August 31, 2025 • 29 mins
What drives your choices, fear or truth? In this episode of Rooted & Rising, we explore how to recognize when you’re reacting from survival mode versus when you’re making aligned choices rooted in your deepest truth.
I share personal stories, like saying yes to a “safe” high-paying job that felt heavy in my gut, or stepping away from a relationship that was deeply right for me, moments where survival won out over intuition. These missteps taught me the power of listening to that inner voice, the wisdom within each of us that guides us toward authentic living.
You’ll also hear the unforgettable lioness metaphor that reshaped my perspective: a lion at the Oakland Zoo followed her instinct to climb into new territory, only to freeze in fear once she got there. How often do we do the same; awaken to our truth, but then get stuck in fear of the unfamiliar?
In this transformative conversation, I share four powerful tools to shift from reaction to intention:
- Pausing before reacting when urgency or defensiveness arises
- Asking your body where a choice lives; tight and anxious, or open and clear?
- Reframing fear-based “what if” questions into possibility-based ones
- Giving yourself permission to choose differently than before
Your body knows the difference between survival-based choices and truth-based ones. When you pause and tune in, you’ll feel it, the heaviness of fear versus the lightness of alignment. This awareness creates freedom, empowerment, and transformation.
✨ In this episode, you’ll discover:
- How to stop reacting from survival mode and start choosing from intuition
- Practical decision-making tools for alignment and clarity
- Mindset shifts to help you trust yourself and your inner knowing
- Journaling prompts to move from fear-based choices into empowered living
I invite you to reflect: Where might you be choosing from fear right now? And what small, intentional shift could you make this week to step into alignment?
Remember, you are never powerless, every choice is an opportunity to root deeper into truth and rise higher into your fullest self.
Looking for confirmation, guidance, or support in an area of life where you feel stuck, stagnant, or simply unclear of what to do next? Let's connect: book a complimentary Discovery Session with me, today!
Book a 30-min Discovery Session Here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In today's episode of Rooted in Rising, we're going
to dive into the power of choice, how you can shift from
reacting out of survival tomaking choices rooted in your
deepest truth.
Here we go.
Welcome to Rooted in Rising.
I'm your host, tara Michelle,intuitive guide, storyteller and
fellow traveler on this wildpath of becoming.
(00:20):
This is a space for thesoul-led, for the ones
unraveling old stories, tendingto their healing and rising, not
perfectly but powerfully, intowho they are here to be.
Here we explore what it meansto live with intention, to love
with depth and to trust thateven the hard things are shaping
us.
I'll share pieces of my ownjourney, the cracks, the beauty,
(00:43):
the breakthroughs, and invitevoices who are walking this path
too, because I believe lifeisn't happening to us, it's
happening for us.
So come as you are, root in andrise up, and thank you truly,
thank you, for being here.
Welcome back to Rooted inRising.
I'm Tara Michelle, your host ofthe show.
(01:04):
I'm so glad you're here with ustoday.
This podcast is a space wherewe explore what it means to root
deeper into our truth and torise into our fullest
self-expression.
And so last episode, I left youwith two questions, and I'm
curious how many of you took thetime?
Those of you who have beenlistening, but I'm curious if
(01:24):
you took the took the time,those of you who have been
listening, but I'm curious ifyou took the time to reflect on
those two questions.
And the first one was wherehave you been true to yourself
and what actions this is thenext question what actions did
you take to step into yourbiggest, broadest self?
I hope you took the time andthe moment to reflect, because
(01:46):
those little moments ofawareness are really what it
takes to transform ourselvesfrom the inside out.
And it's taking those momentsof you know, doing that
self-reflection and doing thatmaybe we could call it
self-collection, right, likeyou're collecting evidence for
yourself of really seeing, ofthe steps that you're taking to
(02:08):
make those changes within youand to grow.
So I know I took that on aswell and I recently launched a
new business.
It's a business out of passion.
It's called Sold Spaces andthat's S-O-U-L-D Spaces and you
can find it at soldspacescom.
(02:29):
And it's an energy alignmentopportunity that I work with
realtors.
When I'm working with realtors,buyers and sellers, assisting
them in aligning theirproperties to move for a
smoother transaction, easiersale, but really to remove any
blocks, resistance orhesitations that are showing up
(02:49):
inside of the selling process aswell as the buying process.
So that's something I recentlyjust launched and it's very
exciting.
But every day I'm having to askmyself where am I being true to
myself in the area of my careerand what steps have I taken to
step into my biggest, broadestself?
(03:09):
And the steps that I'm takingis really putting myself out
there and launching this forreal, and it is moving.
But there are things that Ihave to do that are very
uncomfortable for me to do Gointo new spaces and talking to
stagers and, you know, notreally understanding that
industry.
Going out and pitching myselfto realtors, going and dropping
(03:32):
in on open houses and givingthem my flyers, or just randomly
cold calling people and saying,hey, by the way, this is
something that I do, you knowit's.
It's taken something for me tostay on track and get my name
out there and really push myselfto step into the truth of who I
am, which is somebody who lovesworking with energy, who loves
(03:54):
working with people.
I have a deep passion for realestate, always have and might've
talked about that in episodesprevious, but you know, those
questions really assisted methis week because I had to keep
asking myself where am I stayingtrue to myself and what have I
done today?
What have I done today to movethat needle, to step more
(04:14):
courageously into the truth ofwho I am?
So I invite all of you, if youdidn't take that on last week,
try it this week, because itreally allows you to see the
growth within yourself and itallows you to push against
barriers or resistance withinyourself.
That just doesn't serve youanymore.
It just doesn't serve youbecause, remember, this life is
(04:35):
happening for you.
It's not happening to you, it'shappening for you, and at every
second you have choice in thematter, and that is what we're
going to talk about.
