Write Your Life Forward

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If you've been in your head, trying to figure it all out and quietly wondering if there’s more...

This episode is a simple, honest invitation to get out of the mental noise and start leading your life from the inside out using a tool you already have.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected, may this be a reminder that you’re not powerless and give you a different way to think about your next move.

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Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isdifferently.
Hey, if you've been in your headlately trying to figure
something out, today's episodeis for you.

(00:21):
Maybe you find yourself spinningyour wheels, unsure of your next
step, stuck in transitionssomewhere in your life.
Aren't we always doing thissomewhere in our life, whether
it's our business orrelationships, or just the
conversation in our own head?
And if you've started to believethat the negative talk in your

(00:42):
head is just the way it is, maythis be a reminder that you have
creative agency in your life.
You were made in the image ofGod, the ultimate creator, which
means you are creative.
And it begins with yourthoughts.
And what I've found after 20years of doing this work is that

(01:04):
writing is one of the mostpowerful ways to manage and lead
your thoughts differently.
And when you do that, everythingstarts to change.
If you're new here to thepodcast, welcome.
I'm Carla Reeves.
I'm a wife.
I've been married 25 years.
I'm a mom.
I have two adult sons.

(01:26):
And I'm on a mission, have beenon a mission to squeeze the
juice out of this gift of life.
But that wasn't always how Ifelt for a long time in my life.
I felt powerless and at themercy of my circumstances.
And it sucked, to be honest.
I was doing all the things,working so hard with the best of

(01:47):
intentions, checking the boxesand trying harder to be better,
to be more productive, to workharder, to get more efficient,
kind of uh holding on to thatsomeday illusion that things
would get better as long as Ilined them all up on the outside
to be just right.
But it wasn't getting me closerto the life that I knew was

(02:10):
possible.
About 20 years ago, God calledme to write, to start paying
attention to my thoughts andgetting honest about what was
going on inside of me.
It took my focus from theoutside and turned it inside to
my inner life, my thinking, mybeliefs, my perspective.
And as I started to takeownership of those things and

(02:31):
clean those things up andcultivate those things,
everything started to change onthe outside.
Not all at once, but I realizedthat I had been looking to the
external world to make mefulfilled.
And the real work was learninghow to lead my inner life.
So this podcast is a space whereI want to remind you of that

(02:55):
every single week that you'renot stuck, you're not powerless,
you're not at the mercy of yourown thoughts.
And you have say, you have aninvitation to take part of how
your life unfolds.
And here's the cool thing thatthere is a tool that you already
have access to that lives inyour back pocket literally, that

(03:18):
could calm your mind, get youclear, and help you move forward
on the daily.
It's writing.
And it's not what you think.
It's not about being a writer,it's not about knowing how to
write, it's not about journalingperfectly.
It's really about getting out ofyour head and getting some

(03:40):
distance from your thoughts sothat you, they don't run you,
that you lead them.
Because here's what I see overand over again: is that we are
overwhelmed.
We are stuck in our head, we arespinning in the same thoughts.
We feel like something ismissing.
We know there's more.
I know that you know in yourheart that there is more to

(04:03):
life, but you just feel like youcan't quite get there.
I felt that way too.
There might feel like there'sjust a lot of mental noise and
friction inside.
Like your life looks good on theoutside, but inside there's a
disconnect.
There's a lot of second guessingand wondering like, what am I

(04:23):
doing with my life?
And a longing to not miss out onone more day of really deeply
experiencing this gift of lifethat you have.
And maybe the more you try tothink your way out of it, the
more stuck you feel.
You are not alone, my friend.
Here's the thing writinginterrupts that.

