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Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:00

Do you believe in the power of words? What about a single word? Yep, you guessed it. We're going to talk about Words of the Year today as we get ready to wrap up 2024 and look forward into 2025. We're also going to talk a little bit about unlearning and beliefs because believe was my word of the year for 2024, and I've had some powerful lessons around this lately that I would love to share with you and see how it might resonate. So let's jump into a conversation where we can look at the overwhelm of life and some of the things we might need to be telling ourselves and reflecting on to be getting the most out of things, especially during this season that can be a little bit busy. I'm glad you made time to be here today. Welcome to The Grit Show, where our focus is growth on purpose. I'm your host, Shawna Rodrigues, and I'm honored to be part of this community as we journey together with our grit intact to learn more about how to thrive and how to get the most out of life. It means a lot that you are here today.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:15

As you listen, I encourage you to think of who may appreciate the tidbits of knowledge we are sharing and to take a moment to pass this along to them. Everyone appreciates a friend that thinks of them and these conversations are meant to be shared and to spark even more connections. Personally, I find it hard to believe that we are so close to the end of 2024. Typically because we have every other week episodes. I wouldn't normally have a solo episode next to another solo episode. However, we're running out of this year and I really wanted to start the conversation around the word of the year and to share with all of you a very powerful conversation I had recently that I thought might resonate with some of you. And I really enjoy sharing things that I find poignant and important as I'm learning and growing. And I know that we're all on the same journey, so I want to take time to share that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:17

And looking at the calendar, it was going to be a while if we didn't put it into this week's episode. So I appreciate that you're here and I hope that you are good with listening to me share this with you this week. So first we're going to start with a conversation around the word of the year because it's almost the end of the year and I'm not somebody who immediately decides on my word of the year for the next year. So I need some priming. I need an initial conversation to start mulling over what I want to have for my word for next year. So this is for me and for you. So we can sort of think about what word might be our word for next year. And also we still have some weeks left in 2024 to make sure that we are making the most of the word that we've had this year.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:03

So what was your word for 2024? Did you have a chance to choose one? And if so, was it something that made an impact? Have you been able to implement it and utilize it? My word for 2024 was belief. And I think especially as this year is winding down, I have had some pretty impactful opportunities to really implement and use this word in ways I didn't really imagine. I'm very excited about that, and I'm excited that I still have a few more weeks to really drive that home. I don't think I fully realized how many things that I needed to look at and apply that to. And I think it's one of the words I'm going to continue to apply. But all my words have been that way. It's kind of exciting like that. That's what I really like, having Word of the Year.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:59

And maybe it's my personality and the way that I operate that is beneficial to have something that I implement over time and is small, like a word, I have time to really drill it in and give it opportunity to grow and take root. Cause I need that. As I've mentioned before, grit. Well, that was never my word of the year, but after I started having a word of the year, I reflected and realized that my first year, the year before I had a word of the Year, I really demonstrated that grit. Hence the grit show. Right? And I think most of us here have had a year of grit, or a decade, perhaps, or are still, you know, having a lot of grit, an opportunity to grow our grit. And then grace was my first word of the year. And then gratitude.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:52

That was when I definitely put a lot of effort into having a gratitude practice and recognizing the importance of that. And that's something I revisit regularly just the same as grace. And obviously I have a podcast, the Grit show, to recognize that we've all been through some things and we've definitely grown some grit along the way to help us get to the other side of all that. Savor was my word last year, and it was very impactful for me, and it's one that I continue to use. I think that I utilize it multiple times when I'm in a situation, trying to recognize what I want to get out of it. And I just want to be able to savor the situation and really be present in it. And it's amazing to me how much I hold in that single word of savor. And then this year believe and be able to really believe what is possible and see that and recognizing the reflection that my partner, whom I love dearly and I'm so grateful for and amazed, like, how much deeper I get that and feel that, that believing that relationship as possible was the only way that I found that relationship and how much more I can have in my life if I just am able to believe in what is possible and believe in what I can have in my world.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:06