So I actually want to kind ofsegue into what we're talking
about, because today we'rediving into something that
really touches every single oneof us, and that is the power of
choice.
(04:56):
Specifically, what I'd like tofocus on today is the difference
between making choices rootedin your truth versus choices
reacting out of survival.
Okay, one of the things that Itell my son all the time, part
of his existence here, one ofthe very core pieces, is to
(05:17):
master choice, because in everypart of your life, every day is
a choice.
Every day, every single day, wemake dozens of choices.
Some of them are small, likewhat do I eat or how do I
respond to this text message.
Others can be much bigger, likewhether to stay in a job or not
, whether or not to move cities,move houses, or whether or not
(05:42):
to even speak your truth insideof a relationship that you're in
.
But beneath every choice is anenergy right, and that energy is
either rooted in your truth orit's rooted in a survival mode.
And when I talk about survivalmode, it's when we choose from
(06:04):
fear or we choose from that partof us that just wants to stay
safe.
Does that sound familiar to anyof you?
Like, are you choosing from aplace of power and alignment and
truth, or is it coming fromsurvival?
What you know, that you know,and often what you know that you
(06:25):
know that is not the best foryou, but it's safe, it's
comfortable, it feels like awarm, cozy blanket and you just
pull it over yourself and thenyou're like damn it, I did it
again.
I made that choice I knew Ishould have made, right?
I'm going to talk about a timenot that long ago where I had
(06:46):
the choice between two jobs.
Okay, this was actually latelast year in November.
I had the choice between twoopportunities and, looking at
them on paper, there was anobvious one.
It had the larger base salary.
It felt like security because Iwas moving over there with
(07:10):
people from the previous companyand it felt like the safe box
to check, given that I'm asingle mom and survival mode
often is sounding off like analarm in my brain all the time.
And so the flip side of thatwas there was this other role.
The base wasn't as high, butthe opportunity was there to
(07:35):
make probably equal to, if notmore, money.
The thing about the other job isthat the culture and the people
were so on point and theinterview process was amazing,
and when I really look back tothis time, it felt so right in
(07:59):
my gut.
It felt so right.
But because it wasn'teverything on paper and it was a
really hard decision to make, Ideliberated and went back and
forth and hemmed and hawedbecause I knew in my gut what my
gut was saying.
(08:19):
However, the take it, don'trisk.
It was actually stronger.
I need the stability.
Just take the bigger money,take the bigger paycheck, all
the things.
I was also told that, oh yeah,the territory is making X amount
(08:40):
a month.
So then I figured out thenumbers.
I was like, okay, I'mguaranteed I know what I'm going
to make here and I'm going tobe able to thrive.
But deep down my gut waswhispering go the other
direction.
Now, I didn't, didn't do thatand even though going with this
(09:04):
other company larger salarydidn't feel aligned, I knew I
was choosing out of fear and notfaith.
Actually, I'm going to say thishindsight, 2020.
Now I look back and I think Itotally was operating from fear,
because survival can be reallyconvincing.
(09:27):
Right, survival can feel veryconvincing.
It can feel like well, I knowpeople, I got this, like this is
safe, I know what I'm doing,I'll be able to move my accounts
over.
No, it's going to be it's.
It's going to be seamless,because it was me leaving one
company to go to the competitorand I was just going to move
everything over.
And I'm going to tell yousomething funny it didn't work
(09:50):
like that and a lot of thethings that I was told weren't
actually what was happening andwhat that decision taught me,
because that other role wasgoing to be a brand new role.
I was going to have to ramp up.
I was going to be learning anew product, a new product, but
(10:21):
what that decision taught me wasto never ignore my gut, ever
again.
I had another similar situationin romantic relationship same
thing.
As a result, I made a choiceout of survival, protecting
myself, only to then, withinweeks, go back and say I think I
made the wrong choice and I'msorry.
(10:42):
And the way I chose to moveaway from this was not in
integrity with who you are orwith me.
Thank you for the opportunityand the learning experience.
And I just wanted to say Iapologize.
Well, I'm really lucky andblessed because that man then, a
(11:02):
couple of weeks after that,came back and was like you know,
we had a really greatconnection and your apology was
really humble and I'd like toexplore this again.
And now I'm in an amazingrelationship Can I just say,
hands down, amazing.
And on the day that I haddecided I was going to break it
off, I knew in my gut, like whatare you doing?
(11:26):
I kept hearing my gut whisper.
Like my heart and my gut werelike this is the wrong choice,
tara, you're making the wrongchoice.
I was like no, no, I know whatI'm doing.
Nope, I know what I'm doing,I'm not going to do this, I'm
going to do something different.
Nope, no.
Only to learn like that was thewrong choice.
Now, again, I feel very luckyand blessed because he came back
(11:51):
and was like, hey.
And again I feel very lucky andblessed because he came back
and was like, hey, let's trythis one more time.
And you know, maybe a part ofme needed that too.
There was something about when Iwas looking at the jobs could
see me.
I felt valued, I felt heard, Ifelt really truly seen and I
(12:18):
felt connected with these people.
But I wasn't having faith inmyself and I wasn't trusting
because what seemed safer wassame product move accounts over,
moved accounts over, going withpeople.
I know trusting those people, Iknow bigger base salary, much
(12:42):
bigger base salary, everythingwill work out.
You know everything will workout.
It felt safe, it was the safething to do and in hindsight, it
was not the right thing to do.
So I share those storiesbecause you really can hopefully
see that every day, every day,you're making a choice and that
(13:07):
decision I'm going to say.
Both those decisions taught meso much and it also showed me
how heavy it feels when you sayyes from fear.
I want you to really root intothat and feel that, how heavy
life feels when you root fromfear.
