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.
281. Why You Become More Strict With Food in Certain Seasons of Life
For a long time, I thought I was just being healthy. I was a health and wellness coach, after all. I didn't question the cleanses, the strict food rules, or the pressure I put on myself to exercise. I thought these were good habits. I didn't realize how often I turned to them when other parts of my life felt uncertain.
Looking back, I can see the pattern. When things felt messy in my relationships or my business, food and exercise gave me something predictable to focus on. I could follow a plan, stick to the rules, and feel like I had some control. But I wasn't looking at what was actually bothering me.
It took time for me to recognize that connection and change my relationship with food and exercise. I share what helped me stop judging myself around food, let go of rigid fitness routines, and make choices that feel right for me rather than choices driven by guilt or the need to get everything right.
If you're someone who is used to being disciplined and having things together, I want you to consider what might be underneath the rules you're following.
What feels out of control or out of alignment in your life right now? And are you using food, exercise, or a strict morning routine to give yourself a sense of predictability instead of looking at what feels uncomfortable?
Work with me:
Lighter (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter): finally release the weight attached to your plate www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter (http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter)
The Leaders Table: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table)
Breakthrough Intensive: You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting & be emotionally present. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes + integration call 1 week later. Book your Breakthrough (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94)
Exhale Private Coaching: For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 3 open spots: Work with me (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching)
Connect with Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says) | Facebook (https://www.fb.com/coachsamanthahawley)
13 Oct 2026
280. How to Work Without Feeling Like You're Choosing Your Career Over Your Kids
I thought having more time to work would make me feel less behind. Instead, I found myself feeling guilty when I worked and overwhelmed when I didn't. And when my son told me, “I never get to see you anymore,” it hit me hard. I'd made changes to my schedule so I could spend more time with him, yet somehow I still felt like I wasn't doing enough.
At a dinner with a group of women leaders, I asked everyone what was scaring them in their personal lives, careers, or businesses. I expected different answers, but one theme kept coming up: mom guilt. And as we talked, I realized how often we treat choosing our careers as if it means choosing our kids less.
The fear underneath that guilt can run much deeper than the decision in front of us. For me, it was the fear that if I didn't spend enough time with my son, he wouldn't remember me as the loving, present mom I wanted to be.
The way forward wasn't to tell myself I was a great mom and hope the guilt disappeared. It was to question the belief creating it in the first place.
I'll walk you through how to identify the thought making your day feel heavier, uncover the fear underneath it, and create what I call a bridge belief: a new perspective that feels believable enough to change how you approach your work and your time with your kids.
Because choosing to work doesn't automatically mean you're choosing your career over your kids. And making room for your own goals doesn't have to mean taking something away from them.
Work with me:
Lighter (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter): finally release the weight attached to your plate www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter (http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter)
The Leaders Table: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table)
Breakthrough Intensive: You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting & be emotionally present. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes + integration call 1 week later. Book your Breakthrough (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94)
Exhale Private Coaching: For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 3 open spots: Work with me (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching)
Connect with Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says) | Facebook (https://www.fb.com/coachsamanthahawley)
6 Oct 2026
279. Why You Can Get Things Done Under Pressure but Can't Start Them Earlier
Procrastination can feel like a superpower when you know you can pull it all together at the last minute. But what if the pressure you rely on to get things done is also part of the pattern?
I’ve definitely done this. I’ll put something off, tell myself I work better under pressure, and then somehow get it done when there’s no more room to avoid it. Vicki Smith and I got into what might actually be happening underneath that pattern.
Vicki is a therapist and coach who works with female solopreneurs around people pleasing, perfectionism, self doubt, emotional overwhelm, and the ways our nervous system can show up in business.
One of the things that really stuck with me was her explanation of procrastination as a form of flight. Sometimes we’re not simply being lazy or lacking discipline. We’re trying to get away from something that feels uncomfortable, whether that’s pressure, fear of getting it wrong, or the expectation we’ve put on ourselves.
We also talked about why some of us genuinely do work better when there’s a clear deadline. When the start and stop time is already decided, there’s less room to keep negotiating with ourselves about what we should be doing. The question becomes whether that way of working actually works for you without leaving you completely burned out afterward.
Vicki also introduced me to the idea of our different internal “parts” having their own opinions about what we’re doing. The perfectionist, the people pleaser, the procrastinator. They can all have something to say before we ever get started.
And maybe the goal isn’t to force those parts to disappear. Maybe it’s learning how to notice what’s happening, understand what we need, and give ourselves permission to work in a way that actually fits us.
That shift from “I should be doing this differently” to “What actually works for me?” felt especially important.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Vicki Smith on: (https://www.instagram.com/spechtand.co)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-smith-selfledceo)
Vicki Smith on: Website (https://www.selfledceo.com/)
Work with me:
Lighter (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter): finally release the weight attached to your plate www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter (http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/lighter)
The Leaders Table: https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/leaders-table)
Breakthrough Intensive: You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting & be emotionally present. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes + integration call 1 week later. Book your Breakthrough (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/offers/LN9xep94)
Exhale Private Coaching: For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 3 open spots: Work with me (https://www.samanthapenkoff.com/privatecoaching)
Connect with Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samantha.s.says) | Facebook (https://www.fb.com/coachsamanthahawley)
Who has been a guest on Journal Entries
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Andrea Smith
Kristi
Emily Rose Hardy
Giovanna Silvestre
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