Choose you, every day ❤️
Resources & Tools That Helped Me
Tools that Helped Me Stay Grounded
Here you’ll find the things that helped me remember who I was.
Routines. Rituals. Reflections. Ways to slow down and listen again.
I grouped each tool by how you might be feeling.
That way, it’s easier to find what resonates in the moment.
Each month, I share a blog and resources tied to a specific feeling. The blog is released the first Monday of the month, followed by three weeks of resources to dive deeper.
This space is ever-evolving, like life and recovery itself. New tools and resources are always being added.
These resources are meant to be a starting point, a guide to support you whenever you need it, wherever you need it.
If you’re craving more personalized guidance or want help tailoring these tools to your unique journey, I’m here for you. Together, we can explore what works best for you and create a plan that fits your story.
When you're Feeling Curious...
(August 2025)
Sometimes it starts with a whisper. A question. A pause.
You get this sense something’s shifting, but you can’t put a name on it yet.
You don’t have the answers. You might not even know what the question really is. But curiosity shows up anyway. You start poking, noticing, leaning in.
This awareness is the beginning of understanding. The kind that nudges you to look a little closer at what’s bubbling under the surface.
These tools are for those inquisitive moments. For when you’re noticing your patterns, your resistance, or just wondering what’s next.
They don’t hand you answers. They help you notice.
"The Sniffer"
Feeling Curious pulls from The Sniffer blog, which explores noticing patterns and getting curious when self-sabotage pops up. The resources below are built to help you take those insights further.
Read the full blog here: Click Me!
This blog invites you to explore self-sabotage, the inner critic, and to meet them with curiosity. When met with compassion, we can begin to see both in a new light.
Resources for Feeling Curious
"The Doorway of Self-Sabotage"
Self-sabotage isn’t the enemy. It’s an old, scared part of you designed as a protection mechanism.
When you pause and approach it with compassion, you start to learn what it's trying to teach or protect you from.
Instead of pushing it away, meet it like an old version of yourself that just wanted to survive.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Curiosity for the Inner Critic"
Your inner critic isn’t cruel by nature, it’s a scared part of you trying to stay in control.
When you slow down and get curious, you begin to hear the fear beneath the voice. It might sound like a younger version of you, still carrying the weight of what once felt unsafe.
Instead of silencing it, try listening.
Instead of judgement, let compassion lead the conversation.
The inner critic, met with curiosity, becomes a quiet doorway back to yourself.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Permission to Expand"
You don’t have to earn your right to grow.
But sometimes, old fears whisper that it’s safer to stay small.
This practice invites you to gently challenge those stories, not with pressure, but with honesty.
What if you already were enough? What if you stopped waiting for permission and gave it to yourself?
This is about choosing yourself, even when it feels like too much.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Follow The Sniffer"
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Month in Review: August 2025 / Feeling Curious"
When you're Feeling Scattered...
One thought interrupts the next before it’s even begun. The to-do list blurs with the what-ifs. Your focus slips through the cracks.
Feeling scattered is often a sign your mind is reaching in too many directions at once. It's a by product of not being present.
These tools are here to help you gather the pieces, steady your breath, and make space for what matters most to rise to the surface.
Resources for Feeling Scattered
528 Hz Meditative Soundscape - Binaural Instrumental
Inspired by solfeggio healing frequencies, binaural beats, and lofi hip hop, this 528 Hz instrumental soothes and sharpens your mind.
Whether you listen with eyes closed during meditation or let it play in the background, it’s designed to guide your thoughts back to a steady path.
When you're Feeling Stuck...
(September 2025)
Sometimes it feels like the world has paused. Like you’re stuck in place, looping through the same thoughts with no clear way forward.
Time feels thick, and every step takes effort. To me, it feels like walking through oatmeal.
These tools were made for the motionless moments. For when nothing feels clear, the next step feels too far, and you’re not sure how to move forward.
They won’t tell you what to do. But they can help you remember: you still get to choose yourself here.
Monthly Blog
Feeling Stuck pulls from the Why We Stay Stuck blog, which explores why habits, patterns, and limiting beliefs keep us staying small. And, how noticing them creates space for change. The resources below are built to help you take those insights further.
