Transform Your Life - Just Count Me In

#7 Why Waiting for the Perfect Time is Holding You Back

• Sari Stone • Season 1 • Episode 7

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This episode explores the transformative journey of change and how it can be a roadmap to living authentically. With personal stories and actionable insights, we delve into the connection between mindset and personal growth.

• Discussing the feelings of being stuck in life patterns 
• Sharing lessons from gardening as a metaphor for personal growth 
• Introducing practical tools for embracing and initiating change 

Whether you're seeking clarity about changes you want to initiate or struggling with perfectionism, this conversation is designed to ignite your passion and inspire you to take actionable steps. Join us as we delve into the significance of daily practices in nourishing your soul, embracing imperfections along the way, and celebrating progress in all forms.

If this episode resonates, please share it with a friend who needs a little inspiration today. 


Thank you for joining me!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Just Count Me In, a podcast designed to help you break free from your limitations and step into the life that you actually were meant to live. I'm Sari Stone and I'm a holistic coach with a background in education. For the past six years, I've been guiding people to transform their lives from the inside out. My journey, to be honest with you, was not always clear out. My journey to be honest with you was not always clear. For years, I actually felt like I was living someone else's life, checking all the right boxes but never feeling quite truly fulfilled. That all changed when I experienced a few miracles, met some incredible teachers and had a major wake-up call that forced me to shift my entire perspective. And had a major wake-up call that forced me to shift my entire perspective. Wayne Dyer once said when you change the way you look at things, the things that you look at change. And that is exactly what this podcast is about Helping you see your life in a new way so that you can start living with authenticity, purpose and passion. Each week, I'm going to bring you 30 minute episodes filled with insights, practical strategies and inspiring interviews to help you uncover what truly lights you up and identify what's been holding you back. Eventually, this is going to ignite your motivation and create real change. Are you ready to step into the life you were meant to live? Then just count me in, hit, subscribe and join me on this journey. If this episode resonates, please share it with a friend who needs a little inspiration today. Let's do this together. Have you ever felt stuck in patterns that just don't serve you anymore? Have you ever planted seeds that just didn't grow? Do you ever sense that you're on the edge of something greater, but you're not sure how to move forward? Well, I've got something incredible to share with you. This is a framework that actually has the power to shift your life in some ways that you never even imagined before. Change isn't just a word. To me, it's a roadmap for transformation, and in this episode, you're going to have some tools to help you decide whether you're ready for a change. Maybe choose something that you would like to change, narrow down your process of thinking. It's going to give you a framework with some guiding questions, practices like affirmations and a meditation, and end with an invitation for you to plant your seed by digging a little bit deeper with me in my Change Masterclass, which is coming end of March and you'll get an update on that next week.

Speaker 1:

So I'm sitting and looking out over my garden and I'm so grateful because I have a garden for the first time in the wintertime. We're in South Carolina. A year ago it was just dirt and now it's like magic. There's broccoli coming up and parsley and kale and rosemary out front, and my friend gave me a basil plant and I'm just so excited and no, this isn't going to be about gardening, but it's sort of going to be about gardening your life. Okay, because when I looked at the garden, I thought, yeah, I didn't know what was going to come up, what wasn't going to come up. I made the mistake of planting some things at the wrong time. At the end it was too late in the season, so I had beautiful plants that never made zucchini or squash. I was a little disappointed and my lesson with that was I planted the wrong season, it wasn't the right time, and I started to think this is like change in our lives. Okay, so stay with me on this, right?

Speaker 1:

So just because you don't see the results you want doesn't mean that you should always be discouraged. There's questions you could be asking yourself why do I want this change. In one of my groups, this brilliant coach, amy, actually brought up the practice that we did in cognitive coaching and it was called the five whys. Did in cognitive coaching and it was called the five whys and you just ask yourself a question like why do I want this change? And then answer it, and then answer that with a why and then answer that one, and when you do it five times, it can be a completely transformational experience as to why you really want the change. So I would suggest you start with something like that to make sure that you're choosing the change, and it can be a small change or a large change.

Speaker 1:

It is March and it is the season of new beginnings and sprouting and new growth. And it's spring and last week we spent time letting go of a lot of things that were in our way due to the upcoming new moon, which happened last week, and now it's time for us to plant. So we want to make sure, just like I did with my garden. What are the conditions? Is it the right season for me to be doing this change? Did I cultivate by having the right soil in my garden? Do I need to get some weeds cleared out, which hopefully, I did some of that last week, and the week before I did, I actually wrote mine out and burnt the piece of paper and flushed the ashes right down the toilet and it felt fantastic.

Speaker 1:

If you've done the work and you've cleared some things, then just think, because more weeds will come up. Here's what I know for sure. When you're on the path to authenticity, when you're on your path to your highest self, you're going to be going along just fine and all of a sudden, something's going to come up and say You're going to be going along just fine and all of a sudden, something's going to come up and say except, you didn't clear this yet, so it's AFGO, another freaking growth opportunity. And you've got the opportunity to clear that at this level now. So don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen right away and if you have more internal work to do, okay, work to do Okay.

Speaker 1:

Another question that you can be asking yourself is am I flowing with life no-transcript things a little bit more? And I think about this because I look at my plants and I look how some of them turned around a little bit and faced a different way, and some were next to big plants so they had to grow a different direction and I thought am I adapting? I mean, plants work within the confines of nature. They adapt, they recover. There's a period of drought, then they recover again and they always reach toward the sun. So am I reaching towards the sun with this change?

