Mindset Matters – Ruthann M. Wilson

Rebuilding Confidence: Steady Practices for Wisdom and Strength

Like stones balanced one by one, confidence is rebuilt through steady practices and the wisdom we carry forward.

When change arrives suddenly or asks more of us than expected, confidence can wobble before it steadies again.

Transitions in our lives and work can shake our confidence, especially when they ask us to stretch, release, or reimagine what comes next. Yet they also invite us to rebuild with the wisdom we’ve gained and the lessons we’ve carried forward.

Confidence is a steady trust in yourself: in your abilities, your choices, and the decisions you make. It is fluid. It grows through reflection, practice, and affirmation, becoming stronger each time you act with trust and intention.

When confidence is shaken, it doesn’t return all at once. It’s steadied slowly, through practices that keep you grounded, through visibility, and through acknowledging the contributions you have already made. And each time we rebuild, we do so with greater wisdom, carrying forward the lessons that shape us into someone stronger and more resilient.

Confidence is not about certainty. It’s about continuing to choose and act with trust and intention.

When confidence is shaken or feels diminished, pause and ask: Which practices help me feel steady, where do I want to be more visible, and which contributions do I need to acknowledge, honor, or celebrate as I rebuild with the wisdom I’ve gained.

Confidence is built in small, steady practices that remind us of our worth. Here are three ways to begin:

Morning Pause: Each morning, name one true personal quality you will bring into the day and let it remind you of your worth.
Micro-action: Choose one small act each day that expresses your gifts.
Reflection: At the end of each day, note where your presence made a difference.

If you’re moving through a season of completion or transition, you may find resonance in a recent reflection on Finishing Strong and honoring what you’ve carried to this point.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing offered grounding or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

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Warmly,
Ruthann

10 Practices to Restore Rhythm and Meaning in Daily Life

Life moves quickly. It’s easy to overlook the quiet moments that bring meaning and connection. These ten practices are grounded in three core principles: reverence, rhythm, and rooted presence.

Each one offers a way to slow down and deepen your experience of your day. They are simple and accessible, designed to help you pause, listen, and be with your day in a more intentional way.

Whether it’s lighting a candle, placing your feet on the earth, or ending your day with gratitude, these small actions can gently reshape how you move through your day.

You don’t need to follow a specific order. Let your intuition guide you. Choose one practice each day, or return to the ones that feel most supportive.

1. Light a Candle with Intention

Practice: Before you begin your day, light a candle with quiet reverence. Let the flame reflect your inner fire: your presence, your purpose, and the energy you choose to carry into the day.
Journal Prompt: How can I tend to my inner flame throughout the day?

2. Sit in Silence for Five Minutes

Practice: Pause. Breathe. Listen. Let the quiet speak. Let it guide you.
Journal Prompt: What arises in the quiet when I stop trying to fill it?

3. Choose a Gentle Phrase to Carry

Practice: Select a simple phrase like “I am here” or “This moment matters” to guide you through the day.
Journal Prompt: What phrase feels like a gentle anchor for me today?

4. Place Your Bare Feet on the Earth

Practice: Step outside. Feel the ground beneath your feet: solid, steady, alive. Let it support you.
Journal Prompt: What helps me feel rooted and supported in this moment?

5. Make Tea Slowly

Practice: Prepare your tea with care. Feel the warmth, breathe in the aroma, and notice the quiet unfolding of the moment.
Journal Prompt: How can I let this moment of preparation become a ritual of care?

6. Let Yourself Cry, Laugh, or Rest

Practice: Honor your emotions. Let them move through you, whether through tears, laughter, or quiet stillness, without judgment.
Journal Prompts: What feeling have I been holding, and how might I let it move through me?

7. Write a Note of Appreciation

Practice: Send a short message to someone you love. Let your words be a gift.
Journal Prompt: Who has touched my life in a way I want to honor?

8. Place Your Hands Over Your Heart

Practice: Close your eyes. Place your hand over your heart. Feel its rhythm. Listen to its wisdom.
Journal Prompt: What does my heart want me to know or remember?

