January Reflection: Soft Like Goo 🪩🩷🐣
The name of the game at CouplesTherapy.co is RELATIONSHIP — and relationship requires intimacy.
And now that we’re adults, I assert it’s beneficial to work on being INTIMATE with ourself, so we can be intimate with another and, ultimately, relational.
Yes, we’re social beings and come into this world attached. We grow and develop as dependents in connection with others. So, I’m not suggesting you become a munk, get divorced or stop dating in order to work on yourself.
What I am suggesting is that you carve out some alone time — with the support of me (Jessica Hansen, LMFT), if desired, and ultimately our group of fellow self-intimacy explorers — to reflect and introspect on who you are at your center.
It is my belief that being more intimate with yourself is a skill that unlocks everything else — in relationship.
During CouplesTherapy.co’s year-long monthly challenge, Cracked Open: Becoming Intimate With Your SELF, you’ll take an exploratory journey through self-awareness in an effort to become better acquainted, and more in touch, with what I’m calling your Goo — the inside of you, your center.
Your Goo is distinct from the unconscious defensive aspects of you — what I’m referring to as custom-made, illusory pieces of mirrored glass on your surface — that, more than you’re aware of, blind YOU.
Unless you’ve had years of therapy and a sound opportunity to self-reflect and introspect with the help of a well-trained emotional optometrist (otherwise known as a therapist) who can sometimes see a bit more clearly than you do, about who you really are.
And even your emotional optometrist is human!
Yes — the cat’s out of the bag.
I, your lead therapist at CouplesTherapy.co, heretofore proclaim I’m human — well-intended, trained, and doing the best I can to guide you to a destination I’ve seen clearly before… and one I know exists for YOU, too.
And with all due respect, as it turns out us imperfect emotional optometrists actually stack up far better equipped than our new go-to “artificially intelligent” therapists, who admit “it” has never experienced an emotion and doesn’t proclaim to have a soul — two very important aspects of what makes us human, in my humble and assertive opinion.
Your Goo is your brilliant spectacular center — without the spectacle, and without needing to be seen through a pair to come into vision.
That’s you boo, you’re Goo!
What to Expect in 2026
Because this is the first month of our year-long challenge, allow me to explain in a bit more detail what you can expect — at the bare minimum — each month, while I reserve the right to improvise as The Universe sees fit.
Hi, I’m Jessica — the creator of this annual challenge that I decided I wanted to do a couple of days ago… and as you can see, given it’s February, I’m now late. Whoops!
But because I’m not a cute little red Time Ball atop a mountain — I’m giving myself a Slide, and allowing myself permission to show up just a wee bit late.
That said, moving the ball forward, you can expect to find your monthly reflection during the first week of every month, in the 2026 Challenge section of our site and accessible from our butter-yellow homepage navigation bar.
I also encourage you to sign up for The Cherry Press so you’re notified when each Monthly Challenge cherry drops 🍒
At the end of each reflection, you’ll find a Glossary of Terms — return to it whenever you need grounding.
You’re also welcome to email me at Jessica@CouplesTherapy.co with questions, and I’ll respond within reason.
I additionally encourage you to sign up for Singles Sessions — weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly — to process your experience with me. I’ll support you.
The Stack — 2026 • 2027 • 2028
Before I tee up our monthly challenge flow, there’s something important to know.
You’re in a unique position to begin what I’ve conceptualized as a three-year journey — a progressive psychological stack with one mission:
To become RELATIONAL.
Not maturely relational.
Not mutually relational.
Not securely relational.
Not attachment-style relational.
Because anything other than relational, in my opinion, is something else.
We’ll get there — but you have to earn it. Not because I’m unfairly making you work, but because outside of the work, insight is short-lived and surface. It isn’t felt, internalized, or long-lasting.
And I want your Goo to stick!
In 2026, we’re exploring how to be intimate with your SELF — your Goo and other interesting parts of you.
In 2027, we’ll build on that by exploring intimacy with another.
And in 2028, we’ll focus on becoming relational.
Each month and each year stacks on top of itself.
This Challenge has the potential to be a life-altering opportunity, and you’re in a unique position — like a cherry on top — to start from the top, or beginning rather than jump in halfway through and play catch-up (which you can absolutely do).
It’s up to you — or shall I say, your Goo! Okay, I’ll stop ; )
How This Works
Each month, I’ll introduce one psychological revelation or piece of defensive mirrored glass and invite you to reflect and introspect on how you relate to it — how it affects you.
You’ll then be guided through:
a cognitive reflection, and
a somatic intervention
…so you can experience the insight, not just understand it.
This is how you become more intimate with your SELF — your Goo and the other aspects of you.
We externalize pieces of ourselves, explore them from different angles, lenses, and perspectives, and through that process, become better acquainted with who we truly are at our center.
