The Create Your Day Podcast
You didn’t work this hard just to feel stuck, exhausted, or disconnected from your own life. Create Your Day is where high achieving, heart driven women come to get real about what it takes to actually feel good while building success. Hosted by Jenn Cody, your no-fluff, no-apologies bestie in your earbuds, this show dives deep into the mindset shifts, emotional wake-up calls, and small (but mighty) moves that lead to real alignment, real confidence, and a life you actually want to wake up to. If you're done with perfectionism, overthinking, and waiting for "someday," you're in the right place. Listen in for tough love, practical tools, personal stories, and a-ha moments that will leave you thinking, "Wait, why has no one ever told me this before?!" Ready to create your day (and your life) on your terms? Let’s go!
The Create Your Day Podcast
93. Stop Waiting for Lightning: Building Clarity Through Imperfect Action
Clarity feels like that elusive treasure we're all searching for – the magical moment when everything falls into place and our purpose becomes crystal clear. But what if everything you've believed about finding clarity is actually holding you back?
This episode dismantles the harmful myth that clarity is something you stumble upon like a hidden treasure. Instead, I share the liberating truth that clarity is something you actively build through brave, imperfect action. You'll discover why waiting for that lightning bolt moment of certainty keeps you stuck, and how the comfort zone you're hesitant to leave is actually where your dreams go to die.
The real transformation happens when you understand that clarity isn't the precursor to action – it's the result of it. Every step forward, even the messy ones that feel like mistakes, provides valuable data points that guide you closer to where you're meant to be. As I share from my own journey of building a coaching business, those "wrong turns" aren't failures – they're filtering mechanisms that refine your path.
You'll learn the crucial difference between measuring outcomes versus measuring energy, and why your internal compass has been there all along. Rather than waiting for perfect certainty, I challenge you to choose one thing you're curious about and take one imperfect action toward it this week. Because success isn't built through perfect choices – it's built by making enough brave choices that you eventually land exactly where you're meant to be.
Ready to stop waiting and start building the clarity you've been searching for? Listen now, and discover how even one tiny brave move can start creating the aligned life that feels like home.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to the Create your Day podcast. I'm your host, jen Cody, and this is episode 93. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome. If this is your first time here, my name is Jen, I am your coach, I'm your truth teller Occasionally some sarcasm, definitely a hype woman basically just your good friend here to hand out some truth to you, but in a very caring way.
Speaker 1:So it may sting a little bit to hear some of the things we're dishing out, but it's all in the name of self-development, making yourself better, and really my goal is to hand you the blueprint that you're looking for so you can build the life that you want, to wake up to every day and stop kind of spinning your wheels saying what the hell am I doing here and what's my purpose? Where do I go from here? So today, what we're talking about is clarity. Clarity is not something you find, and that is something that a lot of people don't believe. Clarity is not hiding in that yoga class, right? It's not tucked away inside the next self-help book that you're going to pick up or the one that you've been meaning to finish all these years. Clarity is actually something that you build brick by brick, piece by piece, messy, step by messy step, so it's a little chaotic, but you're not doing it wrong and the reason that you think you are is that you've been sold a lie. Essentially, somewhere between you can be anything you want to be and go follow your passion.
Speaker 1:We've all gotten stuck believing that clarity is something that's going to hit us across the face like a two by four. We're going to be struck by lightning at some point and there's the clarity. Like have you ever thought to yourself or heard someone say you know, you'll just know, like it's magic. But it actually doesn't work that way. And so many people think that they're doing something wrong when they're waiting for the clarity to hit and nothing's happening. But I'm here to tell you today that waiting for that clarity to hit that way is essentially the same thing as waiting for, like, a winning lottery ticket to land in your lap. Yes, is it possible? Sure, but is it actually going to happen in real life? No, probably not. You're going to sit there, you're going to get older, you're going to get more frustrated and you're going to keep calling it work. Right, you're working on yourself, but it never actually happens. So if you are waiting to feel 100% sure, before you move forward on something, you're confusing clarity with comfort. Comfort is where your dreams go to die. Not to be dramatic, but it's true, comfort is not good. Comfort is where you sit, still, when you are comfortable. Do you want to move? No, that's the same thing as when you're sitting in the same place waiting to feel something as the sign for you to move forward. It doesn't work that way. So let's call it like it is Clarity is a result.
