We wrapped the February 2026 cohort of the 28 Days of Loving Yourself Challenge (28DC) two weeks ago, and I’m still reflecting on everything that unfolded.
This was the 13th time I’ve facilitated this challenge since 2018. Thirteen cohorts and hundreds of women.
And yet, every single time, I’m struck by the same thing:
Twenty-eight days doesn’t sound like much time. But when you show up every single day and choose yourself consistently, not just once, something fundamental shifts.
It happened in 2018 and has happened consistently in every cohort throughout 2025. And it happened again in February 2026.
The Work Is Never What Anyone Expects When Signing Up
Across all 13 cohorts, the pattern is the same.
Women sign up thinking this will be about self-care routines, morning rituals, journaling prompts, and maybe some affirmations.
And yes, we do those things and more. But the real work is harder and more necessary.
Here’s a Glimpse at What We Work On in the Challenge
Week 1: Declutter Your Life
We start with the physical decluttering of closets, cupboards, cabinets, rooms, and even handbags and cars. Nothing gets left behind because this visible clutter mirrors the invisible overwhelm.
But then we take another step and move to emotional declutter. This includes the toxic relationships that are draining your energy and commitments you said Yes to out of guilt or inability to say No.
And we look into the regrets, “shoulds.” “coulds” and “woulds” that are running your life.
We wrap up this week with the digital world: email inboxes, digital files, phones and other gadgets, and anywhere you show up online.
Decluttering paves the way for the deep work that comes in Weeks 2, 3, and 4. It creates space that partly gets filled with better stuff, and partly remains empty by choice.
Every single cohort, someone says some version of this: “I thought decluttering meant organizing my home. I didn’t realize it meant reorganizing my entire life.”
Week 2: Self-Love & Kindness to Self
Week 2 is a gamechanger and this is where most resistance shows up as we focus on:
- Mirror work.
- Setting and reinforcing boundaries without guilt.
- Learning to say No without apologizing or explaining.
We also tackle the masks. The persona you wear at work, the version of yourself that shows up for family and friends, and the image you maintain on social media and in social circles.
Letting go of masks is not easy, and it has to be done with care. So each person chooses a safe mask they feel it’s time to #UnMask, and then let it go.
The vulnerability this week is profound. This week shakes the foundation for anyone who has built their identity around being helpful, available, and highly productive.
In one of the cohorts, a participant told us: “I realized that what I thought was self-love was not complete because I was still abandoning myself in most of the decisions that mattered.”
I’ve heard versions of this in nearly every cohort since 2018. The words may be different, but the insight is always the same.
Week 3: Passion, Energy & Commitment
In Week 3, the first two questions asked are:
- What lights you up?
- What would you do if you had the energy?
Each person gets surprised by their answers. Not because they don’t know, but because they’ve been ignoring what they know for so long, they’d convinced themselves it wasn’t important.
Over the years, I’ve watched women reconnect with painting, writing, dancing, singing, side businesses they’d abandoned, and dreams they’d shelved.
The right time, it turns out, is just the time you decide to finally take action, and then you actually take that first step during the Challenge.
Week 4: Focus
This is where the challenge shifts from internal work to external action.
During this week, we:
- Consolidate the learnings and actions.
- Create a 30-day action plan.
- Commit to continue making ourselves a priority in our lives.
There are no vague goals or motivational wishes. It’s concrete, specific plans with timelines and accountability.
And then we celebrate completing the program, the growth achieved, and wrap up.
What Actually Changes
Having run 13 cohorts over 8 years, I’ve seen the same transformations happen over and over:
1. Women stop apologizing for taking up space
In the first Q&A call of any cohort, almost every question starts with something like, “Sorry, but…” or “This might be silly, but…”, or “I don’t know if I should ask this…”
By Week 4, their confidence has grown. They speak up, ask directly, state what they need, and claim their right to be here.
2. They start making decisions faster
When you know what matters, making a decision becomes easier because you’re not weighing every option against everyone else’s expectations. You’re weighing it against your own values.