Speaker 1:

And am I saying as an excuse that things have to be absolutely perfect before I start planting the seed in my garden? Because that my friends, friends and I've done this plenty of times? You wouldn't be listening to this podcast if the right time is defined, as everything was perfect in my life and I was perfectly prepared because I knew everything there was to know about podcasting before I started. No, it wasn't, it just felt like the right time and I'm learning as much as I can. So sometimes it can be an excuse for your perfectionistic self to just say, no, you're not going to do it because you're not ready, because you're afraid that it's not going to be perfect, because you're afraid that you're going to fail, that the seed's not going to come up. I say plant that seed, take care of it as best you can and just start some daily practices to take care of it, to nourish it, to nurture it. So are you feeling your dreams? Are you feeding your dreams? Are you feeding this with daily practices? So daily practices can look like gratitude. They can look like just awareness, like I couldn't wait as soon as things started sprouting, and I wasn't even sure by the time they sprouted where I had planted what.

Speaker 1:

I wasn't completely organized with this process and I'll admit I forgot where I planted some things. And things would come up and it would be like, oh my gosh, I don't know what it is, but something sprouted up and I would be sending pictures to my kids just so excited. And I celebrated every single step of the way. I didn't just wait till months in. I see broccoli and we're going to have some for dinner, probably tonight, pretty, pretty excited about that. So I didn't wait for that. I celebrated the sprout, I celebrated the fact that they made it through a snow which doesn't happen very often here in South Carolina and I noticed every little thing that was going on with them every day. I talked to them and I just went down just for a moment and said hey, and checked in, and I know it sounds silly. I also fed them good fertilizer.

Speaker 1:

But so my question is when you're making a change, are you feeding your soul? Because change at the soul level is going to create change at the physical level. Change at the soul level creates the change externally. If you've not made the shift inside, I would say go back in and do the work, because what comes out is going to be an expression of what is inside. It's a good practice to learn how to deal with doubts. Doubts are going to happen and I think Baron Baptiste said doubt your doubts. My teacher said doubt yourself, doubt God, because when you're divinely guided to do something and you're expressing yourself and you're doubting yourself, you are in essence doubting God. So here are some affirmations, followed by a very short guided meditation before we close out today, and I hope you'll find these valuable.

Speaker 1:

I let go of what no longer serves me and I make space for my new growth. I remain open to the ease and the flow of change. My mind is filled with ideas for positive changes in my life. My energy is aligned with love, joy and purpose. I nourish my dreams with care, patience and belief. I give thanks for every step of my journey. I learn to embrace change, Grace change, with an open heart and an open mind.

Speaker 1:

Okay, if you want you can sit for just a moment in this quiet meditation. So I would invite you to take a couple deep breaths in, take a deep breath in and hold at the top and then release it out slowly through your nose, feeling your body relax. A breath in, feel up gently, hold it at the top and exhale through your nose, letting these waves of calm just come over you, letting go of your day. You don't have to do anything right now. Another deep breath in, filling up with the light and a slow breath out through your nose, letting go of any remaining tension or stress. I want you to be aware of the light and imagine that light, if you will, pouring in through the top of your head, swirling around your brain, feeling your palms get soft and the soles of your feet get soft, and let that light come behind your eyes and into your ears and allow that light down your throat, let it fill your heart and swirl around your heart and radiate it out. Radiate that beautiful love out 360. And then let that light come down through your stomach and through your hips and down your legs, let it swirl around your knees and your ankles and out through the soles of your feet and just be with this for a moment the part of you that is and always will be and always has been, is and always will be and always has been.

Speaker 1:

So picture yourself in a garden and it's a beautiful, beautiful spring day, much like the day we're having here today, and there's birds singing and I can hear trees rustling with the leaves. I can feel the ground underneath my feet. In your hand, you hold a small but powerful seed. This seed represents the change you're ready to embrace. You dig a small hole in the rich, nourishing soil and gently place the seed inside, as you cover it with earth. You set your intention, something you wish to grow in your life. Maybe it's more peace, maybe confidence, maybe clarity. Now you can imagine the rain gently falling, giving it just the right amount of water, the sun shining down, giving just the right amount of energy. And even though we don't see anything on the surface for a while we don't see anything on the surface for a while that seed you planted is beginning to grow. This is your journey. Growth takes time, but with the right care, you too are going to blossom and bloom. Take another deep breath in and out, and, when you're ready, gently open your eyes.

Speaker 1:

I hope this practice helps you feel more grounded and ready for the journey ahead, and if you're starting to feel inspired, I invite you to join me for my Change Masterclass launching late in March. To stay updated, you can follow me on Facebook just count me in, or my Instagram, and just message me if you want to get on the wait list for the course. Transformation starts with a single step, so just count me in. Until next time, keep growing, keep believing and remember you are capable of amazing things and we are all in this together. I hope you're walking away with some good questions, a fresh perspective on change and a pretty simple but clear-cut framework to help you make decisions that can transform your life in so many different ways.

Speaker 1:

Spring is all around us and it's the season of renewal and growth and new beginnings, so why not make this your season for transformation? Email me or DM me to sign up now and reserve your spot for the Masterclass Change, which I'll be teaching in late March. More information next week and I invite you to step into this journey with me. Let's plant the seeds of change together. Join me in the Masterclass launching in March and you'll get the tools, guidance and support to create lasting shifts in your life. Stay tuned for more details next week and until next time.

Speaker 1:

So are you ready to change? Are you ready to make a change? It's the season for it. It's the season for new beginnings. I would invite you to please come with me and change with me. Thank you so much for joining me today. If you liked this episode, please let me know. Stop by at social media, on Instagram or my Facebook page Just count me in and please leave a comment. If there's anybody that you think could benefit from this episode, please forward it to them, and I look forward to seeing you next time. We're all in this together.