Breaking the Autopilot: Why 40 Days Will Transform Your Authenticity

What happens when we stop performing and start being real? After recording 100 episodes, I stepped back to ask myself what my soul needed to say next. The answer wasn't about going wider or louder—it was about going deeper.

That moment of clarity birthed the 40-Day Authenticity Challenge. Why 40 days? Because historically, spiritually, and personally, 40 represents transformation. Noah witnessed a world washed clean after 40 days of rain. Moses descended Mount Sinai after 40 days with newfound clarity and purpose. Jesus emerged from 40 days in the wilderness with unshakable authority. Each of these journeys teaches us something profound: you don't get to skip your wilderness and still walk in your purpose.

My own wilderness has been raw and revealing—navigating divorce, unexpected job loss, and over 400 job applications across a year without success. Yet even in this desert season, I've discovered that preparation happens before the trial. The savings account I built, the credit I maintained, the resilience I developed—all were preparing me for a season I didn't know was coming. The version of me walking out of this wilderness has more clarity, more authority, and a deeper understanding of purpose than I could have imagined.

For those approaching or navigating your 40s (whether in age or experience), something profound is shifting. It's time to stop needing to be liked and start needing to be honest. Time to stop chasing applause and start craving alignment. Time to rediscover who you were before the world told you who to be. This isn't about recreating a version of yourself that gets approval, but rediscovering the version that gives you peace.

Ready to begin your own 40-day journey? Follow me on Instagram @thehartshello, join our community of truth-seekers, and remember—this isn't hustle season. It's healing season. One honest action at a time.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, did y'all miss me?
I know, I know I did not tellyou that I was getting ready to
take a break, but your girlneeded a break after we hit that
100th episode.
Yes, you heard me.
100 episodes have been recordedon this platform for each of

(00:23):
you all, and, again, that's whyI said we made it, not because I
did it on my own, but becauseyou've come back time and time
again, listening, growing,showing up, choosing
authenticity over autopilot.
Whether this is your first timetuning in or your hundredth, I

(00:44):
wanna say thank you.
Now let me get into and talkand share with you all about
this pause that I had.
Yes, I know, I didn't justdisappear for two weeks.
I leaned back to breathe afterthose 100 episodes and I had to
ask myself what's next, whatdoes my soul need to say now?

(01:07):
And the answer came back simple, bold and clear it's time to go
deeper.
Not wider, not louder, butdeeper.

(01:29):
And so, for those of you allwho follow me on Instagram, you
will see that at the top of July, I started a 40 day
authenticity challenge.
That's when it was born.
It was born in that pause.
I had to take a minute.
It was born not from ambition,but from alignment.
See, I had a lot of peoplereach out and they said why 40?
Most of the time you'll hear ofa 30-day challenge, a 21-day

(01:53):
challenge, maybe even athree-day challenge.
But why 40 days?
It's simple.
When I say 40 days, I'm notpulling that number out of thin
air.
In scripture, 40 is sacred.
It's the number of testing,transformation and transition.
And the people who went throughthose 40s.

(02:15):
They came out different.
Noah it rained for 40 days and40 nights.
Before the rain, people wereliving loud, mocking, ignoring,
doing the most right.
Noah looked crazy building thatark, but when the flood came,

(02:35):
everything changed.
That 40 wasn't just destruction.
It was a divine reset.
He walked out into a new world,a new promise, a rainbow, a
fresh start.
So some of us are in the floodseason right now, but that water
isn't here to drown you.
It's here to cleanse you.

(02:57):
I'll give you another exampleMoses.
He went up on Mount Sinai for40 days.
He went up on Mount Sinai for40 days face to face with God,
but before that he wasstuttering, a doubting man who
ran from his calling.
And after that mountain momenthe came down, glowing with love,

(03:18):
with clarity, with leadership.
Yeah, sometimes you got to goup alone and come back with
something for the people Jesus.
Before he started his ministry,he fasted in the wilderness for
40 days and guess what?
He was tempted, he was hungry,he was challenged in every way,

(03:39):
but he came out with authority,with truth, with clear
assignment.
But he came out with authority,with truth, with clear
assignment.
That wilderness did not breakhim, it revealed him.
So when I created the 40 DayAuthenticity Challenge, it
wasn't just about content, itwas about calling, because

(04:00):
here's the real you don't get toskip your wilderness and still
walk in your purpose.
Right, see, I was questioningGod.
Why do you have me in thisspace?
What is it that I need to belearning?
What is it that I should betaking away from this time, this

(04:21):
pause?
You would know that, for me, Ihad been in that wilderness
season, being in the wildernessseason walking through a divorce
, being laid off without nonotice, and that what typically

(04:42):
happens when you laid off, Iknow, but sometimes you may know
, but when there's noperformance issues, you begin to
question you, and especiallyafter you have applied for and
are keeping count of the numberof positions that you have
applied for, just in case you'rewondering.

(05:02):
It's over 400 at this point andI've been seeking employment
for the last year and I'mquestioning God, what is it that
you are trying to teach me?
But see what you don't realize?
That even in the wildernessseason, you have already been

(05:23):
prepared.
See, I didn't realize that whenI was making sure that my
savings account was stacked,when I was making sure that my
savings account was stacked,that I was making sure that my
credit was good, that I'm makingsure and in preparation for it,
prepares you for the wilderness.
It prepares you for what you'regetting ready to walk into,

(05:46):
because the way that you aregetting ready to come out of it,
you're not going to recognizethat version of you.
The way that I'm going to walkout of this, the way that I am
walking out of it now, mypurpose is so much more clear.
My voice has more authority.
I am walking in purpose.

