April 10, 2025 • 13 mins
🔗 Mentioned on this Episode: Show Notes 👈
In today’s solo chat, I'm inviting you to rethink something you’ve probably been taught for years: the idea that you should always temper your expectations. As we move into Q2, it's the perfect time to reflect on how this mindset might be quietly capping your potential — and what a healthier, more empowering approach could look like.
We’ll talk about why so many of us learned to brace for disappointment, the hidden cost of constantly "managing" our dreams, and what it really means to hold bold visions while staying grounded. I’m sharing personal stories, real-world reflections, and a simple way to reconnect with your ability to hope fully — without losing your discernment or your edge.
If you're craving a deeper sense of trust in your path, this conversation will help you recalibrate your energy and remind you that true resilience isn’t about shrinking your dreams — it’s about expanding your capacity. You’ll walk away with a powerful reflection prompt to support your next season of growth.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sheila (00:01):
Most of the biggest wins I've experienced personally and
professionally came when Ididn't temper my expectations.
Today, I'm sharing how allowingyourself to hope fully, without
clinging to a specific outcome,will put you at an advantage
that most people miss.
We'll unpack why guarding yourdreams isn't protecting you.
What healthy hope looks likeand a reflection practice that
(00:22):
you can use today hope lookslike and a reflection practice
that you can use today.
Imagine leading your next bigidea full of energy, without
feeling like you have to dimyour excitement just to be
realistic.
Hi, welcome to the Connect withSheila Botelho podcast.
I'm committed to helping youreconnect to your purpose,
elevate your wellbeing and buildyour version of a happy,
(00:43):
successful life.
Your wellbeing and build yourversion of a happy, successful
life.
It's so good to be with youhere today, and today's episode
is a real-time reflection as westep into Q2 of 2025.
Now, on the episode prior tothis one, the mini-sode, we
talked about checking in withwhere you're at and honoring
(01:04):
your inner seasons, so if youmissed it, definitely go back
and listen after this one.
It'll add an extra layer ofgrounding to what we're talking
about today.
Because here I want to gentlychallenge something that many of
us, especially seasoned,successful people business
owners, entrepreneurs haveinternalized without even
(01:27):
realizing it, and that is theidea that we, more often than
not, need to lower ourexpectations or brace ourselves
before dreaming too big.
I remember one of the firsttimes I got really excited about
a new opportunity.
It was early in myentrepreneurial journey and it
(01:49):
was the kind of thing whereevery cell in your body lights
up and almost immediatelysomeone close to me said that
sounds really great, but just berealistic, you don't want to
get your hopes up.
And it came from love it almostcomes from love right In a
place where people want us tofeel safe.
However, I didn't reallyappreciate hearing that, because
(02:14):
it kind of took the wind out ofmy sails.
I mean, it's true that thepeople around us don't want to
see us hurt or disappointed, butwhat I didn't realize at the
time is how moments like thatstart weaving into the fabric of
how we move through the world.
Over time, I noticed I wouldget less and less animated about
(02:35):
opportunities.
I'd catch myself saying thingslike oh, we'll see what happens
instead of I'm so excited aboutthis and I'm going to work on
moving this forward.
It was a quiet, slowcontraction and for many of us,
especially those of us who arethe people who are running after
(02:56):
things in certain directions inour circles, it became the way
we protected ourselves.
So here's the thing when welearn to temper our expectations
as a way of life, we don't justavoid disappointment, we also
avoid fully living, and Ibelieve that dreaming is the
(03:18):
thing that comes first before weactually step into something
new.
Dreaming of the possibilitiesis often the place where really
cool ideas come from, andadvancements and really having
everybody's imaginations workingat full capacity.
It needs to start with a dream,and so what I started noticing
(03:43):
was when I dimmed my excitementin advance.
I also dimmed my energy, mymagnetism and my belief in
what's possible.
And the things that requireboldness, like launching new
things, creating something fromscratch in your brain, pitching
a collaboration, making a bigmove.
