This Year's Word with Courtney Symes

Have you ever found yourself thinking about something you'd love to do, only to immediately come up with a dozen reasons why you couldn't?
Perhaps you've thought about learning a musical instrument, starting a business, travelling somewhere new, changing direction in your career or pursuing a dream you've quietly carried for years.
And almost as quickly as the idea appears, another voice takes over.
I'm too old for that.
I wouldn't know where to start.
I don't have the time.
What would people think?
That's just not something someone like me does.
And just like that, the possibility disappears.
We haven't explored it. We haven't researched it. We haven't even given ourselves the opportunity to imagine what it might look like.
We've simply decided it's not for us.
I wonder how many possibilities we've dismissed throughout our lives without ever really questioning why.
This month on This Year's Word, we're exploring a new word: DARE.
And while daring might bring to mind images of grand adventures, bold decisions and extraordinary acts of courage, I want to begin somewhere much quieter.
Because before we can dare to do something, we first have to give ourselves permission to imagine it.
And sometimes, that alone requires a little courage.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on daring – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

 
Have you ever reached the end of a particularly busy week, looked back at everything you've done, and wondered what you actually have to show for it?
You've answered emails, attended meetings, paid bills, organised appointments, responded to messages, helped other people and crossed countless things off your to-do list.
You've been busy from morning until night.
And yet, somehow, the things that really matter to you haven't received much attention at all.
Perhaps you've been meaning to spend more quality time with your family, get back into a hobby you love, look after your health or finally make progress on an idea you've been carrying around for months.
But there's always something more urgent demanding your attention.
And by the time you get around to the things you genuinely want to do, there's very little energy left.
I think this is one of the great challenges of modern life.
We can become incredibly good at managing our responsibilities without necessarily making space for the things that make our lives meaningful.
Throughout October, we've been exploring our word of the month, Energy.
We've looked at where our energy goes, what genuinely restores us, and how we can protect it through boundaries, relationships and attention.
But today, as we bring this series together, I want to explore what might be the most important question of all.
What do I want my energy to build?
Because perhaps the goal isn't simply to have more energy.
Perhaps it's to become more intentional about how we spend the energy we already have.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on energy – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like everyone needs a little piece of you?
Your phone keeps buzzing. Your inbox is filling up. Someone needs your advice, someone else needs a favour, and there's a growing list of things waiting for your attention.
And somewhere in amongst all of that, you're trying to find a little time for yourself.
By the end of the day, you feel completely depleted. Not necessarily because you've done anything particularly strenuous, but because you've spent the entire day responding to everyone and everything around you.
And I think that's something many of us can relate to.
We give our time, our attention, our emotional support and our energy so freely that sometimes we forget these are limited resources.
In the last episode, we explored how to restore our energy through physical wellbeing, mental rest, emotional connection and activities that make us feel alive.
But here's something worth considering.
We can do all the right things to restore our energy and still feel exhausted if we're continually giving that energy away.
In this episode, I want to explore the idea of protecting our energy.
Not by shutting ourselves away from the world or becoming less generous with the people we love, but by recognising that our energy is valuable, and learning to be a little more intentional about where it goes.
Because protecting our energy isn't about caring less.
It's about creating enough space to care for the things that truly matter.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on energy – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever reached the end of a long day, collapsed onto the couch, picked up your phone and started scrolling, only to look up an hour later and realise you don't actually feel any better?
You've stopped working. You've stopped doing chores. You've technically been resting.
But somehow, you still feel exhausted.
And perhaps that's because rest and restoration aren't always the same thing.
Sometimes we need to stop, put our feet up and do absolutely nothing. But other times, what we really need isn't less activity. It's a different kind of activity.
A walk in the fresh air. A conversation with someone who makes us laugh. An afternoon spent creating something. A little time doing something we genuinely enjoy.
And isn't it interesting that sometimes the very things we think we're too tired to do are the things that leave us feeling more energised afterwards?
Last week, we began our exploration of October's word, Energy, by asking where our energy is going. We looked at the different kinds of energy we use throughout the day and the many ways it can quietly disappear.
Today, I want to turn our attention towards something a little more uplifting.
How do we create more energy in our lives?
Not by pushing ourselves harder or trying to become endlessly productive, but by understanding what genuinely restores us.
Because perhaps creating energy isn't always about doing less.
Sometimes it's about making more room for the things that make us feel alive.
 