And you know it gave me clarity.
Those experiences gave meclarity to start asking myself
(13:34):
what would it look like tochoose from truth and courage
instead Like?
What would it look like to rootinto my truth and trust and
then rise?
What would open up?
What blessings show up when youroot in that truth and stop
(13:54):
operating from fear?
Comfort and survival mode.
And the reason why I saycomfort, because obviously you
want to be in a good situationand you want to feel comfortable
, right, you want to feel safeand protected in your good
situation, whatever that choiceis, whatever the good choice was
.
But what I'm saying is that weget very comfortable in that
(14:16):
survival mode and what we knowit's like well, I know that,
it's familiar.
It's like when you go back tothe battered relationship well,
I know that or the abuse of likeyou'll see people that
constantly go back and back andback into abusive situations.
It's because it's what theyknow and to go outside of that
feels really scary.
Here's another strange examplethat I will give, but it's one
(14:39):
that I have never forgotten.
So many years ago, I worked atthe Oakland Zoo as a vet tech
assistant.
I was a volunteer there forabout two years and there was
this very wild experience.
I look back and it was such aperfect metaphor.
Okay, one of the female lionsgot out, she climbed over the
(15:00):
fence and got into the bisonenclosure, which was acres and
acres and acres of land, so thelions themselves had a fairly
large enclosure, but it wasnothing like what the bisons had
.
And, of course, those bisonswere looking pretty good to her
that day.
For whatever reason, she youknow she's a freaking lion.
Okay, so she's feeling likethat looks good over there.
(15:23):
I think I'm going to hunt itdown.
She got ballsy, climbed up thefence, went over there, and the
moment she got over there shewas terrified, terrified,
panicked, freaked out, didn'ttouch the bison at all, just was
(15:44):
aware that where she was wasnew ground, new territory and
super unfamiliar.
So what do we do as thezookeepers?
You know, we all go and get her, make sure the bison are okay
and they're not being hunteddown.
But that was a perfect metaphorbecause in this moment she was
awakened by her truth.
(16:04):
Right, her truth is I'm afucking lion and I eat that shit
.
Okay, that was her truth.
She was awakened by it and sheresponded Right.
But then when she got overthere, it was so uncomfortable,
she panicked and she didn't knowwhat to do.
(16:26):
And that's often what we do,and so often we will go back to
making those choices that weknow, that are safe, that are
comfortable, that we understand,and so I guess I'm saying, hey,
go be the lion, the lioness,the lion, whatever.
We're going to talk about thatnext here.
(16:46):
What I want to do is I want tosegue into this next part, but I
really love this example of thelioness because it just speaks
volumes to when we're rooting intruth versus when, all of a
sudden, you know, we get intothis new space and we start
operating from fear.
Right, so she operated fromfear rather than stepping into
(17:08):
her courageous self and thenjust going after and attacking
in a bison which probably wouldhave been a worse scene,
honestly, at a zoo, okay, but soprobably, luckily for us, it
was a good thing that she did dothat, but it's, it was a great
metaphor to really examine, youknow, because every second of
the day you have a choice.
So I want to step into thisother piece.
(17:31):
You know I don't want to gettoo deep into my little stories
here, but I also want to say howdo we actually do this in our
everyday lives?
How do we do it?
How do we notice when we'rewhen we are reacting versus
being rooted in our truth?
Here are a few things that thathave helped me along the way,
(17:52):
when I recognize this for myself, because it is a practice, for
sure, and, like I said to my son, every day of your life is
mastering choice.
It really is so number onepausing before reacting and
pausing before you make thatchoice.
And, by the way, I want to sayhands down to those people who
(18:13):
are really good at this, becauseI know a lot of people who are
really good at this.
I've I'm one that has topractice at this, but I know a
lot of people that are very good.
They don't make choices out ofsurvival at all.
They're deliberate, they'rethoughtful, they think about
shit.
And then there's me.
I'm like I'll do it.
So for those that are reallygood at it, I just hands down
kudos to you, but one you pausebefore reacting.
(18:37):
I know for myself if I feelurgency.
Another good trigger for me isdefensiveness.
If I feel defensiveness or fear, like I start getting that
panic, that panic that ensues,that's usually a sign for me to
recognize I'm about to operatefrom survival right now, and so
that might be something that youcan look at for yourself and
(18:58):
what you want to do in thosemoments.
What I like to do is I breatheinto it.
You know, and one of the thingsI learned from Dave Ramsey
anybody out there listening toDave Ramsey, he's amazing is,
like you know those big ticketitems you want to buy.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it before you hit thesend button, sleep on it before
you pick up the phone and call.
Sleep on it.
(19:19):
Take a breath, take a pause andrecognize where is this sitting
in my body right now?
Number two, which then we'regoing to segue into that Number
two ask your body, and we'regoing to segue into that.
Number two ask your bodywhere's this sitting in my body?
Where is this rooted in my body?
Is it rooted?
(19:40):
Am I feeling grounded?
It might feel expansive, Imight feel it in my chest, I
might feel it in my gut, butwhatever choice I'm about to
make, where is it in my body andhow does it feel?
Because survival will feeltight, it will feel anxious, it
(20:04):
will feel heavy, it will feelunclear, and in those moments
you are not operating from power.
So number two question ask yourbody where is this sitting in
my body?
And feel into it.
(20:24):
You could even even see whatcolor does it feel like?
Is it red, is it black, is itwhite?
How does it feel in my body?
(20:45):
Thing I like to do, number three, is reframe the question
Instead of asking what if whatI'm about to do goes wrong?
What if this is a doorway towhatever I've been asking for?
So those are some things tothink about, because if it goes
wrong, you're like, okay,because there's that already,
always thinking in your brain,like it's not going to work out
for me.