(04:05):
They need your full energybehind them, not the
half-hearted oh let's not getour hopes up type of version,
and one time I allowed myself tothrow that rule out the window.
Specifically, I remember I hada project in my mind and this
vision, I mean.
(04:25):
It definitely felt out of reach, but instead of pre-bracing for
it not to work out, I leanedinto full hope that this or
something better was going toadvance.
It wasn't fake positivity, itwas genuine excitement paired
with real action.
Right, we can live in our mindsin the excitement too.
(04:46):
Right, action is the key tomoving things forward.
And guess what happened?
The opportunity that came fromit was bigger and better than
anything I could have planned,not because I manifested it
perfectly, but because I stayedavailable to the full experience
and I showed up with energythat people could feel.
(05:08):
You may have experienced thiswhere you have an idea or you
have an event that you're goingto be spending time at, and you
can walk into a room and you'relike in any kind of different
energy.
But something happens when youare in the energy of possibility
(05:31):
, it's like something inside ofyou lights up, that attracts
people to want to connect withyou that otherwise would not
happen.
And this is kind of like whathappened for me, and it tends to
happen a lot for me.
I also know those times where wejust we put out those vibes.
We all have our days right whenwe just we have to go out and
(05:52):
do something.
Let's say, we're in ourcommunity and we have to run
into the store quickly and wejust we're in one of those moods
where we need to be toourselves.
We have to get back.
We're really feeling likelaying low that day.
We don't want to bump intoanyone, we know, so we don't get
pulled into a conversation.
We don't get pulled into aconversation, and so you kind of
walk in and you have that vibelike, okay, like I'm focused,
(06:13):
nobody talked to me, like it'snot that you're unkind, but you
have that vibe right.
And you just know there'scertain people, okay, I think
they want to be on their own andhave their own space.
Right now, we have the abilityto direct our energy any which
way, and so I want to remind youof that.
We do have some power in thisarea.
And now what I've noticed isthere is a nuance to all of this
(06:36):
, like everything right and I'mnot talking about a naive hope,
right, I'm thinking about ahealthy hope versus detached
dreams.
I'm not just saying just bepositive and expect everything
to go your way.
You're way too experienced forthat advice.
What I'm talking about isallowing yourself to want what
(07:00):
you want, while also trustingyourself enough to handle
whatever comes next.
It's hope rooted inself-leadership.
There are those times where wesay I really want this thing and
we get those feelings inside ofus of what's possible and it
(07:20):
almost feels too big.
Can we hold this?
Can we be trusted with movingforward with this?
That's why I say we need totrust ourself to handle whatever
comes next.
Sometimes that might be thepiece that's missing.
We want the thing, we're readyto take the action, we're
completely capable, but we don'ttrust ourselves.
Maybe for this unknown of whatit could mean in our lives.
(07:42):
Will I be able to fulfill onwhat I say I'm gonna do?
Am I gonna let people down?
I don't know.
And fulfill on what I say I'mgoing to do?
Am I going to let people down?
I don't know.
And guess what?
The only way we can actuallyknow if we can trust ourself is
by taking a step into it.
It can feel scary.
One of my favorite examples ofthis was a time when something I
really wanted a big speakingopportunity didn't pan out.
(08:05):
At first it stung a bit, asthese things sometimes do, but
because I didn't make it meananything about my worth or my
future, I stayed open and withina month, an even better
opportunity landed in my lap,one that was far more aligned
with the direction I wanted totake, my brand, and it's not
(08:27):
that I let go of hoping for whatI wanted, it's just I stayed
flexible in how I could show up.
And when we move in this way,we realize that we are the
safety net.
Right, you are the safety net,you are the strategy, you are
the momentum.
It's all about you, in thissense, with your dreams.
(08:50):
And what about them, thosedreams of yours?
They are not a liability, theyare a portal into your next
evolution.
It's like taking steps forwardin this idea of possibility,
allowing yourself to get excitedabout it.
It's a whole other level ofgrowth.
