Jennifer Martin Rieck, LCPC

02/22/2026

I had this quote on a Post-it note stuck to my bathroom mirror for six months. Looked at it every morning while brushing my teeth. Nodded at it like we were in agreement. Like I was the kind of person who found ways, not excuses.

Then one night I caught myself mid-sentence saying "I don't have time to write" while scrolling through TikTok for the third hour straight, and I realized: I am a factory of excuses. An artisan. A craftsman of elaborate justifications for why I can't do the thing I keep saying I want to do.

The excuses sound so reasonable when I make them. I'm too tired. I don't have the resources. It's not the right time. Other people have advantages I don't. The market is saturated. My mental health is fragile. Mercury is in retrograde. My childhood was hard. The algorithm is against me. I need to do more research first. I need to be more prepared. I need to feel more ready.

I need. I need. I need.

What I actually need is to stop lying to myself about what I actually want.
Because here's the thing Jen Sincero is saying that we don't want to hear: if you're not doing it, you don't actually want it badly enough. Not yet. Maybe someday. But not today. And that's fine, you're allowed to not want things, but stop pretending the obstacle is external when it's actually you.

I've watched people with less time than me write books. People with less money start businesses. People with more trauma build beautiful lives. People with actual barriers, disabilities, poverty, systemic oppression find ways because the alternative is unacceptable to them.

And I've watched myself, with my college degree and my flexible schedule and my relative privilege, find excuses. Because finding excuses is comfortable. It lets me keep the fantasy of who I could be without the discomfort of actually becoming her.

There's this brutal honesty required to look at your own life and ask: am I actually trying, or am I just maintaining the idea of myself as someone who wants to try?

Because wanting to want something isn't the same as wanting it. Talking about doing something isn't the same as doing it. Having a vision board isn't the same as having a plan. And posting about your goals on Instagram isn't the same as putting in the daily, unglamorous work when no one's watching.

Sincero's quote is uncomfortable because it removes the buffer between you and your own bu****it. It says: stop blaming circumstances. Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Stop telling yourself you'll start when you feel ready.

You'll never feel ready.
Ready is a myth we invented to justify staying comfortable.
Wake up, find a way!

02/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14H8dhqV9Nz/

02/19/2026

02/16/2026

Wellness Together

02/12/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/181C3ZNNhT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

One of the most misunderstood parts of healing is how relational it actually is.

When pain happens, the body looks for more than understanding. It looks for connection.

Another person’s presence helps the nervous system register that the experience didn’t just happen in isolation. That something landed. That the intensity could come down. That there was a shift after the pain.

This is why connection is so powerful for healing. Not because it fixes what happened, but because it helps the body register that the moment passed.

When pain is met in this way, it’s more likely to settle into the past. When it isn’t, the body keeps responding as if the moment is still relevant.

This is also why healing rarely happens alone. We are wired to make sense of pain, release it, and move forward in the presence of others.

And that connection doesn’t have to come from the person who caused the harm. What allows pain to finally rest is accurate witnessing, wherever that comes from.

02/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/16mxamQ9Cq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

According to psychology, music affects the brain far beyond entertainment. Psychologist says for many people with ADHD, electronic dance music works as a form of nervous system regulation rather than background sound. This is rooted in how ADHD brains process stimulation, rhythm, and dopamine.

Psychologist explains that ADHD is linked to lower baseline dopamine levels, which affects focus, motivation, and emotional regulation. According to psychology research, fast, repetitive beats and predictable drops in EDM stimulate dopamine release in a steady way. This helps the brain maintain engagement instead of drifting or shutting down.

Neuroscience shows that rhythmic music can synchronize neural firing, a process known as neural entrainment. Psychologist says this synchronization helps ADHD brains organize attention and reduce internal chaos. The consistent tempo gives the brain something stable to lock onto, which improves task initiation and sustained focus.

According to psychology, EDM also reduces cognitive noise. For many with ADHD, silence is overstimulating because the mind fills the gap with intrusive thoughts. Music provides structured stimulation that quiets mental overload.

Psychologist says this is why EDM is often used during studying, working, or emotional regulation. It is not distraction. It is self regulation.

Psychology shows that effective coping tools often look unconventional from the outside. For ADHD brains, EDM is not about taste. It is about chemistry, rhythm, and balance. When the brain gets what it needs, function improves naturally.

01/28/2026

Body-doubling is widely praised in ADHD communities because the simple presence of another person can boost focus, motivation, and accountability, helping with executive function challenges like task initiation and time blindness. It works by creating gentle external pressure, increasing engagement through social facilitation, and reducing task paralysis by making the start feel less overwhelming. For many, this acts as external scaffolding for the brain systems that manage planning and follow-through. It can be done in person by working beside someone, or virtually through video calls where each person focuses on their own tasks. The other person does not need to help. Their quiet presence alone can anchor attention, though it may feel distracting for some.

01/23/2026

In every meaningful relationship, pain is inevitable, but not all pain is destructive. This article explores why love can hurt, how to distinguish growth-driven discomfort from harmful patterns, and why...

01/22/2026

https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/are-you-being-responsible-in-the-most-irresponsible-way-possible?fbclid=IwZnRzaAPfDK1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeifJTIsyJL4Z970-y-8b9zVChfYPLGVgRPsukrCzMCYpkWhESnNBAozwcNk8_aem_Mv94w563KXfZkXbGDD91aA

Responsibility is often praised, but at what cost? This article explores how over-responsibility leads to burnout, self-abandonment, and energetic depletion, and why true responsibility begins...

01/22/2026

Stay curious, and don't fantasize about a win.

01/16/2026