How can I embrace change in my life?

[Intro] Hello, and welcome to my podcast, Empowered to Thrive. I'm so glad you joined me today. I'm your host, Corinne Powell.

I help people pleasers find happiness, embrace courage, and experience peace of mind through inner child healing. If you're desperate for change and not sure how to make it happen, I'm here to guide you along the way. In this space, you'll find motivation to live a life full of joy and resilience.

We will talk all things inner wellness with spirituality interwoven at times. Being a mom to three, parenting will be a topic of conversation for sure. So happy to have you. Enjoy today's episode. 

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Hey, friends. I want to talk today about making change happen for you.

And it's the new year. But new year or not, this is vitally important. And if you follow me, you know that I'm all about change and not just because, but in order to start thriving in life and not just to survive it.

And my company Changed Radically. It was birthed out of my own experience in learning how to come from that place of just making it through, just getting by. And instead, I learned that no, there's another way. 

Thriving is an option. And it's not just for the elite. It is for anyone. And so I want to share with you just a few things that I've learned along the way. And I love to say it because it's so important. We are all in process.

I'm sharing from my experience. But I sit with you excited that we are both on a journey to find more change, discover about ourselves and learn more about who we are, why we think the way we do, how it is that we perceive life. And then in that recognizing that your personality, the distinct parts about who you are, are so important.

They're valuable. And you are significant. So let's get down to it.

Do you desperately want your life to change? I know, as I say that, I think about situations, home life, that is just toxic. And there may be some of you listening that are living in a toxic home environment. And you know, there's this part of you that desperately wants change to come.

But then on the other hand, there can be fear, insecurity, and just a lack of knowing what will this mean? Will I be able to provide for myself, take care of myself and make it happen if I choose change? And you know, I don't have all the answers for you. But I want you to know that you are not supposed to have to live in a toxic home environment. You're not.

You weren't meant to just get by. You're supposed to be enjoying your life and a toxic home environment is not enjoyable. So whether the change needs to come from in you, from within everyone, usually everybody needs some change.

You know, you're going to know those answers within yourself. And of course, I'm always here to offer coaching support. That's where we talk about your particular situation.

But I want to just reference the home environment because I know that even just with COVID and the pandemic, a lot of us have been home and with our family members way more than normal. And that can just be challenging even if you don't have a toxic environment. It can become toxic because you just need space and everybody starts pushing on everyone's buttons.

And that's life. But understanding who we are and knowing how to work through our triggers and feel at home in our bodies in the middle of chaos, all of those things do help. So not to get too off track, sometimes I get so excited that it's easy to start getting off track, but I want to share my secrets with you.

And really, they're just some practical tips and some questions I'm going to ask to help you on this journey to find change for yourself. Now, I want you to get ready because I think what I'm going to say is going to be better than what you're thinking. I hope it's going to sound easier and lighter than what you might think when you sit and ponder what will change bring.

If I make a drastic change, how will I be? So basic, it starts with a beginning, a choice. What is your why? Because you're going to need motivation to follow through, knowing the reasons you want change is going to help you to keep going because sometimes it's not going to feel easy. It's not going to be comfortable.

You know, we have highs and lows, and there are times even in the healing process, when you're in the middle of recovering from trauma or the losses that life naturally bring, there can be moments where it feels bleak and isolating. And in those moments, it is so important to have support and to be able to reach out. But those moments are a part of the process and they're necessary.

If you've come out of traumatic situations and you've experienced loss in your life, then it's just a part of the package to know that there will be some very difficult moments as you're working to find your recovery and heal. But you're going to get to a spot where it doesn't feel as uncomfortable or as dark as it once was. And that is what you have to keep in view.

In the moments where I say, oh my gosh, I've been focusing on my inner well-being for a decade and a half. Why am I still struggling with this, that, or the other thing? I have to choose compassion for myself in that moment and say, hey, Corinne, you have done a lot of good work and there is more good coming to you. And this moment is just one of those moments to remind you of what you've come out of.

I've come out of very neglectful, somewhat abusive situations. And I have to recognize, I don't have to, but I want to recognize that there's some repercussion and I'm still going to feel that, even 15 years into my recovery. So what are some of your fears around creating change for yourself? You might want to grab your journal or the notes app on your phone and re-listen to this and ponder some of these questions that I'm going to present.

Because you're going to discover more about yourself as you do that. And that is going to really help you. Understanding more about yourself, becoming self-aware is key in this process.

There are fears for all of us around creating change. So as you think about what might be holding you back, is there someone's voice that you hear in your head? Perhaps the voice of a parent figure, a caregiver, another family member. It might sound like your own voice, but question it to ask, is this someone else's voice that's actually dictating the path I'm taking in life? It's okay if it is, but that means you get to choose whether you're going to continue listening to that echo or you're going to choose a different way.

It's all within your hands. It's in your power. It always has been, but sometimes we give other people more of a say in our life than they should have.

