Letting go sounded simple last week. It felt like the right habit, and it was. But this week, it tested me.
Quick Summary: A Mental Wellness Coach’s Take on the First and Last 15 Minutes
The universe has a cheeky way of testing what you say out loud. There were plans, goals, projects I’d mapped out, but the week didn’t go to plan, and it rippled into my team, my clients, and my family. As a mental wellness coach, I know that ripple is never just about tasks; it’s about integrity, expectations, and energy.
Why Boundaries Came Up This Week
What came up loud and clear was that I need to look at my boundaries and how I’m spending my time. What are the time vampires stealing my energy? Social media? Streaming? Conversations that linger without purpose?
After selling my café, I swore I wouldn’t go back to a life driven by stress. But here I am, working full-time, launching my coaching business, training for Kilimanjaro, showing up for my family. I love it, but I still need to call myself out when the pressure piles up.
Frustration Is a Choice
At first, I felt frustrated at my to-do list, the ripple effects, and myself. But something shifted. I caught myself and reminded myself: frustration is a choice, and I can let this go- a small pivot any mental wellness coach would recognise as the whole game.
So I did. Not perfectly, not without emotion, but consciously. I slowed down, breathed, and told myself this isn’t worth the energy I’m giving it. Letting go is exactly that, a practice.
The Story I Tell Myself First and Last
They say how you start your day sets the tone, and how you end it determines how deeply you’ll rest. This week, something landed deeply for me: the story I tell myself in the first and last 15 minutes matters more than I realised, more than any mental wellness coach tip I’d only half-applied before.
Every morning, our brain passes through theta and alpha brainwaves on the way out of sleep, the frequencies where the subconscious mind is most open. In that window, before coffee, before the phone, what we tell ourselves becomes the foundation of our vibration for the day.
Old Morning Story vs. New Morning Story
For years, I didn’t think about it. I’d leap out of bed into stress, checking messages, reacting before I’d even breathed. Now, I’m rewriting that script, one quiet morning at a time. As a mental wellness coach, this is exactly the leverage point I look for, the moment before the day takes over.
There’s also the other end of the day, the last 15 minutes before sleep. This is the part no one talks about. Are we replaying conversations, stressing about what we didn’t do, rehearsing tomorrow’s chaos before our head hits the pillow?
If I go to bed in a spiral of “I should have done more,” I don’t sleep well; my body stays in stress mode. But when I give myself a softer landing, a short reflection, a moment of journaling, or simply “I’ve done enough for today,” that energy carries me into deeper, healing sleep, exactly what a mental wellness coach would call closing the loop properly. This is the same steady practice I build with women each week inside Promise Kept, and the same identity-level work I explore inside Reclaim Her.
Conclusion
This habit is about presence, noticing the stories we’re unconsciously repeating, and rewriting them with intention, the same lens a mental wellness coach brings to any pattern, however small. Those first and last moments of the day aren’t throwaways; they’re sacred, and they shape our energy, our nervous system, and our ability to lead ourselves forward.
If you’d like the same kind of mental wellness coach support in rewriting your own bookends, you can learn more on Transformational Coaching, or read about working together on my Work With Me. What story are you waking into? And what story are you falling asleep to? You get to write both.
FAQ’s
Why do the first and last 15 minutes of the day matter so much?
The brain is more suggestible during these windows, so the story you tell yourself tends to set the tone for the hours around it.
What are theta and alpha brainwaves?
Brainwave states are the brain passes through, moving in and out of sleep, when the subconscious mind is considered most open to suggestion.
How does a mental wellness coach help with something like this?
By helping you notice the automatic story you’re repeating and replacing it with an intentional one, rather than leaving it on autopilot.
What if I don’t have time for a long routine?
Even a few minutes count. A short breath practice or one grounding phrase can shift the pattern.
Can changing my bedtime thoughts really improve sleep quality?
Yes. A spiral of unfinished tasks keeps the body in stress mode, while a softer mental landing supports deeper rest.