This month on This Year’s Word, we’re exploring Energy — not just physical energy, but the mental, emotional, social, creative and even spiritual energy that shapes how we experience our lives.
And rather than beginning this series by asking how we can become more energetic or productive, I want to start somewhere simpler.
I want us to notice.
Where is our energy going?
What gives it to us?
What takes it away?
And perhaps most importantly, are we consciously choosing where we spend it?
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on energy – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever had a free hour and thought, finally, I have some time to myself… only to realise that you don’t actually have the energy to do anything with it?
Maybe there’s something you’ve been wanting to work on, a friend you’ve been meaning to call, a walk you’d like to take, or even a book you’ve been looking forward to reading. The time is technically there, but somehow, the energy isn’t.
And then, on another day, something excites you — an idea, a project, a conversation, a plan — and suddenly you discover this reserve of energy you didn’t even realise you had.
I find that fascinating, because we talk so much about time.
We talk about managing our time, saving time, wasting time, finding time and making time. We organise our calendars and write our to-do lists, trying to squeeze everything into the hours available to us.
But perhaps time isn’t always the resource we need to be paying attention to.
Sometimes, the real question is: where is my energy going?
 
This month on This Year’s Word, we’re exploring Energy — not just physical energy, but the mental, emotional, social, creative and even spiritual energy that shapes how we experience our lives.
And rather than beginning this series by asking how we can become more energetic or productive, I want to start somewhere simpler.
I want us to notice.
Where is our energy going?
What gives it to us?
What takes it away?
And perhaps most importantly, are we consciously choosing where we spend it?
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on energy – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever had a moment when you suddenly knew something you could no longer unknow?
Maybe you realised you weren't happy with something you'd been tolerating for years. Maybe you finally admitted that something you once wanted didn't matter to you anymore. Or perhaps you became aware of a dream, an idea or a part of yourself that you'd pushed aside for so long that you'd almost forgotten it was there.
Nothing necessarily changed in that moment.
Your job was still the same. Your relationships were still the same. Your responsibilities were waiting for you. Your life looked exactly as it had the day before.
But something within you had shifted.
And I think this is one of the most interesting things about awakening.
Once we see something clearly, it's very difficult to go back to pretending we haven't seen it.
Over the past few weeks, we've explored what it means to awaken to ourselves, to our desires and possibilities, and to the life we're already living. But as we come to the final episode in this series, I want to explore what happens next.
Because awareness is powerful, but eventually awareness asks something of us.
Once we recognise what isn't working, become clearer about what we want and start paying closer attention to our lives, we arrive at a choice:
What am I going to do with what I now know?
And that's what this episode is really about — having the courage to respond to what we've awakened to, even when we don't know exactly where it will lead.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on awakening – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever arrived somewhere and realised you can barely remember the journey?
Perhaps you’ve driven to work, followed the same route you’ve taken hundreds of times, and suddenly found yourself in the car park thinking, How did I get here already?
Or maybe you’ve sat down for dinner with your family, but your mind has been somewhere else entirely — thinking about tomorrow’s schedule, replying to a message, worrying about something that happened earlier, or mentally working through everything still left on your to-do list.
We’re physically present, but our minds are somewhere else.
And I think this happens to all of us.
We can become so good at keeping life moving that we forget to actually experience it.
Last week, we explored awakening to ourselves — reconnecting with our desires, our identity and the possibilities we might want to explore. But once we begin to wake up to ourselves, something else happens.
We begin to notice the life we are already living.
We start asking:
Am I actually present for this?
Am I enjoying the life I’ve worked so hard to create?
Am I really listening to the people I love?
Where is my attention going?
Because awakening isn't only about discovering what we want next.
Sometimes, it's about becoming more awake to right now.
And that's what I want to explore in this episode — awakening to your life through presence, connection and experience.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on awakening – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself a question that sounds simple, but is actually surprisingly difficult to answer?
What do I really want?
Not what do I need to do.
Not what should I want.
Not what would make everyone else happy.
But what do I actually want?
For many of us, that question becomes harder to answer as life gets busier. We become very good at knowing what other people need from us. We know what needs to happen at work, what our family needs, what needs to be organised, paid for, remembered and managed.
We become responsible. Reliable. Capable.
And somewhere along the way, our own desires can become a little quieter.
Not because they've disappeared.
But because we've stopped making space to hear them.
This month, our word is Awaken, and in this episode, we're going to turn inward and explore what it means to awaken to yourself.
To your desires.
To your identity.
And to the possibilities that may still be waiting for you.
Because sometimes we don't need to find ourselves.
Sometimes, we simply need to give ourselves permission to listen again.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on awakening – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever had one of those moments when you suddenly realise that you've been moving through your life on autopilot?
You're getting up, going to work, looking after the people you love, answering emails, doing the shopping, making plans, ticking things off your list… and before you know it, another week has passed.
Another month.
Another year.
And then, every now and then, something makes you stop and think…
Is this really how I want to be living?
Not because anything is necessarily wrong. Your life might actually be pretty good. You might have a lot to be grateful for. But perhaps there's a quiet sense that you've become a little disconnected from your own life.
Maybe you've stopped asking yourself what you want.
Maybe you've become so accustomed to doing what needs to be done that you've forgotten to notice what makes you feel alive.
Or perhaps there's a part of you that's been quietly saying, There's more I want to experience. More I want to create. More I want to explore.
And I think this is where our word for September comes in.
Awaken.
September feels like such a natural time to explore this word because we're moving into a new season, and there are only four months left of 2026.
Four months.
And I don't know about you, but when I realise we're approaching the final stretch of the year, I always find myself asking a few questions.
How has this year actually been?
What have I achieved?
What have I learned?
What have I loved?
And perhaps most importantly…
What else is possible before the year is over?
Because four months is still a significant amount of time.
There are still things we can begin.
Things we can finish.
Conversations we can have.
Places we can go.
Ideas we can explore.
Habits we can change.
And perhaps even parts of ourselves we can rediscover.
So, as we begin our month of Awaken, I want to explore what it really means to wake up to our own lives.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on awakening – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook. 

