Shifted Not Shattered: Ending The Year Whole

You don’t need to be perfect to be powerful.
 You don’t need to have it all figured out to reflect with pride.

As 2025 comes to a close, I’m inviting you into one final conversation — not about who you should become next year, but about who you already are.
This episode is a soft landing, a gentle ceremony, and a sacred reminder: You may feel cracked open… but you are not broken.

🦋 In this closing episode of the year, I’m sharing:

• Honest reflections from my own journey this year
• Journal-style prompts to help you release, reclaim, and reset
• Affirmations to celebrate how far you’ve come (even if the world didn’t see it)
• A reminder that growth can be quiet — and still deeply sacred

✨ If you’re walking into the new year feeling tender, tired, or unsure — you’re not alone.
 Let this episode hold you. You’ve shifted. You’ve grown. And that deserves to be honored.

🦋 Tag @shifthappenswithshay when you listen & let me know:
 What shift are you proud of this year?

Continue the conversation with Shay on her Instagram, Facebook page, Youtube, website, and linkedIn! You can also email Shay at shay@shifthappenswithshay.com if you are looking for insight about your life, send your stories, or request topics you would like to address.

Please note this podcast is not a substitution for therapy, if you require assistance with exploring trauma, deeper relationship issues, or more please reach out to establish care.