9. Do One Thing Slowly

Practice: Let one simple act such as walking, eating, or talking become a ritual. Slow down. Be present. Let intention guide you. When repeated with reverence, even the smallest gesture can become a doorway to meaning.
Journal Prompt: What opens in me when I choose to slow down?

10. End Your Day with Reflection & Gratitude

Practice: Ask yourself what felt sacred today. Whisper a word of thanks. Let the day close in quiet reverence.
Journal Prompts: What moment today held unexpected meaning or beauty? What am I quietly grateful for as I close this day?

These practices aren’t meant to be perfected or put on display. They are meant to be lived quietly, intuitively, day by day.

You don’t need to do them all. You don’t need to get them “right.” What matters is that you show up with intention and let meaning find its way into your everyday life.

I’m grateful you paused here. If it feels meaningful, you’re welcome to share it with others. You can follow the blog for new posts, subscribe to the mailing list for updates, or connect on social media to stay in touch.

All the best,
Ruthann

Envision the Month Ahead: Four Questions to Ask Yourself

As we begin a new month, I invite you to set aside a few minutes to start the month with the end in mind. Ask yourself the following questions with the end of the month in mind.

What meaningful accomplishments will I have achieved by the end of the month?
With whom will I have intentionally spent time, and how did those connections enrich me?
What will I have released because it is complete, no longer brings me joy, or serves my highest good?
What daily practices will have kept me grounded and present throughout the month?

Consider making a vision board that includes words, images, and symbols representing your desired outcome (click here to see my post on vision boards).

If you need help setting goals, check out my post SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life, where I share the SMART approach to creating written goals and structuring your time. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Evaluate your progress on a weekly basis. In evaluating progress, think not only about what you have accomplished, but who you have become as a part of the process. Reflect on the changes in your mindset, your habits, as well as your overall outlook on life, as these are just as important as tangible accomplishments.

Acknowledge the challenges you’ve faced and the strength you’ve gained from working through them. Be patient with yourself and trust the process. Recognize that growth can sometimes be slow and nonlinear. Allow yourself the grace to evolve at your own pace. Take the first step, write down one thing you intend to accomplish.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or stirred a shift in how you see, feel, or move through the world, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Weekly Reflection Prompts for Personal Growth

Each week carries its own rhythm. When we take time to look back and gently look forward, we honor our progress and invite clarity.

A weekly reflection, just 15–20 minutes, can become a sacred pause. It’s a way to gently realign, notice what’s unfolding, and make space for what matters most. I have outlined a few questions, best answered in writing, to help get you started.

Look back

What felt complete or meaningful this week?
What remains unfinished, and what might that reveal?
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What felt aligned?
What felt off, heavy, or resistant? What gentle shift might help me meet it differently?
What felt like a gift this week?
Where did I offer presence, support, or light?

Look forward

What matters most in the week ahead? Why?
Based on my review of last week, what might I do differently in the coming week?

Let this weekly reflection become an anchoring practice. A way to honor your movement, your learning, and your becoming.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in how you see, feel, or move through the world, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

All the best,
Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Gratitude: A 30‑Day Practice to Begin and End Each Day with Thanks

Gratitude is a simple yet profound practice that can shift how we experience life. By beginning and ending each day with thanks, we invite peace, contentment, and a deeper awareness of the blessings already present.

Being grateful is a simple practice that can have a profound effect on your life. Everyone has something to be grateful for – food, shelter, clothing, family, friends, health, career, financial abundance, transportation, new beginnings, new opportunities, life lessons – just to name a few. When we focus on what we have and feel a deep sense of gratitude for it, we are able to shift into a state of peace and contentment even if life is not exactly as we wish it to be.

For the next 30 days, I invite you into a gentle rhythm of gratitude, twofold in its simplicity:

Begin and end each day with gratitude. You may be thinking that you are too busy and not able to add anything else to your schedule. I hear you! It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. As an example, in the morning, I simply give thanks for the gift of a new day as soon as I open my eyes. In the evening, I review the day and express gratitude for whatever I consider to be gifts, blessings, or life lessons. I enjoy writing things down as it gives me an opportunity to review what I have captured over time. Create a daily practice that works for you and your lifestyle.

