Welcome to Issue 96 of Clearly YOU. Every second Wednesday, I serve up ideas that help you share the clearest, realest, most unforgettable version of yourself with the world. Not a subscriber? Let's fix that: https://kimscaravelli.com/newsletter/

Professionally, 2025 was a treading-water kind of experience.

I didn't sink, but I didn't thrive. No horrible lows, but no exhilarating highs. Could sum up the entire 12 months in three letters: MEH. But I'm giving myself 5-Stars for maintaining meh, because...

Personally, 2025 was a shit-show wrapped in a tornado.

My 37+ year relationship ended with little warning, leaving me in a state of emotional (and financial) disarray. Yep. THAT happened.

Yet, despite the chaos, I'm cautiously optimistic about 2026, and here's why:

I'm not a MEH person. I'm brave. And creative. And I can do hard things. So the idea of reassessing, rebuilding, and re-energizing my universe feels more exciting than daunting.
I know what's genuinely important to me - The people, the items, and the lifestyle choices I truly want (and need) in my life. And conversely, I know what I can live without. Having that kind of clarity is wildly empowering.
I lost a lot of dead weight in 2025. And yes, that may be a small dig at my soon-to-be-ex. But I also mean "stuff". For a multitude of reasons, the last half of the year saw me ditching a wild array of apps, memberships, and subscriptions I rarely used. I even condensed my service offerings. And absolutely nothing bad happened. So I'm heading into 2026 lean and open to new things.

If your 2025 rocked, I'm genuinely happy for you. If it sucked, I'm truly sorry.

Either way, on Thursday we all step into a new year.

If you have a few quiet minutes today, ponder your own reasons for optimism in 2026. Write them down. Tape the list somewhere visible. And let your hard-earned strength and wisdom guide what comes next. 🩷

Cool Quote

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."

Maya Angelou

Simple Exercise to Ditch Dead Weight (so you can thrive)

Quick... Without overthinking it...

Name a few work things you genuinely do not enjoy, but found yourself doing a lot of in 2025.

When I did this, the first two things that popped into my head were:

Creating video content for social. Sometimes it’s fun, but more often it feels time-consuming and a little forced.
Group email strings. Honestly, is there any form of communication more prone to misunderstanding?

Now, just as quickly, name a few things you did enjoy doing.

My immediate answers were:

Researching and developing DIY courses delivered via email. I love learning new things, so figuring out how to use KIT to provide training was a hoot. Even the stumbling blocks were interesting to work through.
Collaborating on workshops with a long-time colleague. It reminded me that I work alone a bit too much. Doing things with someone else was a genuine breath of fresh air.

Now comes the harder part.

Figure out how to stop doing at least the top two things on your stuff-I-don’t-enjoy list.

For me, that means stepping away from those foolish reels for a while. I don’t get clients from them anyway (and I suspect many of you don’t either). So I’m taking my foot off the gas and letting Instagram float down the lazy river for a bit. Stories? Sure. Maybe a post or a reel here and there. But it’ll happen when it feels right, not because it’s Tuesday or Friday.

I’m also consciously disentangling myself from group email conversations. This one’s trickier because client dynamics are involved, but I’m confident I can be polite, professional, and clear about shifting these discussions into one focused Zoom call, or a more intentional one-to-one exchange.

And here’s the thing.

When I stop doing those two things, I’ll have more energy, more time, and more focus. Which means I can make more courses, collaborate with more interesting people, and enjoy my work a whole lot more.

🥳 Try it.

And if you want, tell me how it goes.
📧 kim@kimscaravelli.com

Stuff Worth Sharing

This was the coolest thing I've ever found in my Christmas stocking. Shout out to my brilliant daughters who did an exceptional job of being their mom's Santa this year.

It's filled with simple explanations of the subtle differences between words and ideas that we tend to collapse, conflate, or confuse. If you're a word nerd, you'll be instantly engrossed!

For the Word Nerds

In this issue, I’ve used the expression “dead weight” a few times. It’s an expression most of us think we get. Sort of.

Dead weight is anything that takes energy to carry but doesn’t help you move. The problem isn’t the thing itself. It’s the effect. Dead weight slows you down without giving you much (or anything) in return for all that effort.

And here’s the tricky part. Even something that was once worth it can turn into dead weight over time. That’s why it’s often hard to let go. You’ve been carrying it for so long that you don’t fully understand the problem until you finally ditch it and think, Oh. That’s better.