Speaker 1: This is Open Mind. Welcome to a brand new week.
Speaker 1: Here is your mantra, I Embrace growth and change. I'm
Speaker 1: your host, Jema Stagg, and I'm here to guide you
Speaker 1: towards a more centered and fulfilling life. Each week, I'll
Speaker 1: share personal stories and insights that are focused on a
Speaker 1: specific mantra, plus journal prompts and a weekly challenge for
Speaker 1: all of us to help put it into action. Think
Speaker 1: of martra as your mental reset button, a way to
Speaker 1: stay centered as you juggle work, school, family, and whatever
Speaker 1: else life throws at you. Each mantra is a simple,
Speaker 1: powerful phrase you can repeat to focus your thoughts and
Speaker 1: bring a bit of calm into your day. It's a
Speaker 1: small tool with a big impact, clearing your mind, lifting
Speaker 1: your mood, and rooting you in the present. If you've
Speaker 1: listened to my other show, The Psychology of Your Twenties,
Speaker 1: you'll know that I'm all about those little nuggets of
Speaker 1: insight that make a big impact. So, whether you're looking
Speaker 1: for some extra inspiration or you're trying to ground yourself
Speaker 1: amidst the chaos, you have come to the right place
Speaker 1: at Open Mind. We value your support. Share your thoughts
Speaker 1: on social media and remember to rate, review, and follow
Speaker 1: mantra to help others discover the show. For more exclusive content,
Speaker 1: monthly bonus episodes, early access, and at free listening, join
Speaker 1: our open Mind plus community on Apple Podcasts. This week,
Speaker 1: I'll catch you up on what's been going on in
Speaker 1: my life, and then we'll dive into today's mantra. I
Speaker 1: embrace growth and change. Whether you're facing a big shift
Speaker 1: or you're just looking to level up your day to day,
Speaker 1: this mantra is all about helping you grow. Stick around,
Speaker 1: and we'll be right back after this short pause. Welcome back.
Speaker 1: We're going to get into this week's mantra in just
Speaker 1: a minute, but before we do, I want to fill
Speaker 1: you in on what's been going on with me lately
Speaker 1: and how this mantra has been showing up in my life.
Speaker 1: I have been contemplating some pretty major live shifts as
Speaker 1: of late, the kind that I think really makes you
Speaker 1: pause and wonder what's next and not necessarily know what
Speaker 1: the right answer is. The biggest question on my mind
Speaker 1: is whether it's time to pack up and move, maybe
Speaker 1: not just to a new city, but possibly a whole
Speaker 1: new country. I feel like we all reach a point
Speaker 1: like this acrossroads where we feel comfortable, settled, even with
Speaker 1: where we are, We're very keen to put down roots.
Speaker 1: But there's this pull towards something that's bigger, something more exciting,
Speaker 1: and yes, as well as something that might feel kind
Speaker 1: of scary for me that Paul has been Europe. I
Speaker 1: know it might sound a little bit strange. Australia is beautiful.
Speaker 1: It's the lucky country. I love it here. It's so
Speaker 1: serene and calm, but sometimes it feels like there's not
Speaker 1: enough happening. And as I continue to grow as a person,
Speaker 1: I'm feeling ready for a big change, ready to meet
Speaker 1: new people, ready to dive into new cultures, maybe like
Speaker 1: experience life from a fresh perspective. It's that classic push
Speaker 1: and Paul. Part of me is rooted here, and another
Speaker 1: part feels drawn to something that might challenge me in
Speaker 1: ways that my life currently doesn't. I can feel myself
Speaker 1: moving towards a new life chapter and my old life
Speaker 1: isn't feeling as fulfilling as it once did, but I'm
Speaker 1: kind of stuck in this waiting room. I'll talk about
Speaker 1: this a little bit more later on in this episode,
Speaker 1: and I'm definitely going to keep you up to date
Speaker 1: on how these feelings progress in the coming months. But
Speaker 1: I wanted to give you a little insight as to
Speaker 1: why I chose this martra today. So look, this week's
Speaker 1: guiding phrase is definitely not for the feint of heart.
Speaker 1: Anyone who has ever encountered change, even the smallest kind,
Speaker 1: knows that often everything in us cries out for things
Speaker 1: to stay the same. It is a very human instinct
Speaker 1: to be safe in what is comfortable, But this mantra
Speaker 1: forces us to confront a truth that our lives are
Speaker 1: always evolving, whether we're ready for them to do so
Speaker 1: or not. Growth doesn't feel as intimidating as change in
Speaker 1: my mind. We're constantly moving through new experiences, some good,
Speaker 1: some bad, others just neutral, but each one helps shape
Speaker 1: who we are and who we're becoming. That is growth. Change,
Speaker 1: on the other hand, feel more unsettling in comparison to
Speaker 1: growth because it doesn't carry the same component of positive
Speaker 1: natural progress that we usually associate with growth periods, especially
Speaker 1: in our twenties and our thirties, the idea of change
Speaker 1: can be really overwhelming because we've spent so much time
Speaker 1: trying to get things to a stable point. But here's
Speaker 1: the thing growth and change. They aren't just inevitable, they're
Speaker 1: also essential. They're often what pushes us towards becoming our bestselves.