Read the full blog here: Click Me!
This blog invites you to explore moments where you feel like it's Groundhog Day. When met with compassion, even the harshest limiting beliefs can be understood, and small steps toward forward momentum become possible again.
Resources for Feeling Stuck
"The Power of Limiting Beliefs"
What if the hardest part of growth isn’t learning something new… but unlearning what was never true?
These beliefs have traveled alongside you for years, whispering stories about who you are and what you deserve. And more often, what you don't deserve. They have always came from a place of trying to keep you safe, but as you age and progress in your own life, they still sit in the shadows and guide your steps. Most of the time we don't even notice what's happening.
Notice them. Name them. Sit with them. Befriend them. Ask them:
“Do you still serve me, or is it time to let you go?”
Awareness is the first step. From here, every choice becomes one in the direction of freedom.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Unlearning What Was Never True"
“If I bring nothing to the table, no one will love or accept me.”
This blog explores how survival-based beliefs hold us back, and how noticing them in our bodies and sitting with that feeling is the first step toward dissolving them.
Read the full blog here: Click Me!
Here’s a short guide I made to keep on hand, it breaks down the ideas from the blog into a simple reflection you can do anytime.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Reflections: Where It Lives"
What if your body has been carrying stories your mind has long forgotten?
The chest that tightens when you speak up.
The stomach that knots before you try something new.
The jaw that clenches when you remember the past.
These spots in your body hold the weight of limiting beliefs, ones that once tried to protect you, but now keep you stuck.
I invite you to try this: pause, breathe into that spot, and simply get curious.
Instead of pushing the tension away, notice it. Sit with it. Listen to what it might have to say.
Awareness is the first step. From here, every choice becomes one in the direction of freedom.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Month In Review: September 25 / Feeling Stuck"
When you're Feeling Powerless...
(October 2025)
The hardest things we face don’t just take from us... they can give, too.
These tools are here for the moments when you feel powerless. They’re ways to practice redirecting that same fire, that same persistence, into something that builds you instead of breaks you.
Monthly Blog
Feeling Powerless pulls from The Gift Hidden in Addiction blog, which explores how the parts of us we often see as flaws can also hold the seeds of strength. And how, with the right direction, that same energy can be transformed into purpose.
Read the full blog here: Click Me!
This blog invites you to notice the places where you feel powerless, and to see them differently, not as curses, but as raw material you can shape. With curiosity and practice, even the hardest parts of you can become your new superpower.
Resources for Feeling Powerless
"Flip The Weakness, Find The Gift"
Building on what I shared in the blog above, this guide came from my own process of trying to understand the energy behind addiction.
For a long time, I kept asking, why me?
Fast forward to having more time clean, I started asking, why me again, but in a different way. Not as a victim, but as a way to understand myself: Why do I have OCD? Why did I battle with addiction? What did these struggles cost me? What were they trying to teach me?
With increased awareness, I began to see why, and a bonus effect of noticing was the flip side of these traits. I spent so much time in addiction chasing a high every day, and that sounds bad on paper. But what if I could flip that energy into something good?
What if I could feel as alive off the drugs as on them?
The persistence, dedication, and resilience that go hand-in-hand with addiction aren’t bad things. Addiction isn’t inherently bad. It’s all about direction.
And when you start noticing that energy, even in the middle of your struggle, you begin to see its potential. You begin to see how it can work for you, instead of against you.
💭 Reflection: Notice one moment today when that same energy shows up.
What direction could you point it in instead?
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Power Inventory: Reflections of You"
What resists, reveals.
What hides, protects.
What repeats, remembers.
What hurts, teaches.
None of it is wasted....
Every part of you, even the traits, habits, or patterns that feel heavy, uncomfortable, or challenging, is trying to show you something. The "Power Inventory: Reflections of You" tool is designed to help you notice those patterns, explore the energy they bring, and uncover the hidden gifts within them.
This exercise isn’t about judging yourself or labeling “flaws.” It’s about cultivating awareness of how your mind and body respond, seeing both the costs and the unexpected benefits of your traits, and beginning to understand how they shape your daily life. By reflecting honestly, you can start to recognize which energies you want to lean into, which ones need attention, and how your challenges can become tools for growth.