Each month ends with a Bonus Self-Intimacy Challenge — an invitation to PLAY with the concept and potentially experience a life-altering ah-ha moment!
We all have our own ways of tracking what we’re learning, so alongside the monthly PDF I’ll provide for free download — go wild. Make this challenge your own.
Down the road, I’ll also be launching a monthly group where you can connect with fellow self-intimacy travelers and talk about how this work is landing for you.
A Quick Note
Yes — I’m a clinical psychotherapist, and I’ll be offering what I’m calling psychological revelations.
Sometimes the language will be scholarly. Other times, more human-y.
If you ever get stuck, feel free to reach out to me — for clarification.
Remember:
CouplesTherapy.co is the sweet spot for couples therapy, online — where we fight less, play more, and where Love is Fun!
Our Cherry Queen Tegra taught us it’s okay to play — and that’s exactly what we’ll do.
Ready? Let’s play!
January’s Psychological Revelation — Soft Like Goo
Goo Defined
At the core of who you are is Goo — soft, gooey — inherently valuable, vulnerable, and worthy of affection, connection, and protection.
Your Goo is the center of you.
Your authentic, SELF.
Your interior.
Your “it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
Everything outside of that is extra.
That’s you, boo!
You’re Goo — and that’s the part of you we’re getting intimate with this month and the months that follow.
Cognitive Reflection (Journaling Exercise)
How do you relate to the idea that at the core of who you are is Goo — soft, gooey — inherently valuable, vulnerable, and worthy of affection, connection, and protection?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
See yourself differently?
What would it be like to imagine it’s true?
How does that idea affect you? ln your body?
What are the benefits?
What are the costs?
If you had to decide — even temporarily — to relate to your Goo more softly and sensitively, would you?
Somatic Exploration (Embodied Intervention)
I’ll begin with a moment I shared with my twin sister while explaining the concept of Goo.
She was cracking eggs for breakfast. As she began whipping them by hand, I said:
“Feel the yolk. Notice how different it feels from the shells you just cracked.”
She paused and said:
“Ooohhhh. I see what you’re getting at. Is that like my Goo?”
I replied:
“Yes. And I have Goo too. We all do.”
She smiled and said, “I feel it.”
That was an ah-ha moment!
She said, sometimes it’s hard to get in touch with your soft center. Tactile references help.
So, that’s what I want you to do.
If you’re able, crack a few eggs. Separate the yolks and shells. Gently whisk the yolks. Feel the texture. Lift it up and let it fall. Play with it.
Ponder for a moment that this is like you — soft and gooey on the inside, protected by a shell on the outside (which we’ll explore later).
For now, simply turn your attention inward — toward your soft, gooey center.
As you move through the year, notice soft, comforting textures. When appropriate touch them, feel them, play with them gently. Let them remind you of the Goo inside you — your soft center. Your SELF.
Bonus Self-Intimacy Practice (Play)
We’ve all heard the phrase walking on eggshells. It often describes how our bodies feel around someone who feels “difficult” to us — or layered in defensive mirrored glass.
Now let’s feel the contrast.
If it’s safe, place eggshells on the ground and carefully step on them. Notice what happens in your body. Do you tense? Brace? Slow down?
Next, step onto something soft — grass, sand, cushioned shoes. Does your body soften? Open? Feel more at ease?
Feel the difference.
And if you’d like, write about it — mind-body integration helps internalize experience.
January’s Invitation — Soft Like Goo
January’s invitation is to meet your Goo — the soft, vulnerable, center of you that’s been here all along.
This month is about noticing:
Sensation, subtle signals — warmth, openness, soft places to land — be them objects, people, places.
Your practice is simple:
When you notice something soft, gentle, warm, or present - outside your self — pause, feel it.
Then notice something soft, gentle, warm or present - inside your self — pause, feel it.
Acknowledge it quietly.
Each moment of noticing counts.
That’s my Goo.
And to that I say — yes. That’s YOU.
That’s connection.
This month sets the orientation. Everything that follows will grow from your soft, gooey center.
For now, let this be enough.
You’re soft like Goo.
That’s YOU, boo. Who you really are. Stay with it.
For Fun — Self-Intimacy Mantras
I am Goo
I am soft like Goo
I am Gooey
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Goo: At the core of who you are is Goo — soft, gooey — inherently valuable, vulnerable, and worthy of affection, connection, and protection. Your center. Your interior. Your authentic SELF. Your, its what’s on the inside that counts. Everything else is extra.
Defenses: The unconscious, custom-made, illusory pieces of mirrored glass on your surface that blind and defend YOU.
With love,
Goo 🍒
Jessica Hansen, LMFT
Founder, CouplesTherapy.co