Express gratitude to others. Make a point to call, send an email, send a text, write a handwritten note to someone each day expressing gratitude.

If you miss a day, it’s okay! Work toward creating a consistent practice over the next 30 days and beyond.

Gratitude is a daily choice to notice, honor, and give thanks for the gifts of life.

Thank you for pausing here. If something in these words offered insight or stirred a shift, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

With gratitude,
Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Monthly Reflection: Begin with the end in mind

We are all given the gift of twenty-four hours each day to spend as we choose. It is a gift that we treasure through the choices that we make. In the busyness of life, it’s easy to operate on autopilot and forget that we have the power to choose how we spend our time.

Time is one of your most valuable resources and it is inextricably linked to your life. The way you spend your time is the way you spend your life. The key to making the most of your time is to stay focused on what truly matters. It is an intentional process of reflecting on how you are spending your time relative to your values and goals.

As we begin a new month, I invite you to set aside 15 minutes to begin with the end in mind. Ask yourself the following questions with the end of the month in mind.

💥What have I accomplished?

💥Who have I spent time with?

💥How do I feel?

💥What do I need to start, stop, or do more of so that I can feel (whatever you identified)?

Create a daily structure that will enable you to bring what you have envisioned to life. Evaluate your progress on a weekly basis. Be patient with yourself and trust the process.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Boost Your Day with Positive ‘I Am’ Statements

Words are powerful! What you tell yourself on a daily basis influences the way you experience life. Positive “I am” statements are extremely powerful in building and maintaining your self-esteem. I offer three affirmations to begin and end each day as a part of your self-care practice.

I am worthy

I am loved

I am enough

Learn more about affirmations The Power of Affirmations (Video).

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All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Reflect on Your Year: The Power of Gratitude

It’s been a tough year, to say the least. It may be difficult to see your blessings through all of the challenges, but they are there. If you keep a gratitude journal, take time to review and reflect on what you have captured over the course of the year. If you don’t have a gratitude journal, take time to reflect on the past year and note whatever you consider to be gifts, blessings, or life lessons.

Questions for reflection:

Who or what was my greatest blessing?
What did I learn? How did I grow?
How was I a blessing to others?

Gratitude is the key to creating a joy-filled and abundant life. Giving thanks for everything that has been provided to you will increase your appreciation for your life and help you cultivate a mindset of abundance that will take root and blossom in your life.

Wishing you peace and abundant blessings.

Ruthann

Embrace Possibility: 3 Transformative Mindset Shifts

Let’s shift & move forward.

Instead of saying ‘My dream is impossible,’ affirm: ‘All things are divinely possible.’ There is more to life than what you can see. Learn to trust the process and stay open to possibility.

In this video, I share 3 transformative practices to help you embrace possibility.

Ask yourself powerful questions. They shape how you think, influence how you feel, and motivate action.
Quiet reflection. Create space to listen inwardly and notice what emerges.
Daily spiritual practice. Anchor your day with rituals that remind you of what is possible.

Exercise: Choose one of these practices today and notice how it shifts your perspective.

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All the best,

Ruthann

Transform Doubts into Actionable Steps for Success

Let’s shift & move forward.

Replace “I doubt it will happen” with “I believe it will happen”

Beliefs are powerful things; they are the vehicles through which we create our lives and filter our experiences. Whatever we believe to be true is the reality from which we create our lives. Fear and doubt are a part of life, but they don’t have to rule your life. The best way to move through fear and doubt is to take action.

Exercise: Today’s challenge is an invitation to renew your belief in your ability to succeed. Identify something that you have been putting off because you doubt it will actually happen.

💥 Envision a desired future state and write it down and/or find an image that captures what you envision. Keep your vision in a place where you can see it on a regular basis.

💥 Outline the steps needed to bring your vision to life as well as a date for completion.

💥 Create an affirmation that aligns with your future state and work with it on a daily basis.

💥 Each day, commit to taking three actions to move toward your desired future state.

💥 Hold yourself accountable by assessing your commitment to action at the end of each day.

Don’t wait until you are “ready” to begin. Start small, gain momentum, and bring your vision to life. Plan and prepare for it or something better to happen. Believe in your ability to succeed.

All the best,

Ruthann