Have you ever had one of those moments where you suddenly realise that the life you’re living doesn’t quite match the life you thought you were creating?
Perhaps nothing is terribly wrong. Your work is going well, your relationships are okay, your calendar is full, and from the outside, everything looks perfectly fine.
And yet, somewhere underneath it all, there’s a quiet sense that something needs to shift.
Maybe you need more time for yourself. Maybe your priorities have changed. Maybe a relationship has evolved. Maybe the career you once dreamed about no longer excites you in the same way.
Or perhaps you simply feel like you’ve outgrown parts of your life without quite knowing what comes next.
I think this is one of the most important things we’ve discovered over the last few episodes exploring alignment.
Alignment isn’t something we achieve once and then tick off our list.
It’s something we continually return to.
Because life changes.
Our circumstances change. Our relationships change. Our bodies change. Our responsibilities change. Our dreams change.
And, perhaps most importantly, we change.
So in this final episode, I want to bring everything we’ve explored together and talk about what it really means to live an aligned life over time.
Not a perfect life.
Not a life where everything feels easy.
But a life where we are willing to notice when we’ve drifted, make the adjustments we need to make, and trust ourselves enough to keep moving towards what feels true.
 
If the content of today’s episode has piqued your interest, I have something very special for you. I have created 30 Journal Prompts, similar to the ones mentioned throughout this episode on alignment – that’s one life-changing prompt for you to work on every day over the next month!
Just imagine how much growth you can unlock over the next 30 days if you keep the momentum going and commit to answering one prompt a day.
All you need to do to get these thought-provoking prompts is leave a positive rating and review for this podcast, take a screenshot of your review and email it to: courtney@alittlepinkbook.com and I’ll email you the prompts!
Check out my courses: Magical Mornings and Joyful Journaling Journey, as well as my book, A Year of Love: Finding peace one day at a time. 
Grab your FREE How to Ask Someone if They're Ok Conversation Starters and FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts here. 
Read more on my blog, or connect with me on Facebook.