I'm officially back from Majorca, though I'll be honest with you: things didn't quite go to plan. I'd had grand visions of long, lazy days in the sun, but a nasty bout of food poisoning had other ideas and left me horizontal for a good chunk of the trip.

Instead of making the most of the all-inclusive, I spent most of my time resting and recovering. It was a real reminder that no matter how carefully we plan, life doesn't always unfold the way we expect.

And yet, even when a break doesn't go the way we'd hoped, time away still gives us something precious: the space to pause, breathe, and reflect. Lying low gave me far more thinking time than I'd bargained for, and sometimes those unplanned moments hold the very lessons we need most.

Soon after I got home, still a little under the weather, I had a lovely catch-up with a fellow coach. As I shared how my plans had been turned upside down by something I never saw coming, our conversation drifted to a short, classic book called Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson.

The more we chatted, the more I realised how beautifully its message maps onto our wellness, our emotional resilience, and how we respond when the "cheese" we were counting on suddenly disappears.

The story in a nutshell

It's a simple parable about four characters who live in a maze: two mice and two little people, all of whom rely on a steady supply of cheese at one familiar spot. Then one day, that cheese simply disappears.

The mice get on with it, accepting the change and trotting off to find new cheese. The little people dig their heels in, resisting and waiting for things to go back to how they were, until one of them finally finds the courage to let go and adapt.

The "cheese" represents whatever makes us feel safe, steady, or in control. For us, it might be a predictable morning routine, a particular relationship, or an old way of eating or living that we've held onto for years. The real heart of the story isn't the cheese disappearing at all. It's how we respond when it does.

How to spot when your cheese has moved

The tricky part is that moving cheese rarely announces itself. More often, it shows up as a quiet sense that something's a little off. You might recognise a few of these signs:

• Things that used to feel manageable suddenly feel heavy.
• Your usual routine feels harder to keep up with.
• A way of eating that once suited you now leaves you flat.
• Your sleep, energy, or appetite feel a bit off.
• You keep trying to force a version of life that doesn't quite fit any more.
• You feel frustrated, flat, or oddly emotional without fully knowing why.

If a few of those felt familiar, please don't take it as a sign you're failing. It may simply mean something has shifted, and your wellness needs to shift gently with it. Noticing this is the first step towards responding with kindness rather than frustration.

Why change can feel so hard

Here's something worth sitting with for a moment. Often, we don't struggle just because things have changed. We struggle because a part of us is still expecting life to be the way it was.

That gap between reality and expectation is exhausting, and it's usually where the real tiredness comes from. We're not only adjusting to something new, we're quietly grieving the version of ourselves who could do things the old way.

Three gentle reminders for when life shifts

When I look at this through a wellness lens, a few lovely lessons stand out.

Change happens, and that's okay

Our bodies change, our schedules shift, and our energy rises and falls. Expecting everything to stay exactly the same only sets us up for frustration. When we accept that change is part of being human, we stop fighting reality and start working gently alongside it.

Letting go creates space

Sometimes we cling to an old routine or a perfectionist mindset long after it's stopped serving us. In real life, that might look like forcing yourself through a workout you've come to dread, or sticking to a rigid meal plan that no longer fits your week. Releasing it isn't losing. It's making room for something kinder and more supportive.

Be kind to yourself when things wobble

You don't need to be hard on yourself for feeling thrown. You're allowed to wobble. Meeting yourself with patience, rather than criticism, is exactly what helps you find your feet again.

A simple 3-step reset

If something feels a little off at the moment, try this gentle reset this week.

1. Notice what's changed. Pay attention to any shifts in your energy, routine, relationships, or habits. For example: my energy is lower than usual.
2. Name what no longer fits. Try to do this honestly and without judgement. For example: expecting myself to do everything at full speed.
3. Choose one small, kind next step that supports who you are today, not who you were six months ago. For example: planning simpler meals this week and getting to bed a little earlier.

That one step might mean loosening a rigid expectation, asking for help, going for a gentle pilates or yoga class instead of an intense workout session, or simply giving yourself permission to let something be good enough.

What is change asking of you?

So, take a soft moment this week to reflect. Is there an area of your life where the "cheese" has moved, but you're still trying to force the old ways to work?

Perhaps your eating habits no longer feel right now that your appetite, energy, or routine has shifted, yet you keep following the same plan and feeling as though you've failed. Maybe a friendship has naturally changed shape, but you're still pouring in the same effort and wondering why it feels so much harder. Or perhaps your body has changed with age, hormones, or a busy season of life, yet you keep expecting it to behave exactly as it did before.

What might happen if you stopped resisting and allowed yourself to adapt, just a little, to the life in front of you?
You don't have to figure it all out at once. Before you move on with your day, take just 30 seconds to ask yourself: what feels different right now, and what one small thing would support me best today?

Every small, kind choice adds up, and simply by being willing to notice and gently begin again, you're already doing more than enough.

Wellness isn't about forcing your old life to fit. It's about responding with kindness to the life you have now.

Cheering you on to wellness success,

Katie x