Differently

The Confident Woman with Rachel Brooks

• Carla Reeves | Creator of The Differently Coaching Experience

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Episode Summary:

In this empowering episode of Differently, Carla sits down with Rachel Brooks—founder of The Confident Woman, host of The Confident Woman Podcast, and author of Chasing Perfection. Rachel shares her transformative journey of self-discovery, overcoming self-doubt, and rebuilding her life from the inside out.

Through her three-step process of Feel, Deal, and Heal, Rachel teaches us how to reframe our mindset, break free from limiting beliefs, and step into confidence. She candidly opens up about walking away from her past life, finding her true identity, and strengthening her faith. If you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt or wondered how to rewrite your own story, this episode is a must-listen!

What You'll Learn:

✔️ How to shift from self-doubt to confidence
✔️ The power of rewriting your own story
✔️ Why faith and mindset play a key role in self-discovery
✔️ The importance of resilience in personal growth
✔️ Rachel’s journey of walking away to find clarity and purpose

Resources & Links:

📚 Chasing Perfection – Available everywhere books are sold
📖 Fit From Within & Create Your Own Story – Available on Amazon
🎙️ Listen to The Confident Woman Podcast
🌎 Connect with Rachel: www.iamrachelbrooks.com

Your Next Step:

Don’t just listen—take action! What’s one belief or story about yourself that’s holding you back? Today, challenge it. Journal about it, talk to a friend, or take one bold step toward rewriting that story.

📢 If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs this message. Your support helps us continue to bring empowering conversations to more people!

Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast

Go to https://carlareeves.com/freeclass to get The Class schedule, sign up, and/or pass it on to a friend. Each month is a new topic. Come hang out and learn with us for FREE!
Go to https://www.carlareeves.com/getunstuck.com to download Carla's on demand journaling workshop + exercise to help you stop spinning and start moving forward.

Explore Coaching with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/lite/explore-coaching

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Thank you for listening!

Carla:

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. You know those days when you feel beat up by self-doubt and you see others feeling so confident only wishing that could be you too. Well, today's episode is going to feel like sitting down with a good friend who gets it. I'm excited to introduce you to Rachel Brooks and, trust me, her story is going to feel like sitting down with a good friend who gets it. I'm excited to introduce you to Rachel Brooks and, trust me, her story is going to stop you in her tracks. 10 years ago, she did something that many of us only dream about. She completely rewrote her story, and what she discovered about confidence along the way it's probably not what you think.

Carla:

Rachel, the founder of the Confident Woman, host of the Confident Woman podcast and author of Chasing Perfection, is going to join us today. I loved, and I think you will, too her three-step process of feel, deal and heal for managing your mind and finding peace again. If you've ever felt stuck between who you are and who you want to be, this conversation is especially for you. And be sure you stay all the way until the end, because Rachel shares a message that might be exactly what you need to hear today. Grab your coffee or your favorite beverage, find a cozy spot and let's get real about what it truly means to build lasting confidence. Trust me, this is one conversation you won't want to miss. Hey, differently Listener, we're back, and I'm so excited to have my new friend, rachel Brooks, here. She is the founder of the Confident Woman and the Confident Woman podcast, and she's the author of Chasing Perfection. So welcome Rachel.

Rachel:

Yes, thank you for having me. I'm so excited that we get to have this incredible conversation today.

Carla:

I'm excited too, and confidence is something that I have struggled with my entire life. It's definitely something the self-d, self-doubt and second guessing and all of that stuff comes up for my clients as well. It's something I navigate, I think, in my own life on the daily. You know, one of my favorite questions is what would confidence do? And just taking that action, because that just helps me get out of my own way and all the noise in my mind. I would love to start. I saw this on your website about creating your own story, and that is so near and dear to my heart and I just want to start with like when did you discover that you had the power to create your own story?

Rachel:

Yes, oh, my goodness. I love this because before we jump into that, I want to talk about the confidence. For a moment I was. I had zero confidence. I would say that I was the person who was like turn the lights out, shut the door and pretend I don't exist, like I've never wanted to be seen, never even thought that people would notice. And so when I would see somebody else walk through a room, that was just this light, and I'm like, wow, that's the confidence, that's what confidence is. And so I always admired it in others, but I didn't see it in myself.

