In this minisode, we explore the nature of our choices and the power of following your intuition. We discuss the importance of making decisions that resonate with your deepest self, embracing the journey and the wisdom of occasionally pausing to reflect on what truly matters. It's about moving forward with conviction, understanding the value of presence, and the courage to pivot as needed.
We also highlight the importance of living authentically, not swayed by external pressures or the need to prove your worth. It's a call to trust yourself, recognize your inherent worth, and choose paths that align with your soul, underscoring that you're never truly alone on your journey.
This is your precious life and it's not about meeting someone else's expectations or approving your worth. You are worthy right now, just as you are, so love on yourself, trust yourself. It's a practice, but truly it is such a rewarding one. Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botelho podcast. I'm an entrepreneur, self-care strategist and creator of the Season Self-Care app. I'm committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your well-being and build your version of a happy, successful life.
Sheila:
You're listening to a Monday-Mini-Sode where I share an insight designed to help you live into what lights you up this week. Today I have a story for you and it's one I haven't shared before, but it ties really well into some of the conversations I've been having here lately, so I thought I'd share it. I'd say my voice feels really, really good. Today I'm drinking this really delicious lemon ginger tea. It's traditional medicinal, so if you're looking for a really good brand, very high quality and so delicious, I put in some nice raw honey and so it feels really smooth. While I'm talking which is not always the case Often, getting ready for a podcast, you're clearing your throat, drinking enough water. So, anyway, thought I'd share that little BTS here. So on to the story.
Sheila:
So a few years ago, like a handful of years ago, I thought I was ready to really make a shift in what I was doing and add in something that I hadn't done in a long time keynote speaking. Now I had trained from and spoken on stages over the years of anywhere from 50 to several hundred people at a time with a really great deal of satisfaction, and I thought it would be a logical next step to dive back in again. I'd been watching some other peers in the space and thinking, oh, that just felt really good. I kind of felt a pang like ooh, an urge. I thought, well, let's follow this urge. And so I did begin the process of seeking out speaking gigs and talking to people and connecting with some different organizations and coaches and things and got some interest.
Sheila:
But then I started to find myself feeling less and less inspired to really promote what I'd be speaking about. As much as I loved what I did, it was just not feeling complete. So putting together different talks felt really hard, and it wasn't due to the visibility that this would involve of course. Of course there's going to be visibility with the speaking on a stage. It was more about wanting to talk about too many different things in order to have a cohesive focus. So whether you're selling a product or a service, or you're serving clients and even speaking, it's all really the same thing. Foundationally, you're marketing yourself, you're marketing a message in this case, and I had some valuable advice from coaches who specialized in PR and offers to help shop me around.
Sheila:
But even that started to not feel an alignment. I couldn't really pinpoint it. So I figured let's just take a beat here. And I see now as I look back, that there was a body of work growing in my spirit and in the inside of my offerings that was emerging, and so that's kind of where that misalignment was. It was just that I was heading in a different direction and wasn't quite sure how to even articulate it yet, and I was also throwing life right.
Sheila:
I was also nearing the end of home educating my youngest son, and it was just savoring the time that we shared in that part of our life together, and it was like something was being birthed in one area of my life and another part of my life was kind of ending, however sweetly. The timing simply was not right for me to be boundlessly jetting around speaking engagements and all of that kind of stuff. It just wasn't my season. So as I look back, I'm really glad that I listened to my intuition to shelve the idea for a beat. While speaking opportunities would have led down roads I otherwise may not have explored and that may have turned out amazingly it would have come at a cost, and isn't that true of all parts of our lives? In this case, I wouldn't have had as much time to savor the completion of teaching my son for so many years and my other son also, and having him transition then into his high school experience. I wouldn't have invested in caring for my health in a way that at the time, did require some attention and also the focus of my work. The season's self-care in support of female entrepreneurs and leaders of movements would have been delayed or maybe not even caught at all.
Sheila:
You see, we never really will know what choosing option B or C would yield in our life. While we do get to choose our own adventure, we don't get to tap pause and hit the back button to choose again without first experiencing the first option we selected right. We can't erase what we did Not yet anyway, and I think it really is all about making space To truly tune into your intuition, picking the best option that you can make at the time and owning the choice that you make. You can always pivot later, but at least you're in the game and moving forward. And then there are those times when really hitting the pause button on new ideas is the most loving thing that you can do for yourself.
Sheila:
Your talents may be in your prime and you want to go for it. You know you just want to go, go, go. Or your kids are only young once. So if you want to slow down, to be fully present with them, like I did, please do. You won't regret that. If that's a desire in your heart, or if you want to ramp up so your kids can see what going for your dreams looks like in front of their very eyes, do it. It's your one precious life and you get to choose. Just make sure that what you choose is coming from your soul, not the expectations of others, or not from even trying to just approve your worth, because you are inherently worthy right now, in this moment, as you are. Love on yourself and trust yourself. It really is a practice, but it is worth it.
Sheila:
Whatever you decide to do next, don't go it alone. Gather with others who resonate with you, get support, get mentors, whatever feels right for you, and I do invite you to look at the season's collective as one such place, and you'll find the link in the show notes to learn about it. I would love to see you in there as you go about your week. Try on feeling adventurous about your next choice, your next steps. Your future awaits you and it can be magical. Thanks for listening. Have a beautiful rest of your day. Big blessings.