A free guide for the woman who knows there's more to life
5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Another Year Passes You By
What if the biggest risk is staying exactly where you are?
We spend so much time thinking about everything that could go wrong if we change our lives. We hardly ever stop to ask what happens if nothing changes at all.
If you've been feeling that quiet pull for a while now, the one you keep pushing to later, this guide is for you.
Send me the guide
Does this sound like you?
You know there's more to life
From the outside, everything looks fine. You have a life that works, people you love and a calendar that's full. And still, somewhere underneath it all, a quiet voice keeps asking whether this is really it.
Maybe you hear it on a Sunday evening, or in the car on the way to something you didn't really want to go to. Maybe there's a dream you've been tucking away for years, for when the kids are older, when there's more money, when the timing finally feels right.
You're not unhappy, exactly. You just know you're living a smaller version of yourself than the one you can feel inside. And later has a funny way of quietly turning into never.
Deep down, you already know that too.
This guide is for the moment you stop waiting
and start listening to yourself.
What you walk away with
One cup of tea. A whole new way of seeing your life.
It takes about an hour. What you take with you lasts a lot longer.
Clarity about what "safe" is costing you
You'll see, in your own handwriting, what you've been holding on to because it feels familiar, and what it's quietly taking from you.
Your own voice back
You'll recognise whose opinions have been steering your choices, and you'll hear what you actually want when theirs go quiet.
The permission you've been waiting for
Nobody else is going to give it to you. By the last page, you'll have given it to yourself.
One real step for the next seven days
A small, concrete action, so this doesn't stay a nice idea you think about again next year.
Inside the guide
Five questions that are worth a cup of tea
The questions in this guide look at what you've been calling safe, what you've been waiting for permission to do and whose opinion has been quietly steering your choices. They're the kind of questions you can't answer in passing, which is why each one comes with a short reflection and space to write.
Fair warning: these five questions might leave you completely stunned. And ready to finally do something about it.
Some answers will surprise you. Some will sting a little. One or two might make your tea go cold. That's usually the sign you've touched something true.
You'll finish with one small step you can take in the next seven days. Nobody is asking you to quit your job or move across the world. You just need somewhere quiet, a cup of tea or cacao and your phone out of reach for a little while.
Who's asking
I'm Barbara Schriek
Founder of The Ceremonialist, mother, entrepreneur and someone who has made quite a few decisions that probably didn't make much sense to the people around me.
My family and I left the Netherlands for Spain, built a beautiful life there, and then realised we wanted something different again. In 2026 we moved to Costa Rica. Not every decision worked out the way we planned. We've made expensive mistakes and questioned ourselves more than once, and I still wouldn't trade the freedom to explore what feels right for a life that only looks perfect on paper.
You are the one who has to wake up in the life you're creating.
Five years will pass whether you change anything or not.
You don't have to figure out your entire future today. You can begin by listening to yourself.
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