Write Your Way Through Hard Times

What if we aren’t supposed to figure it all out?

When life gets hard, our minds want answers, certainty and control. In this episode, I’m sharing what’s been helping me navigate the things I can’t fix or fully understand—and how writing can help us find solid ground and the next step forward. 

Mentioned in this episode:
Dr. Lee Warren’s podcast, The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast - conversations about transforming your mind and finding hope through neuroscience and faith.

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Transcript

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Not Alone In Hard Seasons

SPEAKER_00 0:02

I know that many of us are going through hard things right now, or witnessing loved ones or others around us going through hard things. And I wanted to just assure you that you're not alone and that I've been going through hard things too. Things that I can't always share here, but what I do want to share is what has been helping me through and what I've been witnessing in the circles of my life. And it's really just people carrying big things, sometimes quietly, because sometimes as parents, we're carrying things that our children are navigating. And they're not things that we can really share, but they're things that we're having an experience with too. A lot of us are going through uncertainty, a lot of us are going through change. A lot of us maybe are walking through life with aging parents, new stages of marriage, new stages of parenting, health, work, things, a lot of things that we just can't control.

Writing As A Lifeline

SPEAKER_00 1:07

And that's why I wanted to have this conversation today, because we often, most time, most of the time, don't get to choose the hard things or the circumstances of our life. But we can choose how we walk through them. And that's the thing that can make all the difference, right? I keep coming back to something that I heard this week is that God gave us a process to work our life out. And I'm going to say more about that in a minute. But it really struck me and it reminded me of when God called me to write 20 plus years ago, and he met me on the pages of my journal in a season of just surviving as a new mom, navigating new terrain, new hard and wonderful things as a brand new mama. And I listened, I write, I started writing, and I've never stopped. And here's why: because it became a place where I could calm my mind, get perspective, and find an action that felt purposeful. It was so different than feeling trapped by my circumstances. And I began repeating this in my life over and over and applying it all over. And it's been so impactful. And I've been guiding others and teaching others to do that for the last 20 years. And when I heard that God gives us a process to work out our life, this has been a process that God led me to to work out my life. God met me on the pages of my notebook and He will meet you there too. I think sometimes we can make writing more complicated than it needs to be. Remember, it's not about being a writer. It's not about even enjoying writing. It's not about having beautiful words. It's not about knowing what to write before you sit down. It's really just a place you can bring your actual life. The messy thoughts, the things you're grappling with, the things that you're grasping for control around, the fears, the gratitude, the questions that you don't have answers to. It's a place to work out the things instead of letting it all spin in your head.

Your Mind Directs Your Brain

SPEAKER_00 3:24

So the thing that I heard was uh from Dr. Lee Warren. He has a podcast, and he's a neurosurgeon who is blending science and faith. And I learned so much from him every time I hear him. And on this particular day, he said this. He said, Your brain listens to what your mind tells it to focus on and calls it into existence. And then he said, which is why over and over again in the Bible, Jesus says, believe and you will receive. Then he said, This is about having faith to believe that God has given you a process to work out your life. And God wants to help you do that in more ways than you can ask or imagine. Just sit with that for a minute. That blew me away. What if we're not supposed to have it all figured out in our heads? What if part of navigating our lives is making enough space to get quiet, see and hear, to ask better questions, to remember what's true, to see what we couldn't see when we were moving so fast. So guess what? The hard part of this, the but the must-do part that I am finding to be so true is that we have to surrender to the

Surrender Busyness And Get Quiet

SPEAKER_00 4:55

mind, to the to-do list, to the busyness, to the constant need to be moving and doing. Writing slows you down. Sometimes the next thing isn't to do more, contrary to what your brain wants you to think. The next thing most often is just getting quiet enough to see what's actually needed in this moment and being reminded of this again and again. The urgent things will be there, the emails will keep coming, the list will continue to grow. And sometimes navigating hard things well looks less like figuring it all out and more like remembering what matters and who you're to be while you're walking through it.

Choosing People Over To Dos

SPEAKER_00 5:41

This week a loved one called in the middle of the week and the work day, and my brain was freaking out, feeling like, oh my gosh, I have too much to do, not enough time. But my mind and heart loudly said, This is the most important thing you can do right now. I walked away from my desk and what I was doing, had such a good, good conversation. I will never regret this. The to-dos waited, and I returned to them with more love and more energy to put into it. So, friend, maybe there's something here that you needed to hear today, too. Remember to call out the lies that keep you in the grind and look for the perfect interruptions that actually maybe aren't interruptions at all. They're invitations to carve out what matters most and to get the fuel that you need to keep

Invitations And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 6:32

going. Speaking of interruptions, I want to invite you to a few things. One is I'd love to hear how this podcast is landing over there for you. You can send me a message on your podcast player. You should see a button that says send Carla a message. I can now reply to those messages. So I would love to send you a message back and hear how this is landing for you. Number two, I'm gonna be hosting four uh When Life Gets Crazy writing experiences in October. If you haven't joined us, come check it out, share with a friend, save your spot. If you have joined, come back. There's no limit to how many you can come to. And if you if you've never done this, know that it's an hour to step away from your life, get a fresh perspective, and experience how writing is a tool for leading your life. And lastly, friend, if you want to be in the know of the upcoming events and just receive more notes and tools and ideas like I share on this podcast, I want to invite you to join the email community. And you can do all of this save your spot for the classes, join the email community all on my website, which is

Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_00 7:49

differentlyco.com. All the links are in the show notes. Thank you for being here today. I look forward to being with you next time.