262804066 169. Journal with me: Goal setting without the overwhelm (5 Min prompts) - Beyond Awareness: Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

Episode 169

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Published on:

14th Aug 2025

169. Journal with me: Goal setting without the overwhelm (5 Min prompts)

What if pursuing your goals felt free, aligned, and way easier than you've been making it? You start with all this motivation, then suddenly your dreams feel more like burdens than possibilities.

I was talking with someone inside Emotionally Empowered recently who's working full-time AND starting her master's program. She described her brain as "a ball of yarn" and said she felt like the clock was ticking on her dreams. After we journaled through it together, that tangled mess became clear direction and relief.

This happens way more than you think. Our goals become sources of chaos instead of clarity because we've been taught that worthwhile dreams require struggle.

What we're journaling through today:

  • Why your goals might feel scarier to achieve than you realize
  • The sneaky beliefs that make success feel impossible
  • How overwhelm actually protects you from getting what you want
  • A completely different way to think about pursuing your dreams

3 Journal Prompts (grab a notebook or just think through these):

Prompt 1: Write down a goal you're currently working toward. Describe how you want to feel when you achieve it, then write how you actually feel right now while pursuing it.

Prompt 2: Get brutally honest—what are you afraid would happen if you achieved this goal easily, without all the struggle? What if it didn't require sacrificing everything else you care about?

Prompt 3: Complete this sentence: "I make my goals overwhelming because if I don't struggle enough, then..." (Whatever comes up first is usually the most honest answer.)

Most of us unconsciously use overwhelm to prove we deserve our dreams. But what if Oprah was right when she said you'd never have a dream if you didn't already have everything needed to pursue it?

Resources Mentioned:

Ways to work with Samantha:

1:1 coaching: Now accepting applications, 1 spot open. Learn More here: www.samanthapenkoff.com/working-together

Get on the Waitlist: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/assessments/2148353310

Connect with Sam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says

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About the Podcast

Beyond Awareness: Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing
Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing
Beyond Awareness (formerly Journal Entries) is for successful women in leadership and business who know exactly what they need to do but can't make themselves do it.

You know you need to prioritize yourself, delegate more, set boundaries, stop bringing work home. You've tried therapy, coaching, retreats. You know the solution - but you either can't follow through, or when you DO, it doesn't stick.

Host Samantha Hawley helps business owners and executives earning $100k+ excavate the root beliefs underneath the execution gap. Why do you keep not doing the thing? Why doesn't it feel better when you do? Using strategic journaling and emotional excavation, we go beyond awareness into why you're actually stuck in the pattern.

This isn't about more tactics or tips. This is about understanding why awareness isn't enough and what actually needs to shift for you to change.

You'll hear about: decision fatigue, why you can't prioritize yourself, nervous system regulation, being present with your kids, root cause of overwhelm, why boundaries don't stick, self-sabotage patterns, and how your internal state impacts everything.

Perfect for: Female CFOs, VPs, directors, executives, business owners, and women in leadership who are tired of knowing what's wrong but not being able to change it.
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Samantha Hawley