Sometimes the Challenges Are Preparing You for What You Dream Of

Let me be real with you: this year cracked me wide open.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I talk a lot about mindset, growth, and showing up fully for your life. But life has a way of throwing curveballs that test every ounce of your strength-and make you practice what you preach.

My mom passed away recently. Unexpectedly.
And our relationship? Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.

She was raised in a home filled with hate and violence, and unfortunately, she passed a lot of that pain on to us. I spent years setting boundaries to protect myself and my family. I had forgiven her in my heart, but the distance was real-and necessary.

Right before she died, I found myself asking over and over again, “If she passed tomorrow, would you have regrets?”
I couldn’t answer that question. Not really.
And then, suddenly, she was gone.

I had to fly back to Ohio, my childhood battleground-to sort out her affairs and deliver the eulogy.
Here’s the kicker: I had to do it in front of the same people who had played roles in some of the darkest parts of my life.

I was honestly terrified. I wanted to run. I felt like I was 11 years old again.
But I stood up. I spoke. And something powerful happened.

It didn’t undo the past. It didn’t make things easy. But it gave me my power back that I didn’t know was missing.  I thought I had ‘processed’ it all already. 

But here is the thing: sometimes the things that scare the hell out of us… are the very things that stretch us into who we’re meant to become.

Why I’m Sharing This With You

I see a similar fear in the eyes of so many women who show up at my stress reduction retreats.

They’ve never done something like this for themselves.
They’re overwhelmed. Burnt out. Scared to take up space or spend money on just themselves.
But they come anyway.
And by the end of the weekend?

They’re hooked.

They laugh louder.
They move their bodies with ease.
They speak from the heart.
They cry, release, rest, play, laugh.
And they leave empowered—because they did the thing they were afraid of doing.

The Real Work of Stress Reduction Retreat

It’s not just massages and meditation (though yes, we do that too).

It’s learning how to face the hard stuff. To slow down long enough to hear what your soul’s been trying to tell you.
To get grounded and remember what actually matters.
To create space for what’s coming next.

Your dreams require a version of you that’s brave enough to hold them.
And sometimes, life gives us challenges not to break us-but to prepare us.

If you’re facing something hard right now, or standing at the edge of a big shift, I want you to know:
You’re not broken. You’re being shaped.
You don’t have to do it alone.
And a retreat might be the exact reset your nervous system (and soul) is begging for.

You’re allowed to rest and rise.

With love and truth,
Shannon

P.S. If you’re a retreat leader (or dreaming of becoming one), I’m hosting a powerful one-day workshop in London this October. Get the details here.