So what if it goes wrong?
Right, but what if that choiceyou make opens every door to
(21:09):
every possibility you've everdesired?
And again, that's where youhave to think about am I
operating from fear or am Ioperating from power in this
moment?
And then, number four giveyourself permission to choose
differently.
Give yourself permission to dosomething new.
Give yourself permission tomake a different choice, even if
(21:35):
you've chosen from fear before.
You always get another chance.
You always get another chancebecause choice is a muscle and
it gets stronger with practice.
And that muscle that you'repracticing is your entire body,
like tuning into your body andfeeling the truth of your body.
Am I about to operate fromsurvival or am I about to
(21:57):
operate from power?
Because power is your source,that is the source of who you
are, is your rooted truth, yourrooted power.
And it might be uncomfortable,but you'll know, because it will
be clear.
And I say never second guessthat voice within you, don't
second guess it.
Here's another perfect exampleYesterday morning I was getting
(22:22):
ready to go work with a friend,was going to do some alignment
at his commercial business, hiscommercial office.
He's a chiropractor and I wasthrowing clothes on because I
knew we were going to be movingfurniture, getting dirty and
dusty.
It was just going to be a lotof work.
So I just threw on whatever andI heard my internal voice say
you need to change.
And I was like, really why?
(22:42):
Why do I need to change likethis?
We're going to be moving shitall day because you're going to
meet somebody, is what I heard.
Heard that in my mind you'regoing to meet somebody today and
I was like okay, so what do Ithrow on that, just in case I
meet a possible connection?
And I knew that this was aboutmy career, because I was going
(23:02):
to help him with this new jobsold spaces.
I was going to cleanse, clear,align and do all the things feng
shui, all the things in hisoffice building.
So I changed and I threw on someskirt, like a long one,
comfortable one, one that I knewthat I could move.
You know some cute littlecotton top.
You know something that I knewI could get dirty and dusty, but
(23:26):
I was gonna be moving stuffaround, but at least I looked
appropriate or approachable or Idon't know.
I look decent, because before Ihad like, just like crazy, like
looking like rolled out of bedkind of thing, it's gonna show
up and start working on stuff.
And the funny thing is is thatwhen I got to his place he said
hey, by the way, I got a clientcoming in.
She's going to be here at 10o'clock and she knows you're
(23:47):
going to be here, so don't worry, just work around us.
And I was like okay, cool, shewalks in and she's like oh my
gosh, are you an organizer?
I said no.
She said, well, what do you do?
I said, oh, I energeticallyalign properties, I work with
realtors, blah, blah, blah, gogive her the whole spiel.
And she's like, can I have yourcard?
And I said, yeah, what do youdo?
She says, oh, I'm a stager andI'd love for you to come to my
(24:08):
house.
And, by the way, not only wouldI like you to come to my house,
I'd also like to bring you on acouple of consults, because I
have clients.
My inner dialogue and made adifferent choice, okay, and that
(24:28):
was powerful.
I was like, oh my God, what?
Because here I am, like tryingto build this business, and here
this woman walks in and sayswill you do my house?
And, by the way, I have clientswho need your services.
It was this magical moment, butall rooted in the power of my
(24:48):
choice and the ability to tunein and listen, listen to those
inner dialogues.
So now what I'd like you to dois I'd like for you to reflect
on some questions, just somequestions that I think would be
really helpful for this week,because we're going to like do
(25:09):
our little rooted and risecheck-ins.
So where in your life are youcurrently making choices from
fear or survival.
I really want you to thinkabout that.
Where in your life are youmaking choices from fear or
survival?
And what does your rooted truthfeel like in your body?
(25:35):
What does that feel like foryou?
Pause long enough to listen andhear for yourself?
Does that feel like for youPause long enough to listen and
hear for yourself?
And what small decision thisweek?
I don't even like the worddecision, I prefer the word
choice.
What small choice this weekcould you shift from?
(25:55):
That is, out of a reaction modeand into an intention mode?
Reaction mode and into anintention mode what choice could
you shift?
So the other thing is, if you'rejournaling about that, here's
some other prompts that you canplay with that I think are a lot
(26:17):
of fun.
You can play with somethinglike a choice I recently made
from survival was okay and itled me to feel X.
So that's a prompt that you canuse and that's a fun one.
A choice I recently made fromsurvival was X and it led me to
feel X.
Here's another one A choice Icould make from my rooted truth
(26:39):
instead would be X, and if Ifully trusted myself, I would
choose to do X.
So those are questions that youcan ask yourself this week, and
they're simple questions, butthey're powerful questions
(27:01):
because they cause you to stopand listen to the truth within
your body and it createsawareness within your body.
It creates awareness withinyour mind, it creates awareness
in your heart and it createsfreedom in the whole space of
your life.
It really does in the wholespace of your life.
(27:28):
It really does.
So I just want to say thank youto everyone for spending time
with me this week on Rooted andRising.
My hope is that you walk awayremembering that you are never
powerless.
You're never powerless in anypart of your day at all ever,
because every choice you make isan opportunity to align with
your truth.
It's an opportunity for you toroot deeper and to rise higher,
(27:49):
and that is my commitment.
That is my commitment that youallow yourself that opportunity
every day.
So, before we go, I do want togive you a little glimpse of
what's coming next week.
In our next episode, I'll beintroducing you to the
incredible leadership coach.
Her name is Vanessa Yu and herwebsite is coachvanessayucom.
(28:11):
Together, we're going to diveinto the power of core values,
and I love this topic.
You know how they shape ourleadership, how our core values
shape our lives and what itmeans to truly lead from a place
of alignment and when you'realigned with your core values.
So we'll also explore her workin Leadership, rewired like how
(28:34):
she works with people and whatthat looks like.