So I'm working on continuing to deepen that belief and believe in what I can have and what is possible. And that's part of the story that we're going to be sharing in just a minute about the wonderful coaching session I had that really helped me recognize some of the things that I need to believe and can believe in my life. And then I continue to work on. So as I finish out this year, I continue to deepen those beliefs and figure out what I want to believe about the world around me and about my life and believe what's possible and how that can serve me and improve what is possible for me in my world. So those have been my words. What about you? I had one of my friends who I think was complete and she has. I'm. I'm excited to actually connect with her on that and talk about the things that she has been able to complete and bring full circle in her world.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:02

It's been very exciting to see that. There's moments I was like, oh, that was a good word. I really like my word. I really like her word and what she's able to accomplish. And there's times when I was a little overwhelmed by things that weren't completing and coming full circle in my world that I was like, oh, that'd be a good one to choose. I don't think I'm quite there yet. I think I'm next year. I'm thinking for something that's more like amplify, which if, you know, I have a podcast, Authenticity amplified, right? Or clarity.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:30

I think I'm past the clarity. I think that's like in the background still for me somewhere. So it might be a little bit more like alignment was kind of what I was working on my business a little bit, could be that. But I Feel like there's like this. I don't want the word to be success, but there's like this. I'm ready to, like, level up in so many ways and, like, get things to that next place. And there's a word for that. And there's a word, and it needs to be the right word for me because I need to have a word that doesn't have pressure, that feels like energized and will motivate me and really becomes part of this underlying values for me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:04

Right? Like, the words I choose end up being this underlying current for me. So that's why I need to sit with them for a little while and see how it feels and how it fits and make sure it's the right word that I want to have as part of my foundation. Because as my words of the year become for me, and it might be different for you, but it's a great time to start thinking about, like, what do I want more of in my life? What do I want to reflect on periodically and have give me energy and give me fuel and be this cornerstone I can go back to as a priority for me for this year. And when things do get overwhelming and when things feel like a lot, it's a place for me to go back to that can be that base for me and where I want to jump off of and come back to. And what are the different words that have that power for you? Is it connection, friendship, family, achievement? Are you in a place where you want to be reaching higher and achieving things? Is it going back to one of the words I've had, going back to gratitude, grace, forgiveness? Maybe you're in a place that you really want to be, embracing that or joy, maybe whimsy. What really resonates with you? And to start thinking about this now because we have time. It's not 2025 yet, but you want to find the one that fits and works with you. And it's going to be for the year, the place that you can come back to.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:46

So we're just planting the seeds. We're not having to decide anything just yet. But I wanted to come on here and say, like, hey, where are you at? If you've had a word this year, how's it going? Do you feel like you've got it to a place where you want it to be? Do you wanna, like, as you're going into this holiday season? Cause I'm guessing there's a holiday in here you might celebrate. If you're gonna be spending time with family, is there A way for you to express your word and work it in there that you wanna give a little more time, a little bit more room to flourish. We're only really a 10th or 12th of the year left for you to like, find your place with it. There's still time, so you want to revisit that and find its place. You could even repeat the word for next year if you want more time with it. That's completely allowable.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:35

If you're in a polder, I'll give you that clarity. You can do that. You can find a way to work it in more, or you can start this late new too think about what word you might want for next year. So we're planting those seeds. We'll revisit this in January and come back to this. And so see planted, start thinking about it. And I wanted to share with you some amazing work I've been doing with Mary Lou Rodriguez, who I think is fabulous. She is very much into the neuroscience of wealth and being able to connect with what your blocks are and what's holding you back.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:14

And I've had a wonderful experience working with her and unlocking some of the things that might be holding me back. And each time I've met with her, the things we've been able to unlock have been fabulous and really helpful for me to see things in a new way for me. And the last time I met with her, it was interesting because I'd actually, you may or may not know this. I have another podcast, Authenticity Amplified. And this is meant for solopreneurs who are trying to get more connections with their ideal clients and grow their business, because that really links to my podcast network and supporting people with podcast guesting and the other work that I'm doing. And so for that podcast, I had Wendy White on and we were talking about messaging and she has so much offer. She's fabulous. And clarity around all of that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:01