(04:44):
We literally just did that thismorning in the free class.
I hope I host every month.
And I hope that you will join meone of these months coming up.
You can go to the website andsee the upcoming class.
Writing interrupts that, andthat's what we do every month.
It creates space, it helps youto step back so that you can see

(05:06):
what's actually going on.
Because when you're too close tosomething, everything gets
jumbled and distorted and feelsproportionately scarier, bigger,
more overwhelming than itactually is.
And three to ten minutes ofwriting can give you perspective

(05:27):
that you didn't have.
So, what does this look like?
You can write through overwhelm.
You can write through spinningyour wheels, you can write
through being stuck in yourhead, you can write through
fear, doubt, and confusion.
You can write to process whatbuilds up just in a given day in

(05:48):
your thoughts and your emotions.
You can write your way to yournext step.
You grab a notebook and you gethonest.
Right now in my own life, I'mwriting through so many things.
I'm writing through a new seasonof um having an empty nest and
having adult sons who arenavigating their own hard

(06:09):
things.
Um, my family rhythms arechanging.
My husband and I are on a newjourney because we've spent most
of our time, he and I.
There's some loneliness, butthere's some excitement about
what we're creating now in ourlife.
There's an exploring of what'snext.
There's a lot happening in thebusiness and an invitation to

(06:33):
like step into a bigger versionof what I've been doing.
I'm writing my way through that.
And I'm writing my way to figureout who I'm called to be in the
face of this and this and thisand this.
Because we don't always controlwhat is happening in our lives.

(06:53):
I want to remind you that we doalways have say in how we think
about it and how we show up toit.
And that can change everything.
I don't know about you, but theworld feels really noisy.
It seems to be getting extrahard to look around and find a
moral compass.

(07:14):
And I was just reminding acouple friends this last week as
they're navigating hard thingsthat they, you know, they're
maybe feeling overwhelmed bywhat others are thinking about
their choices or their opinionsof what they're doing.
And I had to remind them onlyyou can see your compass.

(07:34):
Only you can hear what God issaying to you.
And it's always super unique toeach of us.
We all are on a spiritualjourney, and you have to take
ownership over that part of yourjourney.
And sometimes that's hard.
Sometimes it's hard to make achoice that you know inside is

(07:55):
the right thing, but to theworld and to people around you,
it may look odd.
So instead of trying to figureeverything out, what if you
started with just a simplepractice where you check in with
yourself?
You take five minutes, literallyin the free class.
We write for between three toten minutes every class, and you

(08:18):
your mind would be blown aroundwhat happens in that three to
ten minutes for people.
It doesn't have to take a lot oftime, and that writing lets you
empty your head, remember whoyou are, remember what you're up
to, and find a next step.
You don't need the whole plan.
And the lies that come up tokeep us from doing this

(08:40):
nurturing, healthy um practicein your life, those are things
probably like I don't have time,I don't like writing, I don't
know what to write, I'm afraidof what I might find.
But what if those are justthings that are really getting
in your way and excusing youfrom the life you actually want?
So, what if you stood up in theface of those and borrow what I

(09:04):
know is that three to 10 minutescan be life-changing or day
changing.
There's nothing more you need tofigure out first.
You just need to take fiveminutes.
This is why I've created over250 episodes to share this
message that you have agency inyour life that you don't realize
you have.

(09:25):
And one of the ways you can findit is through putting pen to
paper.
It'll give you a place to comeback and reset, to remember, to
think differently, and to keepmoving forward.
So here's what I want to inviteyou to do today: grab a
notebook, ask yourself what'staking up space in your head
right now.
Write it out.

(09:46):
You don't have to edit it, youdon't have to fix it.
Then just stand back and saywhat is calling for my attention
and what's one step I could taketoday.
If this resonates with you, Iwant to remind you that the
Differently Journal isavailable.
It's a guide and a journal tohelp you do just this on a more

(10:07):
regular daily practice in yourlife.
You can come to the free monthlyclass, bring that journal to the
class.
It will inspire you to getstarted.
It'll inspire you to fill up thepages, and it'll reinforce the
framework that you can not onlyuse in your journal, but you can
use it in your life to literallytake part in writing your story.

(10:30):
And if you know someone who isspinning their wheels or going
through the motions or quietlywanting more, send this to them,
please.
Throw them a lifeline.
Friend, you are not here tosurvive your life.
You're here to create it.
One thought, one page, one stepat a time.