When Looking Okay Matters More Than Being Okay

You can look fine, sound strong, keep showing up and meet every responsibility—while feeling mentally stretched, emotionally tired or internally unsettled. That is the gap this book addresses. In Jamaica, to “gwaan like” is to carry on as though everything is fine—even when your inner experience tells a different story. But the pressure to perform being okay is not uniquely Jamaican. Across cultures, people learn how to keep going and hold everything together without learning how to check in, mentally manage what they are carrying and restore stability within. This book does not ask you to stop being strong, capable or resilient. It helps you build the inner system that allows the strength you show to be supported by genuine mental and emotional well-being.

Five Letters. Five Moves. One Powerful Internal Shift.

Inside The Gwaan Like Book, you’ll discover the five memorable steps of the CHECK Yuhself system and learn HOW to use them to create greater balance and inner wellness—without pretending everything is fine. The checklist reveals what to do; the book teaches you how to do it and helps you experience why it matters.

  • C — CLEAR — Find out what you can clear from the mind and body—and learn distinctive Neuro-Linguistic Programming-inspired ways to clear it

  • H — HUNT — Understand what you are hunting for, why it directs the rest of the system, and how to recognize when you find it.

  • E — EMBODY — Discover what must move beyond thought and into the body—and how the combination impacts your outcomes.

  • C — CONNECT — Learn which two parts of you must connect to create the shift, and how gratitude creates that connection.

  • K — KEEP — Find out how to keep the well-being going once you've achieved it.

What Changes When You CHECK Yuhself?

  • Be Self Aware

    Strengthen your awareness of the thoughts, emotions and internal patterns influencing how you feel, respond and move through life.

  • Be More Intentional

    Optimize your ability to create the thoughts, emotions and internal states you want to experience—instead of waiting for outside circumstances to create them for you.

  • Create Good Outcomes

    Improve your outcomes by pursuing success from a place of balance, emotional steadiness, and improved inner well-being.

More Than Information. A System for Application.

The Gwaan Like Book does more than explain why inner well-being matters. It gives you a memorable system for intentionally working with your thoughts, mental images, emotions, body and heart. You will not simply be encouraged to think positively or told to become a better version of yourself. Dr. Simone teaches you how to interrupt internal patterns, intentionally rehearse a desired state and reinforce that shift until it becomes increasingly natural and available in everyday life.

Rooted in Jamaica. Relevant Around the World.

“Gwaan like” is a familiar Jamaican expression for acting as though something is true. In this book, Dr. Simone transforms that familiar phrase into an invitation to look within. Although inspired by Jamaican language, wisdom and culture, the message reaches far beyond Jamaica. The need to feel strong within—not simply appear strong to others—crosses cultures, professions and borders.

Readers Are Putting It Into Practice

She Planned to Read a Few Pages. Then the Shift Began.

Paula Dixon

I started reading the book intending to read only a few pages, but I soon found myself reflecting and deciding to make changes in my life immediately. Sharing what I read with someone close to me led to a meaningful conversation and the realization that perfection is not something we should strive for. In trying to get everything right, we can be too hard on ourselves and forget that we are human. The first episode of Gwaan Like touched me deeply and encouraged me to reflect on things I had been carrying without realizing it. Both the book and series have inspired honest conversations, self reflection and a desire to grow. Thank you, Doc, for creating a space for such important conversations. Your work has touched me in ways I did not expect and given me so much to think about. ❤️

Real Results. One Day.

Hear what happened when Diamond applied one of the practices from The Gwaan Like Book.


A Message That Transcends Culture.

Dr. Dominic Aloma shares why the Jamaican roots of The Gwaan Like Book spoke deeply to him—and why its message can support people across cultures, backgrounds and experiences.


The Book Is the System. The Show Is the Proof.

The Gwaan Like Book gives you a repeatable system for creating intentional inner shifts. The Inner Pivot lets you witness the internal shifts behind extraordinary lives through the real stories of women whose personal experiences helped shape their professional progress and meaningful impact in the world.
WATCH THE INNER PIVOT

Meet Dr. Simone Alicia

“I help successful people get really good at enjoying their success.”

Dr. Simone Alicia, The Self Esteem Doctor, is an international self-esteem expert, educator, author and creator of The Gwaan Like Book. Born in Jamaica and raised in the United States, Dr. Simone brings both lived cultural connection and nearly two decades of teaching and professional experience to her work. Her approach explores the whole person—mind, body and soul—and helps make invisible internal processes easier to recognize, understand and intentionally refine. Gwaan Like brings that work home to a familiar Jamaican expression, transforming it into an invitation to CHECK Yuhself and strengthen what is happening within.
MEET DR. SIMONE

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Print Book: Order your physical copy for delivery and keep CHECK Yuhself within reach whenever you need it.