And she was talking about how sometimes to find like what you stand for, it helps you to look at what you are against. And so look at the opposite side to kind of get that clarity. And so it kind of helps, you know, the darkness and the light. Sometimes you gotta to balance that out to be able to get the outline of things a little bit. It was a really helpful tool. And interestingly, we were starting to talk about the fact when I was doing my coaching with Mary Lou about me and the fact that I am very busy and I don't want to be busy. And it's very interesting because I get themes, I get that if something keeps happening, there's a reason it keeps happening. There's a pattern.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:41

We look for patterns. If you're somebody that does like the mid level manager, executive coaching work with me, we look for patterns. So I get that. I have a clinical degree. I get the patterns. Patterns rule. And I have a pattern of being very busy in my life that is definitely a pattern in my life. I talk about not wanting to be busy.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:01

I believe that I can be successful and not be busy. Like, I know I believe that I'm like, do I just like, get rid of those beliefs, replace them as soon as I with something else? Is it because I hear all the time that to be successful in business you have to be busy? Like, what's happening? Am I replacing the belief of, no, I can be successful, I don't have to be busy. I don't have to prove anything to anyone I like, but it's necessary. So that's why I'm busy. It trips me up because I get that I am always busy. And chances are I am busy with each job that I've had. I have this interesting story about me choosing the job that I was busier at that had less time off and probably about the same pay. And that's the job that I chose because I be doing things with more impact.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:48

And that's why I chose it, because I want to make an impact. And so maybe it's because I value impact and impact means busier. Like, what, what is this? What is this about? And I get that. Yet I want to be walking on beaches and spending time with all of my life and painting and baking and taking long walks and doing dance classes and having leisurely conversations with people I enjoy. Like, I want all of these things too. So I'm very confounded by the fact I continually to keep busy. I have three podcasts. Why do I have three podcasts? Like, that's me being busy.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:26

So I'm not. The alignment is kind of off there. And I realize I must be contributing and I don't have very good clarity with that, but I get it. I'm the one that keeps being very busy. So what is that about? And it was interesting because for the first time I had a very good conversation with my coach, Mary Lou. And in that conversation, she really helped me unlock, like, what were my messages as a kid around being very busy. And sometimes it's that. That contrast message, right? The contrast of the message.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:00

So my dad was very, very busy. I love my dad. I think very, I think very highly of both My parents. I actually love all my family members very, very dearly. I feel very fortunate that I have them. We all have families that have their foilables and their things. And I actually feel very fortunate that I have the family that I have for a lot of reasons. We all have our things that don't go right.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:23

But there's a lot of great things about my family and my parents that my dad was very, very busy. And if you listen to country music, which I'm guessing many of you don't, but there's this Trace Atkins song. I hate a country music when I was younger, so I have a mess. I like, connect with people who don't like country music because I used to hate it, and then I converted because I love lyrics and words. I'm a words person. Remember Shauna the Storyteller? I have novels, right? So I love words. And there's some pretty good lyrics in country music, and this is one of those examples. So Trace Adkins has a song that is called the Working Man's Wage, and he sings about how about the money he makes compared to, like, the bales of hay that his dad would bail when he was younger.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:11

And my dad, he grew alfalfa on my property, and my dad Bill did bills of hay, right? That's something we did to earn a little extra money for our family to help keep us afloat when I was younger. And so he's like, I hope that I am worthy of a working man's wage. I'm getting all choked up, you guys. This happens. Are you used to that about me yet? So. Because, like, that's how I've always felt. Like, I've been so lucky that I have a master's degree and I've gotten these wonderful jobs. And, like, my dad works so hard to take care of our family.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:48

