Monday

"I can show up softly and still be strong."

Welcome to Monday! Today, we're chatting about:

• Inner work by decade

• Can you overdo wellness?

• A cleaner routine for you and your cat

• How book taste can influence your relationship

The Inner Work That Shapes Every Decade

Aging doesn’t have to mean shrinking. Life coach Rae Leslie reframes it as expansion—a process of growing deeper into who you already are. Each decade, she says, brings its own questions and chances to shed what no longer fits. The work of our 20s through 60s isn’t about reinvention; it’s about becoming truer to ourselves.

In early adulthood, the focus is on independence, like sorting through family legacies, early heartbreaks, and beliefs inherited from childhood. The goal? To understand what’s yours to carry forward and what’s time to release. By midlife, the inner work shifts toward honesty and recalibration: confronting change, caring for a changing body, and letting go of the need to please.

Beyond 60, it’s reflection and renewal. Leslie calls this the time to “become the wise one you once needed.” The focus turns from doing to being: finding beauty in imperfection, honoring your history, and continuing to create meaning.

Every chapter asks something different of us, but the message stays the same: there’s no deadline for becoming who you are.

A Gentle Reset For You And Your Cat

Your home is a shared ecosystem — and your wellbeing is part of it. The space your cat lives in, the air you both breathe, the routines you share — they’re all connected. When you care for one, you care for the other.

Trying a more natural, plant-based litter can lighten that shared space. This can help reduce dust, odors, and synthetic fragrances, creating a cleaner, calmer home environment for both of you. It’s a small way to bring balance back to the everyday.

5 Billion Pounds of Cat Litter Ends Up in Landfills Each Year

Most traditional cat litters are made from strip-mined clay or silica. Both end up in landfills when thrown away and are not biodegradable.

A new natural cat litter called Tailfeather is changing this with their eco-friendly, plant-based, clumping cat litter made from coconut and cassava.

Why coconut? The husk of the coconut absorbs liquid up to 9 times its weight! This makes for a soft, luxurious litter that cats love and is 70% lighter than traditional litter, but also doesn't track and bounce out of the box.

It's fully biodegradable and 100% plastic-free, including the packaging. Tailfeather is delivered conveniently to your door, and each package lasts for 8 weeks, double the amount of other litters.

For the next 24 hours, Note to Self readers get a $15 credit on your first order with code NTS15.

Try Tailfeather for your cat and the environment today.

Thank you to Tailfeather for sponsoring Note To Self. 

Why Sharing Book Taste Feels So Romantic

It turns out that reading the same book might mean more than just having similar tastes. It might mean you understand the world in a similar way. According to therapists and book bar owners, “book compatibility” is becoming a new form of emotional connection, one that reveals how we think, feel, and relate to others.

Take Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner, who bonded after realizing they were reading the same novel. Experts say that shared literary moments like this aren’t just romantic coincidences. They’re small signs of emotional and intellectual alignment. When two people cry at the same plot twist or debate a character’s choices, they’re exposing how they process empathy, curiosity, and complexity.

Books also uncover values and communication styles that dating profiles miss. A fiction lover might lean toward imagination and introspection, while a nonfiction fan may crave depth and analysis. Reading, after all, takes patience and attention, qualities that translate beautifully into real-world relationships. Sometimes, the truest sign of compatibility isn’t a grand gesture. It’s realizing you’re on the same page, literally.

Wellness Round-Up

Parting Thoughts

• ✅ Did You Know: Hobbies and lifelong learning can help preserve cognitive function.

• 🌅 Sunset Of The Day: Sunsets are more than beautiful—they’re actually good for your mood. Got a favorite one? Reply to this email with your best sunset or sunrise photo for a chance to be featured!

• 💭 Final Self-Care Thoughts for Today: It takes time. It takes quiet. It takes being honest with yourself in small, gentle ways. That’s still progress, even if it doesn’t look like it.

Enjoying Note to Self?

Know of a great self-care tip or article you'd love to share with the community? Want to send us pictures of you completing one of your self-care rituals? Email us at [email protected]!