(09:10):
That is very different, I willsay, than where I started out in
the business world, where let'sset our concrete goals and
there's a pathway, and it feltvery locked in and linear.
And I realize even businessplans will change over time.
But when you add that energeticlayer to it of your hopes and
(09:34):
your dreams and having a littlebit of playful action in there
as well, it does help you bemore flexible and creative and
open to other possibilities.
In fact, you start to see otherpossibilities more readily when
you have that openness.
(09:54):
So here is the reflection that Iwant to leave you with today?
Where have you been dampeningyour excitement out of fear of
disappointment?
What would it feel like toallow yourself to get your hopes
up again, trusting that you'llhave your own back no matter
what happens?
Because here is what I havefound, and I believe this could
(10:20):
be some kind of a law of life,right?
Energy naturally rises andfalls.
Energy naturally rises andfalls.
We are seasonal beings livingin a cyclical world.
You can't stay guarded foreverand expect full growth.
Hope really isn't reckless.
It is vital.
(10:41):
It's what keeps your life, yourcreativity, your life force
expanding and everything elsethat you do your relationships,
your business, your wellbeingHope.
Hope is the thing that gets usout of bed in the morning.
Hope is the thing that lets usstart again, try again, pick up
(11:15):
the phone and make another call,send another email.
That is hope.
And so, to wrap this up, hope isnot something that we outgrow,
it's not something just forchildren.
It's something we grow into,actually, and as we age.
It's about deeper, wiser andstronger hope.
It is like building your faithmuscle.
I think faith and hope are sointerconnected and the only way
they get stronger is when wepractice them.
(11:36):
We need to practice faith.
We need to practice hope.
It needs to be something everysingle day that we're working on
.
And if today's conversationabout this resonated with you
and you want to reconnect withthat energy of dreaming boldly
and feeling grounded, be sure tograb your access to the
(11:57):
embodied success method,meditation.
It is a beautiful, easystarting point to start
anchoring back into your nextseason of success, and doing it
from a really authentic placeinside of yourself, tuning out
all of the noise and all of theother ways of doing things, and
allows you to get playful andcreative with yourself.
(12:17):
The link for it is in the shownotes, so go check it out.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me.
I can't wait to hear what opensup for you after today's
episode and after practicingsome of these things and having
this reflection that I sharedwith you today.
So thank you for listening,have a beautiful rest of your
week and I'll see you on anotherepisode.
Big blessings.
Most of the biggest wins I've experienced personally and
professionally came when Ididn't temper my expectations.
Today, I'm sharing how allowingyourself to hope fully, without
clinging to a specific outcome,will put you at an advantage
that most people miss.
We'll unpack why guarding yourdreams isn't protecting you.
What healthy hope looks likeand a reflection practice that
(00:22):
you can use today hope lookslike and a reflection practice
that you can use today.
Imagine leading your next bigidea full of energy, without
feeling like you have to dimyour excitement just to be
realistic.
Hi, welcome to the Connect withSheila Botelho podcast.
I'm committed to helping youreconnect to your purpose,
elevate your wellbeing and buildyour version of a happy,
(00:43):
successful life.
Your wellbeing and build yourversion of a happy, successful
life.
It's so good to be with youhere today, and today's episode
is a real-time reflection as westep into Q2 of 2025.
Now, on the episode prior tothis one, the mini-sode, we
talked about checking in withwhere you're at and honoring
(01:04):
your inner seasons, so if youmissed it, definitely go back
and listen after this one.
It'll add an extra layer ofgrounding to what we're talking
about today.
Because here I want to gentlychallenge something that many of
us, especially seasoned,successful people business
owners, entrepreneurs haveinternalized without even
(01:27):
realizing it, and that is theidea that we, more often than
not, need to lower ourexpectations or brace ourselves
before dreaming too big.
I remember one of the firsttimes I got really excited about
a new opportunity.