There's four kids, and my mom worked in the school cafeteria. She worked at a Hallmark store once. Like, she worked. They worked so hard to take care of our family. And my dad was so busy and working full time and then bailing hay and doing other things to, like, bacon's meat for our family. And they'll laugh if they choose this clip to put on social media with me crying on video. But he was making an impact. He was out helping people make an impact.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:21

My dad was also the one that fixed everybody's cars. Like, he was always the first person you would call. My friends remember him, because he fixed their cars for them and helped out everybody. So being busy meant that he was making an impact. He was helping people, he was taking care of his family, he was doing all this. So to be able to make an impact and help people. You were busy and you had to be busy to do all that. I had to pause recording so I can stop crying.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:47

This is silly. It's not silly. Emotions are good. And to realize that for me, like that's where that definition comes from. Like if I want to make an impact, I have to be busy. I have to be working full time hours and working on top of that. And if I'm not doing that, that I'm not making an impact. And that's where that original definition comes from.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:10

That in order to make an impact, I need to be super busy. And I can't make an impact if I'm not super busy. It's just not possible. Right. I can't also do things that I enjoy and still make an impact. And the flip side of that was that my mother, whom I love dearly, God rest her soul, right? She was. We lived out in the country, we were very isolated. Remember those fields of hay? Right? When I was real young, my mom was a stay at home mom with all of us.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:40

And as we got older, she took on kids, she babysat at some point and then she worked for the school district in the school cafeteria. And eventually when I was older, she went back to school and she became an aide at the school. Especially when I was younger, she was very isolated, living out in the country and having young children. She'd moved to the area with my father, so she didn't really know people and she wasn't especially social and she was a bit shy. She was just someone who kept to herself and wasn't very self assured. And so she wasn't somebody that easily made friends, which if you knew my mom, everyone that knew her, like outside of our family, she was very sweet, she was very loving, she laughed, she was so good with kids. And I remember that very highly of her. So I don't think people realize that she was very.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:37

She was depressed when I was younger and had a hard time with things. And she was. Felt things deeply and had a hard time. And so it was interesting that I had this definition from when I was very young, that busy meant impact, meant helping others, meant being out in the world. And the opposite of that was isolated, secluded and depressed. And it was so valuable to have this conversation with my coach and realize that that's the definitions I had. So if I'm not super busy, I'm isolated, depressed and alone. Isn't that Wild.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:20:29

And it's something I never would have looked at that, like, back to what these things meant when I was a kid, these definitions that were ingrained in me at a young age that I don't even look back to. I was looking at the definitions around me going, no, I don't need to be hugely successful. I don't need to make a ton of money. Like, I just want to make a difference. I just want to make an impact. I just want to do this right. It's not about those things, and it's about that. And then I related to, like, the one time later in life when I wasn't busy.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:01

It was after a tragic thing had happened in my life and I was unemployed. I'd been fired. If you've listened to the show, you've heard that story. That's the only time that I wasn't busy, when I was in a not good place and living in a. Like, a socially isolated area, not around all of my friends. And so that was either I'm super busy and don't get enough sleep and work 16 hours a day, or I'm isolated and depressed. So those are like the two. The two extremes, which is absurd, right? Like, when you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:40

You think about that, that's absurd. But that really explains why I have such a hard time letting go of the busyness. Like, I cognitively know. I know. I know that I don't have to be busy to be happy and make an impact and be successful. Like, I know that. Like, I know that. And yet keep taking on more.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:01

And I keep taking on more. And I took the busy job, but I had the options between two jobs. I'm like, oh, I'm not gonna be happy if I take this job, because I can run circles around the people doing this work, and I'm gonna take the job that there's not the people doing the work. Why would I do that? I thought it was, oh, it's my personality. No, it's these childhood beliefs that I ingrained without realizing that I ingrained them. It was so powerful to unlock that, to realize that. And I still have a way to go with the practice. Right.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:33

We'll revisit this next year at the end of the year, right? And be like, oh, we finally did something with that. Well, we'll see. My word of the year is it can help me kind of unlock and find that. Right. That's why words of the year are powerful. But the belief, like, I need to change those beliefs. I need to get rid of that belief that I Had to be busy in order to make an impact, that I have to be busy to avoid depression and isolation. Isn't that wild? Like I hope you don't have that belief.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:23:02

