Differently

5 Ways to Break Free from Your Status Quo

• Carla Reeves | Creator of The Differently Coaching Experience

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Feeling stuck?

This week's episode is about changing things up when you find yourself trapped by your own thinking, weighed down by the expectations of others or disheartened by your current reality.

Here are 5 things, you can use time and again, to break free from your status quo - whether that is inside your own thinking, expectations you feel or just a current reality.   

Enjoy!

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Speaker 1:

I'm Carla Reeves and this is Differently. Whether you feel stuck in survival, navigating a change, or seeking more for your life, may this podcast be your weekly nudge to take a risk to build a life that is uniquely bold, authentic and in alignment with your deepest values. What if you worried less about the bumps in the road and instead got equipped for the journey? Get ready to rethink what's possible. Hey, everyone, it's Carla. Back for another episode of Differently.

Speaker 1:

It's spring, at least here in Arizona, and last night we were out on a walk and everything is in bloom here in the desert, which makes the ascent in the air that is just so beautiful. I love spring and, speaking of that, maybe, maybe, up until now, you've been so busy trying to keep up with everything around you, spinning all the plates, and maybe that's caused you to neglect making personal progress in your life, and the spring energy is in the air has reminded you that there's something you want to change, freshen up or create new in your life or business. Rest assured, this happens to all of us, and if you haven't paused to give some attention to your personal life, now is the perfect time and this conversation is for you. Now is the perfect time, and this conversation is for you. Desiring a change goes hand in hand with challenging our own status quo, an ordinary way of doing things, and being willing to question and change up our ordinary way of doing things almost always leads to innovation and improvement. If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you are a builder, and what I mean by that is someone committed to building a better relationship, building a business or a better way of life. Building something better requires challenging the status quo and recognizing when it's time to shake things up.

Speaker 1:

Today's episode, I'm going to share five ideas for changing things up in your own life. So what do I mean by status quo? The dictionary states it as the existing state of affairs. It's Latin for existing state. Another way to look at this is what everyone else is doing or the state of the world. But for the sake of today's conversation, I'm talking about our own status quo, the way things currently are in our life, the way we currently see our situation, think about it, the way we respond to it and approach what's happening in our life.

Speaker 1:

In this existing state, it's easy to slip into a routine way of doing things, and sometimes that's working and you don't need to change it then, but when you're not getting the results you want, changing up the status quo leads to new results. This is one of my favorite places to support people, because it feels terrible to feel like you're in a situation that is unchangeable. Sometimes we get stuck inside of outdated approaches and ways of operating in our life that can keep us stuck. For example, the status quo for me and my business for the longest time has been to be a solopreneur, working all on my own, kind of wearing all the hats, and I've been desiring a change and can feel something new wanting to happen in my business. I can also feel like a changing in my heart and God guiding me in a new direction. If I don't challenge my own status quo, I will stay stuck inside of old, comfortable ways of how I've always done things. The more I'm willing to even consider, explore what this could or would look like to have more people involved in collaborating, the more excited I've gotten about what would be possible. I have to get out of my way over and over again to keep stepping into the vision I have for the business and the possible impact it can have for others, and this requires me to step out. Where are you being invited to step out of your status quo?

Speaker 1:

Another example to get you thinking when we were raising our boys and they were little, I found myself falling into what everyone else was doing at the time, and at that time it was putting your kids in all the things, making sure they're exposed to new languages, and all the sports and activities and playdates and socializing, and on and on and on, and I found myself feeling like I was running from thing to thing. I was tired. I felt like something was missing and something was off. All of this going and doing didn't keeping up with the Joneses, didn't seem to fit for me, for us, or align with what we really wanted for the upbringing of our boys and our lifestyle. This is something that we started to change way back then, to kind of align with our own rhythms and our own values, and it's something we're really proud of today. Our boys had a different experience and I can see them both standing on that foundation as young men finding their way in the world today. This status quo might have worked for some people, but it didn't work for us and our family, and this is why interrupting the status quo is really personal to each and every one of us After doing this way. Back then, we began to realize that if everyone else was doing something and we were doing something different, that usually was a good thing.

Speaker 1:

So signs it's time to challenge your own status quo. This is the often the state of mind that someone is in when they reach out for support or coaching. They feel like they're just surviving. They feel resigned, bored, uninspired, maybe spinning their wheels or just stuck. Other ways they talk about it is like something missing, feeling powerless or out of control, stuck in the grind, constant motion, but never feel like you're doing enough, feeling like something was going to give if I keep going on this same path, lots of motion but lack of purpose, or the feeling of Groundhog Day. I have good news it doesn't have to be this way and you have power, right where you are, to shift this for yourself and everyone around you.