It was early in myentrepreneurial journey and it
(01:49):
was the kind of thing whereevery cell in your body lights
up and almost immediatelysomeone close to me said that
sounds really great, but just berealistic, you don't want to
get your hopes up.
And it came from love it almostcomes from love right In a
place where people want us tofeel safe.
However, I didn't reallyappreciate hearing that, because
(02:14):
it kind of took the wind out ofmy sails.
I mean, it's true that thepeople around us don't want to
see us hurt or disappointed, butwhat I didn't realize at the
time is how moments like thatstart weaving into the fabric of
how we move through the world.
Over time, I noticed I wouldget less and less animated about
(02:35):
opportunities.
I'd catch myself saying thingslike oh, we'll see what happens
instead of I'm so excited aboutthis and I'm going to work on
moving this forward.
It was a quiet, slowcontraction and for many of us,
especially those of us who arethe people who are running after
(02:56):
things in certain directions inour circles, it became the way
we protected ourselves.
So here's the thing when welearn to temper our expectations
as a way of life, we don't justavoid disappointment, we also
avoid fully living, and Ibelieve that dreaming is the
(03:18):
thing that comes first before weactually step into something
new.
Dreaming of the possibilitiesis often the place where really
cool ideas come from, andadvancements and really having
everybody's imaginations workingat full capacity.
It needs to start with a dream,and so what I started noticing
(03:43):
was when I dimmed my excitementin advance.
I also dimmed my energy, mymagnetism and my belief in
what's possible.
And the things that requireboldness, like launching new
things, creating something fromscratch in your brain, pitching
a collaboration, making a bigmove.
(04:05):
They need your full energybehind them, not the
half-hearted oh let's not getour hopes up type of version,
and one time I allowed myself tothrow that rule out the window.
Specifically, I remember I hada project in my mind and this
vision, I mean.
(04:25):
It definitely felt out of reach, but instead of pre-bracing for
it not to work out, I leanedinto full hope that this or
something better was going toadvance.
It wasn't fake positivity, itwas genuine excitement paired
with real action.
Right, we can live in our mindsin the excitement too.
(04:46):
Right, action is the key tomoving things forward.
And guess what happened?
The opportunity that came fromit was bigger and better than
anything I could have planned,not because I manifested it
perfectly, but because I stayedavailable to the full experience
and I showed up with energythat people could feel.
(05:08):
You may have experienced thiswhere you have an idea or you
have an event that you're goingto be spending time at, and you
can walk into a room and you'relike in any kind of different
energy.
But something happens when youare in the energy of possibility
(05:31):
, it's like something inside ofyou lights up, that attracts
people to want to connect withyou that otherwise would not
happen.
And this is kind of like whathappened for me, and it tends to
happen a lot for me.
I also know those times where wejust we put out those vibes.
We all have our days right whenwe just we have to go out and
(05:52):
do something.
Let's say, we're in ourcommunity and we have to run
into the store quickly and wejust we're in one of those moods
where we need to be toourselves.
We have to get back.
We're really feeling likelaying low that day.
We don't want to bump intoanyone, we know, so we don't get
pulled into a conversation.
We don't get pulled into aconversation, and so you kind of
walk in and you have that vibelike, okay, like I'm focused,
(06:13):
nobody talked to me, like it'snot that you're unkind, but you
have that vibe right.
And you just know there'scertain people, okay, I think
they want to be on their own andhave their own space.
Right now, we have the abilityto direct our energy any which
way, and so I want to remind youof that.
We do have some power in thisarea.
And now what I've noticed isthere is a nuance to all of this
(06:36):
, like everything right and I'mnot talking about a naive hope,
right, I'm thinking about ahealthy hope versus detached
dreams.
I'm not just saying just bepositive and expect everything
to go your way.
You're way too experienced forthat advice.
What I'm talking about isallowing yourself to want what
(07:00):
you want, while also trustingyourself enough to handle
whatever comes next.
It's hope rooted inself-leadership.
There are those times where wesay I really want this thing and
we get those feelings inside ofus of what's possible and it
(07:20):
almost feels too big.
