Make It Fun Nyc

👑 QUEEN, IF SOMEONE MENTIONS SUICIDE—TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month, and this one is deeply important to me.

I’ve known people impacted by su***de. I’ve spent my career working with vulnerable populations. And without going deeply into my own story again, I’ve had a personal experience that changed how seriously I respond when someone talks about su***de.

So here’s what I want you to know:

1️⃣ LISTEN.
If someone talks or even jokes about su***de, don’t automatically dismiss it as “just a joke.” Research has found that su***de-related communication can sometimes be indirect, ambiguous or even humorous.¹

2️⃣ PAY ATTENTION TO CHANGES.
Hopelessness, withdrawal, talking about death, feeling like a burden, giving possessions away, or significant changes in mood or behavior deserve attention.

3️⃣ CONNECT THEM TO SUPPORT.
In the U.S., call or text 988 for the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline. You can contact 988 when you’re concerned about yourself or someone you love.²

4️⃣ REMEMBER: COPING ISN’T THE SAME AS TREATMENT.
Jump rope and exercise are therapeutic for me, but therapeutic is not therapy. I use movement alongside professional support when I need it.

Think about jump rope: sometimes you miss a jump. You stop. You reset your feet. You breathe. Then you pick the handles back up.

Life can require the same reset—but sometimes we need someone beside us while we find our rhythm again.

👑 The lesson: You don't have to diagnose someone to take their pain seriously. Listen. Ask. Connect. Support.

If you're struggling, reaching for help can be your next jump—not your last one.

🧠 Reflect: Who in your life might need you to genuinely ask, “How are you doing?” today?

Need a rope? Limited quantities: http://bit.ly/freestyleropemif

***dePreventionMonth

Nobody's coming to save you. But here's the thing — you actually have everything you need.

This weekend, I sat in a room with Gerald Corey and Jamie Bludworth for Designing an Integrative Approach to Counseling Practice — and one line stopped me cold:

"The theory shouldn't own you. You should own the theory."

That's not just a counseling principle. That's a life principle.

So many of us in our 40s are still following someone else's blueprint — someone else's timeline, someone else's definition of success — instead of building one that actually fits.

Corey's work has long emphasized that effective practice isn't about rigidly applying one model. It's about intentional integration — meeting people where they are, based on the relationship (Corey, 2017). And the research supports it: personalized, integrative approaches consistently produce better outcomes (Norcross & Cooper, 2021).

Translation? What works is what connects.

The framework I keep coming back to:

Relationship → Technique → Outcomes

But before any of that? You need a relationship with yourself.

Healing and reinvention don't come from perfection. They come from connection — to your values, your vision, and your willingness to keep moving even when the path isn't clear.

That's what I call the J.U.M.P.
The Journey of the Underdog Making Progress.

No perfect plan required. Just alignment.

If you've been waiting until you have it all figured out — this is your sign. You don't need more information. You need more trust in what you already carry.

👉 Ready to move differently?
Jumping The Rope: Move Yourself and Manifest Your Success
http://bit.ly/jumpingtherope

Pause before you scroll — what would shift in your life if you trusted yourself more than your fear?

@ Gerald Corey @ Jamie Bludworth

How many years have you spent jumping to everyone else’s rhythm while ignoring your own?

For decades, many of us were conditioned to be the ultimate caregivers, peacekeepers, and yes-women. But here is the raw truth: saying "yes" to everyone else when your mind and body are screaming "no" isn't kindness—it's self-abandonment.

The Pain Point:
Exhaustion. You're trying to reinvent yourself, build your physical strength, and protect your peace, but you're constantly drained by events, favors, and expectations you never wanted to say yes to in the first place.

The Solution:
Understanding that boundaries aren't walls to keep people out—they are guardrails to keep you intact.
Research in psychological health links chronic people-pleasing and self-suppression directly to nervous system overload, emotional exhaustion, and severe burnout (Flett & Hewitt; Journal of Mental Health). Your body literally keeps the score when you refuse to protect your energy.

The Lesson:
Think of a jump rope. When you jump rope, you have to master your own timing, stay grounded, and control the rope yourself. If you try to jump to five different rhythms at once, you trip, stumble, and get bruised.

Reinventing your life in midlife means taking the handles back into your own hands. You decide when to jump, when to swing, and when to pause.
Stop chasing clout, approval, or reciprocal energy from people who wouldn't move a pebble for you.

Boundaries aren't mean; they are self-preservation.

✨ Your boundary is not a request for their permission; it is a declaration of your own self-respect. ✨

Reflective Psychological CTA:
Where in your life are you tripping over a rope that someone else is turning? Drop a 🛑 in the comments if you are choosing your own rhythm this month.

🛒 Ready to reclaim your strength and rhythm? Limited jump ropes available at http://bit.ly/freestyleropemif

I made a September challenge for my own group, but nobody seemed ready. Quiet. No spark. So yesterday I found somebody else's group that was actually active and jumped right in. My philosophy? Where the engagement is, that's where I'll be. I don't beg people to want their own transformation.

Here's the truth, Queen. Somewhere in our 40s and 50s we became the woman everybody leans on. You hold everyone accountable except you. So the dream stays a dream.

Not this September.

Think of a jump rope. Pick it back up after years and you trip. That's midlife. But you don't quit because you stumbled. You reset the rope and jump again. A Sports Medicine meta-analysis (Zhao et al., 2014) found jumping raises bone density at the hip and femoral neck, the exact places we lose as our hormones shift. Every jump literally rebuilds your foundation.

Welcome to Day 1. Keep it simple:

It's only 30 days. Your favorite foods aren't getting discontinued.

Your workout is only 20 minutes. Done before the credits roll.

A 10-minute stroll after you eat is normal.

Move. Reset. Repeat.

The lesson? The goal was never perfection. It was to stop abandoning yourself. And if a room isn't ready for you, go find the one already dancing.

🎯 Reflect: finish this out loud, "The version of me I'm building would…" Whatever came first is your why. Screenshot it for Day 15.

Drop a 👑 so I know you're in.

Need a rope? 👉 http://bit.ly/freestyleropemif

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100 Jumps A Day