And it's a conversation you'renot going to want to miss.
You just won't.
You're not going to miss, youjust won't, you're not gonna
wanna miss it.
So until next week.
I wanna thank all of you forlistening, share this episode
with a friend who may need thereminder and, if you feel called
, leave a review, please.
It helps, rooted in Rising, toreach more hearts.
(28:55):
So stay rooted, stay rooted inyour truth, keep rising and I
can't wait to see you on thenext episode.
Have an amazing rest of yourcouple of weeks and we'll see
you soon.
Take care.
Thank you for rooting in andrising with me today.
If something in this episodestirred something in you, take a
breath, take what you need andlet the rest soften.
Be sure to follow the show soyou don't miss what's next and,
(29:18):
if you feel called, share thisepisode or leave a review.
And, if you feel called, sharethis episode or leave a review.
It helps the space grow andreach others on the path.
Until next time, may you walkwith trust, speak with love and
rise in your own time.
I'm so grateful you were herewith us and thanks for being
here.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
In today's episode of Rooted in Rising, we're going
to dive into the power of choice, how you can shift from
reacting out of survival tomaking choices rooted in your
deepest truth.
Here we go.
Welcome to Rooted in Rising.
I'm your host, tara Michelle,intuitive guide, storyteller and
fellow traveler on this wildpath of becoming.
(00:20):
This is a space for thesoul-led, for the ones
unraveling old stories, tendingto their healing and rising, not
perfectly but powerfully, intowho they are here to be.
Here we explore what it meansto live with intention, to love
with depth and to trust thateven the hard things are shaping
us.
I'll share pieces of my ownjourney, the cracks, the beauty,
(00:43):
the breakthroughs, and invitevoices who are walking this path
too, because I believe lifeisn't happening to us, it's
happening for us.
So come as you are, root in andrise up, and thank you truly,
thank you, for being here.
Welcome back to Rooted inRising.
I'm Tara Michelle, your host ofthe show.
(01:04):
I'm so glad you're here with ustoday.
This podcast is a space wherewe explore what it means to root
deeper into our truth and torise into our fullest
self-expression.
And so last episode, I left youwith two questions, and I'm
curious how many of you took thetime?
Those of you who have beenlistening, but I'm curious if
(01:24):
you took the took the time,those of you who have been
listening, but I'm curious ifyou took the time to reflect on
those two questions.
And the first one was wherehave you been true to yourself
and what actions this is thenext question what actions did
you take to step into yourbiggest, broadest self?
I hope you took the time andthe moment to reflect, because
(01:46):
those little moments ofawareness are really what it
takes to transform ourselvesfrom the inside out.
And it's taking those momentsof you know, doing that
self-reflection and doing thatmaybe we could call it
self-collection, right, likeyou're collecting evidence for
yourself of really seeing, ofthe steps that you're taking to
(02:08):
make those changes within youand to grow.
So I know I took that on aswell and I recently launched a
new business.
It's a business out of passion.
It's called Sold Spaces andthat's S-O-U-L-D Spaces and you
can find it at soldspacescom.
(02:29):
And it's an energy alignmentopportunity that I work with
realtors.
When I'm working with realtors,buyers and sellers, assisting
them in aligning theirproperties to move for a
smoother transaction, easiersale, but really to remove any
blocks, resistance orhesitations that are showing up
(02:49):
inside of the selling process aswell as the buying process.
So that's something I recentlyjust launched and it's very
exciting.
But every day I'm having to askmyself where am I being true to
myself in the area of my careerand what steps have I taken to
step into my biggest, broadestself?
(03:09):
And the steps that I'm takingis really putting myself out
there and launching this forreal, and it is moving.
But there are things that Ihave to do that are very
uncomfortable for me to do Gointo new spaces and talking to
stagers and, you know, notreally understanding that
industry.
Going out and pitching myselfto realtors, going and dropping
(03:32):
in on open houses and givingthem my flyers, or just randomly
cold calling people and saying,hey, by the way, this is
something that I do, you knowit's.
It's taken something for me tostay on track and get my name
out there and really push myselfto step into the truth of who I
am, which is somebody who lovesworking with energy, who loves
(03:54):
working with people.
I have a deep passion for realestate, always have and might've
talked about that in episodesprevious, but you know, those
questions really assisted methis week because I had to keep
asking myself where am I stayingtrue to myself and what have I
done today?
What have I done today to movethat needle, to step more
(04:14):
courageously into the truth ofwho I am?
So I invite all of you, if youdidn't take that on last week,
try it this week, because itreally allows you to see the
growth within yourself and itallows you to push against
barriers or resistance withinyourself.
That just doesn't serve youanymore.
It just doesn't serve youbecause, remember, this life is
(04:35):
happening for you.
It's not happening to you, it'shappening for you, and at every
second you have choice in thematter, and that is what we're
going to talk about.
So I actually want to kind ofsegue into what we're talking
about, because today we'rediving into something that
really touches every single oneof us, and that is the power of
choice.
(04:56):
Specifically, what I'd like tofocus on today is the difference
between making choices rootedin your truth versus choices
reacting out of survival.
Okay, one of the things that Itell my son all the time, part
of his existence here, one ofthe very core pieces, is to
(05:17):
master choice, because in everypart of your life, every day is
a choice.
Every day, every single day, wemake dozens of choices.
Some of them are small, likewhat do I eat or how do I
respond to this text message.
Others can be much bigger, likewhether to stay in a job or not
, whether or not to move cities,move houses, or whether or not
(05:42):
to even speak your truth insideof a relationship that you're in
.
But beneath every choice is anenergy right, and that energy is
either rooted in your truth orit's rooted in a survival mode.
And when I talk about survivalmode, it's when we choose from
(06:04):
fear or we choose from that partof us that just wants to stay
safe.
