Pure Possibilities - Align Your Heart, Mind, Energy & Soul

What If It’s Safe to Outgrow Who You Used to Be?

Shannon Danielle Episode 85

What if pausing isn’t losing momentum — but expanding your capacity to receive more good?

In this deeply personal episode, I share a behind-the-scenes moment that reminded me how much life can shift when you give yourself space to evolve.
 I had planned to launch our next mini-series, Who Are You Now? — but my inner voice had other plans. So today, I’m modeling what it looks like to honor that wisdom instead of pushing through.

You’ll hear:
 ✨ A real-life story about stepping out of an old identity
 ✨ Why pausing often creates more momentum
✨ How to trust your timing — even when it doesn’t make sense to others
✨ A simple embodied practice to help you feel spacious again
✨ A powerful Magic of What If card pull to close

Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is pause, breathe, and allow yourself to fully receive what’s already here.

If this episode resonates, I’d love to hear from you — and you’re always welcome to join us in the Pure Possibilities Podcast Community.

What if it really does get to be this good?

Have a question or topic you'd like discussed? Click here to send a text!

The Return To You guided audio is an exclusive gift to the listeners of the show!  Click the link to connect you to the private podcast!  https://podcast.purepossibilities.net/returntoyou

Support the show

✨ Looking for gentle ways to reconnect when life feels noisy or overwhelming? Download my free and paid guided audios — created exclusively to support you, the listeners of this show:

🎁 Return to You — a free 10-minute guided audio to help you pause, reset, and come back to yourself:
✨✨ https://podcast.purepossibilities.net/returntoyou ✨✨

🎧 This Feels Good — $27 for lifetime access to a 30-day guided audio experience + 4 bonus meditations.
Designed to help you gently reconnect with what feels good in your life — start anytime, go at your own pace:
✨✨ https://podcast.purepossibilities.net/thisfeelsgood ✨✨

Thank you so much for being here and supporting the show!

Connect with us:
🌟 https://purepossibilities.net — Order your Magic of What If card deck, explore 1:1 personalized coaching, group coaching, and energy healing sessions.

Join the FREE Pure Possibilities Private Facebook Community
✨ Weekly Live Q&A Sessions & more fun!
👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/purepossibilitiespodcastcommunity/


Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Pure Possibilities podcast. I wanted to start today's episode a little different by sharing some kind of real life behind the scenes stuff that's going on. You may have noticed that the podcast has picked up some incredible momentum over the last few weeks and I am so incredibly grateful for that, and it's such a joy to create this space for you and to know that it's resonating with people. It's interesting. The other night I happened to go back and listen to one of the very first episodes Well, actually it was the very first episode that I recorded and it was interesting because originally I wasn't going to air that episode, because it was literally the first episode that I recorded. And it was interesting because originally I wasn't going to air that episode because it was literally the first episode that I recorded and I was terrified. But it was so fun to go back and listen to where I was then, because we're at almost a year and a half now of the show and where I was then versus where I am now and how I talked about doing things messy and taking that step, and when we take the step we really have no idea where it's going to lead us to, and I have had so much more growth since that episode happened, and now we're 80 something episodes into the show, and I have fallen in love with podcasting and this week I had planned to do our next miniseries, called who Are you Now, and as I was sitting with that, I noticed like there was some resistance coming up, even though, like, I have a full on plan for this series, and there was like this voice inside of me that was like no, it's not time yet. And so then I got a little curious about am I having some resistance because things are starting to go really well, or is it just not time yet? And I guess the old me would have just like pushed through and done it anyway. But I have really been learning to honor the whispers that I hear, and honoring the whispers is what matters, because it's a deeper wisdom within my soul that is guiding me, and over the last several years I've been choosing to listen to that. So, instead of forcing the next series, I wanted to have a little bit of a different conversation with you today, one about pausing and really listening to yourself, about letting life feel good even when it doesn't make sense to others, because that's literally what I've been doing lately. As many of you are aware unless you're new to the show I recently left my career of almost 30 years I was in that specific position for about 24, but just the overall industry.

Speaker 1:

I ran a movie theater and the theater was my life, like it was everything. And over the weekend a friend of mine invited me to go to the movies. I've seen a couple of movies now since I left only two, and honestly, I didn't even really watch movies when I ran the theater Not very often anyway. I mean, I had free tickets, but I didn't want to be at work when I wasn't working, and even when I would go to a movie, I would generally go to another theater within our chain, because it was really difficult for me to separate myself from just going and being a patron rather than being the general manager, and so any little thing that was going on would activate something in me and I would still want to be working when I wasn't working. And obviously, when I go to a movie, I want to relax and enjoy my time, and so I went to a local theater that I visit frequently. Well, it was always my go to theater. Whenever I would go see a movie it's one of my favorites and so it's June and this is historically a pretty busy time for movie theaters. So the beginning of May normally kicks off the season for movie theaters and there's always big releases at the beginning of May.