Take your time with it. Sit with your reflections, revisit them, and allow the small insights to emerge.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Sisyphus' Stop: Beyond The Rock"
“Some hills feel endless. Some rocks feel too heavy.
But sometimes, stopping is the first step to seeing the climb.”
I came up with the idea of Sisyphus’ Stop while reflecting on my own experiences with addiction, OCD, and anxiety, the ways I felt trapped in cycles that seemed impossible to escape. This resource is a story-based reflection on noticing the energy we pour into these endless pushes, and how that same energy can transform into creation, focus, and self-understanding.
Sisyphus’ Stop isn’t just my story, it’s an invitation. It’s a sign that real growth often comes when we pause to unpack our patterns and redirect our intensity toward purpose. I focused on this theme a lot in my own healing, and as such, implement it in my 1-on-1 coaching. To me, it makes the healing journey feel more hopeful than trying to start from scratch. You already have the pieces, they just might work different than how you previously thought.
Take a moment. Pause. Look beneath the weight you’ve been carrying. The rock doesn’t define you. Your choices, your reflection, and your persistence do.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"The Upcycled Self: Flaws to Fuel"
The Upcycled Self: Flaws to Fuel is a simple daily exercise to help you spot unexpected benefits in traits you might typically see as weaknesses or negatives.
I came up with this idea when I was still using, ironically. I knew there was a deeper reason behind my use. I thought maybe something related to OCD was fueling my addiction. The only way I could make sense of it was to identify any trait or behavior that might stem from it. I started with awareness of the negative traits.
Well, if there are negatives, surely there must be positives too, right? A list of pros and cons isn’t just a list of cons. Why should the way I assess my own traits be any different? That’s when I realized there could even be positives in something like addiction or OCD. I couldn’t get rid of it, so how could I make it work for me?
What followed, the beginning of that line of thinking, is what I’ve based this entire month around: finding the hidden gifts in anything negative in our lives. I hope this guide, along with the rest of the resources, can help you find clarity and strength the same way they did for me.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
"Month In Review: October 25 / Feeling Powerless"
When you're Feeling Depleted...
(November 2025)
The things that drain us don’t just take our energy, they remind us what truly restores it.
Here, you’ll find what helps me recover when I’m feeling depleted, from the stack that stuck, to the foods that bring me back, to the daily practices that restore balance instead of burning it.
Monthly Blog
Feeling Depleted pulls from The Stack That Stuck blog, which shares one way I rebuild my energy: a supplement routine developed through years of trial and error.
The past few months have been full of deep healing and complex work. This month, I wanted to take a step back and share some of the tools and practices that laid the foundation for my recovery.
Read the full blog here: Click Me!
My hope is that by sharing my process, you can start noticing what works for your own foundation.
Mini Blogs for Feeling Depleted
As we explore Feeling Depleted, I wanted to start by breaking down one layer of my foundation, supplements. Not because they’re the only thing that matters, but because they’re a clear window into how I approach building energy.
The way I evaluate my stack, asking what works, what doesn’t, how it makes me feel, and whether it supports my direction, is the same process I use for everything: food, movement, habits, relationships. It’s not about the supplements themselves, but about being transparent with my process. Here’s what worked for me and how you might begin finding what works for you.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
After breaking down supplements to showcase how I find what works and what doesn't, I thought it would be natural to touch on an area I feel is especially crucial: food.
I walk through the parts of my day I repeat intentionally, along with my perspective on diet trends, the blood-type lens, calories, and why I leave room for flexibility on weekends. All of it has helped me build a plan that feels realistic and sustainable. Think of this as a guide for noticing the many factors that shape your energy. Step back, examine everything, and apply this same process across all areas of your life to discover what truly works for you.
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
A final brushstroke to paint the whole picture: energy itself. It surrounds us constantly, in people, places, and objects, and yet, we often ignore it. How would your day feel if you treated every moment as a conversation with your energy? Would your sense of self shift if you trusted your energy as much as your thoughts?
Check it out below...
Pause. When you're ready, keep going...
Check back later this week for the Month in Review gallery - Michael 11/24