Welcome to the Blooming Mindset, a weekly dose of clarity, mindset, and practical wisdom to help you stay consistent, think more deeply, and build a life aligned with your identity and purpose. I'm Ruth Rieckehoff, and I'm so glad you're here. Please share this newsletter with a friend!
Beloved Architect of Identity,
I’ll be honest with you.
I didn’t plan for this.
Picture this: a colorful town in Honduras, cobblestone streets, a whitewashed church, and warm morning sun. My husband and I had just survived a wild bus ride the day before, and all I wanted was a good breakfast.
And then it happened.
One wrong step. Uneven pavement.
Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, blood dripping from my knee.
Not exactly the travel memory I was hoping for.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t even talk. My husband thought I’d been robbed. Locals rushed over. Someone mentioned a clinic. And all I could think was… This isn’t in the plan.
When I was younger, I used to plan for the good stuff.
The fun trips. The big goals. The highlight reel moments.
But that day, sitting in a small-town clinic, I realized something:
We don’t just plan for the good times.
We also need to plan for the not-so-good ones.
The boring days. The unexpected dips. The moments when everything feels harder than it “should.”
Because here’s the truth: life doesn’t follow our perfect timeline.
Business doesn’t either.
You’ll hear advice like:
“Just stay positive!”
“Push through!”
And sure, sometimes that works.
But most of the time? It leaves you frustrated, doubting yourself, and wondering why your perfectly crafted plan just fell apart.
So here’s what I learned instead:
Resilience isn’t about forcing the plan.
It’s about being ready to pivot when the ground shifts.
That means simple systems.
The ability to pause and actually think before making a decision.
The patience to give yourself a few days before calling it quits.
That’s exactly what I did. I waited, healed a little, and ended up going on that tour I almost canceled. It turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip.
So what’s the takeaway?
Don’t just plan for the dream scenario.
Plan for the dip.
For the boring middle.
For the unexpected fall, literal or not.
Because when you do, you don’t just survive setbacks.
You build resilience. You keep momentum. You become antifragile.
And that’s where real growth happens.
So the next time life trips you up, ask yourself:
Am I overreacting, or am I ready to pivot?
Cheering for your resilience,
Ruth
Reflect
- When life (or business) takes an unexpected dip, what’s your first reaction, panic or pause?
- Do you have systems in place for the uninspiring days, or are you only prepared for when things go well?
Reframe
Old belief: “I only need to plan for success. If things go wrong, I’ll figure it out in the moment.”
New belief: “I plan for both the highs and the lows. When setbacks come, I already have space, systems, and perspective to handle them calmly.”
Actionable Transformation
- Create a “bad day” plan. Write down 3 actions you can take when energy is low (e.g., delegate, simplify, or pause instead of quitting).
- Build buffers. Leave room in your schedule, finances, and health routines for life’s dips, so you can absorb shocks without panic.
- Practice the pause. Instead of rushing to cancel or react, commit to waiting 24 hours before making major decisions after a setback.
Products & Resources
Trust Yourself Again: A self-guided journey to rebuild self-trust from the inside out, so you can stop second-guessing and start showing up with quiet confidence.
Bounce Back Blueprint (Free): Feel like you've fallen off track? This powerful reset guide helps you regroup with compassion and get back into aligned momentum your way.
From Reactive to Rooted (Free): Tired of putting out fires? This mindset and action guide helps you shift from scattered to strategic, so your days flow from clarity, not chaos.
P.S. Hard times will come. Your resilience depends on how well you’ve prepared to meet them.
If you want more of these bite-sized lessons and mindset shifts, I share daily over on X. Come hang out with me there → Follow me on X.
