E is for Evolve

Welcome to Kokoro, where twice a month I send you thoughtfully chosen resources to help you get more of what you want through empowered decision making and improved self talk.

In this issue:

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-Erin

P.S. I’m opening 4 spots in my 8-session Self Love & Empowerment Program in April. This program has been tested, refined, and shown to be highly effective for people with two essential characteristics: Loves Words, and Highly Motivated.

👉🏽 If that’s you, schedule an intake call with me here.

👀 Note, for this inaugural cohort, the investment is deeply discounted.
The pilot program proved that the program is ready for launch, and investment tiers will ladder up over the course of this year. Signing up now will grant you access to this vetted and tested program at the lowest investment possible.

A reporter at the 2026 Olympics asked Eileen Gu: "Can you take us into your brain?"
Her answer went viral — and it's worth two minutes of your time.

Eileen described being empowered by applying an analytical lens to her thoughts and the joy of becoming a person who makes your inner child proud. Watch it here.

“I apply a very analytical lens to my own thinking and I kind of modify it. It’s so intereseting, you can control what you think. You can control how you think. And therefore you can control who you are…How empowering is that.”

“I get to become every day the kind of person that me at age 8 would revere. Like, I would be obsessed with me today. Are you kidding, I would love me.”

I’m obsessed with this music festival because I love how the Italian audience is obsessed with music. Last week, 30 new songs were debuted on stage during the first night of the festival. All 30 are performed a second time over the next two nights. Then they’re performed a final time and a winner is declared based on votes from the public, journalists, and other experts. Meanwhile, the songs are analyzed and over-analyzed, to the point of absurdity. And that’s what I love about it. If we’re going to collectively obsess about something, music is an excellent choice.

Is there anything musical that you're obsessed with?
Send me your ear worms and thought pieces!

If you want a little taste of mine, here are my 3 favorite performances from the week:

When I first moved to Austin, I was a regular at the Ruta Maya coffeeshop that was downtown on the corner of 4th and Colorado Streets. It was such an important place to me, that on the morning of 9/11, when I heard the news of the attacks in NYC, that’s where I went to be with people and process. It was the place I felt most at home, safe, and connected.

This memory came back to me recently, while sipping Ruta Maya coffee at a professional facilitator’s conference. The physical coffeeshop is gone, but its impact on me remains.

I’d love to know, what’s your go-to place in your community to feel home, safe, and connected?

E is for Evolve.

If something matters to you, you don’t abandon it when it becomes boring.
You change how you engage with it.

Think about exercise. If you get tired of your workout routine, you don’t stop exercising. You find a new format. A class. A club. A trainer.

Self-love practices work the same way.

I realized this while sitting in an onsen, a hot spring in Japan, idly sweeping my arms through the water and enjoying the sensation.

In an onsen you’re alone with your thoughts. No phones. No music. No distractions.
That day I noticed something uncomfortable.
My mantra practice had become… boring.

(For readers new to this newsletter, “mantra” is my word for empowering self-talk.)

My mantras were still meaningful, but the repetition had lost its spark.
So I asked a simple question.
Not, How do I force myself to keep doing this?
But, How could this feel alive again?

What came to me was slightly ridiculous — turn the mantras into a song.
Not a good song. Just something fun and a little silly.

This isn’t random. Song helps us remember things.
I can easily sing songs I learned in elementary school. I can even sing the tune I made up in high school French class to memorize the intransitive verbs. So I suspect these mantra songs will also have staying power.

This is an example of the Evolve stage of the L.O.V.E. framework.

Evolve means that while mantras help get you started, sooner or later, self-love and empowerment becomes yours to cultivate.

You decide how it grows. 🌱

Exercise: Think about a self-love and empowerment practice you’ve been doing. Mantras, journaling, meditation…

Close your eyes for a moment.
Does thinking about it give you energy? Or drain it?
If it drains you, that’s important information.
Your practice did its job. Now it gets to evolve.

Ask yourself: What would make this feel alive again?
Not more disciplined. Not more impressive. Alive.

Then do that. Even if it’s silly!