The Wellbeing Advantage with Dr. Janine van Someren

10/08/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about resilience lately, particularly through the conversations Vivienne and I are having as we create The Messy Midlife Toolkit.

We often think of resilience as coping better, staying strong or getting through another demanding week.

But midlife can bring so many changes at the same time.
Children begin to need us differently.
Parents may need us more.
Careers, relationships and friendships start to shift.
Our health, confidence and priorities can change too.

That’s why I’ve come to see resilience as much more than coping with where we are today.
It’s about building the physical, emotional and psychological capacity to step into whatever comes next.
That might be a career change, starting a business, navigating a health challenge, preparing for retirement or simply creating more space for yourself again.
These are exactly the conversations we want to explore on The Messy Midlife Toolkit.
Real conversations about the parts of midlife that don’t always get talked about.
Practical tools to help us make sense of what’s happening.
And permission to become curious about what we might want next.
You don’t need to have the whole next chapter worked out.
Curiosity is a very good place to begin.

What are you building capacity for in this next stage of your life?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
You can listen to The Messy Midlife Toolkit here:

🎧 Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/033pBUFKjiiamqBI3Fz8Gu

🎧 Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-messy-midlife-toolkit/id6791673145

09/08/2026

When life gets busy, the answer isn’t always to do more.

But that’s often where our minds go.

Work harder.
Get more organized.
Wake up earlier.
Add another system.
Push through.

Meanwhile, your internal battery may already be flashing red.

Capacity isn’t just about how many hours you have available. It’s shaped by your energy, sleep, recovery, emotional load, health, responsibilities and the amount of pressure you’ve been carrying.

Two people can face the same workload and experience it very differently because their available capacity isn’t the same.

So, before adding anything else to your list, pause and ask:

What’s draining me most right now?

What can wait, be shortened, shared or removed?

What would help me recover today?

Is this a day to push, pace myself or prioritize recovery?

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do isn’t squeeze in another task.

It’s understand what your body and mind realistically have available and respond accordingly.

You don’t always need to do more.

You may need to know your capacity better.

For organizations, discover my Resilient Leaders Programme:

For individual support, explore Resilient Life and my one-to-one coaching programmes

Links in my bio.

Save this for the next day when everything feels like too much.

06/08/2026

“I’m fine. I can carry it.”
You know the feeling and maybe you can carry it all…

The work.
The family responsibilities.
The admin.
The expectations.
The things nobody else seems to notice.

The more useful question is: for how long?

Being capable can sometimes hide just how much you’re carrying. You keep functioning, so everyone assumes you’re fine. Eventually, your energy, patience, sleep or health may start telling a different story.

Through Resilient Life, I help you look honestly at what’s taking up your capacity, what can be reduced and what support you may need.

Not because you can’t cope.

Because you shouldn’t have to carry everything indefinitely.

Send me a message if your invisible backpack is starting to feel a little too heavy. You’ll find details of Resilient Life through the link in my bio.

Have you read my book? https://mybook.to/TheWellbeingAdvantage

05/08/2026

THE NEXT CHAPTER DOESN’T BEGIN AT RETIREMENT

A short article about “micro retirement” recently caught my attention.
Not because I’m planning to disappear on a midlife gap year, although some days that sounds very appealing!
It caught my attention because of the much bigger question behind it:

Do we really have to wait until retirement to start living differently?

We spend years preparing financially for the future.
But how much time do we spend preparing ourselves to enjoy it?
Building our health.
Protecting our energy.
Creating stronger relationships.
Rediscovering what matters to us.
Becoming curious about what we might want next.
I’ve shared some of my thoughts in my latest article:

https://thewellbeingadvantage.com/our-blog/f/what-do-you-want-the-next-chapter-of-your-life-to-look-like

I’d love to know what the phrase “next chapter” brings up for you.
Excitement?
Curiosity?
Fear?
Or absolutely no idea where to begin?

31/07/2026

A short piece in The Sunday Times Style section last weekend sparked my latest article... it was all about micro-retirements... Did anyone else spot it?

Increasingly, I've recently been working with more and more people who are asking some of life's biggest questions long before retirement. Not because they want to stop working, but because they're beginning to ask:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?

These aren't really retirement questions.
They're life transition questions.
They're some of the most meaningful coaching conversations I have because they create the space to reflect, build capacity and make intentional choices about what comes next.

I'd love to know if you've ever found yourself asking this question too?
https://thewellbeingadvantage.com/our-blog/f/what-do-you-want-the-next-chapter-of-your-life-to-look-like

25/07/2026

There are some moments that still catch me by surprise.

This week I’ve seen The Wellbeing Advantage sitting on people’s desks, in bookshops and beside someone’s morning coffee. I’ve had messages from readers telling me which chapter spoke to them most, photos of dog eared pages, highlighted paragraphs and kind words from people who took the time to read it and share their thoughts.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop finding that a little surreal.

When I was writing this book, most of the time it was just me, a laptop and a head full of ideas. You spend months wondering if what you’re trying to say will resonate with anyone else.

Then the messages start arriving.

“I felt like you were describing me.”

“I finally understand why I feel the way I do.”

“That one habit has already changed how I approach my week.”

Those are the moments that make every early morning, late night and rewrite worthwhile.

To everyone who has endorsed the book, left a review, recommended it to a friend, bought a copy or simply taken the time to send me a message… thank you. I genuinely appreciate every single one.

It’s easy to get caught up in what’s next, but this week I’m taking a moment to pause and enjoy the fact that something that began as an idea is now out in the world, hopefully helping people build healthier, happier and more resilient lives.