I hope that's very unique to me. But, but that's my belief that that's what those things equate, that it's either busy or it's this instead of no, I can have an impact and be connected. I can have an impact and have room for the things I love and that bring me joy. It's possible. But I need to believe that I can have an impact and make a difference and be successful and still have room to go to a yoga class and to go dancing and to paint and to bake and to go on long walks and to spend time with the people I enjoy and feel connected to them. But I have to believe that. And until I believe that, it's never gonna happen. Which is why my word of the year is so important and understanding the things that I need to replace in my beliefs, right, because I've had that belief under the surface here.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:23:58

And even though I know that wasn't necessary, that belief is what was churning up and making things happen that way. Just like I didn't believe for years that there was a Robie, that I had the love of my life, that this relationship was possible. I did not believe it was possible to have this amazing, incredible relationship that I currently have. I didn't have examples of that. I didn't believe I could have that. And I do. I have this amazing supportive partner who gets me, who gets like as much as a lot of people just think, oh yeah, she's busy. I don't know why she works so much.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:24:37

Like he gets it, he gets that I'm busy and is so patient with me and loving, understanding. Last night I told him I'd be off my call at 6:00 and it was 6:40 before I came downstairs. But he had dinner on the table probably at 6:00 because that's what I was trying to go downstairs and waited for me till 6:40 to have dinner with me. Amazing partner who like gets how hard I'm working and gets all I'm trying to do and is so amazing, understanding and supportive. Fell asleep on the couch waiting for me to come down to actually watch TV with me and then stay up later than he wanted so he could watch a little TV with me. Cuz he knows I need to wind down before I go to bed. Like incredible supportive partner that I have who I get to Go on adventures with who I get to laugh with, who is so patient with how hard I work and is supportive of how hard I work and also wants me to go on trips and wants me not to be that busy and is supportive of everything I'm doing to try to not be that busy. But I had to believe he was possible and I got that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:25:33

So I just had to believe it's possible for me. Did not have to be busy and still make an impact and do incredible work and make a difference the way that I want to make a difference and have a successful business the way I want to. And if I believe all that, I will find a way, the universe will help me find a way. Powers to be will help me find a way, and it will happen. One of my podcasters, her way of saying it was, was Gus, God, Universe and source all as one. So if you believe in God, universal source, whatever you believe, and I totally support you, and for me those things are all one. We can call them whatever we want to call them.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:26:11

It's the same powers and Source. So hopefully you can work with me on, on my belief of that. So if you believe in God, then I believe that God will allow me to have the things like that in my world. And if you believe that the universe is a source of that, that universal source will help me have those things and those things can be possible. If I believe that, I just need to be able to believe that. And that is the first step. So it's been really powerful to work with somebody who can really help me see those alignments and those pieces, because that is the first step. So aren't you curious what my word's gonna be for next year? I am.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:26:46

I'm curious what your word's gonna be. I know that believe has been a powerful word for me this year. Like, this is a good example how it, like can integrate on so many levels. Right? Yeah. So are you still thinking about it? I hope you are because we are getting closer to the year and I hope you're here. This, if you've had one this year, that your word has been powerful for you and helpful for you because that's what it's there for. So let's jump into our self maintenance minute because we don't always do that when I do solo episodes. But I really want us to do that today.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:27:17

And I think that that reflection has been the most powerful self maintenance piece that I've been doing lately. And a lot of that is reflecting on the messages that I need to hear and giving those messages back to myself. And that's been what I've been doing the most to be supportive and to have that reflection piece. And so I really need to have give myself permission to embrace belief at the end of 2024. And some of that is letting go of beliefs that are not serving me that I didn't realize I had. Right? I didn't realize I had that belief of those two things to recognize the beliefs that are. That are pushing behind things and moving out those beliefs and finding the beliefs that I want to replace them with that are more powerful and that can definitely serve me because I believe that I can have room for time with the people I love and for the activities that I enjoy and the movement that my body craves and still make an incredible impact through my business and through my podcast and still be able to do those things. I believe it's possible and I'll find a way to make that possible because I believe it's possible.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:28:19