Rachel:

And so when I started my journey of personal growth and self-discovery and figuring out who I am and that was one of the greatest questions that I had to ask myself at this pivotal moment of my life was who am I? And when I started digging deep into the root of what was holding me back and how I spoke about myself, how I identified what I would think or say when people would say who are you? It was always led with a negative it's I'm not this, I don't have this, or I'm just this, and it felt very low, and so you could tell that there was no confidence behind anything that I would speak about myself. And so when I was on this journey, I really had to go to these deep, dark places of my life that I was like I want to go there because that's what I've been chasing away from. And I didn't want to be in a place where my identity was limited, because I was so stifled in my growth journey that I knew that something had to change.

Rachel:

And so the story that I kept telling myself was on repeat, and that story came from my lies, the excuses, the beliefs, my past, my traumas, my dramas. All of this colored who I believed I was, and so that was the story that was a stronghold in my life. And so when I dove head first into this journey, the vast unknown was zero confidence. All I had was my faith and faith is confidence. I had was my faith and faith is confidence. And so the more I stepped confidently into this unknown, leaning not on my own understanding and knowing who I am, but who I am in my creator. And so that was very spiritual in a moment of such darkness, and that was the glimmer of light and hope that I needed to ignite in my story. And so the story started to transpire and unfold as I stepped fully into this journey of the unknown, trusting my faith.

Carla:

I love that. So the thing that pops up for me right away is like how, how does someone who doesn't have faith, or is just seeking their faith, understand what you just said and, like, begin to step closer to that?

Rachel:

Well, faith is twofold. Faith is belief. You have belief that it will work out, you have belief that it doesn't. You have confidence, which is the positive of belief, and you have self-doubt, which is the negative of belief. It's the same.

Rachel:

Everything that we want has two sides, and so I didn't know the alternate side, because I was so conditioned by living in one space and that was filled with self-doubt, criticism, cynicism, judgment, ridicule, fear, anxiety all the things that we suffer on a daily basis if we don't learn to flip the script and flipping the script is that new narrative that we get to begin and write our own story, and so that story. So my tagline in my business is create. You have the power to create your own story, and so that power is when we surrender and we trust not in our own understanding, but lean on his. Therefore, there's a new and a renewed sense of power and restoration, and that's the spirit that gets to write the story with you, the power that empowers you to become the confident woman that is in every single one of us. That doubt is there, but also confidence and faith are also there. It's a matter of which one we choose.

Carla:

To me that's such a relief, right, like I think for so long we're, we're even in our culture, we're sort of taught and pushed in the direction of like finding our strengths and our potential and like all this is kind of like all on focused on us, right, and for me, realizing and learning that I have an identity that isn't created by me, that's already there, created by me, that's already there, that takes all the pressure off, like I know for me, for years I was doubting myself and struggle with self-acceptance, and then I realized that as I'm dissing myself, I'm dissing my creator, and that was the turning point of what actually helped me to stop all the I mean stop man. It's what helped me start managing the negative self talk in a completely different way 100%.

Rachel:

That's exactly what it was for me too, because that concept of self awareness is one of the greatest tools that you'll ever have, because once you're aware, you can't, you can't unsee it. So now you spot the troubled areas in your life and you say, okay, now that I'm aware of this and it's not serving me and it's not conducive to god's plan for me, then why do I keep going down that path? Why do I keep speaking death into my life, when we keep speaking all this negative and and we're not breathing life right? So we want one thing, but we're unwilling to let go of the thing that is holding us back, that's able to get it. So it's about that.

Rachel:

The light bulb moment turned on in my head and I was just like, well, there it is, that's what's holding me back. How do I get to there? Well, I have to let go of all the things that I knew weren't conducive, weren't serving me, weren't for him, in this context of truth. So I had to start seeking what is truth. Truth was found in my identity. Truth is who he says I am. I'm already called, equipped and qualified, so why do I have to be anything other than who I am? So that's the first step. Who am I? And that was the journey of self-discovery and that's what led me into discovering not only who Rachel Brooks is, but that became my brand, that became my mission, that became the movement.

