How I Built the Habit That Changed My Leadership and Decisions | EP 565

I didn’t set out to change how I make decisions this year. But something subtle started shifting in how I lead, choose, and trust myself. 

In this minisode, I’m sharing the pattern I noticed when I finally looked back, and why it reframed the way I think about inner habits, leadership maturity, and long-term success. In a grounded, real-world way that actually holds up under pressure.

If you’re building something meaningful and you feel the tension between what looks smart on paper and what feels right in your body, this episode will stretch how you think about your next level. There’s a  leadership advantage you may already be strengthening without realizing it.

✍️ Sheila's Notes - The reflections I write only here. For your Expansion Season.

🧭 Your Vision Map - Name what you are building before you build it.

💎 Work With Me - Choose the most aligned pathway for your business.

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Transcript

A Tiny Habit Revealed

Sheila 0:01

Last year I noticed something that changed how I lead and decide. It was a tiny inner habit I didn't even realize I was building. And when I finally saw the pattern, it explained why certain choices had worked so cleanly and others had felt heavy and misaligned.

Why Small Actions Compound

Sheila 0:18

In this mini sode, I'm sharing the habit that reshaped my leadership, my decision making, and the way I trust myself in a world that moves too fast to think your way into clarity. Hi, welcome to the podcast. I'm Sheila Botelho, and I believe true success is built from the inside out. You're listening to a mini sode designed to help you live into what lights you up this week. So I was flipping through some books on my bookshelf this week, and a few of them popped into my mind because I really loved the things that I had learned from these books and the things that I had applied to my life and to my business. And one of them was atomic habits. And I was a bit late to the party in reading this book when it first came out, but it's one I'm really grateful to have because it reminds me of something so powerful. And that is the power of having small daily actions that you take over time, creating habits that will create a really big shift in your life over time. And I really needed to be reminded of this because sometimes we can forget the power of doing these tiny things consistently in terms of how they shape the direction of our life. And when I was flipping through it, it really hit me that this past year, from last January until now, was one of the most impactful habits I unintentionally strengthened.

Intuition As Daily Practice

Sheila 1:54

And that was my intuition. And I'm talking about intuition in terms of it being a daily practice for me, like a regular check-in and like a filter that I ran almost every decision through before I moved. And I didn't even realize how much I'd been doing this until I looked back. Now, I've always had a sense of being connected to and tuned into my intuition. But it was one of those things where I just assumed it's there and I acknowledged it. And isn't that interesting? But what I started to realize this past year was I was cultivating my intuition, actually taking note of it and looking back on the fruits of trusting it. And every quarter I'd revisit them. Just a quick glance or a quick listen, and it was truly a reminder of who I was becoming. And here is what blew my

When Logic Overrules Inner Knowing

Sheila 3:26

mind. Every time when I looked back over the past year, every time when I trusted my intuition, it was bang on. Crystal clear, really grounded and really aligned. And then I also noticed that those times where I bypassed it, because I could look back and see, oh, right, I bypassed that intuition. It was usually because something looked practical or strategic, or, you know, those times where we feel like, well, everyone else seems to think this is a good idea. So I'm going to go ahead and do this also. And I could see with hindsight that my intuition had already shown me the truth, but I had bypassed it. It's wild. And this book, Atomic Habits, which is so structured and very masculine in its approach, reminded me that sometimes the most powerful habits we build are the ones that happen inside of us, the subtle ones, the ones no one sees, like the habit of checking in, like the habit of listening before leaping forward, or the habit of trusting what you feel before

Simple Ways To Strengthen Intuition

Sheila 4:41

you rationalize it away. And so I want to ask you this. What is your relationship with your intuition right now? Do you follow it? Do you check in with it? Do you override it because your mind wants to stay safe and logical? Or do you dismiss it because you can't yet prove it? Because truly, our intuition is sometimes telling us things that are unconventional, that are out of the box. And you know what though? Isn't that why we are all unique? And isn't that why perhaps you have a desire in your heart to do something that maybe hasn't been done yet? And you're possibly the one to do it. The other option is are you strengthening your intuition in a quiet, consistent way without even realizing it? Like I was this past year. You don't need to meditate an hour a day or do something elaborate to cultivate intuition. It truly can be as simple as like a 30-second pause before you say yes to something, or a moment to notice how your body reacts when you're thinking about a decision. Like, how does it feel while you're thinking about the practical matters at hand? It's not just logical, your body has signals for you too. It could also be a quick note that you write down when something in you feels off or aligned. Like these are really little things, they're tiny habits, but when they're compounded over time, they can shape a life that feels like it actually belongs to you because you actually crafted it.

An Invitation To Tune In

Sheila 6:43

So as we move through this week and as we move deeper into the year, your intuition is going to matter more now than ever. And this isn't all about like magic or anything like that. But in this world right now that is moving so fast, your intuition is the only thing that knows you better than all of the outside noise, the expectations. So here is your invitation. Let this be the week where you tune in with some curiosity and with no pressure, of course. Just notice what you know.

Expansion Season Waitlist

Sheila 7:26

If what I'm sharing resonates and you're craving a container where your intuition, your identity, and your next level are held and supported as you build, grow, and lead, expansion season is where you want to be. This is not another course to get through and something to just check boxes with. It's a way of being, a recalibration that adds to your energy instead of draining it. It's a space where leaders like you walk, strengthening their inner habits that actually move the needle. You can join the wait list through the link in the show notes. And if your intuition is nudging you, trust that. Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you on the next episode.