Cocooning Season Is Here
+ FREE Clear the Noise reflection guide
Note: this is my last newsletter & podcast of the year! I’m flying to Miami tomorrow and the next 3 weeks are going to be wild with traveling. I’ll still hang out daily on Substack if you want a daily dose of BS-free wellbeing tips. Wishing you & your loved ones a very Happy Christmas! x
A friend told me something last week that’s been rattling around in my head.
She was sharing that when she lived in the UK, January was absolutely dreadful.
The weather, the darkness, the pressure, the resolutions.
Everyone is holding on for dear life as they navigate the first month of the year. Pretending they have tons of energy or headspace when they don’t.
So when she moved to Singapore, she changed her rhythm.
She starts reflecting and planning in December.
Not to get a head start. Not to be more productive.
But because December is already slower, already a bit quieter, already turning inward.
So why fight it?
I posted something on Substack recently that clearly struck a nerve:
Loads of people agreed. Which tells me we’re all feeling the same thing but waiting for someone to say it out loud.
So here I am, saying it out loud :)
And I’ve been living this accidentally for the past 3 weeks.
By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere over the Pacific. Or maybe already landed in Miami.
After 18 years in Singapore, my husband and I are leaving for a year-long adventure through Latin America.
The past few weeks have been... a lot. Packing up our home. Moving to a hotel. Saying goodbye to people. Lots of people.
I expected leaving our home to feel a certain way. Dramatic, maybe. Tearful. Like closing a heavy book.
But packing the house wasn’t as hard as I thought. Bittersweet, yes.
But the tears didn’t come where I expected them.
They came at the gym.
Here’s the thing. I work from home. I see my gym community more than I see most of my friends. So over the years, without me realising it, they became friends too.
My gym is my favourite place after my home. I feel great every time I’m there. Not just because of the workouts, but because of the people. The familiar faces. The small conversations. The way someone notices when you’re off.
I wasn’t expecting those goodbyes to be the hardest??
But standing there last week, hugging people I’ve sweated next to for years, I suddenly felt the weight of what I was leaving behind.
And the weight of what I’ve built here.
Not a business. Not a following. Just a life. A real one! A lovely one!
Full of people who showed up, and who I showed up for.
We’re so busy in the day-to-day. So focused on the next achievement, the next milestone. We don’t often stop to take stock.
No one hands you a gold star for becoming more steady. More grounded. More yourself.
But in those goodbyes the past few weeks, I felt it.
I can do this trip, this leap, this unknown year ahead, because of who I’ve sloooowly become the past few years.
Not who I was. The version of me from 5 years ago could NOT have done this. She was too shaky. Still proving. Still running from herself in so many various ways.
This version? She’s totally ready!
Not because everything is figured out, but because she finally trusts herself.
That’s what reflection gives you. Not answers. Just the chance to notice how far you’ve come.
December is the perfect time for this. Not because you should be productive. Not because you need to “optimise” your year-end.
But because the season is already asking you to slow down. To turn inward. To cocoon.
Let it.
If you want some structure for your own reflection, I made something!
The Clear the Noise year-end self-reflection guide with 12 questions to help you look back with kindness, and look forward with intention.
It’s not about goal-setting or resolutions. It’s about noticing. About giving yourself credit.
12 questions to figure out what’s draining you, what needs to go, and what to actually prioritiSe in 2026 (without another overwhelming goal list.)
✓ Identify what’s quietly exhausting you
✓ Figure out what actually energized you this year
✓ Let go of one thing before January
✓ Start 2026 with space, not more to-dos
By the time you read this, I’ll be starting a new chapter. 18 years of Singapore behind me. A year of the unknown ahead.
I’m not finishing this year strong. I’m finishing it steady.
And that’s enough.
Cocooning season is here. Take it.
With love,
Noemie x
P.S. What’s one thing you’ve built this year that you haven’t given yourself credit for? Hit reply and tell me. I’d love to know!