Rachel:

And I confidently stepped further into this journey. And I say confidently because it was through consistency. I was consistently pouring into the word. I was trying to find out what it is that I'm doing here, on this personal side, but my power and my source is telling me otherwise. So I had to distinguish what is truth, what is lie. And it wasn't just in the area of my identity. I started looking at under a microscope my entire life and that's when I rebuilt everything from the inside out. So that confident woman she is in every single one of us. But we've been beaten down, broken, discarded, and we've had so much stuff that has happened to us in our lives right, we can allow that, you know, fuel us from a place of empowerment or disempowerment. And I knew the alternative because I've lived it for decades and said I can't keep doing this anymore. So I'm willing to trade that in for something better and greater, because this is not the life that I'm chosen and called for.

Carla:

That's so beautiful. So I believe that and I've seen this so many times with working with people times you know, with working with people, that our greatest gift comes from our greatest pain. You know and I mean your story is such an example of that and I know a little bit about your story but would you be willing to take us back to the pain, like where you were when you flipped the script and started to make the shift, because I think people will relate like relate to that right, taking us back to the tangible situations that you found yourself in yes, absolutely, and it's the irony of this is I was just telling somebody the other day I said this is actually 10 years ago, 10 years ago this month that we're recording, and I had said I had enough.

Rachel:

I walked away from everything. I didn't know what was going on, I just needed to the space and take a break. I walked away from my marriage. I walked away from my high, lucrative job. I walked away from my friends, all the people that I had built in my, in my town, um, in Columbus, ohio. But I went back to my hometown in Buffalo, new York, because that was home and I just needed to distance myself from everything and everyone and quiet the noise and get super focused on who I am and start all over again. I didn't know what the future of, of of my life would be, because I didn't even know a future even existed for me, and that was the pivotal moment.

Rachel:

So I spent time and I share all of this like very, very real and vulnerable stories in my book Chasing Perfection A Journey to Healing, fitness and Self-Love. And so why I share this so openly is because for me to grieve and move through the pain, I had to go to that place, but not from a place to relive the pain, but a place to feel and heal and experience it from a different perspective. Because if we keep holding on to the pain and the loss and the grief and the traumas, dramas, all the things right, that will continue to hold us back and our story gets defined by that narrative that we keep repeating on loop. So I let that stuff go. I just needed the distance and the space to breathe, and so that's where I spent this time, to really renew and dig deep into what it is with that power and identity. And so I dove headfirst into, obviously, scripture, into my faith. I hired coaches, I started watching inspirational videos and motivational things, because I needed that boost of encouragement.

Rachel:

Because when we're in our own heads and there's this saying, if you're in your head, you're dead right, there's no life. When we're breathing, constantly thinking, breathing, acting, living in a place of darkness, when and where can that light come in? We have to allow that, and so it's hard for us to step away because listen, I get it, we are busy go-getting women, we got all kinds of things. There's never a dull moment in our lives. So when and where do we put ourselves first on this priority list and that was the moment I said, if not now, then when? And that when would be continued on to drag the story on. So I said it's happening now.

Rachel:

I have to do this for me. I'm very sorry if it's going to hurt or offend people, but I cannot continue to live for others if I haven't lived once for myself. And myself is what I'm here for, and that's for service, for leadership, for pouring into others and just loving them in this unconditional way. But I also had to ask myself what is love, because I hadn't experienced that kind of love, and that was also the journey. So it's a beautiful story, and I say this in a way because it has not only radically transformed my life. It has radically transformed those who have read it, because it has opened the door and the opportunity for them to see themselves in a relatable way that now gives them hope and encouragement that this too is possible.

Carla:

Well, you said something. You said I'm living for others. Was that the core piece of what caused you to have to rebuild everything? Yep.

Rachel:

It was part of it Well, not the huge core piece. I would say it's a big piece because I didn't know what my life was here for. It was a place where, as a recovering perfectionist, we deal with people pleasing. That's a big part of what perfectionism is as well, because we're too focused on well, if everything is perfect and if they like me and this is cushy and that's soft, and everything's all great then they won't get upset and they won't upset, you know, ruffle anything and they won't be mad and they'll love me and they'll accept me then. And that's not the way love works. So, as people pleasers, we think that we're doing good by pleasing people. But there's an underlying motive and it's to be accepted and to be loved.