Transcript

0:00

Hey there and welcome to Shift Happens with Shay. I'm Shay, your host and licensed marriage and family therapist. This podcast is where we dive into all the shift life throws our way, whether it's relationships, mental health, personal growth, or just figuring out this crazy journey of adulting here. We're all about honest conversation, real stories, and a whole lot of laughs as we tackle life's challenges together. This is your space to grow, explore, and feel seen. So grab a cozy spot, maybe a cup of coffee or wine, and let's get ready to shift through it all. Thanks for tuning in, and remember, no matter what life brings us, we're in this together. Hi, beautiful. Welcome back to Shift Happens with Shay. Guess what? This is the final episode of 2025. Can you believe it? Whether you've been with me since episode one, or you found this place like today, I want you to know this. You are not leaving 2025. The same woman you entered it as you may have been tested. Stretched, cracked open, but you are not broken. You've shifted, and that shift deserves to be honored. So today we're slowing down just the two of us to reflect on the growth, the softness, the grief, and the glory that brought us to this moment. Let this be your soft closing ceremony for the year. You deserve that. So let's talk about it. Here we are. I wanna talk about a year of shifting. Sharing something personal. This year was not easy to say the least. I had to release versions of myself, I thought would stay forever. I had to make room for new rhythms, creativity, creatively. Spiritually, emotionally, I had to honor that. Rest is productive and healing isn't linear. That's like my motto for this whole year. I don't know how many times I have recited that to myself, to my loved ones, to my clients. Everyone gets to hear that one healing is not linear. Some days I felt full of power. Other days I felt like a puddle of what am I doing, where's my next step, and what is this woman in the mirror, you know? But what I learned is that growth doesn't always roar. Sometimes it whispers. It holds your hand. It simply keeps showing up. So many times this year that I just was like, no more. No more, please. I just really don't wanna do anything else. I don't wanna go through this. I wanna be done with all of this, and I've talked about it in previous episodes, such as like my health concerns when I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's and autoimmune. Disorder where my thyroid is not producing the way it needs to, it's under-producing. So now I am chronically on, I say chronically, I mean for a lifetime. Pretty much I will have to take medicine to help my body move, regulate my hormones, shoot even my temperature of my sleep. I am in a better place with that. Yeah, moments like, what am I doing even with that health and my fitness? What am I doing with that? Having this difficulty losing weight and despite me taking my medicine and it not going down anywhere where I just look in the mirror and I wanna really fall in love with the girl in front, but I had to be honest and just tell her I accept the girl who's in front of me. I love all versions of myself. When I look at past pictures from even just earlier in this year, it looks like a completely different woman, but I can see that she's me through her eyes in the things she was doing and saying they're raw me. So many different versions, so many different shifts. And so many times I did not actually feel my most powerful, and I felt like I was just off track, just doing whatever. But I got back on there. I talked to friends, spiritual coaches, really got deep with myself and thought about what do I wanna do? How do I wanna keep showing up for myself? Those were the talks I needed. And so I ask you to take a moment and ask yourself, where have you shifted this year? Even if no one else saw it, how did you keep showing up for yourself even when no one saw it? You don't need a major milestone to validate your becoming. And I will say a lot of my shifts did not come from major milestones, though I did have them here. I'm not gonna lie, they are definitely present. But the silent ones where maybe I cried by myself, maybe I cried to my best friend. Maybe those heartfelt sides of really just accepting this is just what it is, this is who I am. And. We can still be that bright soul inside and almost thinking that maybe change isn't possible, but finding that shift within yourself that said, no, it's possible. We just have to look at it differently. Think about an alternative, and I found her. So think about it. What are some of those shifts for you this year? I did want to do something a tad bit different than we usually do normally. You know, I'm talking about a topic and I mean, the topic here is that we shifted and we're not shattered, and the year didn't take over us. We took over the year. Even if it was filled with disapp appointments or hurt or nervousness, fears, excitements, joy, content. Lovable, playful, whatever. There were just so many ways we did overcome. I know you did. So I wanna do a guided reflection. And this episode is really, like I said, it's between me and you, girl. So this is best if you are already in your room, maybe lighted a candle or your air diffuser, you know, have your nice aromatherapy going and just get your journal out because we're gonna move into some journal style prompts and there's no pressure. You don't have to get it right, just let them land. So the first prompt I wanna do, what am I ready to leave in 2025 with love and gratitude. Maybe it's a habit, maybe it's a hustle, maybe it's a belief or a relationship. Not everything gets to follow you into softness. What I'm ready to leave is doubt. I'm ready to leave her behind and I understand she was protecting me for the fear of failure. The fear of leaving behind stability. The unknown is scary, so I understand doubt's role and her protection towards me, and I appreciate what she was trying to do, but she was also holding me back. I feel in this next move for me on my next chapter, I have to face things fearlessly and fearlessly does not need to be reckless. I have to leave those thoughts behind that. I am not an entrepreneur, like things like that when clearly I am. I have the leadership qualities, I have the traits. I've been doing it in so many different avenues of my life. So many places showed me where I showed up for myself and I saw that I am a woman on fire, as my M would say. She always told me I was a woman on fire and I am. I'm so passionate and like a flame. As long as I have air, I can keep going even with the smallest of embers. So I can't allow doubt to become a part of me. She is a fleeting thought, but she cannot be my protection. What did you come up with? Mm-hmm. The next one, what am I carrying forward? Because it feels like home. Think about maybe some new boundaries you've implemented. Deeper self trust, a calm morning routine, a more honest voice. What are you carrying with you? I love to say an honest voice, a deeper self-trust. So often through our shift and our healing journey, we are really learning ways to ret trusts ourselves, to build that back up within ourselves, to build the safety within so that we can move with authority, with assertiveness, with our heads held high and our crown straightened. I definitely feel resonated. I resonate with deeper self-trust. I have to believe in my vision when I talk about it and when I say the plans, so often people light up and they're like, oh my God. That is for you Shay. Like that is you. You are doing it. Keep going. It fits you. That aligns with you. That is so on brand for you. I have to let those voices be my voices. Hear it in my thoughts. I believe that too. It is for me. It's a lot of things for me. I just have to trust and believe that I deserve it and I can go for it. A calm morning routine, oh my goodness, take that with you. Take that with you into 2026. Implement those soft starts to your day. Whether that's putting on beautiful instrumentals of beautiful playlists, which shout out to lunar vibes. I adore that channel on YouTube. They are so amazing. I appreciate them so much and you guys should definitely check'em out. There's so many on there, and I implement those into my day. I implement those into my workday depending on what I'm doing. If I'm in my admin mode and I'm doing backend stuff, I put on that CEO, beatless. If I'm waking up in the morning, I'm putting on the positive one. Affirmation, magnetic feminist. Whatnot because that is what I am embodying. That's within me and that's how I feel. So just think about what you're carrying forward because it feels like home. It feels right. Home is safe. Your third prompt, who am I becoming and how does she move? Speak rest. Love. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to meet yourself where you are. Take a moment to revisit yourself. Always come home to her. Take moments to see her. Love her. Nurture her. Let her soar. Let her blossom. Let her radiate. You were always meant to be her. So think about it. Envision her, how is she loving? How is she moving? How is she resting? And do that, bring that with you in your softness to this soft part of your life moving forward. Affirmation I wanna give is. I do not have to be perfect to be powerful. I'm shifting not shattering. You truly are, and I kind of already answered that prompt, but I will give it here since it's just the two of us girls here. My word for 2025 was embodiment. I wanted to embody. This powerful version of myself, but I had to realize that to embody is everything, not just only one trait. We're embodying all of us, we're we are giving the blueprint. The idea, the quality, the feeling of whatever, who we are, we are becoming that. And I can't just express power. Power can't just mean a force. It can be a force. But what does this force look like? Strength without softness, a survival. And I don't want that. I want a strength with softness. I wanna power with softness. That's what I want. That is the idea. I came into 2025 with an incomplete vision and I came out with a blueprint. It is written out. There are checklists. The leader that I am, I wanted to embody the growth that I have, the spiritual connections I have with myself and found I wanted to embody this powerful after hurt after connecting with myself and making very difficult decisions in 2024, and realize that despite everything that may have felt like a wall or a barrier, they did make me stronger, and it did help me see that I don't have to have it all together. I don't also have to be jaded to be strong, to prove myself to anybody that I got it. I got it. I already know I have it. I don't have to prove it to anybody but myself. I am incorporating all of me now the vulnerability. The crier, the giver, the lover, the nurturer, the healer, the guide. I'm embodying all of her and I'm taking her with me. She moves so gracefully. Yeah, she has her funny moments and she might say some silly things here and there, but man, there is so much wisdom behind her eyes as soon as you come in contact with me. You see the words inspire, you see warmth, you see love, you see celebration. That's what I want to continue to embody and to continue to show in 2026 and beyond. So really think about who are you becoming?'cause even though it feels like you might be breaking inside, you're truly shifting. You're going to your moments, they're coming, they're here. Don't give up on it. Push through that prompt. Even if it gets uncomfortable, you might even cry a little bit as you think about the woman you are becoming who she is, and maybe you might be disappointed in some ways that you didn't get to be her or you didn't embody her this she, but you're not a disappointment to yourself. It's okay to tell yourself, sorry for self abandoning. It's okay to feel disappointed that you neglected yourself. It's okay. Forgive yourself with love. Give yourself grace and come back to yourself. Love on her. Hold her. Don't avoid her. Okay, so really thinking about like this year was just. A beautiful return to self. And December, let's commit to softness, whatever that looks like for you. If that's mani petties and drinks and cocktail hours or whatnot. Brunches and robes, maybe bath bombs, beautiful showers or shower steamers. But also put some time for some deep work, that insightful work such as these journal prompts, or maybe using our therapy, having that moment to visit your inner child and make sure she's still good. And if she's not, what can you do to see her so she doesn't feel neglected, so she doesn't feel invisible anymore? Making sure you have those weekly checkups with yourself, you know? Wholeness isn't about having it all together. It's about embracing your messy middle. It's about returning to yourself over and over again and saying, I'm still here. I'm still worthy, I still matter. And girl. You do. You definitely still matter to everyone who listened this year to all of my different ups and downs. Like I mentioned, my health with my weight, with my autoimmune, with the absence I had in between my shows. Thank you for walking beside me. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for telling me the episodes that really resonated with you. Thank you for telling me to keep going. I thank you all who sent messages. I thank you all who journaled with me and shared with me and cried with me. I thank you so much because this isn't just a podcast. It's a sisterhood. It's a sacred space where we come together and talk about all issues that have to do with us as women, our relationships, our mindsets, our different roles that we play, and there's so many that we play. And before we can show up for others, we take this time to gather one another, to make sure we're giving back to ourselves and showing up for ourselves. I'm so grateful that I was able to create this space and grateful that there are women out there who felt like shift happens with Shay is for me. I'm so honored to walk with you. I'm honored that you guys chose me. You didn't have to be here, but you still chose to be here and I love that. I really truly do. I would love to meet more of you when I say that, whether that's in my workshops, whether that's when I officially launch my private practice shift happens with shake counseling and wellness LLC in next fall. Whether I meet you maybe in the future when I get my. Soft retreats started. I just would love for us to continue this deep work. We've truly have created a vibe and I wanna keep vibing with you guys. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. It's been a year of shift happens with Shay. My first episode dropped last year, December 8th, and it's December 28th, so it's okay. But it's amazing to see how far we've come and let's see what 2026 has for us. Let's see how we move and rest in love. Let's see how we embrace joy. I can't wait to see the woman you all are becoming. I'm so excited for this journey. And I hope you guys continue to follow me on mine as I hold hands with you through yours. So I hope to all those who crave an intentional space to begin that softness, join me in 2026. I will continue to have my soft Era series, and the next workshop will be in February. There will be more details, of course, on my Instagram. I'll have it all there. It'll be on my website as well at Shift Happens with Shay.com, and I hope you guys could join me there because we're starting from start to finish from your cocoon until you soar as the beautiful, transformative butterflies that you all are. I adore you all and I can't wait. Next year we'll shift again, softer. Deeper and together. So here's your final reminder from your girl. You are not too much, you are not behind, you are not broken. You are becoming, and you are doing it beautifully. I'll see you in 2026 with so much softness, Shay Mua.