So that's the important piece. And I also going to reflect on things like asking myself, have I rested enough to do my best work? Because I am in a string. I've worked over a month straight now, every day for varying periods. So some days it's been closer to a couple hours. But I have worked straight and have a funny story. I could tell you about the impact of doing that, but I'm keeping myself in the right space for that. But I also need to make sure that I'm resting enough to keep up that pace and that will change. That's going to change because we're working on changing that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:28:50

It's a process though. So I need to make sure I rested enough. So have you rested enough? Do your best work and to give yourself the awareness, acknowledgement that you are resting so you can do your best work and that rest is an important part of success. Rest is part of success. So be sure to tell yourself that and remind yourself that and to actually enjoy and savor. There's that word again. Word of the year. Savor your rest instead of having any guilt with it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:29:19

Right? Because we give ourselves grace. Another word of the year. So doing that piece and then telling myself things like, you're not behind, you're exactly where you need to be. Because it's been really hard lately to not feel behind. Even if I am keeping up the space, right, I'm still making sure that I'm taking time to rest. Right? And I still feel behind. I still feel there's a lot to do and I need to keep reminding myself I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. There is this divine timing that I don't even understand.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:29:50

And there's a reason why I'm delaying or postponing or things haven't gone done yet. And it's okay. There's a reason why my video podcast needed to be launched a month later than the audio podcast. It's okay. Like there's divine timing behind this. It's all going to fall into place and I just need to trust the timing and trust it's going to work out. And I'm not behind. I'm exactly where I need to be.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:30:10

And you are exactly where you need to be as well. And you need to believe that. I need to believe that. We all need to believe that. Okay. And you also need to remind yourself that other high achieving individuals, high achieving women, other high achieving individuals feel this way too. You aren't alone. We aren't alone.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:30:29

We aren't alone in this. Right? We're trying to do a lot. We aren't alone. So my self maintenance right now is to give myself the messages I need to hear. And if you need to hear these exact messages, just like timestamp this portion of the podcast and listen to it over and over again. Okay? These are messages I need to hear, you need to hear. But that's my self maintenance right now is reflecting on these messages that I need to hear and telling them to myself and being that time taking care of myself as giving myself the messages I need to hear so that I'm in the best place for that. And then our grit wit, you know what this is already, right? Is that you need to start giving yourself space to start reflecting on what your word of the year might be for next year.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:31:10

What is it that you want more of in your life? What is the thing that you want to put at your foundation to build on in 2025? What's the concept? What's what you want to lean into? What do you feel like is going to be important for you as you move forward and give yourself. If you're not sure, if you're really not sure, then just like plant that seed, just give that reflection, give that space to say, like, what might it be? What would be the thing, the concept that we can boil down to a word? It's gonna have the biggest impact on me. And the next year. What's the one point of focus, the one concept that I think would make a difference? Is it completion? Is it understanding? Is it grace? Is it connection? Is it faith? Is it space? Is it rest? What might you need? Is it wellness? Give yourself some time to think about it. We have room. We'll revisit this, but your great wit is to start thinking about that and put that into place. So glad you made time for this. I'm glad we got to connect.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:32:40

I value the time we shared together today. Thank you for making time to be here and to continue taking steps towards growth and bringing more ease into your life. Love for us to stay connected on Instagram, @shawnapodcasts or @the.grit.show. There's even a link in bio at @the.grit.show where you can send me an email to let me know what you thought of today's episode. Hearing from you helps to make the effort that goes into producing these episodes worthwhile. After all, you're why I'm here. And since it's been a while since you've heard this, you are the only one of you that this world has got and that really does mean something. I hope you realize that I'll be back again soon and I hope you're following along or subscribed so that you'll know and be here too.