Rachel:

And that was the first time I put it in perspective, where it's like whoa, what am I doing? Because I'm not actually loving people and I'm not getting what I want in return. So that must mean that there's some sort of unmet expectation. And when you have unmet expectations, there creeps in bitterness, anger, resentment, discouragement, disappointment. And what does that do? It keeps feeding into the darkness and it keeps that narrative and that loop going. So when I step back from that and I said I have no expectations. So my motto is expect no expectations. You just meet people where they're at and you serve them in a way that is conducive for them. You love them in a way that makes them feel seen and heard, and everything that I needed for me was a way for me to serve others in that same capacity so first, yeah, go ahead.

Carla:

Oh, no, I thought you were gonna say something else. Um, so for somebody who might be listening, who may be rebuilding, and you know, starting over is not an option, what do you know now that could speak to the heart of that person? Because they're, yeah, go ahead everyone has a choice.

Rachel:

We all have options. So we have to ask ourselves what is the trade-off? There's going to be pain of letting things go, but there's also the pain of continuing on where you're already at. So the short, temporary pain is to cut that loss and move forward with love and gratitude. Thank you for the experience. This no longer serves me, but you have taught me a wonderful lesson in this life and cut that cord and move forward. I know it's easier said than done because I held onto it for so long, but the minute I had to let that go, there was a sense of freedom and release and there was a surrender. And in that surrender it's not about you, it's surrendering the how and trusting that it will all work out, because that's what faith tells us, that's the belief, that is truth and that is the truth that I believe.

Carla:

Do you believe that people can sort of recreate their story in their existing circumstances, and what would that look like?

Rachel:

100%. I'm living proof of it, living proof of it. So, yes, I mean, like I said, I walked away from everything, but it wasn't permanent. I didn't know what. I didn't know if it was temporary, I didn't know if it was permanent. It was just a season in my life where I had to take that time intentionally, to step away, to see things differently. And so my husband and I have been together for going into our 16th year. We are stronger now than we ever have ever been.

Carla:

So you got back together. Yes, oh, that's beautiful.

Rachel:

It was just a space and a distance for us both to breathe. So I came back from that trip and with a renewed sense of who I am, what I'm here for and why, and that's the purpose. So, like I said, my marriage is thriving, where my business just went on pause because I had poured so much of my love, time and energy into my business. But, if you think about it, you only have time and energy that's so limited. Well, what do you think got neglected? My marriage right. So I started shifting things of priority, as we, as women, we're so driven. We have families, we have kids, we have jobs, we got roles, we got responsibilities. We got all these things right.

Rachel:

But where are you on this list? Who are you now on this list? Because the same person that had the idea to start the business maybe 10 years ago, is not the same person today. Maybe somewhere along the way, there was marriage, there was divorce, there was kids, there was loss, there was this, there was that.

Rachel:

There's a constant evolution of change, and so we're not the same person of the idea of who we were, and so giving ourselves that time and distance allows us now to really come together and say but who am I today and who do I need to be to become the woman I'm called and created for today? So you start mapping out a plan, and it's that reverse engineering aspect of it of now that you see what is possible because you've let go of what was there's this here and now, and that is the present moment that we're only given once today. This is the gift we're not promised tomorrow. So what can we do today that can set us up for success, for the goals, for the life that we are called for? Yes, there are our own wants and needs and desires in there.

Rachel:

But what does he say we are here for? And that's where I had to tap back into my source, my energy, my creator, my power and start asking him, not about just what Rachel wants in this life, because if you left that to me, I'm going to be very selfish, I'm going to be very greedy, I'm going to be filled with pride, I'm going to be right. We have that in our flesh of our own wants and desires, but that's not who I am and that's not who he called and created me to be. So there was that difference. So we always have that choice and that power lies in that decision and we have to choose between truth and not true, right.

