived experience of burnout and overextension, led me to create It Is Well Coaching & Consulting. My work blends the science of nursing with compassionate, whole-person coaching. I support women who are doing a lot and holding a lot, women who appear steady on the outside but feel tired, disconnected, or stuck on the inside. Together, we slow things down, tune into the body, and build routines that support real life. Not rigid plans or quick fixes, but practices rooted in self-trust, nervous system care, and clarity about what truly matters.
Where I live and how I live shape this work deeply. Cape Cod offers me a steady reminder of rhythm and pause. The water, the light, and the quieter pace reinforce what I believe at my core: health is not about doing more, it’s about learning when and how to stop.
Alabama is another anchor in my life. Time spent with my grandson there has become one of my greatest teachers. Being with him has shown me, again and again, that rest is not passive or indulgent. It is active, necessary, and life-giving.
Rest is where connection, creativity, and healing live.
At the heart of my work is a simple but powerful belief. You don’t need to fix yourself. You don’t need to push harder or become someone new. What you need is space, support, and permission to care for yourself with the same steadiness and compassion you offer everyone else.
That’s the work I do, and the life I continue to practice alongside it.
Qualifications:
- Licensed Registered Nurse in: MA, NH, AL & TX
- Bachelors of Science in Nursing, University of Rhode Island
- Holistic Nurse Baccalaureate - Board Certified (HNB-BC) Health & Wellness Nurse Coach-Board Certified (HWNC-BC), American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corp
- Certificate of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Rush University
- Lifestyle Medicine & Food as Medicine Course, American College of Lifestyle Medicine
- Certified Laughter Yoga Leader by Laughter Yoga International
It’s October on the Cape, and the wind is wild today...the kind that makes you stop mid-step, take a deep breath, and feel alive again with the changes of the season.
As I was preparing for a few friends to come over tonight (they have no idea I’m surprising them with a laughter yoga class), I caught myself smiling at the sound of the wind outside. Something in it felt familiar. So, naturally, I turned on “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins.
One song led to another, and before I knew it, I was dancing around my house with my headphones on deep into the next soundtrack, The Sound of Music, singing along like I was ten years old again. Such JOY!
It took me right back to my childhood. My dad loved music-from Arthur Fiedler, the Boston Pops, Fiddler on the Roof and good ole Lawrence Welk. There was music in our house, and with it, a feeling of connection and joy that words alone couldn’t carry.
Now, as the seasons shift, I feel that same pull to reconnect to the music, to movement, and to the people I love. I just finished my Yoga Teacher Certification, and it’s reminded me how powerful small rituals can be. Breath, laughter, and even a simple song can realign us when life gets noisy and the seasons change.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to start new routines without losing the progress I’ve made. Fall can trick us into losing sight again, getting busier with life, forgetting joy and laughter. But it’s possible to hold both: the new rhythm of the cold wind blowing in the tress and the steady calm underneath it with quiet evenings and the sun setting earlier.
Tonight, as I cue my first laughter yoga class for my friends, I’ll be remembering my dad — and hoping I’m passing that same love of music and presence down to my friends and family.
Because sometimes, wellness is about remembering what already fills you up: wind, song, laughter, and love. Peace.
p.s. The Laughter Yoga was a success-so much so that I didn't get a picture!
Last week I had the privilege of hosting my first workshop—Vital Signs.
In nursing, we always begin by checking vital signs. A quick look at breathing, blood pressure, or pulse tells us what’s happening beneath the surface. Often long before there’s a crisis. I’ve been reflecting on how those years of nursing blend now with my coaching.
But somewhere along the way, many of us forget to check our own vital signs. We push through exhaustion, ignore the tension in our shoulders, and tell ourselves “this is just how life is.” Until one day, we crash.
And here’s the truth: I am a coach, but I’m not perfect. Social media is a place for celebrating, but it doesn’t always show what’s underneath.
I still get overwhelmed.
I still catch myself pleasing people-pleasing.
I still struggle with boundaries.
I still struggle with old habits.
Sometimes I forget to drink my water, or I skip my mindfulness, or I snap at the people I love most.
The difference now isn’t that I’ve “arrived” or that I always do everything right. The difference is that I notice faster. I know how to pause, take a breath, and realign. I have tools that help me come back to the new version of myself, instead of staying stuck in the spiral.
That’s what I want you to know, too: healing isn’t about being flawless. It’s about remembering you’re human… and practicing again and again.
So if September feels messy, you’re in good company. You’re not behind. You’re just human, like me.
✨ What’s one small way you can give yourself grace this month?
August has always felt like a pause button for me. Pause before school starts back. Summer vacations winding down. Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the long days that stretch into glorious golden evenings. This month has a way of slowing me down.
This year, I’ve leaned into that pause in a whole new way. No job to get to from 8-5. Just me figuring my new business out, coaching clients on my time and learning to be OK with just being.
While my Cape Cod house has been hosting vacationers through Airbnb, I’ve been back in Alabama playing with my grandson, enjoying bubble blowing instead of endless Zoom meetings, and even sneaking in a nap or two (who knew that was allowed?).
There’s something funny about watching other people “vacation” in my space while I’ve been carving out my own version of rest. For me, this Summer has been about a slow reset. Less rushing, less perfecting, less “what’s next?” and more of this moment right here.
The highlight, of course, has been time with my grandson. Toddlers have a way of teaching you what matters most: joy in the smallest things, curiosity about everything, and smiles and belly laughs that reset your whole nervous system.
Who needs meditation apps when you have a little one running around with sticky fingers in your freshly washed hair?
I’ve realized that my reset doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It’s not about getting everything “balanced” or mapped out. It’s about hammocks, laughter, and letting myself just be.
Here’s my wellness wink for you. Take a few minutes to think about what your "summer reset” looked like? Maybe it was a few mornings without your phone, a dinner outside, or you gave yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for an hour.
Wellness isn’t always about green smoothies, yoga or a TikTok Shop item of the next best thing.... it can be as simple (and powerful) as a slow summer evening, a porch swing, or a sticky popsicle kiss.
Be well my friends.
In Wellness Always.
