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End of quarter one check in
It's almost the end of March. It's almost Easter. I know, I don't understand where the past three months have gone either. I caught up with my unofficial Alignment Circle today and it nourished my soul so much. Even though you might not feel like you have moved significantly towards your goals just yet, I bet you have achieved more in the past three months than you think you have. And if you haven't, don't worry. If this is a season of pushing for you- there is still plenty m

rosieevylin
Mar 282 min read
Choosing the Day You Want: Lessons from a Birthday in Japan
I’m a summer child. No two ways about it. I love sunshine, long days, living in shorts and jandals, and swimming in the sea. On the rare Wellington days when the sun shines while I’m in the office, I peer miserably out the window, running desperately outside to soak up vitamin C on my breaks. I drive my family nuts insisting we sit outside for dinner, even when it’s windy (spoiler: it’s always windy in Wellington). I’m also birthday obsessed . To me, birthdays are right up th

rosieevylin
Feb 224 min read
Why I’m Pausing Instead of Pushing This Year
This time of year comes with a lot of noise. Noise about goals. Resolutions. Getting it right. Becoming better, more disciplined, more productive versions of ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I love goals. They can be inspiring, motivating, and genuinely helpful. They can give shape to our hopes and help us move toward things that matter. But they also have a quieter, darker side — one we don’t talk about nearly enough. Because so often, traditional goal-setting asks more of us

Ruth James
Jan 222 min read
Why I Don’t Do New Year’s Resolutions Anymore (and What I Do Instead)
For a long time, I loved goal setting. I loved the clean slate of a new year, the notebooks, the plans, the sense that if I just thought hard enough and planned well enough, I could shape the year exactly how I wanted it to be. And to be fair — that approach worked , to a point. It helped me build a career, move countries, write books, run an ultramarathon, I ticked off some big life milestones. But lately, I’ve been craving something different. Something a little less rigid.

Ruth James
Jan 103 min read


End of year reflection and goal setting
How Looking Back Helped Me Set Intentions for the Year Ahead I’ve been obsessed with goal setting and resolutions for a long time, but recently I’ve felt the desire to do something a little less right-or-wrong , and a little more in line with the kind of peace, ease, and spaciousness I’m working towards. Rather than jumping straight into goals, I’ve been drawn to a more reflective way of beginning the year — one that starts by looking back , before we look forward. Why I’m St

Ruth James
Jan 43 min read
Choosing myself
“A reflection on identity, values, and coming back to yourself — and why building a life that feels true matters more than ‘new year, new you.’”

Ruth James
Dec 30, 20252 min read
New year, same me.
It's that time of year; when people are looking towards 2026 and making a list of goals and resolutions. There are habits we promise ourselves we will stop, and ones that we will absolutely start. I love the enthusiasm of the turn of the year. I love that, for once, we are looking at ourselves and our lives and trying to figure out what we want to do differently. In my view, the more often we sit down to reflect on what matters, the better! We get so many messages every day a

Ruth James
Dec 19, 20252 min read


The Value of being around good people
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending two events that helped me to connect with inspiring people. I attended a women in business event and heard from a fabulous woman entrepreneur; a proud kiwi who freely admits she doesn't have it all together, but whose story of resilience and creativity was hugely inspiring. I also got to talk to some other awesome women in business; people from accountants to sexual wellness experts, to stylists, to people recycling old things and tur

Ruth James
Nov 22, 20252 min read


Why expansion doesn't mean doing more
I had lunch with a wonderful friend yesterday. When I asked her how she was, I must admit, I was worried that she would say 'oh, you know, burning the candle at both ends a bit', or, 'feeling pulled in too many directions'. This is the kind of thing you would expect a successful CEO of the Aotearoa branch of an international organisation to say, especially when she's also a wife and mother as well. I should have known, however, that that wouldn't be her story. My friend looke

Ruth James
Nov 12, 20254 min read


Why does everything have to be hard?
Is the goal actually to achieve all the hard things in life, or is it to have a more pleasant and meaningful life? Growth is one of my values, which is wonderful in so many ways, but sometimes it can mean I fall into the all-too-common trap of thinking that doing more makes me a better person. If I'm striving, if I'm working hard, I'm more meritorious, right? As a society, in the West at least, we seem to have this real aversion to laziness, which can make us feel like if not

Ruth James
Nov 6, 20254 min read


Ease vs Easy
One of the main reasons I wanted to write the VIP Mindset book, and indeed to start coaching, was to help busy, overwhelmed people who feel like they are fighting life and losing, to find a sense of ease. However, as the kind of person who has a Goals diary, who enjoys feeling productive, but who also struggles with laziness, I am mindful of not writing a book that is simply about taking the easy route at all times. In fact, I think often the easy choice in a moment is not th

Ruth James
Nov 4, 20254 min read


What are my values?
Every year for the last five years or so, I have asked myself this question. I start my year by reflecting on my values, and from there I build out my goals. My values pretty much always stay the same, or very similar, but I think it's important to reassess each year, and to remind myself of what my vales mean to me. Determining your values can be done in a number of ways. If you sign up for my coaching, you can get a specially designed worksheet from me, but even just googli

Ruth James
Oct 24, 20253 min read


Following my energy (or, why time blocking doesn’t work for me).
Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop with Sara Cannon. There we learned all kinds of tips and tricks for making our plans and ambitions actually achievable. One of my biggest realisations was that I could give myself permission to follow my energy. This is an approach I now take, wherever possible, each day, week, and month. I’m still working on the specifics, but for now what it looks like is a week’s to do list (colour coded if I can), rather than

Ruth James
Sep 25, 20252 min read


Stepping Stones
Look back and see how far you've come. Yesterday I drove to pick up the groceries. This does not sound like a big deal. In many ways, it's not. However, I didn't start learning to drive until I was seventeen. I didn't get my full licence until I was 29. Since then, I've hardly driven. I owned a car for about six months, and then I sold it to go travelling. I haven't owned one since. This means that when I do get behind the wheel of a car, I can be a bit nervous. I'm fine driv

Ruth James
Sep 11, 20253 min read
Get in the Zone
It's been a few weeks since I've written even a single line in The VIP mindset book. Partly, yes, that's because I've been sick, because...

Ruth James
Sep 9, 20253 min read


My best self (or at least, my best shot at being my best self)
Te whanganui a Tara on a very good day. I know that exercise, fresh air, and sunshine are three of the key ingredients to help me show...

Ruth James
Sep 9, 20251 min read
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