Carla:

So whatever you call that, yeah, Well, and what I hear you saying and this is something I've been thinking about recently is that you know we are responsible for the condition of our soul and, like you, are demonstrating that that's what you did, right, Because it's so easy to sit back in our life and think, you know, my life is going to be better when this works out, or he's different, or this gets better, or I make more money, or on and on and on right, and that was my story too.

Carla:

I was totally victim to my circuit, like my happiness and peace and contentment was all victim to how the circumstances and how everything was on the outside. And there comes a point in time where my soul was screaming loud enough that I had to make an interruption. And I did a similar thing that you did a lot, a lot of years ago. You did a lot, a lot of years ago, and it was really divorcing an old part of myself that I knew. I knew in my heart there had to be a different way, and there is, and you're demonstrating that too.

Rachel:

Yes, and that's the thing is that with confidence comes resiliency. And for us to become confident, we have to consistently show up as that highest and best version of ourselves. And as we become more confident, we have that courage to step out, to show up, to do the things that we're called for right. And as we get knocked down, we have again two choices to stay down or get back up and you get back up and you get back up and you get back up and you get back up. And that is what resilience will teach you. And the more that you keep having that confidence, you're like, oh, I've been there a thousand times, no big deal. But when it happened once, it's a big deal. When it happened twice, you're like, ooh, this still stings. Now, when it happens like 30 times, you're just like just another moment, another day, I'll get, I'll get back on my feet. So that confidence is always renewed and restored every single day.

Rachel:

But we have to choose what we're focusing on, what we're thinking, what we're believing, and it really does come down to the power of our mindset. So there's a lot of things in our lives that can cloud that mindset and that space and disempower it. But again, we have to focus on what is truth, what is promised, and so, whether you are faith-based or not, you have to ask yourself that. Because when somebody tells you you're nothing or less than, or somebody didn't give you the promotion, the job or the opportunity, and we start to take that very personal, we start to internalize that and that becomes well. Maybe it's because I didn't get that degree, or maybe it's because I did this, maybe.

Rachel:

And we start now making up these lies about ourselves, and now that lie becomes a part of our identity, because it's a truth that we keep believing, enough that we label the truth. But it's just a lie. So we have to color it differently because it is different and we're not here in this world to be accepted by everybody. And that's the bad news here. Sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow, but the reality is is that we're not here for everyone. We're here for a purpose, and that purpose is not for the 7 point something billion people in the world. So we do have to take the sum of that rejection, but we don't take it personal. We say, ok, maybe that's not for me now, or maybe that's not in my aligned path now, and so we just have to reframe that.

Carla:

I had a coach once tell me that rejection is God's protection and I love that. You know, I just recently told my son that like because so often that's true, right, like that rejection ends up being like the greatest thing because it took you down this path you also talked about it sounds like confidence is more of a choice than a character, trait or quality that we or a skill or any of that.

Rachel:

Is that, yeah, a hundred percent? I like to think of confidence is synonymous, I mean, obviously, with faith, because if you have faith, you're confident that it will work out, it will happen. But if we look at confidence and then we look at, for example, love, you can't teach either. You have it's a learned experience. So my belief in what confidence is is going to differ from others, just like my. My experience of what love is is different from others. But we have to ask ourselves is it that kind of love and confidence that excites you and propels you and energizes you and lights you up and calls you to continue on this path of doing what you're here for on this earth? And that's purpose? Yes, on the alternative, there's the other route and that's where I found myself, kind of looking at the, you know, at the brink of a crossroad.

Rachel:

Which one do I travel? Well, that one has been worn many times. I've walked that path. I know what to expect. This one not very often had I gone down there down that path, and now that path is the one that gets all the wear. The other side yes, I've gone there in these years. I mean, we've gone back to some dark places here and there, because life does happen. But confidence, again equipped with the resiliency, will get you back up on your feet more quickly because you know what to expect and all of that with faith just takes it exponentially to a whole nother level, Absolutely.

Carla:

So share with us like where are you feeling confident today? That was an area that you really struggled with, maybe a year or more ago.