Does that sound familiar to anyof you?
Like, are you choosing from aplace of power and alignment and
truth, or is it coming fromsurvival?
What you know, that you know,and often what you know that you
(06:25):
know that is not the best foryou, but it's safe, it's
comfortable, it feels like awarm, cozy blanket and you just
pull it over yourself and thenyou're like damn it, I did it
again.
I made that choice I knew Ishould have made, right?
I'm going to talk about a timenot that long ago where I had
(06:46):
the choice between two jobs.
Okay, this was actually latelast year in November.
I had the choice between twoopportunities and, looking at
them on paper, there was anobvious one.
It had the larger base salary.
It felt like security because Iwas moving over there with
(07:10):
people from the previous companyand it felt like the safe box
to check, given that I'm asingle mom and survival mode
often is sounding off like analarm in my brain all the time.
And so the flip side of thatwas there was this other role.
The base wasn't as high, butthe opportunity was there to
(07:35):
make probably equal to, if notmore, money.
The thing about the other job isthat the culture and the people
were so on point and theinterview process was amazing,
and when I really look back tothis time, it felt so right in
(07:59):
my gut.
It felt so right.
But because it wasn'teverything on paper and it was a
really hard decision to make, Ideliberated and went back and
forth and hemmed and hawedbecause I knew in my gut what my
gut was saying.
(08:19):
However, the take it, don'trisk.
It was actually stronger.
I need the stability.
Just take the bigger money,take the bigger paycheck, all
the things.
I was also told that, oh yeah,the territory is making X amount
(08:40):
a month.
So then I figured out thenumbers.
I was like, okay, I'mguaranteed I know what I'm going
to make here and I'm going tobe able to thrive.
But deep down my gut waswhispering go the other
direction.
Now, I didn't, didn't do thatand even though going with this
(09:04):
other company larger salarydidn't feel aligned, I knew I
was choosing out of fear and notfaith.
Actually, I'm going to say thishindsight, 2020.
Now I look back and I think Itotally was operating from fear,
because survival can be reallyconvincing.
(09:27):
Right, survival can feel veryconvincing.
It can feel like well, I knowpeople, I got this, like this is
safe, I know what I'm doing,I'll be able to move my accounts
over.
No, it's going to be it's.
It's going to be seamless,because it was me leaving one
company to go to the competitorand I was just going to move
everything over.
And I'm going to tell yousomething funny it didn't work
(09:50):
like that and a lot of thethings that I was told weren't
actually what was happening andwhat that decision taught me,
because that other role wasgoing to be a brand new role.
I was going to have to ramp up.
I was going to be learning anew product, a new product, but
(10:21):
what that decision taught me wasto never ignore my gut, ever
again.
I had another similar situationin romantic relationship same
thing.
As a result, I made a choiceout of survival, protecting
myself, only to then, withinweeks, go back and say I think I
made the wrong choice and I'msorry.
(10:42):
And the way I chose to moveaway from this was not in
integrity with who you are orwith me.
Thank you for the opportunityand the learning experience.
And I just wanted to say Iapologize.
Well, I'm really lucky andblessed because that man then, a
(11:02):
couple of weeks after that,came back and was like you know,
we had a really greatconnection and your apology was
really humble and I'd like toexplore this again.
And now I'm in an amazingrelationship Can I just say,
hands down, amazing.
And on the day that I haddecided I was going to break it
off, I knew in my gut, like whatare you doing?
(11:26):
I kept hearing my gut whisper.
Like my heart and my gut werelike this is the wrong choice,
tara, you're making the wrongchoice.
I was like no, no, I know whatI'm doing.
Nope, I know what I'm doing,I'm not going to do this, I'm
going to do something different.
Nope, no.
Only to learn like that was thewrong choice.
Now, again, I feel very luckyand blessed because he came back
(11:51):
and was like, hey.
And again I feel very lucky andblessed because he came back
and was like, hey, let's trythis one more time.
And you know, maybe a part ofme needed that too.
There was something about when Iwas looking at the jobs could
see me.
I felt valued, I felt heard, Ifelt really truly seen and I
(12:18):
felt connected with these people.
But I wasn't having faith inmyself and I wasn't trusting
because what seemed safer wassame product move accounts over,
moved accounts over, going withpeople.
I know trusting those people, Iknow bigger base salary, much
(12:42):
bigger base salary, everythingwill work out.
You know everything will workout.
It felt safe, it was the safething to do and in hindsight, it
was not the right thing to do.
So I share those storiesbecause you really can hopefully
see that every day, every day,you're making a choice and that
(13:07):
decision I'm going to say.
Both those decisions taught meso much and it also showed me
how heavy it feels when you sayyes from fear.
I want you to really root intothat and feel that, how heavy
life feels when you root fromfear.
And you know it gave me clarity.
Those experiences gave meclarity to start asking myself
(13:34):
what would it look like tochoose from truth and courage
instead Like?
What would it look like to rootinto my truth and trust and
then rise?
What would open up?
What blessings show up when youroot in that truth and stop
(13:54):
operating from fear?
Comfort and survival mode.
And the reason why I saycomfort, because obviously you
want to be in a good situationand you want to feel comfortable
, right, you want to feel safeand protected in your good
situation, whatever that choiceis, whatever the good choice was
.
But what I'm saying is that weget very comfortable in that
(14:16):
survival mode and what we knowit's like well, I know that,
it's familiar.
It's like when you go back tothe battered relationship well,
I know that or the abuse of likeyou'll see people that
constantly go back and back andback into abusive situations.
It's because it's what theyknow and to go outside of that
feels really scary.
Here's another strange examplethat I will give, but it's one
(14:39):
that I have never forgotten.
So many years ago, I worked atthe Oakland Zoo as a vet tech
assistant.