Speaker 1:

And then I left over Memorial Day weekend for a week and went down to Las Vegas, which was amazing and so much fun. But that was the first time that I was ever able to take a trip and be gone for Memorial Day weekend, so that was exciting and really unfamiliar. And then this past weekend I went to see a movie and I got there and it was pretty busy, which was great to see, because obviously theaters have struggled a little bit since the pandemic a lot bit since the pandemic and it was busy, which was fun to see. And I just kind of stood there and like took things in for a little bit while I was waiting for my friends and then I went and watched the movie. I went and watched the movie and then after I was leaving and we were walking through the parking lot and I was just kind of looking around and it just hit me this isn't my life anymore and it's so strange. It was my life for like 30 years, more than half of my life, and so that was oh, I wasn't quite expecting this.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to pause for just a moment. I'm going to pause for just a moment and invite you to breathe with me. If it feels comfortable for you, place your hand on your heart and take a deep breath in and hold it and release, and take another deep breath in and hold it, and and one thing that I've promised myself is that I'm never going to pretend like everything is okay and that I'm living this amazingly perfect life, because we all go through things and I am in a completely different season now. I used to be so immersed in the energy, the rhythm, the constant knowing of what was coming out, and it was a part of my identity. A part of my identity. And now I'm in this completely new chapter and I get to design my life and my days based off of what feels good, what lights me up, and that moment when that occurred to me, I felt like these two different feelings of like massive freedom and incredible unfamiliarity and discomfort. And when we step into that next version of ourselves, there's this space where you're just kind of in the in-between. Some people call it the messy middle. Some people call it just that space where everything isn't really making sense yet. And that's where I am.

Speaker 1:

And, interestingly enough, when I made a decision I don't remember exactly it was around the time my son moved across the country and there was this moment that came up and I was like I need to pause Because I have these massive, massive life changes happening and I'm stepping into this next version of myself and I don't know what that looks like. I really don't. So I don't entirely remember where I was at. It's interesting. I was talking and then all of a sudden, my sister called me and interrupted where I was, which was actually beautiful timing, to allow me to. I felt like I was kind of going down a bit of a spiral, which is interesting also. And now here we are and I allowed myself to cry, and then the situation was interrupted by the phone call and now I'm back and more grounded than ever. So I love that for me. Okay, so we were talking about the pause, so I didn't completely pause everything, I guess. Let me clarify that during that recent pause and the space of the transition that I'm going through, the podcast really began to take off. It's almost like I stopped trying to do everything and the things that were most aligned began to really come up and flourish. So, for example, when I say I took a pause, what I decided to do is only work when it felt aligned and I felt creative and it was fun and I didn't want to create from a space of anxiousness and anxiety.

Speaker 1:

Pausing, I guess, and the power behind the pause is that you're not technically losing momentum. In whatever you're doing, you're allowing yourself space to integrate and expand your capacity for what is already flowing. Especially when you're growing or shifting identities, your nervous system needs space to catch up. Sometimes, when we're holding on to something rather than opening and allowing ourselves to receive, we are in a tight and constricting space. So let's do something together. If you're open and willing, I would invite you to squeeze your hands together, really, really tight, and squeeze your toes and your hips and your thighs and just you know like that, like a tight, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze and then release and notice how your body feels different when it's in a tight and constricted feeling, rather than once you let go and open and allow yourself to be expanded. Notice how that feels in your body.

Speaker 1:

One thing that I have really found recently is that everybody doesn't always understand the path that I'm on, the choices I'm making, and when I decided to take this pause, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. I'm creating a business and I left my job and completely switched my career and it doesn't really seem like the time where I should just take a break, take a break and rest. But that is literally what I was being called to do is to not force things, and as I allowed myself to rest and listen to my body and held space for myself, the creativity really started to flow in during the last couple of months. When I have that full body, yes, that's when I move, that's when I'm doing the things, and sometimes I get carried away and I'm working for a really long time and I'm having fun doing it. But when I start to feel like it's getting a little bit heavier, I step away and I go dance or I take a little break, I go sit out in the sun or whatever I need to do to just like, allow myself to get back into that space of ease and flow, leaning into that fun and the joy and what feels good.

Speaker 1:

Doesn't always make sense to other people, and that's okay, because you know best what you need and you don't ever need permission to trust yourself. And I'm talking about the trust that comes from that gut feeling inside of you that you know as we talk about. You know you know what feels good for you. You know as we talk about you know you know what feels good for you, you know what feels right. And it's those messages that you receive when you're not processing and analyzing everything and trying to make sense out of all of it, because our intuition guides us and it often doesn't make sense. It's a surprise and delight, and usually unexpected.

Speaker 1:

So one of the things that I did choose to stay consistent with is the podcast, because it brings me so much joy. I love being here with you, I love going into the pure possibilities private Facebook community and doing the Q&A every week. That lifts me up and fills up my soul, and you are certainly welcome to come and join us. The link is in the show description for that, and I also created this Feels Good, the 30-day audio that's available, the exclusive free gift returned to you, the guided audio experience as a huge thank you for all of your love and support. And that is exclusive, only available here as a free download to the listeners of the show. And I've got another project that I'm working on that I'm beyond excited about. That I should be able to talk about in the next week or two.

