🧠Weekly MindSweep No. 181 | What’s On My Mind | Discernment
June 2025
06/02/2025 - Week 178: Curated Conversation: Discernment
06/09/2025 - Week 179: Mind Your Business: Discernment
06/16/2025 - Week 180: Manage Your Mind: Discernment
06/23/2025 - No Curated Conversation, Weekly MindSweep, or Mindful Connections.
*06/30/2025 - Week 181: What’s On My Mind: Discernment
Let’s sweep the brain…
🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!
👉 Click here to Listen
In the MindSweep this week:
Curated Conversation with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).
Jamie’s Second Brain Corner: Links to references. Need a map? I’ve got you!
What’s I’m Reading - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce
My face đź’ś and a link to schedule your free consultation.
The Power of Stepping Away
Last week, I did something I hadn't done in five years: I took a real vacation.
No inbox check-ins.
No, "just one quick post."
No creeping guilt about what I might be missing.
Just a clever out-of-office and my passport in hand.
I left my laptop at home and made an intentional decision to be fully away. And let me tell you, it felt terrifying at first and then breathtakingly beautiful.
(Literally and figuratively. I highly recommend visiting Quebec City!) [1]
If you're used to running the show, pulling the plug mid-performance – mid-song, mid-spotlight, mid-everything — can feel deeply disorienting.
Jarring even.
Like the silence might swallow you.
It takes a minute to adjust to the quiet. But that's also where the real lesson began. The real test of discernment? Rest.
For me, this was discernment in action.
A view of Boldt Castle from the balcony of the Captain Thomson Resort in Alexandria Bay, NY
Let’s sweep the brain…
🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!
👉 Click here to Listen
🧠Choosing to Silence the Noise
I didn't step away because everything was perfect or because I had nothing going on. I stepped away because my nervous system needed it, and clarity doesn't come from constant motion. I wanted to listen to my own thoughts without the constant ping of urgency.
I needed space to think.
To breathe.
To be present.
And that choice, that intentional pause, is exactly what we've been building toward all month long in the Weekly MindSweep series.
Discernment isn't just a skill; it's a practice.
SoLIT Cafe, Montreal, Quebec
🧠A Quick Recap: What We've Been Exploring
Week 178: The Hidden Cost of Saying Yes Too Fast
We began the month in the frozen food aisle, where I once said "yes" to a collaboration without discernment. Tater tots in one hand, phone in the other, I agreed to something that sounded exciting but didn't serve my business long-term.
That moment became a mirror:
Discernment isn't about being closed off. It's about being clear. Because every yes is a trade, and when we don't check the receipt, the cost shows up in delayed goals, diluted brands, and burnout.
Week 179: How Discernment Shows Up in Business
Next, we shifted from the personal to the practical, mapping out how to build discernment into your systems. We looked at how values, boundaries, and filters (not fences) can help you say yes to the right opportunities at the right time.
We asked:
Is this aligned with your long-term goals?
Do you have the capacity to follow through?
Does this "yes" support the life and business you actually want?
Discernment shifted from being based on gut instinct to being more strategic and selective.
Week 180: The Neuroscience of Discernment
Finally, we pulled back the curtain on how the brain actually builds discernment. Spoiler: your brain isn't wired for clarity; it's wired for safety and efficiency.
But the good news? Neural pathways can be trained.
Discernment is a practice.
A muscle. A map. You can strengthen it, like trust, confidence, or biceps.
Which brings us here, Week 181: Discernment in Action
To this moment.
To this message
To the sound of the St. Lawrence River still echoing in my head and the reminder that stepping away didn't break my business; it strengthened it. [2]
Because discernment doesn't just show up in what you say no to.
It shows up in what you make space for.
I gave myself permission to be a human being, not just a business owner.
And because I've built systems, processes, and support into the foundation of my work, I was able to walk away and return with more clarity, energy, and capacity than I've had in years.
This is the business I want for every creative entrepreneur I work with:
A business that breathes.
A business that doesn't collapse if you go offline for a day, a week, or a month.
A business that supports you, not the other way around.
So, if you've been moving at full speed, gripping the wheel with white-knuckled urgency, let this month be your reminder:
You are allowed to pause.
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to build a business that doesn't demand your constant presence to function, one that honors your creativity, your capacity, and your humanity.
Discernment isn't about doing more. It's about choosing better.
And it starts with a single decision: to trust yourself enough to step away and have strong systems sufficient to hold the weight while you do.
If you're ready to create more space, more clarity, and more sustainability in your business, I'd love to help you build it. Let's make room for what matters most — together.
Because the work you're doing? It's important.
But so are you.
I of course had my fill of poutine while visiting Canada. This, was the BEST poutine of the trip at La Buchette 24 rue Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Quebec
My questions for you this week :
What systems or support would actually make it easier for you to unplug?
If you could create more space in your business right now, what would you make room for?
✨ Ready to Build a Business That Breathes?
If you're ready to train your brain for discernment and create the systems that make space for creativity, rest, and sustainable success, let's connect.
We'll explore where you're stuck, what you need to clear the noise, and how I can support your next right step.
Your next breakthrough might not come from working harder but from choosing more wisely.
Let's build something that supports the life you actually want.
Are you a like-hearted entrepreneur ready for support? Let's connect.
Was this blog forwarded to you? Sign up!
Jamie’s Second Brain Corner:
[1] Quebec City
[2] St. Lawrence River - we visited Boldt Castle, then traveled along the river to Montreal and Quebec City!
[X] Did someone say MindSweep MAP?! Learn more about my Personalized MindSweep Mapping Process
MONDAY: 8 am - Curated Conversation - Zoom
Changing the world, one Monday Morning at a time. Learn more + Sign Up for a Monday morning reminder!
What I’m reading
Demon Copperhead
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival.
Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.
Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society.
Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story.
Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.
Find it where you browse for books.
Collaborations!
Join us Friday, July 11th, at the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce for this two-hour interactive business community experience.
We'll discuss ways to cultivate business through Sales, Marketing, and Communication methods that support relationship building, showing up authentically, and connecting deeper with colleagues and the people you serve.
9-11 am - Open discussion, community support, brainstorming ideas
Join me in meeting business owners in our community. You'll leave with new tools to help you make connections and build your business!
Note: because of the 4th of July holiday we’ll meet the 2nd Friday!
Free; Registration is required: REGISTRATION.
Mindful Connections
Connecting like-hearted entrepreneurs to build relationships, offering support, understanding their passions, and sharing their names in rooms of opportunity.
Join us Thursdays, 12-1 pm EST.
12:00 - Take 5—a guided meditation with Terri Hamilton of Positively Terri to ground your week with peace and focus.
12:05-1 pm Round-table Share
Who you are
The gifts you bring to the world
Who you serve
The answer to a Curated question to spark conversation.
FYI: We will NOT meet Thursday, 06/26/2025
If you found this on the web, sign up to join us!
In other news…
Feeling #FOMO about Curated Conversations? Join us!
