EP124 From Imposter Syndrome to Icon Energy: The 2026 Life EDIT

Just as an FYI if you need it…. 

You’re not behind.
You’re not broken.
And you don’t need to try harder.

But you might need to stop dragging outdated versions of yourself into a future that doesn’t work for you anymore.

In this episode of The Reinvention Era, I cut straight through the New Year noise and BS and asked a question most high-achieving women have never thought about…

What if reinvention hasn’t worked… not because you’re doing it wrong, but because you’re doing it too damn hard?

This is not “new year, new you”.... This is editing.

Because most women listening aren’t starting from rock bottom. They’re starting from really f*cking competent, capable, high-functioning… but quietly exhausted.

Life looks fine.
The calendar is full.
The inbox is answered at 6:12am with a coffee going cold beside you.

And yet… something feels off.

Not wrong.
Just muted?

This episode is for the woman who has evolved internally… But whose life hasn’t quite caught up yet.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

✨ Why pushing harder keeps you stuck
 (and how over-efforting actually reinforces imposter syndrome)

✨ The difference between a full life overhaul and a clean identity edit
…and why most women only need the latter

✨ How “identity lag” keeps you performing a role you’d never consciously choose again

✨ Why reinvention feels so confusing when you’re already successful
 (and why this is a sign of expansion, not failure)

✨ The EDIT Code as a practical filter for 2026
 so the woman you’re becoming doesn’t feel like an imposter in her own life

✨ How to move from imposter energy to icon energy
 without burning everything down or disappearing off to “find yourself”

This episode is for you if:

• You’re high-functioning but emotionally flat
• You’ve done the work, read the books, listened to the podcasts… and still feel off
• You’re tired of fixing yourself and ready to reclaim yourself
• You know (quietly, privately) that your next era requires a different version of you
• You’re done with survival mode and craving clarity, confidence and calm authority

This is about editing what no longer belongs, so your life can finally support the woman you’re becoming… NOT the woman you’ve outgrown.

No drama.
No pressure.
No performative transformation.

Just one clean, powerful shift.

Press play if you’re ready to stop asking “what’s wrong with me?” and start asking “what no longer fits?”

And if this lands?
You’re already in your next era.

👑

🔥 DOWNLOAD FREEBIES TO FUEL YOUR REINVENTION

📲 FOLLOW on Instagram and Facebook

🩷

Transcript

Sarah Elizabeth  00:00

Hola, hola and welcome to the reinvention era podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Elizabeth, queen of reinvention, professional bullshit cutter, and also the woman who will absolutely call you forward when you need it. Love. So with that in mind, let me ask you something, and I want you to be really honest with yourself, what if the reason that reinvention hasn't worked out for you yet isn't because you're doing it all hashtag wrong, but because you've been trying to do it too fucking hard? What if 2026 doesn't need more effort, more discipline, more fixing? What if all it needs is a clean edit? Because most women I work with don't actually need a full on life overhaul. They just need to stop dragging around outdated versions of themselves into a future that doesn't work for them anymore, and that's what today's episode is about. It's a biggie because we're talking about editing 2026, the 2026 edit, if you will, not New year, new you. We don't do that. Not goal setting till you want to cry in a darkened room somewhere. Not another version of, why can't I just get my shit together? What's wrong with me? This is about editing your life, yes, but gently and strategically so that the woman you're becoming doesn't feel like a freaking imposter in her own body, in her own life. So we are talking taking you from imposter to icon, from imposter syndrome to icon status. Yes, we are, and believe me, it doesn't actually take that much, even though most of us seem to think that it's really goddamn hard. But let's face it, most women listening to this podcast are not starting from ground zero. You're not lost, you're not clueless, you're not incapable. You're high functioning, super high functioning. You're competent, really bloody competent. You've built things you've held things, you've survived, things you're fucking powerhouse inside there, my friend, which is exactly why reinvention feels so bloody confusing. Because from the outside, your life probably looks fine, like you replying to emails at 12 minutes past six in the morning. You know the coffee's going cold next year already, mentally running the day you've got meetings, books, kids sorted, life's moving, and then you sort of catch yourself going, is this it? But maybe you're even living society's definition of success, whatever the fuck that's supposed to be. But you know, you've got all the things, all the external markers, but inside you just feel flat, almost muted. Nothing's wrong, but something's missing, like you're performing in some role that you once chose but actually wouldn't consciously choose again. And that that gap, it's not failure, like it feels it's this weird form of like identity lag. You've evolved at some level, but your life hasn't quite caught up yet. And when that happens, I find that women tend to do one of two things. They either push harder, which looks like more discipline, more pressure, more Why can't I just or else they absolutely freeze and overthink and procrastinate and doom scroll like it's a national fucking spot and basically be full of self doubt only neither of them are exactly strategy. 