Speaker 1:Clarity is the side effect of being brave. Clarity is the side effect of being courageous, not being cautious. Not extra planning, definitely not waiting until Mercury is not in retrograde and all the stars are aligned. You don't think your way into clarity, you live your way into it. Please write that down. You will never think your way to clarity, you have to live it. Clarity only happens when you actually take action and do those things that scare you. When you take the class that maybe you're nervous about. When you send out the email that you keep saying should I or shouldn't I? When you apply for the job that you think you're underqualified for, or when you say no, when you're so used to saying yes. These are the moments where clarity is born to saying yes. These are the moments where clarity is born.
Speaker 1:And think about what we just said. Every single one of those is uncomfortable. Clarity is never going to come if you are comfortable. Do you hear that? I know it's painful, because comfortable is nice, comfortable is comfortable is nice. Comfortable is comfortable. We want to stay there, but that is not where the magic happens. So you don't need to know before you move forward. What you need to do is find out before you move forward.
Speaker 1:So think of it like this you are not a GPS navigating your way to a perfectly marked destination, right? But we're also not going to just build the road as we drive. What we need to do you've heard me say this about, like, getting in the car. And if you just get in and start driving without there being a set destination, that doesn't work. So even if you don't know exactly, you don't have clarity, you have to at least get in and start the car and start thinking about it. Right? You can't just sit in the house, because then you'll definitely never get there. So if you think of clarity as that moment where you take the leap and you leave the house and you get in the car, that's where the clarity is going to start to come in. So maybe I've done you a disservice talking about that GPS, right? Because I've said it so many times, if you get in the car and you don't know where you're going, you're never going to get there. So have you been holding on to that, waiting for the clarity around where you're going? You have to get in the car, you have to make a move. So that's one thing that is definitely going to propel you forward and at least start the process of you finding clarity.
Speaker 1:And some of you may be feeling stuck right, and I promise that is not your fault If you're feeling stuck right now. Here's the deal You're not lazy, you're not broken. Here's the deal You're not lazy, you're not broken. You are living in a culture that taught you that movement only counts when it's perfect. You're living in a society that has led you to believe that action only counts when it's flawless. And that is just not true, because guess what? Perfection doesn't exist. It's a myth. It was invented by people who were too scared to actually do the damn thing themselves. And the rest of us are out here waiting for that perfection to show up, and it never will. You are not here to get it right. You are here to get it moving. To get it right, you are here to get it moving. Only once you start moving will you be able to make any progress towards getting it right.
Speaker 1:So what happens when you do get stuck? Feeling stuck does not mean you're off track. It just means that you haven't necessarily left the right starting line right, like maybe you forgot. You forgot that you're supposed to start before you're ready. So you're just kind of like sitting there feeling stuck and not knowing what's going on. So I want to paint you this picture Building clarity. Looks like taking a step forward and then immediately wondering oh shit, did I just step in like a giant pile of dog dew, or did I just step in a giant puddle of mud? Like what did I just do? That's what clarity looks like. It looks like saying yes to something and then going oh no, what the hell did I just do? Why did I do that? I'm never doing it again. It looks like taking that new job, realizing you hate it but still being proud that you took the chance to do it. It means launching a business idea, and maybe it's the wrong one, but it's leading you to the point where you are going to land on the right one, you're not failing.
Speaker 1:So I want you to think of it this way when you are in those moments where you're stuck and you feel like you did step in a big, giant pile of dog dew right and you're standing there and you're wondering what the hell am I supposed to do now, I guess I did the wrong thing. And so many of us in that moment stand still and and I need you to reframe that right this minute Because when you stand still at that point, it sets you back so far you start to second guess whether or not you can make decisions, because you feel like the one you just made was not accurate. So how can you trust yourself to move forward? This is how you're going to reframe that. This is not failing. It's filtering. Treat every single action as a data point. Every single action you take is teaching you something. It's giving you information. When we can take every move that we've made and learn from it and actually use it to help us learn something new, move us forward. Every single misstep becomes intelligence for us to collect and analyze and utilize so that we can avoid doing the same thing in the future. So remember that you are not failing, you are filtering. That's going to be a huge reframe and it absolutely is going to help you to move forward.
Speaker 1:Those times that you feel like you just did the wrong thing, don't let those moments make you stand still. Let them propel you forward. Look at that moment like, oh my goodness, this is such a good thing. I've been able to filter out what I did wrong and now I know how to move forward next time. So that's the way you want to look at those situations, because every single wrong turn is actually bringing you closer to the right destination. But how can that happen if you're standing still? Right, don't you have to be moving in order to move closer to the destination, even when the turns are wrong? So if you make a wrong turn and move a little bit further away, there's no way to get closer by standing still. You still have to keep moving.