Speaker 1:

Hey, speaking of this and before I share five ways to actually break free of your status quo, starting today, I want to pause to share something special with you. It's called the Differently Coaching Experience. It's a unique 12-week one-on-one personal custom live coaching and interactive journaling for anyone driven to make the most of their life. I've taken hundreds of people through this over the years and it's been newly updated. I want you to imagine having a personal coach, a guide, right by your side, helping you shed the mental noise and old thought patterns that keep you stuck, helping you gain control over the direction of your life so that you can take new, aligned action and, while you're doing it, feeling more peaceful, confident and full of purpose. That's the goal of our one-on-one coaching sessions. But since life doesn't wait for your next session, our interactive journaling program provides a space where you can reflect and write and receive coaching feedback in between our coaching sessions. This isn't just journaling. It's an interactive tool to help you understand and navigate your inner thought, life, your inner world. After 12 weeks, you won't just walk away with ideas. You're going to leave with a toolkit. A toolkit that empowers you to tap into your innate abilities, to shape your experiences, translating your new mindset into inspired action all over your life. So are you ready to take your eyes off the bumps in the road and get equipped for the journey? Visit CarlaReevescom to learn all about this totally unique coaching program. Start shaping your tomorrow today. Join me for the Differently Coaching Experience Five ways to shake things up, regardless of the situation you find yourself in.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes we can feel at the mercy of our circumstances, but find ourselves in a situation that we can't or don't want to remove from our life, like parenting, marriage, a job that we're committed to. I remember bumping up against this often over the years in my marriage and parenting and in my business. I would start to feel like I was in a rut or bored with the routine of things, uninspired by what was happening, and while it's easy to slip into complaining about or having negative thinking, which can sometimes feel like we're actually in action about it, in reality we're not and it just perpetuates those negative feelings. Sidebar to that, the complaints that we, if we catch ourselves complaining, that is like a yellow flag letting you know that it's time for a shift of some kind. Think of it like an invitation to challenge your status quo. I'm speaking from experience here and while it might feel like you have little or no control, I want to remind you of the places you have control to shift and bring new life and energy.

Speaker 1:

So, number one take a reality check. This is like an inventory and spring cleaning for your mind. Open the windows, air out the rooms of your mind. This means getting out of that, getting out the old stale thoughts that are perpetuating you, feeling stuck or on the hamster wheel, bored, etc. This can be as simple as opening up a fresh stock on your computer or pulling out a sheet of paper and just write Let it flow. No judgment, no holding back. Everything you feel about this current situation that you feel stuck in or want to change. Let your thoughts flow through your fingers onto the page. This is going to empty your mind and all the thoughts that have had you feeling stuck. When they're out and laid out in front of you, you can step back and be more objective, see more clearly and assess which ones are helping you move forward, which ones are keeping you stuck.

Speaker 1:

Number two do differently. Take a new action. Literally get off the hamster wheel, interrupt it. Change your routine. Remove or add something. Change the order of how you do things. Do normal things in a new way. Take your lunch out on the blanket in the backyard or take a day trip to get some new scenery. Plan a date with your spouse, go roller skating to mix up your routine. Book that call to discuss that new idea and take the first step Number three change up your physical environment.

Speaker 1:

This might mean rearranging a room or an office. This can be so helpful. In episode four of the podcast it's called Rearrange your Thinking. I talk about how moving physical spaces helps so much and impacts your mental and emotional self and brings new energy into a situation. And number four shift your focus.

Speaker 1:

Instead of looking for answers, ask new questions. Often I find myself stewing over something and trying to figure it all out, but when I pause to stop that and ask a different question, I'm always amazed at the new, fresh ideas and wisdom and how God shows up when I stopped trying to control it all myself. For example, in our marriage it's easy sometimes to get focused over there and wish he would do something different, but that doesn't create new results and leaves usually leaves us both feeling not so great. If I feel like our marriage is missing something, I like to ask myself what is it? I want to feel that I don't feel, let's say, it's more romance or spontaneity, or love and connection. Then I asked myself what would romance do? What or what would spontaneity do? Romance might look like lighting a candle for dinner tonight. Spontaneity might look like plan a fun outing or asking my husband to spur the moment to go out for ice cream or take a walk, something that might be different.

Speaker 1:

Keep in mind here you have to give up that your spouse has to be the one to create it and that it means less if you have to be the one to ask. The win is you getting out of your normal routine and comfort zone. To ask, the outcome is secondary. Be the one to make a move. It's often contagious, I promise. And number five change who you are being. I once had a mentor and she would say if you're bored, you're being boring. I love that so much. If you're feeling stuck, create some motion. Move your body, move furniture around, drive home a new way, create movement in other places and see if it frees something up in this situation you want to change.

Speaker 1:

If you've always done things on your own, like I described in my business, or have been trying to figure this out for too long, breaking free of your status quo might look like getting support where you've been struggling on your own. In closing, I want to remind you of the sneaky pitfall of feeling at the mercy of our circumstances and thinking that they or it has to change in order for you to get out of the rut or off the hamster wheel. Most all of the time, this just isn't true. The truth is that when you begin to change the way you think about, see, approach or relate to something, the way in which you experience it changes too. The lovely Wayne Dyer said if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Speaker 1:

I invite you to take a realistic look today and take one small action to shake up your own status quo for the sake of something bigger. Go, do that thing and make more space for that which you want more of in your life, right here and now. If not today, when? If not you, then who? And if you know you want this but feel it's just too hard to shake things up on your own, reach out to me at Carla, at Carla Reevescom. That's my thing guiding and equipping you with the tools to take back your life and move forward intentionally and in a way that lasts. Here's to shaking up the status quo. You know what they say Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Have an amazing day.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Differently. It's been an honor to share this conversation with you. You know one of the keys to living fully is to take action when you're inspired to do so. I hope you found that spark of inspiration today and would you help us spread the word. Did someone you know come to mind while you were listening? If this episode could impact someone you know, please share it and pass it along. New episodes drop weekly, so tap that subscribe button and join us next time as we continue to challenge the status quo and get equipped to live life differently.