I was a volunteer there forabout two years and there was
this very wild experience.
I look back and it was such aperfect metaphor.
Okay, one of the female lionsgot out, she climbed over the
(15:00):
fence and got into the bisonenclosure, which was acres and
acres and acres of land, so thelions themselves had a fairly
large enclosure, but it wasnothing like what the bisons had
.
And, of course, those bisonswere looking pretty good to her
that day.
For whatever reason, she youknow she's a freaking lion.
Okay, so she's feeling likethat looks good over there.
(15:23):
I think I'm going to hunt itdown.
She got ballsy, climbed up thefence, went over there, and the
moment she got over there shewas terrified, terrified,
panicked, freaked out, didn'ttouch the bison at all, just was
(15:44):
aware that where she was wasnew ground, new territory and
super unfamiliar.
So what do we do as thezookeepers?
You know, we all go and get her, make sure the bison are okay
and they're not being hunteddown.
But that was a perfect metaphorbecause in this moment she was
awakened by her truth.
(16:04):
Right, her truth is I'm afucking lion and I eat that shit
.
Okay, that was her truth.
She was awakened by it and sheresponded Right.
But then when she got overthere, it was so uncomfortable,
she panicked and she didn't knowwhat to do.
(16:26):
And that's often what we do,and so often we will go back to
making those choices that weknow, that are safe, that are
comfortable, that we understand,and so I guess I'm saying, hey,
go be the lion, the lioness,the lion, whatever.
We're going to talk about thatnext here.
(16:46):
What I want to do is I want tosegue into this next part, but I
really love this example of thelioness because it just speaks
volumes to when we're rooting intruth versus when, all of a
sudden, you know, we get intothis new space and we start
operating from fear.
Right, so she operated fromfear rather than stepping into
(17:08):
her courageous self and thenjust going after and attacking
in a bison which probably wouldhave been a worse scene,
honestly, at a zoo, okay, but soprobably, luckily for us, it
was a good thing that she did dothat, but it's, it was a great
metaphor to really examine, youknow, because every second of
the day you have a choice.
So I want to step into thisother piece.
(17:31):
You know I don't want to gettoo deep into my little stories
here, but I also want to say howdo we actually do this in our
everyday lives?
How do we do it?
How do we notice when we'rewhen we are reacting versus
being rooted in our truth?
Here are a few things that thathave helped me along the way,
(17:52):
when I recognize this for myself, because it is a practice, for
sure, and, like I said to my son, every day of your life is
mastering choice.
It really is so number onepausing before reacting and
pausing before you make thatchoice.
And, by the way, I want to sayhands down to those people who
(18:13):
are really good at this, becauseI know a lot of people who are
really good at this.
I've I'm one that has topractice at this, but I know a
lot of people that are very good.
They don't make choices out ofsurvival at all.
They're deliberate, they'rethoughtful, they think about
shit.
And then there's me.
I'm like I'll do it.
So for those that are reallygood at it, I just hands down
kudos to you, but one you pausebefore reacting.
(18:37):
I know for myself if I feelurgency.
Another good trigger for me isdefensiveness.
If I feel defensiveness or fear, like I start getting that
panic, that panic that ensues,that's usually a sign for me to
recognize I'm about to operatefrom survival right now, and so
that might be something that youcan look at for yourself and
(18:58):
what you want to do in thosemoments.
What I like to do is I breatheinto it.
You know, and one of the thingsI learned from Dave Ramsey
anybody out there listening toDave Ramsey, he's amazing is,
like you know those big ticketitems you want to buy.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it before you hit thesend button, sleep on it before
you pick up the phone and call.
Sleep on it.
(19:19):
Take a breath, take a pause andrecognize where is this sitting
in my body right now?
Number two, which then we'regoing to segue into that Number
two ask your body, and we'regoing to segue into that.
Number two ask your bodywhere's this sitting in my body?
Where is this rooted in my body?
Is it rooted?
(19:40):
Am I feeling grounded?
It might feel expansive, Imight feel it in my chest, I
might feel it in my gut, butwhatever choice I'm about to
make, where is it in my body andhow does it feel?
Because survival will feeltight, it will feel anxious, it
(20:04):
will feel heavy, it will feelunclear, and in those moments
you are not operating from power.
So number two question ask yourbody where is this sitting in
my body?
And feel into it.
(20:24):
You could even even see whatcolor does it feel like?
Is it red, is it black, is itwhite?
How does it feel in my body?
(20:45):
Thing I like to do, number three, is reframe the question
Instead of asking what if whatI'm about to do goes wrong?
What if this is a doorway towhatever I've been asking for?
So those are some things tothink about, because if it goes
wrong, you're like, okay,because there's that already,
always thinking in your brain,like it's not going to work out
for me.
So what if it goes wrong?
Right, but what if that choiceyou make opens every door to
(21:09):
every possibility you've everdesired?
And again, that's where youhave to think about am I
operating from fear or am Ioperating from power in this
moment?
And then, number four giveyourself permission to choose
differently.
Give yourself permission to dosomething new.
Give yourself permission tomake a different choice, even if
(21:35):
you've chosen from fear before.
You always get another chance.
You always get another chancebecause choice is a muscle and
it gets stronger with practice.
And that muscle that you'repracticing is your entire body,
like tuning into your body andfeeling the truth of your body.
Am I about to operate fromsurvival or am I about to
(21:57):
operate from power?
Because power is your source,that is the source of who you
are, is your rooted truth, yourrooted power.
And it might be uncomfortable,but you'll know, because it will
be clear.
And I say never second guessthat voice within you, don't
second guess it.
Here's another perfect exampleYesterday morning I was getting
(22:22):
ready to go work with a friend,was going to do some alignment
at his commercial business, hiscommercial office.
