ately, I’ve been taking a course called Path to Lasting Change, taught by Ann Weiser Cornell, who is one of the most respected teachers of a powerful process called Inner Relationship Focusing.

At its heart, Focusing is a practice of listening to your inner experience with kindness — not trying to fix it, override it, or distract from it, but actually forming a relationship with it. It sounds simple, but it’s profound.

I started this journey for personal growth, but I’m already seeing how it’s transforming the way I collaborate with clients and show up in our creative projects at Novel Logic Media.

What Focusing Has Been Helping Me With

Focusing has been showing up in every part of my day-to-day life, helping me:

  • Be less reactive in stressful situations

  • Become more aware of how I sometimes distract from or suppress feelings (often without realizing it)

  • Gently shift my relationship with things like overworking, overthinking, and even cravings

  • Improve how I communicate and relate — with clients, team members, and myself

  • Take easier action on the projects that matter

  • Feel a deeper sense of trust in my own body, timing, and inner knowing

This isn’t therapy, and it’s not mindset work. It’s something in between — a practice that supports emotional awareness, creativity, and grounded action, all at once.

Bringing Focusing Into Creative Work and Client Collaboration

As I continue learning this work, I’m starting to use elements of Focusing in:

  • 1:1 conversations with clients who are blocked or overwhelmed

  • How we approach creative projects internally, especially when something just “feels off” or stuck

  • The way we hold space in meetings, brainstorming sessions, and moments of decision-making

It’s helping our team work with more flow and less force. And it’s making our projects — especially the ones that ask for heart, nuance, or clarity — more honest, and more human.

Curious?

If you’re interested in Focusing or wondering how it could support your creative work, team dynamics, or personal growth, I’m always happy to share what I’m learning. It’s subtle, but powerful — and I believe it’s one of the most important tools I’ve come across in the last few years.