Have you ever looked around at your life and thought, “This should feel better than it does”?

You know, on the outside everything looks fine. It might even look really good. You’ve done all the “right” things. You’ve worked hard, you’ve shown up, you’ve held it all together, and yet, there’s this quiet ache underneath it all. It’s kind of like this restlessness that just follows you around.

You wake up and you’re already tired, even if you’ve had a full night’s sleep because your mind never really stops, right? You say yes when you’re already stretched thin, because it feels easier than the guilt. The guilt of saying no, the guilt of letting someone down. You move through your days, you’re getting things done, you’re checking the boxes, but uh, you still feel like something’s missing.

And if any of that rings true for you, I just want to say this right up front: it’s not just you. I have been there, too, and there’s nothing wrong with you.

So the thing is, the world that we live in has quietly trained us to believe our worth is tied to how much we give, to how well we achieve, and to how good we are at keeping it all going. We’re taught to stay busy, to be grateful, to not rock the boat, even when the boat is slowly sinking under the weight of it all, or at least it feels like it is.

So here’s what I’ve seen and lived again and again:

When you start making space to reconnect with yourself, something shifts. And I’m not talking about a flashy, dramatic way. It’s quieter than that. It’s more grounded, it’s more real.

And in this episode, I want to share three gentle things that can help. Now, these are small, doable shifts that make a big difference over time. These are things I practice in my own life. They’re things that I guide women through in my one-on-one coaching, and honestly, they have had the biggest impact.

They’ve changed so much for me. So, let’s take a breath together… and dive in.

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Pause Before You Say Yes

Now, the first thing that I wanna share with you today is pause before you say Yes. Now, I know it sounds simple, maybe even too simple, but pausing before you automatically say yes to something is such a game changer.

Most of us are so used to jumping in, helping out, saying yes, even when we’re running on empty, running on fumes, that it doesn’t even occur to us to check in with ourselves first.

The pause is your sacred space to do just that. To take a breath and ask yourself:

• Do I actually have the energy for this?
• Do I even want to do this?
• Is this mine to carry?

You don’t have to give an answer on the spot. A phrase like, “Thanks for thinking of me. Let me check my schedule and get back to you” buys you time. But more than that, it gives you space. And in that space, it becomes a little easier to hear what’s really true for you.

In my coaching, this is something we practice together. Not just the words, but the feeling underneath. That sense of coming back to yourself, even in a small way. Because the truth of it is, big change often starts with the tiniest shift.

Sometimes, it’s just one breath… and a gentle, quiet, “not this time.”

So, the next time someone asks something of you and you feel that little cringe in your gut, that subtle “ugh,” take it as a sign, my friend, a whisper from within, your inner voice.

That’s your moment to pause, to listen in, to let your body have a say.

The power of the pause.

Let Your Body Be Part of the Conversation

Alright. The next thing that I wanna share with you today is to let your body be part of the conversation, and this builds upon what we were just talking about, right? If I have learned anything over the years in my own life and from the women that I work with, it’s this. Your body almost always knows, usually long before your brain catches up.

The tricky part is, most of us were never taught to trust that knowing.

Now, if you look back, at least for me, as kids, we didn’t really question it, right? We just felt things and we responded. But somewhere along the way, we learned to second-guess it, to be polite, to be agreeable, to go along, even when something within us whispered.

This doesn’t feel right.

But here’s the thing: your body’s signals are wise.

That tightness in your chest, the knot in your stomach, the way your shoulders tense up. Those aren’t random, and they’re not just stress.

I like to think of them as little messengers. They carry insight. They build awareness.

Now, this is where my ALIGN framework gently comes in… learning how to pay attention, awareness, learning how to pay attention to those little cues.

You don’t need a long list of reasons or a well-worded excuse. If something feels off, even just a little, that’s enough. You are allowed to trust it. You’re allowed to say no or not right now. Just because your body said so.

Now, if you’re wondering how to actually do this, here’s a place to start:

The next time you get a request, an invite, a favor, an opportunity, go back to the power of the pause.

Pause for just a beat and check in with your body before answering.

• What is your body saying?
• Is there a lightness or a heaviness?
• Do you feel open and expansive or tight and restricted?

Even that tiny moment of checking in, it can be enough to help you respond with more honesty and less pressure. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

It’s just about slowing down enough to come back into that relationship with your own body, with your own messages. One moment, one practice at a time.

Make Space for Small, Soulful Rituals

All right, my friend. We’ve talked about the power of the pause. We’ve talked about checking in and listening to and trusting your body. The third thing that I wanted to share with you today is to make space for small soulful rituals.

Now, let’s be honest. Most of us are already juggling enough. We don’t need another self-help book. We don’t need another morning routine challenge.

What we do need is a few quiet moments in the day that feel like they’re actually ours. Nothing fancy, nothing for Instagram. Just simple things that help us breathe and come back to ourselves.

It might be something as simple as lighting a candle in the morning while your coffee brews and taking three slow deep breaths or stepping outside between meetings to watch the sky for a minute. Or placing a hand on your heart when you get out of bed and asking, what do I need right now? These little rituals, they don’t take much time, but somehow they remind you that you’re still in there beneath the lists and the noise and the doing that you get to have a moment. That you get to matter too.

Now, this is something that I love exploring with the women that I work with. Not in a structured or perfect way, but just gently.

We figure out what actually feels good in your life, with your schedule, with your energy and sometimes we test things out and let them evolve. Sometimes the tiniest shift makes the biggest difference in how we move through our day.

Because when even one small moment in your day feels like it belongs to you, it changes how the rest of your day feels, too.

You Might Be Wondering…

Now, you might be wondering, “Can something this small really make a difference?”

And that is a totally fair question. And my honest answer is, yes.

It is so easy to assume that in order to feel better, you need to make some giant change, a big leap, a dramatic reinvention. And while those things can be part of the story, they’re not the only way.

What I have seen again and again is that small, consistent shifts are what actually create lasting change.

Things like:

• Pausing before saying yes
• Listening to your body’s quiet signals
• Creating one simple ritual that brings you back to yourself

These are the things that help you feel grounded again, more present, more like you.

It’s not about adding more pressure, and it’s certainly not about perfection. Just little moments of truth that start to stack up and slowly and gently change everything.
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A Quick Recap

So let’s do a quick recap because we covered a lot. If you have been feeling disconnected or depleted, or if you feel like you’ve lost touch with who you are underneath the noise and the roles, I want you to know that you are not alone and you’re not doing anything wrong.

We covered three small ways to begin coming back to yourself:

• The power of the pause. Pause before you say yes, give yourself space to check in.
• Let your body be part of the conversation. Its signals are real and you can trust them.
• Create small rituals that feel like yours. You don’t need more to-dos, trust me. Just more little moments that actually feel like you.

Now, these aren’t fixes, they’re invitations, and when you start answering them, life feels less like something you’re managing and more like something that you’re living.

Want Support With This?

So, my friend, if today’s episode resonated with you and you’re ready to explore this more deeply, that is exactly what I offer inside my one-on-one Soulful Life Coaching.

It’s a gentle, supportive space to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and move into your next chapter with more clarity, more ease, and more honesty, without having to hustle or fix yourself or do it all alone.

So if that sounds like something you’ve been needing, you can learn more and sign up to work with me at rachelhupp.com/coaching.

I’d be honored to walk this path with you.

Now, be sure to tune into the next episode, where I’ll share the gentle five-step framework that helps you feel like you again, clear, calm, and not constantly running on fumes.

So stay tuned and I’ll meet you there.

— Rachel