He's a chiropractor and I wasthrowing clothes on because I
knew we were going to be movingfurniture, getting dirty and
dusty.
It was just going to be a lotof work.
So I just threw on whatever andI heard my internal voice say
you need to change.
And I was like, really why?
(22:42):
Why do I need to change likethis?
We're going to be moving shitall day because you're going to
meet somebody, is what I heard.
Heard that in my mind you'regoing to meet somebody today and
I was like okay, so what do Ithrow on that, just in case I
meet a possible connection?
And I knew that this was aboutmy career, because I was going
(23:02):
to help him with this new jobsold spaces.
I was going to cleanse, clear,align and do all the things feng
shui, all the things in hisoffice building.
So I changed and I threw on someskirt, like a long one,
comfortable one, one that I knewthat I could move.
You know some cute littlecotton top.
You know something that I knewI could get dirty and dusty, but
(23:26):
I was gonna be moving stuffaround, but at least I looked
appropriate or approachable or Idon't know.
I look decent, because before Ihad like, just like crazy, like
looking like rolled out of bedkind of thing, it's gonna show
up and start working on stuff.
And the funny thing is is thatwhen I got to his place he said
hey, by the way, I got a clientcoming in.
She's going to be here at 10o'clock and she knows you're
(23:47):
going to be here, so don't worry, just work around us.
And I was like okay, cool, shewalks in and she's like oh my
gosh, are you an organizer?
I said no.
She said, well, what do you do?
I said, oh, I energeticallyalign properties, I work with
realtors, blah, blah, blah, gogive her the whole spiel.
And she's like, can I have yourcard?
And I said, yeah, what do youdo?
She says, oh, I'm a stager andI'd love for you to come to my
(24:08):
house.
And, by the way, not only wouldI like you to come to my house,
I'd also like to bring you on acouple of consults, because I
have clients.
My inner dialogue and made adifferent choice, okay, and that
(24:28):
was powerful.
I was like, oh my God, what?
Because here I am, like tryingto build this business, and here
this woman walks in and sayswill you do my house?
And, by the way, I have clientswho need your services.
It was this magical moment, butall rooted in the power of my
(24:48):
choice and the ability to tunein and listen, listen to those
inner dialogues.
So now what I'd like you to dois I'd like for you to reflect
on some questions, just somequestions that I think would be
really helpful for this week,because we're going to like do
(25:09):
our little rooted and risecheck-ins.
So where in your life are youcurrently making choices from
fear or survival.
I really want you to thinkabout that.
Where in your life are youmaking choices from fear or
survival?
And what does your rooted truthfeel like in your body?
(25:35):
What does that feel like foryou?
Pause long enough to listen andhear for yourself?
Does that feel like for youPause long enough to listen and
hear for yourself?
And what small decision thisweek?
I don't even like the worddecision, I prefer the word
choice.
What small choice this weekcould you shift from?
(25:55):
That is, out of a reaction modeand into an intention mode?
Reaction mode and into anintention mode what choice could
you shift?
So the other thing is, if you'rejournaling about that, here's
some other prompts that you canplay with that I think are a lot
(26:17):
of fun.
You can play with somethinglike a choice I recently made
from survival was okay and itled me to feel X.
So that's a prompt that you canuse and that's a fun one.
A choice I recently made fromsurvival was X and it led me to
feel X.
Here's another one A choice Icould make from my rooted truth
(26:39):
instead would be X, and if Ifully trusted myself, I would
choose to do X.
So those are questions that youcan ask yourself this week, and
they're simple questions, butthey're powerful questions
(27:01):
because they cause you to stopand listen to the truth within
your body and it createsawareness within your body.
It creates awareness withinyour mind, it creates awareness
in your heart and it createsfreedom in the whole space of
your life.
It really does in the wholespace of your life.
(27:28):
It really does.
So I just want to say thank youto everyone for spending time
with me this week on Rooted andRising.
My hope is that you walk awayremembering that you are never
powerless.
You're never powerless in anypart of your day at all ever,
because every choice you make isan opportunity to align with
your truth.
It's an opportunity for you toroot deeper and to rise higher,
(27:49):
and that is my commitment.
That is my commitment that youallow yourself that opportunity
every day.
So, before we go, I do want togive you a little glimpse of
what's coming next week.
In our next episode, I'll beintroducing you to the
incredible leadership coach.
Her name is Vanessa Yu and herwebsite is coachvanessayucom.
(28:11):
Together, we're going to diveinto the power of core values,
and I love this topic.
You know how they shape ourleadership, how our core values
shape our lives and what itmeans to truly lead from a place
of alignment and when you'realigned with your core values.
So we'll also explore her workin Leadership, rewired like how
(28:34):
she works with people and whatthat looks like.
And it's a conversation you'renot going to want to miss.
You just won't.
You're not going to miss, youjust won't, you're not gonna
wanna miss it.
So until next week.
I wanna thank all of you forlistening, share this episode
with a friend who may need thereminder and, if you feel called
, leave a review, please.
It helps, rooted in Rising, toreach more hearts.
(28:55):
So stay rooted, stay rooted inyour truth, keep rising and I
can't wait to see you on thenext episode.
Have an amazing rest of yourcouple of weeks and we'll see
you soon.
Take care.
Thank you for rooting in andrising with me today.
If something in this episodestirred something in you, take a
breath, take what you need andlet the rest soften.
Be sure to follow the show soyou don't miss what's next and,
(29:18):
if you feel called, share thisepisode or leave a review.
And, if you feel called, sharethis episode or leave a review.
It helps the space grow andreach others on the path.
Until next time, may you walkwith trust, speak with love and
rise in your own time.
I'm so grateful you were herewith us and thanks for being
here.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
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