(06:09):
I am on assignment and I'mrealizing that even more, even
as I'm sharing this with you,that I'm getting stirred up,
because I'm realizing that, asI'm stirring myself, I'm also
stirring you, because the 40 isnecessary.
The 40 is what's going to getyou to your next.

(06:33):
But how you deal with thatwilderness season.
How you come out of that season, how you prepare for that
season, it's up to you.
So, yeah, this may be for you.
You may be approaching or inyour 40s.
So I need you to listen to me.

(06:55):
And listen to me clearlySomething shifts when you're
starting to approach 40 orwaking up in the middle of it,
and I need you to stop needingto be liked and start needing to
be honest.
You need to stop chasingapplause and start craving
alignment.
You need to stop performing andstart remembering who you were

(07:19):
before the world told you whoyou had to be.
See, that's what this season isabout Not recreating a version
of you that gets approval, butrediscovering the version of you
that gets peace.
See, this is where we unlearnthe lies.
This is where we stop livingsmall.
This is where we stop carryingpeople who would never carry us.

(07:42):
And, baby, we do it one day ata time, one truth at a time, one
choice at a time.
So the 40 day challenge is yourmountain, is your flood, is your
wilderness, but if you lean in,trust the process and let the

(08:09):
work work you, you're going towalk out clearer, stronger,
softer, bolder not perfect, butaligned.
And if you are feeling thatdown in your soul today.
I need you to realize that youare not alone.
See the Israelites they haveplenty of people to talk to.
They had plenty of people totalk to, but sometimes that

(08:32):
wilderness season, it doesrequire you to separate for a
bit, it does require you to turndown the noise, it does require
you to have to eliminate somedistractions, because you're
going to have to get crystalclear about what it is that you
need to do now.

(08:53):
See, when you go and you lookat what I am sharing regarding
this 40 day challenge, you willalso see that I am in uniform.
I am in being apparel.
Why?
Because you have to be presentin order to be in this season.

(09:15):
You can't be so focused on whathas already transpired in your
past.
Why?
Because you can't change it andyou can't be so far gone in
your future that you forget tolive in today.
I like to say it this way bewhere your feet are, be present,

(09:37):
because you're not going to getthis day again.
So take in all that you need totake in.
Make sure that you're going foryour walks, make sure that
you're taking some time tomentally clear your mind, make

(09:57):
sure that you are journaling,make sure that you are eating
healthy, make sure that you aredoing all of the things, because
your output is contingent uponyour input, meaning what is it
that you are feeding your brain?
What is it that you areallowing in your ear gate?

(10:17):
What is it that you areallowing in your eye gate?
What is it that you need to sayno to that?
Maybe in previous seasons yousaid yes to Because, baby, no is
a complete sentence, no is aboundary.

(10:38):
So I need you to get to a placewhere you're realizing that
this season is so important forwhere you are getting ready to
go.
So I need you today to find aquiet corner corner.

(11:09):
Yes, today, find a quiet corner, set a timer for five minutes,
silence your notifications andask yourself where in my life am
I performing instead of beingpresent?
Write whatever surfaces, noedits, no filters.
The second thing I need you todo is make the 40-day commitment

(11:30):
right now.
Grab a journal or open a freshnote in your phone and write.
I am committing to 40 days ofhonest reflection because and
you're going to fill in thatblank that blank is your.
Why Keep it visible?

(11:50):
The third thing I need you todo is connect on Instagram at
the hearts hello within the next24 hours.
Follow the daily challenge post.
Drop your emojis in thecomments so I know that you're
coming from the podcast.

(12:10):
Drop the mic emoji so that Iknow that you're coming from the
podcast.
Save day one to your savedfolder for easy reference.
Number four invite a wing womanwith you this week.
Screenshot your commitment,send it to a friend, a co-worker

(12:32):
, who gets it, and say will youwalk these 40 days with me?
Let's keep each other honest.
Accountability doubles yourcompletion odds.
Number six speak theaffirmation aloud every morning.
I don't have to perform to bepowerful.

(12:55):
Honesty is my superpower.
Record it as a phone alarm.
Label it if you need thereminder.
Number six send me your ahasvoice note.
Dm your biggest revelation,whatever it is that you've had

(13:17):
so far, and I'll feature a fewin the next week's episode.
Got it Okay?
Number seven circle thecheck-in.
Mark your calendar for yourhalfway regroup.
Ask yourself what's shifting,where am I resisting?

(13:40):
What new truth is surfacing?
Number eight pay the insightforward.
Share this episode link withone person who's been whispering
.
I feel stuck.

(14:00):
Your nudge might be theirpermission slip.
And number nine rate and reviewthis show after listening today,
as soon as you finish.
Don't wait because you're goingto forget.
You got a thousand things goingon.
Leave me a quick review onApple Spotify, wherever you're
listening, describing oneheartbreak or, I'm sorry, not

(14:23):
heartbreak one breakthrough thatyou had.
If you leave a heartbreak,that's cool, but I meant to say
breakthroughs that you've had.
Reviews boost the show's reachand help more women find their
own 40 day path.
And then I need you to rememberthis this isn't hustle season,

(14:52):
it's healing season.
One honest action at a time.
And I'll meet you on Instagram.
Yes, we've already gottenstarted, but it is not too late
for you to join in.
You can join in on whatever dayyou listen to this episode, or

(15:14):
you can go back to day one.
It's still there, wherever youdecide to fit in.
Join us, begin together.
We're on this journey.