Rachel:

I would say really my faith. I mean I deepen my faith every free day. I would say really my faith. I mean I deepen my faith every free day when I look back at the woman I was 10 years ago. That was just. Is this really life? Is this all there is? I'm so miserable I wouldn't even care if I was even here. That was how dark and down I was.

Rachel:

But now I have a purpose, I have a mission, I have a movement, I have something greater than I to live for, and that's the difference is that when we're so focused on self, that is a form of suffering. But when we flip that script and we focus on serving, we get to heal, we get to begin again, because the pain is not about us. We're using that pain as fuel to help somebody else, to empower them to sit in the darkness with them, to hold their hand and hold that space, whatever that looks like. Is that your pain is your purpose, your mess is your message. And never forget that.

Rachel:

Because what god it has, what what the enemy is intended for for harm, god will turn for good. God has given us a purpose and a calling and none of that has to do with any of the darkness that we've always felt. So again, that narrative is all in our head, but we have to battle that, and that's the battle we fight every single day. So which one are you willing to fight and which one are you willing to surrender? And we already know the outcome who wins?

Carla:

So you talk about something like having something bigger than you and I just want to reiterate for the listener, like that is, that has been the most important thing in my life and overcoming self-doubt or whatever my own fears and insecurities is having something bigger than me. Because that takes it. It means I just show up for that, like for no other reason. I just keep showing up for that. Whether I'm shaking in my boots, you know, I just keep showing up for that something bigger and I just I wanted to just highlight that point. And then you talk about this is our work every day is slaying the mental dragons, and this past year I have never had to be so diligent in slaying the mental dragons and taking care of my mind, calling out the lies, and so what is your practice for that?

Rachel:

For me when the when the mental dragons come creeping in. I'll be honest, there are days and I'm just like I'm too weary, I'm too tired, and they win. But I know that that's not forever and I know that that's not the truth. Sometimes I'm just like whatever. I need a day like, just feel it, go into that dark place, just allow your emotions to process, because that heaviness is real. I'm never going to discount what you feel. What you feel is very real and experience that sit in that For us to heal, we have to feel, deal and heal.

Rachel:

That's kind of a three-step process. It's like you don't ever know how long this wave is going to keep crashing over you. But it's not your wave. So just surrender, because the more that we keep fighting it, we're losing the strength to even to continue on this journey. And so the surrendering is a big part of what I talk about, even in my book.

Rachel:

But it's about letting go and then surrender. Because if we let go, we're asking ourselves now what? Now we put that mental back into our head that we have to have control. But we don't need to have control. The control is in the surrender, and that's when everything just starts to work out right, because when we're so focused on the outcome, we forget the opportunity that we haven't had that space or allow the outcome to work for us.

Rachel:

And that was why I had to take that time away from everything, because I was so close to everything, I hated everything. At that time. I hated myself, I hated, I hated everything. Like in this world it's just like I'm done, I'm done, and I didn't know what that was. But I just done meant take that time away. So I would say you know, allow yourself to sit in the pit, but don't live there. And then when you, when you have the strength because God will renew your strength, or time or whatever your belief is, will renew, because time heals all wounds We've heard all these things right Time will allow the space to heal. And then, once you get that strength back, you get back up and you begin again, not doing the same things, because we know that definition of insanity there. But we have to choose to alternate, because we know that there has to be a way out and that is being resourceful, being consistent, being persistent, and that's what, that's what our resilience, that's what our confidence and that's what our faith continues to teach us.

Carla:

So beautiful, feel, deal and heal's what our faith continues to teach us. So beautiful, feel, deal and heal. Did I get that right? I love that. So you have a journal. Tell us about journaling, like, how does journaling tie into all of this for you and how you work with people? Yes, okay.

Rachel:

So I actually have two journals, no-transcript ourselves these honest, real questions. So it is meant for you to pause and ponder on where you are in your journey, and we have. So it's called Fit From Within 60 Days to Finding Freedom, and that is all. Three of these books Chasing Perfection, fit From Within and Create your Own Story are all found on Amazon, and Chasing Perfection is available everywhere. Books are sold, including Audible. If you don't like to read, I'll read it to you. So that's the books.