Speaker 1:

And I didn't do those things because I had to. I did them because they felt exciting and incredibly aligned for me, and I strongly believe that's when the magic happens, when you create from a space of joy and resonance and alignment, and it doesn't even have to be like physical creation, it's just creating your life. So this brings me to the next inquiry what if it gets to be this good? What if pausing is part of how I hold this next level and not just hold it but open myself up to allow myself to receive and be in that next juicy, delicious space? What if life gets to feel spacious and good without constantly pushing ourselves? What if alignment could bring more to us than the push and the hustle and the grind ever could? You can reflect on that too.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes when we take a pause, it makes other people uncomfortable because they don't necessarily feel like they have the ability to do that. But we all do. We can all take a pause and, like I said, I didn't just stop doing what I was doing. I crafted it and allowed myself to flow when it felt good for me, and that is a beautiful space to be in and that's available to everyone, not just me. Not just me, I mean, even when I was working, before I left my job, I could still open myself up to create and pause when I needed to, and what that really boils down to is connecting with yourself and getting to know yourself of, like, what actually feels good for you and trusting those sensations that come up for you and following them.

Speaker 1:

I'm not saying to just stop doing life, but allow yourself more spaciousness to be and pause for just a moment and see what happens. What, if pausing and allowing yourself the space to be open and expanded, to receive, is part of how you expand your capacity to receive your next level and allow your nervous system to catch up with that by reminding yourself that you are safe in this new space. You are safe in this new identity. Streaming down my face, you know, and emotions came up that I wasn't expecting. I honored that, I took a pause and allowed myself to move through that and also invited you to join me as I moved through that because we don't have any control over those emotions that come up through that, because we don't have any control over those emotions that come up, but we can allow ourselves to feel those feelings. Where might you give yourself permission to pause? Where can you trust the timing in your life, even if it doesn't make sense to other people? I am excited to move into the next miniseries. Who are you now? Because not only has that come up for me multiple times recently, I've been hearing it a lot from friends and clients and I know that it's going to come forward when it's meant to, and I feel like it'll be soon. I feel like it'll be soon, okay. So I would love to move into a card poll from the Magic of what If card deck, volume two, available on my website at purepossibilitiesnet.

Speaker 1:

The path you take and the decisions you make don't have to make sense to everybody. What's most important is that you're being honest with yourself and true to yourself and following literally following what feels good for you. Okay, today's card what if I take radical personal responsibility for my life? What if I take radical personal responsibility for my life? We don't get to have control over things going on around us and outside of us. But what we can do is take responsibility for where we're at and it's possible that there are extenuating circumstances in your life, that other people have impacted things going on for you and in your life, and you can still take responsibility for your life and the direction it's going and the choices that you're making.

Speaker 1:

It's interesting I was actually I don't know what I was doing yesterday but a thought came to me is that if you think about all of the decisions that you make every single day, you decide what you're going to drink when you wake up, you decide what outfit you're going to wear. You decide how you're going to style your hair. You decide what you're going to eat, you decide which way you're going to drive to work you decide. You make decisions all day long, every single day, and every day you can choose to make a different decision. If you want to change something in your life, if you want to drink more water, every day, you can choose to do that. I'm using that as a personal example. Actually, I used to drink a lot of water and then I kind of stopped, and so I fill a pitcher of water and put it in my daily fluid consumption, and it's really been helpful and I feel better when I'm drinking more water. But I had to take responsibility for the fact that I wasn't making that choice and offered myself a solution of something that would feel good for me.

Speaker 1:

So just remember that every single day, you are making choices, throughout your whole day, and if you want something to look a little bit different, then you can choose to make a different decision, to make a different choice. You can choose to make a different decision, to make a different choice. You can always choose to pause, reflect and choose the same or choose something different. Every decision you make throughout every single day is helping to mold and create and shift your actual lived experience, and all of that power is within you. Today, I'm going to continue to give myself permission to pause when I need to, to listen, to trust that the next step, the next series, the next, whatever is coming, is going to happen and unfold in the exact, perfect divine timing that it's meant to, and I would invite you to do the same. If there's a part of your life that's asking for a little more space, it's safe to honor that. You don't have to explain it, you don't have to justify it. Sometimes just allowing yourself to receive what's already here is the most powerful next step.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for being here, for being a part of this community that continues to grow in such beautiful ways. I appreciate everyone that shares the show with their friends and family, and if you'd be willing to review the show, I would appreciate that too, so we can continue to expand the reach and help as many people as we can, and you get to be a part of that too. So thank you so much for all of your love and support, and if this episode resonated with you, I would love for you to share it or come say hello in the podcasting community. You are welcome to join us. There's a link in the show description. There's just a couple of questions to answer to come on into our private community. Until next time, take care of you. Thank you for holding space for me in the beginning of the episode, and remember what if it really does get to be this good. Have a beautiful, beautiful day and an amazing week. Much love.

People on this episode