Can we hold this?
Can we be trusted with movingforward with this?
That's why I say we need totrust ourself to handle whatever
comes next.
Sometimes that might be thepiece that's missing.
We want the thing, we're readyto take the action, we're
completely capable, but we don'ttrust ourselves.
Maybe for this unknown of whatit could mean in our lives.
(07:42):
Will I be able to fulfill onwhat I say I'm gonna do?
Am I gonna let people down?
I don't know.
And fulfill on what I say I'mgoing to do?
Am I going to let people down?
I don't know.
And guess what?
The only way we can actuallyknow if we can trust ourself is
by taking a step into it.
It can feel scary.
One of my favorite examples ofthis was a time when something I
really wanted a big speakingopportunity didn't pan out.
(08:05):
At first it stung a bit, asthese things sometimes do, but
because I didn't make it meananything about my worth or my
future, I stayed open and withina month, an even better
opportunity landed in my lap,one that was far more aligned
with the direction I wanted totake, my brand, and it's not
(08:27):
that I let go of hoping for whatI wanted, it's just I stayed
flexible in how I could show up.
And when we move in this way,we realize that we are the
safety net.
Right, you are the safety net,you are the strategy, you are
the momentum.
It's all about you, in thissense, with your dreams.
(08:50):
And what about them, thosedreams of yours?
They are not a liability, theyare a portal into your next
evolution.
It's like taking steps forwardin this idea of possibility,
allowing yourself to get excitedabout it.
It's a whole other level ofgrowth.
(09:10):
That is very different, I willsay, than where I started out in
the business world, where let'sset our concrete goals and
there's a pathway, and it feltvery locked in and linear.
And I realize even businessplans will change over time.
But when you add that energeticlayer to it of your hopes and
(09:34):
your dreams and having a littlebit of playful action in there
as well, it does help you bemore flexible and creative and
open to other possibilities.
In fact, you start to see otherpossibilities more readily when
you have that openness.
(09:54):
So here is the reflection that Iwant to leave you with today?
Where have you been dampeningyour excitement out of fear of
disappointment?
What would it feel like toallow yourself to get your hopes
up again, trusting that you'llhave your own back no matter
what happens?
Because here is what I havefound, and I believe this could
(10:20):
be some kind of a law of life,right?
Energy naturally rises andfalls.
Energy naturally rises andfalls.
We are seasonal beings livingin a cyclical world.
You can't stay guarded foreverand expect full growth.
Hope really isn't reckless.
It is vital.
(10:41):
It's what keeps your life, yourcreativity, your life force
expanding and everything elsethat you do your relationships,
your business, your wellbeingHope.
Hope is the thing that gets usout of bed in the morning.
Hope is the thing that lets usstart again, try again, pick up
(11:15):
the phone and make another call,send another email.
That is hope.
And so, to wrap this up, hope isnot something that we outgrow,
it's not something just forchildren.
It's something we grow into,actually, and as we age.
It's about deeper, wiser andstronger hope.
It is like building your faithmuscle.
I think faith and hope are sointerconnected and the only way
they get stronger is when wepractice them.
(11:36):
We need to practice faith.
We need to practice hope.
It needs to be something everysingle day that we're working on
.
And if today's conversationabout this resonated with you
and you want to reconnect withthat energy of dreaming boldly
and feeling grounded, be sure tograb your access to the
(11:57):
embodied success method,meditation.
It is a beautiful, easystarting point to start
anchoring back into your nextseason of success, and doing it
from a really authentic placeinside of yourself, tuning out
all of the noise and all of theother ways of doing things, and
allows you to get playful andcreative with yourself.
(12:17):
The link for it is in the shownotes, so go check it out.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me.
I can't wait to hear what opensup for you after today's
episode and after practicingsome of these things and having
this reflection that I sharedwith you today.
So thank you for listening,have a beautiful rest of your
week and I'll see you on anotherepisode.
Big blessings.
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