There’s a sense of freedom that comes with taking back control of your life, and this is revealed in the way each person starts showing up.
3. They set and reinforce boundaries
This is not easy at first, and many resist or struggle. But it’s also not theoretical.
They decline commitments, have difficult conversations, disappoint people who are used to taking advantage of them, and say No more often than they say Yes.
And they survive it.
Over the years, I’ve watched participants:
- Tell their teams they will no longer respond to emails and calls after 6pm
- Inform their families that they need at least an hour on Sundays to themselves
- Say No to projects that don’t align with their goals or mandate
- Stop working late and on weekends unless it is necessary
- End relationships that have been draining them for years
- Throw out clutter they have been holding on to for decades (This was a big one for me personally this year)
- Hand back work that had been delegated to them, sometimes by the people they supervise
- Place very strong boundaries around their money and being other people’s ATMs
- Carve out a part of their income for their own spending…we call it ‘blow money’ in 28DC
- And so much more
Some of these may seem like easy things or nothing major. They’re not. Each is a declaration of self-love and prioritizing what matters most to you.
4. They stop waiting for permission
Many women get surprised when they realize that they have been waiting for permission to rest, prioritize themselves and to want more than they currently have.
They give themselves permission. And then they act on it.
This is the pattern that I see getting repeated each year.
The Truth That Used to Stress Me
There is a fact that I normally don’t talk about, which is that not everyone finishes strong.
Some participants go quiet in the final week when the work gets too close or too real. It also happens when old patterns pull harder than new practices. And some stop opening emails, get too far behind, and finally give up.
I used to get stressed when this would happen. But I’ve learned to step back and be OK because transformation doesn’t happen on a linear timeline.
Some people circle back and try again. Others return to the Challenge on their own and work through the emails at a slower pace than during the Challenge.
I’ve also had women take this challenge two, three, even four times before it fully clicks. And others have made it a part of their annual self-care routine.
The best thing is that they have the emails and can use them on their own beyond the live cohort, especially if someone feels that they need a different timeline.
What I’ve Learned Across 13 Cohorts
I take the Challenge alongside participants, and every cohort teaches me something.
But the core lesson remains the same, getting clearer with each group:
Women don’t need more information; they need more self-love, self-compassion, and self-permission.
They already know that:
- They’re burnt out or on the verge of burnout.
- They need boundaries. They know they’re giving too much and receiving too little.
What they need is someone to say: It’s okay to stop. It’s okay to choose yourself. And it’s okay to say No so that you prioritize your own well-being.
They also need a community of other women who understand. Women who won’t judge them for wanting more, and who will hold them accountable to the promises they make to themselves.
That’s what the 28 days provide. Space for self-love and for holding space for other women who are walking a similar journey with you.
I am grateful to all the women who have taken this self-love Challenge. Thank you, ladies for:
- Showing up.
- Being honest in the hard moments.
- Supporting each other when I couldn’t be everywhere at once.
- Trusting the process even when it felt uncomfortable.
And thank you for proving, to yourselves and to the women who come after you, that it’s possible to choose yourself consistently and without guilt.
And some of you are still choosing yourselves, and still showing up while applying what you learned months or years ago.
That’s the transformation I’m most proud of, not the 28 days, but what you do with the rest of your days after.
What’s Next
28DC continues. There’s no stopping because this work matters. It’s a blessing each time I watch women remember who they are underneath the roles, responsibilities, and other people’s expectations.
And if you’re reading this and thinking, “I need this,” you’re right.
The question isn’t whether you need it. The question is: Are you ready to actually do the work?
Because 28 days is just the beginning. The real transformation happens when you take what you learned and keep living it, long after the Challenge ends.
I’ve watched hundreds of women do exactly that. Some for months. Some for years.
That’s what makes the difference between motivation and transformation.
Comments are open. If you’ve ever participated in this Challenge and want to share what shifted for you, I’d love to hear it. And I know others would benefit from your honesty.
(Image credit: New Dawn Coaching)