Speaker 1:So how can you actually start building some clarity this week? Because, remember, we're building it. We're not finding it, we're building it. So we're going to have some homework this week. Listening is great. Action is where magic lives.
Speaker 1:So I want you to pick one thing that you're curious about. This does not have to be your forever thing. This does not have to be the make it or break it thing. This does not have to be. If this fails, I'm done. I'm a goner. I'm never doing anything again.
Speaker 1:Pick one thing, one tiny thing that you are curious about, and this week I want you to take one imperfect action towards it. Send that email, take the class, ask the question, go to the dinner, do the thing that you are afraid to do, book the call. Whatever is going to move you closer? And I'm going to give you a secret. We're talking about clarity here, right, and I said before that clarity comes from moments of bravery. Clarity comes from moments of being courageous, stepping out of your comfort zone, all of the things we're talking about doing. They require you to be bold, they require you to be brave, and that is where you find your balance. Balance is found in the bold, brave moves that you're taking.
Speaker 1:So you want to measure your energy when you do this right. You're not measuring your outcome. It's not about whether or not it worked. It's not about did I get the result I was going for After you take these imperfect actions? So let's say it's a class right If you really want to take a class that you've never taken before a yoga class, a workout class, a business class, a speaking, a public speaking class, anything, if you really have been wanting to do that and you've never done it before.
Speaker 1:Once you do it, what if you hate it? Does that mean you failed? Does that mean you did the wrong thing? Of course not. But if you measure the outcome, that's what it's going to make you feel. You're going to feel like, oh, I never should have done that. That was silly. I can't trust myself to make decisions. I'm going to sit still in my comfortable place. Instead, we're going to measure your energy After you take action. Ask yourself did this make me feel more alive and did it make me feel proud, even if it flopped? Those are the things you want to follow, because energy, I'm going to tell you right now energy is your compass. It always has been. You're looking outside of yourself for direction. You're looking outside of yourself to see when am I going to be sure of the move I have to make? Follow the energy. I promise you you will not regret it. You will not regret it because success, your success, your fulfillment, your happiness it is not built by making perfect choices. It is built by making enough brave choices that you finally land where you're meant to be.
Speaker 1:I want to talk to you guys about my journey right. Like I am so happy with what I get to do every day, I feel super blessed that I get to wake up every day. I speak to people all day long and I help them realize their dreams. I help them realize the life that they want to live, the business that they want to run. I help them really just be confident in who they are. It is a true blessing. It is something that I have loved doing for many, many years.
Speaker 1:But did it always look like this? Did it always look like what I got to do every time I woke up in the morning? Of course not. It took years and years of making wrong choices, of going in the wrong direction and using those data points to figure out where I had to pivot. It took years of me reaching out to people and getting the no right, but I never would have gotten any answer at all if I wasn't making the calls, sending the emails, asking people if I can help them.
Speaker 1:And by asking people if I could help them, I was able to see who said yes, who said no. Well, once I those are all data points I get to see oh, these people all said yes. They must be my people. What do they have in common? Oh, they're all women. They're all women who are super high driven. They're all women who are super motivated, but just are lacking a little bit of confidence. They're lacking a little bit of direction and strategy. Oh, I can help them with that. Who are the people that said no? These are the people who are not my people. So I don't need to waste time on that anymore. This is how you grow. This is how you build.
Speaker 1:If I never did that, if I would have taken the first no's that I got in responses to my phone calls and my texts and my emails and my podcast episodes everything if I would have taken all of the no's and had them mean that I was doing the wrong thing. So I should stop where would I be now? I would be in my comfort zone, doing nothing, not living the life that I'm living right now and being unhappy. So I needed to be uncomfortable, I needed to be bold, I needed to be brave. I don't want you to spend another year thinking about it. You are not lost, my friend, I promise. You are just at the beginning. You're not too late, you are on time. Remember I said success is not built by making perfect choices. It is built by making enough brave choices. That's how you land where you're meant to be. You only need one tiny brave move to start building the life that's so aligned that it feels like home, and I want to help you do it.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. If this episode gave you that little punch in the gut that you needed in the best way, please share it with someone else who might be stuck and is waiting for that sign, because, newsflash, you are the sign. Go out there, build some damn clarity, use this to create your day in the best way possible, and I will see you next week. Before we go, I am going to ask you to hit pause, go to wherever you are listening to this podcast and leave a rating and a review. It is the greatest way for us to reach a larger audience, and the more people we reach, the more people we help, and it's all because of you. Thank you so much, everyone. I appreciate you and I will see you next week. Until then, take care of yourself, take care of each other. Have a good one.