All Episodes

October 9, 2025 8 mins

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

We explore how assumptions quietly limit choice and co-create the outcomes we fear, then practice shifting to a beginner’s mindset that opens presence, clarity, and real options. A tap class story reveals how slowing down reframes mastery, and we share practical ways to apply fresh eyes to hard moments.

• the inner block of assumption and how it narrows perspective
• energetic choices of I can’t, I have to, and I should
• a meeting example that shows self-fulfilling patterns
• the beginner’s mindset as a practical alternative
• the tap dance breakdown that unlocked clarity
• simple tools to reset before routines and tough talks
• questions to imagine different outcomes and act with choice



If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?**
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern**
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey there.
Today I want to just kind ofhelp you draw some awareness
around something that might beholding you back.
It's an inner block that we allhave.
And the good news is that whenwe notice it, when we notice
we're doing it, we can makenecessary shift to experience a

(00:22):
different perspective or adifferent view of the situation.
And the inner block I'm talkingabout today is an assumption.
An assumption is an expectationthat because something has
happened in the past, well,it'll happen again.

(00:46):
The dictionary defines it as athing that is accepted as true
or as certain to happen withoutproof.
And assumptions are one of thebig four inner blocks that limit
how we see things, how weexperience things.
Energetically, they areconstructing a narrow lens that

(01:08):
makes it difficult to imagineother possibilities other than
the ones that you've alreadydecided are going to be.
Imagine.
Imagine that you're heading intoa meeting that you're required
to attend.
You've been there before, you'vebeen to these kinds of meetings
before, and there's data tosupport that previous meetings

(01:33):
have been contentious.
Certain players have actedpredictably, or you haven't felt
heard.
When we operate from theassumption that things will be
the same way, we limit ourcapacity for energetic choice.
Going in with the assumptionthat you're not going to be

(01:55):
heard might lead you to theenergetic choice of I can't.
I can't say anything I wantwithout being criticized.
So you hold back from sharingyour ideas.
If you're feeling defensiveabout it, if you're operating

(02:16):
from I have to, you might say, Ihave to protect myself from
being overrun.
Immediately being defensive,stripping any possibilities for
collaboration.
Or maybe, maybe you're operatingfrom I should.

(02:38):
I should be better at expressingmyself, shaming yourself into
silence instead of practicingpresence.
You see how that works?
When we're operating from anassumption, that's exactly what
we see and what we find and whatwe co-create.

(02:58):
It is perfectly natural to drawfrom what we already know, to
make assumptions and mentalshortcuts about what we don't.
But the beginner's mindsetoffers another way.

(03:22):
What if you didn't assume thatthings were going to be the same
way?
There's so much to glean fromour childlike curiosity of that
beginner's mindset.
And I invite all of us to openour minds as if seeing something
for the very first time.
There's an opportunity in doingthings repeatedly, in doing

(03:46):
things that become part of yourroutine, to look at them
differently.
The learning is immense.
You know, there was a time whenI was in a tap dance class and I
took a class that was much lowerthan the level that I was as an
expert tap dancer.
But I had heard that thisteacher was wonderful and I had

(04:09):
some time on my schedule.
So I jumped in willingly.
I'm always willing to jump inand learn.
And what stands out in thisteaching is that she had me
doing a step that I've known howto do for decades without
realizing that I was doing thestep.

(04:31):
Now, how did she do this?
She did this by approaching itin a different way than I had in
the past.
She could have just said, do atriple time step, and I would
have, on automatic pilot, knownwhat that meant and assumed that
I knew what she meant and doneit.
She did not do this.

(04:53):
She broke it down in a differentway.
And because it was slow andbecause it was not my level, I
looked at it differently.
I was honing each sound.
I was I was working on themastery of clarity and I was
just approaching the stepdifferently.
And it wasn't until I wasdancing it that I had a an aha

(05:16):
moment, which was this is just aa triple time step.
But was it really?
I share that with you becausethis learning a step that I'd
known for so many years from abeginner's mindset, keep in

(05:37):
mind, everybody was learning itfor the first time, offered me
so much possibility to seethings differently and to
experience things differently.
Think of a situation in your ownlife where you've caught
yourself assuming, because it'salways been this way, it always

(06:01):
will be.

(06:22):
What possibilities might open upfor you if you approached that
situation with beginners' eyes?
Curious, present, and willing tosee it differently than the way
you saw it when you assumed howit would be.

(06:43):
What might change if you allowedyourself to imagine a different
outcome?
Everything is new if you chooseto look at it through fresh
eyes.
You are different in everymoment.

(07:04):
The world is different in everymoment.
You have never been here before.
Life is infinite, my friends.
Do not assume anything.

(07:28):
Everything's possible.
I'm Lisa Hopkins.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone,and remember to live in the
moment.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.