Clarity on Fire

" There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."     Just quoting some casual Hamlet at you today! But hey, the Bard was right—most of what we perceive as good or bad, right or wrong isn't set in stone. How we decide to label things matters.     And maybe it's not so much our thoughts that are the problem, but our thoughts about our thoughts.   On that philosophical note we're div...

Ever seen The Tower card show up in a tarot reading? In the classic image, lighting strikes the top of a stone structure while two people hurtle through midair, falling toward the rocks below.     Yeahhh, so, it's admittedly not anyone's favorite. It heralds shocking change, chaos, and things crumbling around you. But … sometimes, you're trapped in the tower. And the only way to liberate you is fo...

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Holly, whose business partner is her total opposite. She's upset about something that could negatively impact their b...

Honing your intuition is one of the most important parts of getting clear on who you are, what you want, and where you're headed. Without it, you're like a GPS with bad reception — you're not going to get very clear guidance, and you may end up driving in circles.   But honing your intuition can take time and practice, so sometimes it's nice to piggyback off of another GPS you can trust, even if i...

Last month during the side chat where we processed 2021 , I shared that one of the big lessons I got hit with (and am very much still trying to learn) was about pain. Namely, that just because you're in pain doesn't mean that something is going wrong .     The more Kristen and I mulled that one over, the more obvious it became that we needed to have a whole separate conversation about it to do the...

Francine Mends' life is unrecognizable from several years ago when she was feeling trapped and miserable in her highly specialized field of neuroradiology, with no escape in sight.   After a series of personal tragedies that emotionally shook her to her core, she decided to finally make some serious (and scary) changes in her life, including doing something she never imagined she could do: take a...

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Higher Thoughts, who's in a "mental breakdown, rock bottom, everything spiral out of control" phase … how do they reg...

First things first – Happy birthday to Kristen!! We know how I feel about birthdays, but Kristen is the Tiny Tim to my Ebenezer Scrooge, so feel free to celebrate her and congratulate her on getting older as much as you want today!   And if you want a deal that even Scrooge couldn't find fault with, then by all means, scroll down.   Now, allow us to move on to the last podcast episode of this year...

Six months ago, my friend (and former client) Alex and I embarked on an adventure: Me quitting a part-time gig, and her quitting a full-time job.     We had one thing in common: No real plans for what happened next.   It was the start of what's become a very interesting, surprising, rollercoaster of a journey … and I thought I'd let you in on it.   Alex and I originally recorded this episode for t...

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Dates-ed & Confused, who's been dating a guy for a few weeks and is already thinking about ending it. But are their r...

Honing your intuition is one of the most important parts of getting clear on who you are, what you want, and where you're headed. Without it, you're like a GPS with bad reception — you're not going to get very clear guidance, and you may end up driving in circles.   But honing your intuition can take time and practice, so sometimes it's nice to piggyback off of another GPS you can trust, even if i...

Lately we've had multiple clients share a worrying pattern. It goes something like, "I can't stop ruminating on this awful experience I had at work. I obsess over it constantly. It's really affecting my mood, energy, performance, and confidence."   If you've had a bad romantic relationship—maybe an ex who said nasty things to your face, or who would scream at you at the drop of a hat, or who negle...

Hello again, friends! I've returned with more Forever Alone … but not Season 2 (yet). Instead, I'm here with something special.     Most of what I shared in Season 1 was very thorough. I said exactly what I needed to say, and have nothing left to add. But there's one thing I wasn't able to go into enough depth about, because I had too much to say and my opinions weren't essential to the story—and...

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Dee, who recently went through a tough breakup with someone that she thought was "it." She's someone who's cautious a...

Calling all fellow bookworms, library nerds, and general lovers of literature — it's time for another book club episode of the podcast!     Whenever there are five Fridays in a month we devote the extra Friday to a book that we can't get enough of. In this episode we're diving into Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown, author of the mega-bestseller Essentialism: The D...

At the very end of Chapter 7 of Forever Alone (tiny spoiler alert, I guess!), I said:   We don't all have the same amount of ambition in every area of life, and that's OK. Some of us are perfectly content with a small, modest townhouse: Comfortable, safe, not flashy, but warm and homey. Honestly, my career ambitions are probably somewhere in that realm—it matters to me, but it's not where my big,...

I'm as guilty as anyone else of saying that I value creativity, but then as soon as life gets busy, it's the first thing I throw on the backburner.     It doesn't help that many of us got the message (from our parents, from society at large, from wherever) that creativity in adulthood is kind of frivolous and should, at best, be relegated to a side hobby.     Whenever I find myself ignoring my cre...

Welcome to another episode of Dear Krachel, our monthly advice segment where we answer listener questions about life, career, relationships, existential angst, and anything that helps you become a more whole, fulfilled version of yourself.   This month we answered questions from:   Jane, who wants to encourage more feminine energy in the workplace, but is running up against an issue. How do you co...

Well, dear listener, we've arrived. The grand finale (and I do mean grand … this one's a full HOUR long) of Forever Alone! Thank you for joining me on this journey. It's truly been one of the most fun, gratifying things I've ever done. I might be prouder of this seven-part series than anything I've ever done with Clarity on Fire! (But don't tell Kristen).   So, tune in one more time and enjoy Chap...

Honing your intuition is one of the most important parts of getting clear on who you are, what you want, and where you're headed. Without it, you're like a GPS with bad reception — you're not going to get very clear guidance, and you may end up driving in circles.   But honing your intuition can take time and practice, so sometimes it's nice to piggyback off of another GPS you can trust, even if i...

If you can believe it, we've reached the penultimate chapter of Forever Alone! And it wouldn't be an epic story if there wasn't an intense ramp up to a big season finale, hmm?   So, tune in to Chapter 6: Covid & Copping out, in which I …   Get called out so hard I break out in cold sweats Offend people at a wedding Surprise myself by getting a job And rant like my life depends on it   You know I l...

I've gotta admit, there's something fun about those "what do you eat in a day?" or "what's in your bag?" videos that you'll often find celebrities doing on YouTube. Of course, I highly doubt what's being curated for YouTube is real — their bags are probably a whole lot more embarrassing, and their food choices more realistic, than what you see online.   Kristen and I are about as far from celebrit...

If you're all caught up with Forever Alone, what did you think about all those crazy Universe stories I told last week??   This week we're on to Chapter 5: Highlands & High Expectations, in which I…   Encounter a hot Scottish man on a train, Zero in on a future mother-in-law, Break up with the Universe, And finally drag myself to therapy.   This might be my favorite episode so far, so if you want...

I once told Kristen, and I quote, "I'd rather my life be harder and more complicated than necessary, but still happen on my terms, rather than it be easier but not go the way I've envisioned." Charming, I know!   What can I say? I'm a Hermione-Granger type know-it-all with a penchant to grab onto something and insist that I know when, how, and why it's supposed to happen … and then get indignant w...

I'm back with another episode of Forever Alone—we've officially passed the halfway point in this story! And things are only getting deeper, wilder, and weirder from here. So, dive on into Chapter 4: Signs and Synchronicity, in which I…   Question the existence of God, and have some epic panic attacks Flirt aggressively with a boy dressed as Jesus Discover a higher power I can actually get down wit...