Rachel:

As far as working with me, this is what I do. I help you unpack all the things that are holding you back to find that confidence, that clarity, and get the courage to get back up and pursue this life that you are gifted and blessed with each day that God renews and restores you, and so we do the deep dive work, we get into the transformational journey and when you come out of this, you feel restored, renewed and refreshed because of this. Transformation sparks us growth, and growth is a challenge that lives us life right, if we're not growing, we're dying. Where does growth come from? Living, and that's the renewed sense of life again.

Carla:

So beautiful. I have on my board renewed minds, renewed lives, and it's just so near and dear to my heart. Okay, I have one more question, but is there, before I ask that, is there anything we haven't touched on, that's on your heart today to share?

Rachel:

I would say, you know, for us, when we look at our identities and our stories and our journeys and everything that we have, we've experienced, it's all of those are bits and pieces that we get to put together and and we look back at the through line and these patterns and we get to pick up the pieces that are no longer serving us and we discard them. We take those pieces that we know that are for us and we start to just put them in this little bucket, I would say, and as these pieces are there, you start to look at it and you start to take shape and realize all this goodness that come out of it and we realize this was there the whole time. So, when life feels like it's happening to you, we look at this bucket of all the proven pieces as proof and evidence that is working for you and that is where we get to trust and begin again and renew that belief and confidence. Because, like you said, when we're in this darkness, it's easy to fall victim into our self-doubt, into our criticism, into those excuses, lies, beliefs, and that becomes that story, and that story becomes our part of our identity and our identity is who we are and we will do anything and everything, at great lengths, to hold onto that, because that is who we are Right. So if we say that you know we're going to do something, that is something to me is a value, it's integrity. So you walk the walk and you talk the talk.

Rachel:

So you have to look at who you are and learning your gifts, your talents, your abilities and skills that you were called and equipped for. So those are your tags, I call them, and so that's what God has equipped you with. You don't lack anything and this world will always tell you what you need, what you should, what you could, all the things that you, that that are impressed upon. That feels like this angst inside of you that you can never live up to this world standard of enough. And that enoughness is found in you because you were created with, on and for a purpose and no matter what you are enough. You're perfectly imperfect, flawed, beautiful. Everything you are enough. You're perfectly imperfect, flawed, beautiful. Everything You're whole and complete.

Rachel:

And that enoughness, no matter what people tell you, even that lie in the head and this little story that you tell yourself, that is not who you are and that is not true. So fight that truth or fight that lie with the truth and find the proof in all the evidence that you've now just collected, along this journey of empowering yourself to believe that you are here for something greater than yourself. That is how you create your own story. Take inventory of this life you've lived and ask yourself is this aligned with the calling of your creator, your higher source, your power, god? Whatever that is for you, for me it's God. I find my identity in Jesus Christ and that is who I am, and that's what I found my freedom, and in that freedom is where you get to have the power to create your own story and start serving, leading, living and loving the life that you were called for.

Carla:

Such a beautiful message Take whatever stirred in your heart today and hold that, and take that. Carry that forward with one simple action today. Rachel, before I ask you the last question, you've mentioned a few places. People can find more out about what you're doing, but are there any others?

Rachel:

Yes, my website. I just made it all a one-stop shop. It is. I am rachelbrookscom, and so you can find my podcast, which is the Confident Woman podcast. You can find our courses, our books, our resources, everything on there. And then, of course, my book Chasing Perfection, like I said, is available everywhere. Books are sold online, and Fit From Within and Create your Own Story are available on Amazon, and also Fit From Within is available in a digital journal as well. So take that on the go and you can wipe that slate clean every 60 days and begin again.

Carla:

So beautiful. Okay, last question what does differently mean to you?

Rachel:

okay, last question what does differently mean to you? Unique, and that is who you are different. You are called, you are set apart, you are different and there is no one like you, and that's the power of becoming I am and I am different.

Carla:

Therefore, we are differently love, it called to be different. Thank you so much, my my friend. What a beautiful conversation. I thank you for being a light in the world and sharing the work that you do, and I am also going to be on her podcast soon, so you will be able to or it might have already even be out by the time this one airs, so make sure you check out her podcast too.

Carla:

Thank you so much, my friend, absolutely Thank you. 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.