And that feels pretty special. ❤️

If you’ve read The Wellbeing Advantage, I’d genuinely love to hear from you. Which habit or chapter resonated most with you, and why?

20/07/2026

✨ It's here!

The first sneak peek glimpse of The Messy Midlife Toolkit is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This podcast grew out of the conversations Vivienne and I have every week with women navigating the messy reality of midlife.

Women who are juggling careers, family, ageing parents, changing relationships, shifting identities and wondering why they don't quite feel like themselves anymore.

If you've ever found yourself thinking...
How did I get here?
Why am I reacting like this?
Is it just me?..then this podcast is for you.

Each episode combines honest conversation with practical insights to help you understand what's really going on beneath the surface. Together we'll explore everything from identity, confidence and the invisible load to stress, boundaries, purpose, relationships and the habits that help us move forward with greater clarity.

We'd love to build this into a genuine community, so if these conversations resonate with you:

🎙️ Follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-messy-midlife-toolkit/id6791673145
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033pBUFKjiiamqBI3Fz8Gu?si=4cf60a0cc36846d4

💛 Share the podcast with someone who might need to hear it.

💬 And tell us... what topic would you love us to explore next?

Your ideas, questions and experiences will help shape future episodes, because the best conversations are the ones we have together.

We can't wait to have you with us.

Life Coaching by Vivienne fans

🎙️
I think I know what Sprout's thinking and you've been asking us too:
Why did we start The Messy Midlife Toolkit?

We've been working in this coaching space for quite a while now and somewhere along the way, we realised we were hearing the same question again and again.

"Who am I now?"

It came from women who looked as though they had everything together.

Successful careers and busy lives. Lots of responsibilities and really burning the candle at both ends!

But underneath it all was a feeling that something no longer fit.

The funny thing is…we've both asked ourselves that question too.

For me, it came after returning from maternity leave, when life looked very different from the one I'd imagined. Cue existential crisis in the creche car park!

For Vivienne, it came while sitting in a career that looked perfectly fine on paper, but she realised, "I know I'm capable of more...but what more is that?"

Those questions changed both of our lives.

Not overnight and nothing overly dramatic decision. But by giving ourselves permission to stop, reflect and become curious about what came next.

That's why we created this podcast.
Not because we have all the answers.
But because we've discovered that the right questions can change everything.

If you've ever found yourself wondering whether you've lost yourself, we hope this podcast reminds you of one thing...

You probably haven't.
You've simply outgrown an old version of yourself.
And maybe this is the beginning of a brand new chapter....

✨ We'd love you to join us for The Messy Midlife Toolkit.

Because life doesn't come with an edit button.

But you do get a say in what happens next.

🎙️ The Messy Midlife Toolkit

Helping women make sense of where they are now, so they can decide what comes next.

Life Coaching by Vivienne

14/07/2026

Part 2 of my conversation on The Sligo Show is all about wearable data and the insights it revealed. What I love about this type of data is that it moves the conversation around wellbeing habits away from guesswork.

Instead of asking: "Why am I so tired?"

We can start exploring:
✔ What's actually draining my energy?
✔ When am I recovering well?
✔ Which habits genuinely help me reset?
✔ What looks relaxing but is actually keeping my system switched on?

One of the biggest surprises for Brendan was discovering that some of his best recovery wasn't happening on holiday or at weekends.
It was happening in small moments throughout the day.

A walk into town
A chat with friends.
A home movie.

The data helps make the invisible visible.
And that's often where change begins.
The goal isn't to become obsessed with numbers.
The goal is to better understand yourself.

Because once you understand your own patterns, you can start building habits that work for your life, your stress levels and your recovery needs.

🚀 Watch or listen to my chat with Brendan and discover HOW he achieves these rest, recovery and resilience superpowers

📍 click here: https://youtu.be/jnEANJziymI?si=McHk7LdEBj-OtjTD
and share with friends and colleagues who love their wearable health data
🦸 Firstbeat

Part 2: Brendan's Experiment Results with Dr Janine Van Someren!....

11/07/2026

💕Every single cell is happy and well...

On Streedagh beach here on the Wild Atlantic Way, and honestly… I’m making the most of every bit of this sunshine while it’s here! 😄

Because let’s face it, in Ireland we know better than anyone that summer can be unpredictable. When the sun makes an appearance, everything else can wait.

This is one of those little glimmers we talk about. Those moments that fill your cup without asking for much at all. A walk by the sea. The sound of the waves. Sunshine on your face. Fresh, usually wild, Atlantic air.

Its great that something so simple can shift your mood and leave you feeling lighter.

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of sunshine don’t overthink it. Get outside. Even for ten minutes. The emails will still be there when you get back. 😉

Now I’m off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful walk before the clouds remember they’re in Ireland! 😂

What’s your glimmer today?

10/07/2026

Every single cell is happy and well.

On Streedagh beach here on the Wild Atlantic Way, and honestly… I’m making the most of every bit of this sunshine while it’s here! 😄

Because let’s face it, in Ireland we know better than anyone that summer can be unpredictable. When the sun makes an appearance, everything else can wait.

This is one of those little glimmers we talk about. Those moments that fill your cup without asking for much at all. A walk by the sea. The sound of the waves. Sunshine on your face. Fresh, usually wild, Atlantic air.

Its great that something so simple can shift your mood and leave you feeling lighter.

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of sunshine don’t overthink it. Get outside. Even for ten minutes. The emails will still be there when you get back. 😉

Now I’m off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful walk before the clouds remember they’re in Ireland! 😂

What’s your glimmer today?