So especially as children, when we're impressionable, we form subconscious beliefs and we carry them throughout life. We're going to conclude things based off of our experiences and the thoughts that we think. That does not mean that those conclusions are always true.

So start to just become more aware and as you're aware of what your subconscious thoughts are and beliefs, then look at them. Be willing to explore. Where did I start to believe this? And is it really serving me to carry this belief through my life? Asking yourself deep questions is important and if you're not sure what to ask yourself, that's where having a support can be really valuable.

Whether that's a coach, a therapist, a friend, or a safe family member, you decide for yourself. But having support is going to be vital for anyone in life and especially if you are coming out of traumatic situations, abusive situations, experiences in life that have really created a lot of loss. So start thinking and then as you are thinking, you also are taking action.

If you don't take any action, nothing will change. If you, I'm going to say it again, it's just so important. If you do not take any action, nothing will change.

The actionable steps sometimes feel like the riskiest, scariest things because you know, you're proving to yourself, you know what? I'm not going to stay in this spot that I've been. But taking that step is where you actually are proving and determining that, yeah, I'm not going to stay in this spot. So if you want to actually be helping your mind and treating your brain with kindness, then doing what you say you will do is going to be very important.

If we say one thing and do another, it creates cognitive dissonance, which isn't helping and isn't helpful to our bodies. Determination is going to be key for you. If you didn't catch that from what I was just saying, you're going to need to know why you're doing what you're doing and do it.

You can have any lifestyle you want if you're willing to stick with the steps and do them. Success, change doesn't just happen. Somebody was deliberate and intentional.

What you do in the everyday matters. It's all adding up. It's all affecting your mindset.

How you view life, how you view yourself. So what you think and how you think, it affects everything. That's why I'm encouraging you to become more aware of what you're thinking.

Because you have the power to change those thoughts. You can change the underlying beliefs. This is the best, the most beautiful part of this.

I love the fact that because of neuroplasticity, we can change the way that our brain and our mind functions together. Now here's one tip. I would suggest finding someone you admire or you aspire to be.

Not because you're going to become like them. You get to be you and who you are is distinct from everyone else and that's a beautiful thing. But here's why I suggest finding someone that you're like, you know what, I like where they've gotten.

I wonder how they got there. I want to watch them. That's going to give you inspiration along your journey.

Because you can get where they've gotten. Anytime you hear somebody's gotten somewhere, someone's achieved something, they came out of something and here's where they are. Know that you also have the same potential to get where they are.

Maybe they're putting in more effort than you are. That's your choice. But you have the same potential to get where they are.

It may even be that you have to put in more effort than them depending on life circumstances, physical circumstances. But hey, you can get wherever you want and start with one step at a time. You don't need to make all the changes at once.

You might have a running list of so many things that need to shift in your life, that need to become different. You can't change all of those at once and if you try, it's going to be extremely hard to sustain. I feel like it's likely a setup for devastation and disappointment.

Each step you take will make a difference and over time, you will see the growth and the progress. In fact, sometimes you don't feel like anything's changing but then you look backwards and you're like, wow, I am so much further than I was. I am at such a different place than I used to be.

It's a beautiful thing when you have those moments. Think about being on a journey, going up a mountain or taking a walk. You know, you don't always realize, especially if you're talking to someone along the way, you don't always realize how far you've gone.

And then once you do, it can be really motivating and exciting like, yes, we've actually gotten further than we thought. And having that person along the way helps so very much. That's what I love about what I get to do.

I get to come alongside people and help them in their process, offer a support, a hand, a listening ear, some feedback if they want it. This is why I'm here and I love what I get to do and I would be so glad to come alongside you if I can be of help to you. So if anything that I've said sounds too basic or just, “I'm not sure about that, Corinne”, I just want you to know that what I'm sharing is what I have applied in my life and it's gotten me really good results.

So hey, it might not be the only way to do things, but it is one way and it's worked really well for me and it's working well for the individuals I work with. So I hope that something I've said today, you can take and run with and create the change in this new year of 2021 that you have been longing for. I want you to be able to start enjoying your life, feeling like you're not just getting by, you're not just surviving, but you're actually getting to start to thrive.

You're getting to start to enjoy and see the good around you. It starts inward and then it flows out. So until we talk again, I hope that you have a great week.

[Ending] I want to close out today's episode by thanking you for being here with me. We've made it to the end and I hope what I shared has been helpful. If there is anything I've mentioned that you want to talk about in more depth, I would be so glad to connect with you.

You can always find me on Instagram ⁠@corinne_changeradically⁠, or go directly to my website, ⁠changeradically.com⁠. Of course, within the show notes, there's other ways that you can connect with me. And if there is someone that you think would benefit from this podcast, please share it with them. To help my podcast get more growth and reach more people, please subscribe, review, and rate it.

And until next week, I'm wishing you the very best.