Sarah Elizabeth  04:42

So let's talk about a third option. What about if we don't necessarily add more balls to the zillions we've already juggling, but instead just maybe review what balls we've already got and actually whether we need them. Yeah, you know, maybe reinvention isn't about adding more shit to your play, but it's about editing what no longer belongs there. Think about a film edit, right? If there's a scene which doesn't work, you don't reshoot the whole fucking movie, do you? You cut the bit that drags you tighten where it matters. You let the story flow, and I guess I'm just saying that your life works in the same way. So today, I just want to walk you through my Edit Code of reinvention, not as a philosophy, but as a practical filter option for going into 2026 not all at once, not overwhelming, just one clean layer at a time with some micro actions that you can actually use, right? So we start with the E, which stands for energy rehab. This is about, this is about taking you from depletion to capacity. And we start here because realistically, nothing really changes without it. You see, most women think that their problem is motivation, confidence, clarity, or a mix of all three, but nine times out of 10, it's actually energy. And I'm not just talking about physical tiredness, but emotional, cognitive, nervous system fatigue as well. Like energy is looking at what you're consuming, from food to the news that energy input what you're taking in, because that affects your output. And it's also like looking at your environment, like from your physical environment to the friends you spend your time with, especially if some of them are mood Hoovers that fucks your energy and you can't make aligned decisions from depletion. You can't get confidence from survival mode. You can't feel like an icon when your body feels under threat. You know, I like to think of our emotions as E, motion, energy in motion, sadness, anger, negative emotions. That's negative energy in your nervous system. It was happiness, excitement, joy. That's all great energy for you, but that is generated from so many ways, right? So your initial energy rehab edit for 2026 is to ask yourself this question and answer it honestly, what is quietly draining me that I've normalised like, for example, the WhatsApp reply that you resent like fuck, but you send it anyway, the call that you stay on too long, much longer than you planned, the calendar invite that you automatically say yes to whether you want to or not. It's replying no worries when it absolutely is a fucking worry. It's answering messages in the car before you even turn the engine off, being the emotional support human for people who never check if you're okay. Not big, dramatic stuff necessarily, but the small, constant energy leaks, the over explaining, the being available by default, the carrying shit that isn't yours, the staying in commitments that you've outgrown, all of that stuff equals a massive energy leakage, and it really drains your supply. So one micro action for energy rehab for this week that you can do, pick one energy leak in your life and reduce it by 10% that's all not eliminate it yet, not confront everyone, just less energy rehab is not about this radical rest. It's about less self abandonment, focusing on your cup, first and foremost, your very own energy rehab, right? So that's E. 

Sarah Elizabeth  09:44

D is the do the damn thing, because we do need some action, but the right shit. So this is about going from hesitation and doubt to movement. Momentum, because once energy stabilises, action becomes totally possible again. But where most women get it wrong is that they wait for the confidence before they move. They're waiting to feel ready to do the thing. But confidence doesn't come first movement does. You have to start moving. But, and I think this matters, we're not talking frantic movement like icon energy isn't loud. It's not in your face and utter chaos. It's just decisive. So the D in Edit isn't about doing everything. It's about doing one brave thing consistently, however small, like one client, didn't quit her job or launch a business. She just stopped over explaining herself in meetings. That was it. No preamble, no apology, no TED talk, just that was it. Just three months later, the promotion conversation was initiated by them, and this, my love, is where the imposter to icon shift starts to actually happen. Imposter Energy says, I don't know. I don't think I'm ready. I'll maybe do it sometime when I feel ready, icon Energy says, I'll do it. I'll act first and let the readiness catch up. Love. So a micro action for this week, for the do the damn thing the day of edit, is to ask yourself, what is the smallest brave action that moves me 1% closer to the woman I want to be in 12 months. Then do it? Just do that this week. No big announcement. You would not believe the compound effect of these small changes I'm telling you. 

