The Instagram Post That Changed My Life

Apr 8

How small steps helped me invest in my health, build a sustainable life, and grow my speech therapy private practice.

On March 20, 2024, I saw an Instagram post from Jena Castro-Casbon that said:

“The secret sauce that got you here won’t be the thing that gets you to the next level.”

The timing of that post is something I’ll never forget.

It was eight days after my daughter Juniper was born, eight days after my C-section, and two days after I had already gone back to work.

At that point, I wasn’t thinking about “next levels.” I was just trying to get through the day. I was very sick.

But that line stuck with me.

Jena’s words carried weight for me because she had already played a big role in my professional life. In 2024 I had already learned from her through the Start Your Private Practice Program where she mentored clinicians on building sustainable private practices.

Her mentorship helped me begin building my own practice.

But that message made me start thinking about something else, too.

Eventually, when I was cleared to exercise in the summer of 2024, I decided to hire a physical therapist and a personal trainer. I needed both in a bad way lol :)

I’ve worked with PTs and personal trainers in the past, but this time it wasn’t about some big transformation. I chose my PT for rehabilitation and hired my personal trainer simply for health accountability and to gently challenge myself. The bar was set very low, I could barely walk for extended periods of time.

In fact, my goals at the beginning were incredibly simple.

He told me/we decided together (lol) my goals were to drink more water and start walking again.

That was it.

After everything my body had been through, I needed to start small.

I remember telling my trainer, Chad, that I didn’t know when I could do this, and that I could probably only come every other Friday at 3:00 PM. That was the only time I could realistically make work with two small kids and my schedule. But that’s how it started.

Just a couple small steps: Drink more water. Go for walks. Show up every other Friday.

About a year later in November of 2025 Jena Castro-Casbon shared another message on Instagram that stuck with me:

“The best investment you can make is in yourself.” It was a video of her lifting weights at the gym again.

At first that felt like a nice idea. But over time I started to experience what that actually meant.

Fast forward to November 2025. I saw another video of Jena at the gym lifting weights.

By that point I had been working out and taking care of myself for about a year and the message landed differently.

Because it wasn’t just an idea anymore. It had become part of my life.

Now here we are in 2026, and I go to the gym four days a week.
I still meet with my trainer every other Friday at 3pm.

I have never felt more mentally steady or physically energized.

And what I see now are the parallels between creating a sustainable business and creating a sustainable life. Neither one happens overnight and both require a lot of small adjustments AND mentorship. We can’t be islands.
There are a lot of imperfect first steps, plateaus, and a lot of figuring out what works for your life and your schedule.

Jena Castro-Casbon inspired me to start my private practice.

But she also inspired me to invest in myself as a human.

And looking back now, those two things turned out to be connected in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. Because the truth is, sustainable businesses and sustainable lives are built the same way.

One small step at a time. For me, it started with drinking water and going for walks. And eventually, those small steps built a life that feels strong enough to hold everything else.

And if you’re an SLP reading this and feeling stuck or burned out, I want you to know that change doesn’t have to start with a giant leap. Sometimes it starts with one small decision that makes your life a little more sustainable…and then another, and another.