Call Me Balot

Self-Awareness or Rumination? How to Know When Reflection Has Stopped Helping

I examine my reactions because I do not want my untested assumptions to make me mean, unfair, petty, or careless. I think this kind of self-monitoring matters. The problem begins when reflection stops producing new information. The mind repeats the same question, searches for a hidden flaw, and treats discomfort as evidence that something must still be wrong. At that point, self-awareness has turned into rumination....

Self-Awareness vs Rumination: Know the Difference | Call Me Balot Healthy reflection leads to clarity, repair, or action. Rumination repeats the same question. Learn how to tell the difference and stop the loop.

How to Share Your Work Online Without Feeling Like You Are Performing

I do not enjoy turning every part of life into content. I do not want to photograph a quiet moment because it might perform well, or manufacture a lesson before I have understood what happened. At the same time, I know that people cannot hire, invite, recommend, or learn from work they never see. The answer for me is not to become more performative....

How to Share Your Work Online Without Performing | Call Me Balot Online visibility does not need to feel like a performance. Share useful work, explain your choices, and make your offer easier to understand.

Why Smart People Overthink Decisions

Overthinking is often described as a failure to trust yourself. That explanation does not fit every situation. Many intelligent, capable people overthink because they can see several possible outcomes at once. They notice exceptions, hidden costs, other people's reactions, ethical questions, and the chance that new information may change the decision. The mind keeps working because it believes one more round of analysis will remove the uncertainty....

Why Smart People Overthink Decisions | Call Me Balot Overthinking can be an attempt to remove uncertainty, risk, or regret. Use a practical framework to make decisions with enough information.

I used to think I wanted to be an aromatherapist.

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.

I became an aromatherapist in 2019.

“When I leave corporate, I will focus on aromatherapy.” That was the plan. And I did. Aromatherapy gave me a lane I could study, practice, teach, and perhaps become known for.

And I do still love aromatherapy. I want people to understand it beyond nice smells. I want them to experience what it can do when it is used with knowledge, care, and respect. Of course, part of me hopes they will love it as much as I do.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵?

As I became more rooted in what I wanted my life and work to be, my work kept expanding. Aromatherapy came first, followed by yoga, energy work, coaching, mindfulness, and later, psychology. Each gave me another way to understand what a person may need.

As the years passed, it became clearer that the 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 has to come before the modality.

When I work with clients, the question I keep returning to is: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥?

I help people find meaning in their lives. That is not work I know how to do shallowly. I study people deeply: how we think, what we carry, what shapes our choices, and what may genuinely help.

Sometimes scent may be exactly what helps someone pause, regulate, or understand something differently. Sometimes what they need may have nothing to do with aroma at all.

I don’t want to make a person fit the modality simply because I trained in it, believe in it, and love it. The person in front of me should never have to become proof that my favorite way of helping works.

The same is true of yoga, Reiki, meditation, coaching, and everything else I have studied. Each can remain an important part of my work without any one of them becoming the answer to every person, every problem, and every season of life.

So now, honestly, I 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 do want to be an aromatherapist. But I just do not think that is the whole of who I am now.

The Mental Load of Motherhood Is More Than a Long To-Do List

The mental load of motherhood is difficult to explain because much of it happens before anyone sees a task. It is remembering that a prescription needs to be found before medicine can be ordered. It is noticing that swim things must be prepared for Friday, checking school requirements, tracking tutoring schedules, monitoring vitamins, planning meals, and knowing which child will need help with which subject....

The Mental Load of Motherhood Is More Than Tasks | Call Me Balot The mental load of motherhood includes remembering, anticipating, checking, and deciding. Here is how to make that invisible work more visible.

Emotional Regulation Is More Than Staying Calm

People often talk about emotional regulation as if the regulated person is always calm, patient, and pleasant. That picture is too narrow. A person can look calm while shutting down. Another can cry, speak firmly, or ask for space and still be regulating well. The visible intensity of an emotion does not tell us everything about the quality of the response....

What is Emotional Regulation? More Than Staying Calm | Call Me Balot Emotional regulation does not mean staying calm all the time. Learn how to notice emotions, understand the signal, and choose your next action.

What Is Aromatherapy? A Grounded Look at Scent, Chemistry, and Safety

Many people meet aromatherapy through a scent they like. They smell lavender and think of sleep. Peppermint becomes the oil for focus. Citrus oils are treated as cheerful, while earthy oils are described as grounding. These associations can be useful, but they are only part of the picture. Aromatherapy uses aromatic plant extracts, most often essential oils, to support wellbeing through carefully chosen methods of use....

What is Aromatherapy? Scent, Chemistry, and Safety | Call Me Balot Aromatherapy is more than choosing a pleasant scent. Learn how aroma, chemistry, personal context, and safe use shape a thoughtful practice.

Aromatherapy is one of the easiest ways I know to care for myself.

You do not need an elaborate ritual. Sometimes it is just choosing an oil, taking a breath, and giving yourself a moment before moving on with the day.

But the more I studied aromatherapy, the more I understood that it was never only about making a space smell nice.

Scent is tied to memory, emotion, attention, and the nervous system. It can help us pause before the mind has finished explaining everything.

That is also why I love pairing it with mindfulness and psychological well-being. Aroma gives the body something immediate to respond to, while mindfulness helps us notice what is happening.

And yes, smelling good is still an awesome bonus. 😂

My Aromatherapy 101 course is for anyone who wants to use essential oils with more confidence and care. It comes with a learning kit and a private one-hour online consultation with me.

You can find it at courses.tawhaywellness.com.

Many people I know love citrus oils. They are bright, familiar, easy to like. For me - the reaction is "𝘌𝘩𝘳𝘮, 𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨." Haha. It is too happy and bright for me.

My favorite is patchouli. And many people dislike it. Weird nga kasi ako, di ba?

To me, patchouli smells like alimuom, that earthy scent that rises after the rain when the ground is still warm.
It reminds me of being my childhood, waiting for the rain to pass so I could run outside again.

Maybe that is why patchouli became an anchor for me. Grounding and centering at the same time.

There are days when I smell it and I am back there for a moment. Before life became complicated. Before I learned how much a person could carry while still looking completely fine.

It reminds me that storms pass. That something in me still knows how to come out and play after.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆.

An oil can have known properties, but our relationship with its aroma is deeply personal. Sometimes we choose a scent because it smells pleasant. Sometimes we choose it because it returns us to a part of ourselves we thought we had outgrown. Or maybe also, we choose it for what it specifically can do for our physiology.

In Aromatherapy 101, we explore scent, memory, safety, and the foundations of essential oil use.
The course comes with a kit so you can smell and experience the oils as you study. It also includes a one-on-one online consultation with me, because I do not want this to feel like you are learning alone. I would love to meet you, hear about your experience with the oils, and help you make the learning more personal.

Visit courses.tawhaywellness.com.

I am excited to journey with you.

*𝘈𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘏 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