What if the exhaustion, frustration, and inconsistency you keep fighting are actually signals asking you to work differently?
In this episode of Executive Connect, Melissa Aarskaug sits down with Ada Gore, consultant and creator of the Sacred Seasons guided journal, to discuss how journaling helped her rebuild after burnout, heartbreak, and losing the job she had tied to her identity. Ada shares how writing gave her a private space to process difficult emotions, recognize recurring patterns, and reconnect with what she truly wanted.
The conversation introduces Ada’s Four Inner Seasons framework, which encourages women to observe how their energy, creativity, focus, and need for rest may shift throughout the menstrual cycle. She explains how greater awareness can help women plan demanding work, create stronger boundaries, recognize what is no longer working, and give themselves permission to rest without guilt.
This episode offers a grounded look at journaling as a self-awareness practice, especially for high-achieving women who are tired of pushing through every season at the same pace.
What You Will Learn
Chapters
(0:17) Meet Ada and the journaling practice that rebuilt her life
(1:19) Growing a dental practice and reaching burnout
(2:31) Getting fired and losing an identity tied to work
(3:42) Using journals to uncover a new direction
(4:15) Helping clients write down what they were afraid to say
(5:48) Why putting thoughts on paper creates clarity
(6:53) Discovering the Four Inner Seasons
(9:44) Winter, spring, summer, and fall explained
(11:43) Recognizing depletion after motherhood and major life changes
(14:13) Planning work around changing energy levels
(15:27) Giving yourself permission to rest
(16:22) Why fall can become a powerful editing season
(19:15) Tracking patterns through journaling
(20:32) Simple journaling practices for busy executives
(22:39) Discovering creativity and abundance within your own patterns
(23:34) What old journals reveal about growth
(25:53) A journaling intervention for high-achieving women
(27:01) Listening to the feedback your body provides
(30:09) Writing honestly without self-editing
(32:00) Adjusting meetings, rest, and expectations
(34:53) Ada’s permission slips for each season
(38:12) Where to find Ada’s journals and connect with her
Ada Gore is a consultant, writer, mother of four, and the creator of a growing collection of guided journals designed to support self-awareness, reflection, and personal growth. After experiencing burnout and unexpectedly losing a high-profile role, she returned to journaling to process the transition and rebuild her life. Her work now focuses on helping women recognize their patterns, understand their changing energy, and use the Four Inner Seasons framework to create a more sustainable relationship with work, ambition, and self-care.
CONNECT with Ada Gore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adagore444/
Get her journals: https://www.amazon.com/author/ada_gore_journals
CONNECT with Executive Connect
Website: https://www.executiveconnectexperience.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-executive-connect/
Watch the full episode (and more) on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveConnect
Get The Full Executi
In this episode of Executive Connect, Melissa Aarskaug sits down with Ada Gore, consultant and creator of the Sacred Seasons guided journal, to discuss how journaling helped her rebuild after burnout, heartbreak, and losing the job she had tied to her identity. Ada shares how writing gave her a private space to process difficult emotions, recognize recurring patterns, and reconnect with what she truly wanted.
The conversation introduces Ada’s Four Inner Seasons framework, which encourages women to observe how their energy, creativity, focus, and need for rest may shift throughout the menstrual cycle. She explains how greater awareness can help women plan demanding work, create stronger boundaries, recognize what is no longer working, and give themselves permission to rest without guilt.
This episode offers a grounded look at journaling as a self-awareness practice, especially for high-achieving women who are tired of pushing through every season at the same pace.
What You Will Learn
- How losing her job forced Ada to reconsider her identity and direction
- Why journaling became a practical tool for rebuilding her life
- How writing can make overwhelming goals feel more manageable
- What Ada means by the Four Inner Seasons
- How women can observe changes in energy, creativity, and focus
- Why constantly forcing the same routine may contribute to burnout
- How the “fall” season can reveal problems and needed boundaries
- Why permission slips can reduce guilt around rest and change
- Simple ways busy women can make time for journaling
- How reviewing old journals can reveal growth and recurring patterns
- Why personal awareness can strengthen leadership and decision-making
- How to begin tracking your cycle without trying to do it perfectly
Chapters
(0:17) Meet Ada and the journaling practice that rebuilt her life
(1:19) Growing a dental practice and reaching burnout
(2:31) Getting fired and losing an identity tied to work
(3:42) Using journals to uncover a new direction
(4:15) Helping clients write down what they were afraid to say
(5:48) Why putting thoughts on paper creates clarity
(6:53) Discovering the Four Inner Seasons
(9:44) Winter, spring, summer, and fall explained
(11:43) Recognizing depletion after motherhood and major life changes
(14:13) Planning work around changing energy levels
(15:27) Giving yourself permission to rest
(16:22) Why fall can become a powerful editing season
(19:15) Tracking patterns through journaling
(20:32) Simple journaling practices for busy executives
(22:39) Discovering creativity and abundance within your own patterns
(23:34) What old journals reveal about growth
(25:53) A journaling intervention for high-achieving women
(27:01) Listening to the feedback your body provides
(30:09) Writing honestly without self-editing
(32:00) Adjusting meetings, rest, and expectations
(34:53) Ada’s permission slips for each season
(38:12) Where to find Ada’s journals and connect with her
Ada Gore is a consultant, writer, mother of four, and the creator of a growing collection of guided journals designed to support self-awareness, reflection, and personal growth. After experiencing burnout and unexpectedly losing a high-profile role, she returned to journaling to process the transition and rebuild her life. Her work now focuses on helping women recognize their patterns, understand their changing energy, and use the Four Inner Seasons framework to create a more sustainable relationship with work, ambition, and self-care.
CONNECT with Ada Gore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adagore444/
Get her journals: https://www.amazon.com/author/ada_gore_journals
CONNECT with Executive Connect
Website: https://www.executiveconnectexperience.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-executive-connect/
Watch the full episode (and more) on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveConnect
Get The Full Executi
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.