Sarah Elizabeth  12:02

Okay, now the big one I in edit is for identity alchemy. This is the heart of it, because most women don't feel like imposters because they're actual frauds. They're not deliberately and intentionally misleading anyone for malicious gain. No, none of that. They feel like imposters because they're still living from an identity that no longer fits them. It no longer works for them. It's like you've gone from a size 12 to a size eight, but you haven't bought any new clothes yet, and you're yanking at the waistband all day, adjusting it, feeling uncomfortable, wondering why you feel awkward when nothing's technically wrong with what you're wearing. You know you don't need to change your body. You just need clothes that fit who you are now. And it's exactly the same with identity shifts. You've evolved. Your body might know it, your nervous system might even know it, your values know it, but your habits, your roles, your expectations of yourself, they haven't updated yet. So the identity edit I want you to play with for 2026 is to stop asking Who should I be, and start asking yourself, Who am I becoming unavailable to being? What are you no longer available for? Icon energy isn't about becoming someone totally new. It's about no longer acting in versions of yourself that you've outgrown a long time ago. So a micro action for identity alchemy is to let's finish this sentence right. In 2026 I am no longer willing to be the woman who dot, dot, dot, fill in the gap. That's identity alchemy, believe me, it's powerful stuff. Love, love it. 

Sarah Elizabeth  14:01

And finally, we have T for thought detox. And this is taking you from the noise and the busy and the to more discernment, right? This is the mind, because your thoughts are not actually the problem, but your relationship with them might be. Because I feel like most women trying to reinvent themselves are thinking too much, not too little, too much. So your thought detox rule for 2026 is not every thought deserves a response. Not every thought deserves a response. Like the thought that says everyone seems to know what they're doing, that sort of thought doesn't need a response. It just needs a bit of a raised eyebrow, interesting and not useful. Thanks, but no thanks. Brain. icon. Energy has this, like I say, discernment. It decides whether a thought is worth engaging with. Imposter. Energy has got this pure, unnecessary reactivity is like you don't need to stop negative thoughts if they happen. You just need to stop believing every single fucking one. So a small detox for this is when you notice a spiralling thought. Ask yourself, is this a fact, or is it a fear, and then just pause and think, because that pause is power, is there really evidence to prove this thought, if you had to go to court, say beyond reasonable doubt? Is it really true is there another way that you could choose to think that that's detoxing your thoughts? 

Sarah Elizabeth  16:11

So that's EDIT let's land this right? Imposter to icon is not getting louder then. It's not being busier. It's not forcing yourself. It's not forcing to be yourself, to be out there. It's more, calmer and clearer, and it's got self trust. Icons don't hustle for permission. They edit their life until it matches who they are, and that's what 2026 is inviting you into, not more, just better. And it's about this. Edit, energy, rehab, do the damn thing, identity, Alchemy and thought, detox. Now, over the coming months, I'm going to be building something around this imposter to icon journey like an identity stabilisation process for women who are done living half expressed lives. So if something in today's episode landed for you, if you felt a little bit seen rather than pushed, stay close, because this is absolutely not about fixing you. You ain't broken babes. It's about finally editing your life so you can live as yourself freely, in peace, authentically, beautifully you. You don't need to have all of 2026 figured out, you just need to stop dragging around versions of yourself that don't belong anymore. So next time you're standing in the kitchen staring at the kettle, wondering, if that's it, remember, nothing's wrong. You're just ready for a cleaner edit to start the Edit, trust the process, and I'm walking it right there with your love, so do let me know if that's helped this week. I love love. Love it when you guys rate and review the episode honestly, truly. It only takes you a couple of seconds, and you might think nothing of it, but the difference it makes is unbelievable. So please, if you have enjoyed this and you want to know more about impossible to icon edit any of it, do let me know. And in the meantime, it's your time to go shine you gorgeous icon, you. So thank you for being here. I will be back in your beauts badass earbuds again next week. So until then, I'm sending you so much love. Bye.