Speaker 1: They move us closer to the lives that we are
Speaker 1: meant to live, that we deserve to live. At its core,
Speaker 1: this phrase encourages us to go with life's flow, to
Speaker 1: choose to lean into change rather than resisting it, knowing
Speaker 1: that something ultimately quite positive, if not just different, can
Speaker 1: come from that experience. Embracing growth also means stepping beyond
Speaker 1: the comfort zone, trying new things and learning along the way.
Speaker 1: There is nothing more human in my mind than making mistakes,
Speaker 1: especially when those mistakes expand our understanding of who we are.
Speaker 1: This phrase is really here to remind us that uncomfortable
Speaker 1: moments aren't obstacles. They're opportunities. And that's the key word here, opportunities.
Speaker 1: In my experience and from what I'm seeing right now,
Speaker 1: it honestly feels like everything around us is really evolving
Speaker 1: at lightning speed. Every day we are presented with new trends,
Speaker 1: new ideas, new technologies. There's always some new big idea
Speaker 1: to wrap our minds around, and it can present as
Speaker 1: something that's going to challenge us that constant evolution is
Speaker 1: going to perhaps make our lives feel unstable. An example
Speaker 1: of this that I was thinking about the other day
Speaker 1: was the invention and spread of AI technology and how
Speaker 1: many of us feel uncomfortable with it. There's fear of
Speaker 1: what that's going to do to our jobs, our way
Speaker 1: of interacting with one another, and our way of interacting
Speaker 1: with the world. That is an example of change that
Speaker 1: feels rapidly quite uncomfortable, and it's definitely a big picture example.
Speaker 1: But when you think about it on a more micro
Speaker 1: scale in terms of your own life, something may be
Speaker 1: changing in your family, with your relationships, in your career,
Speaker 1: even your living situation. Maybe whether it's a breakup or
Speaker 1: you're moving in with someone, there's a new friendship or
Speaker 1: a broken one. Life keeps presenting opportunities to grow that
Speaker 1: are hidden in these moments, even when they are challenging.
Speaker 1: I guess what I'm trying to say is that embracing
Speaker 1: growth and change is key. We need to stay flexible
Speaker 1: and resilient. And my favorite word here is resilience, because
Speaker 1: when we are resilient, we understand that no matter what
Speaker 1: is coming into our life that feels unexpected. We can
Speaker 1: kind of see it in two ways. We can see
Speaker 1: it as something that is going to threaten us all
Speaker 1: we can see it as an opportunity instead of holding
Speaker 1: on to what is familiar just because it feels safe.
Speaker 1: I think about this especially in terms of relationships. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's with an ax, a friend, a former colleague, someone
Speaker 1: that you're just not as close to anymore, who maybe
Speaker 1: doesn't make you feel great about yourself. You can hold
Speaker 1: on to that good but not great relationship because it's
Speaker 1: always been convenient, because it's been something that you've known
Speaker 1: for a really long time, and because your brain has
Speaker 1: made you feel safe and secure and comfortable in that
Speaker 1: emotional environment. But you could also move beyond that relationship.
Speaker 1: You could realize that you deserve great and that there
Speaker 1: is going to be some pain, some temporary discomfort. But
Speaker 1: these new experiences and the opportunities that you get from
Speaker 1: making space for someone new is worth so much more.
Speaker 1: And I think this my set, changes the way that
Speaker 1: we deal with life. Being able to pivot, be resilient,
Speaker 1: be flexible when things shift. It doesn't just make you
Speaker 1: stronger mentally, emotionally, socially, it also makes you happier as well.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about what all this means for us,
Speaker 1: and let's start with the emotional discomfort of change. One
Speaker 1: way that we can really adopt this mantra is by
Speaker 1: thinking about our best, most ideal self, the person we
Speaker 1: want to be in the long term, someone who perhaps
Speaker 1: has their dream life, has moved to a place of abundance,
Speaker 1: who is more authentic, who is more confident. Really imagine
Speaker 1: that person for a moment. Imagine that person that you're
Speaker 1: going to be in five years, in ten years. What
Speaker 1: are they doing, What does their day look like, what
Speaker 1: are they wearing? What are the obstacles that they now
Speaker 1: facing that they can handle even better because of what
Speaker 1: you're going through now. Is that person going to be
Speaker 1: realized without change? Probably not. Is that person going to
Speaker 1: come into existence without growth, No, definitely not, because if
Speaker 1: that person was already to exist, you wouldn't be thinking
Speaker 1: about these things because it would already be in place.
Speaker 1: When adopting this week's marchra, I embrace growth and change.
Speaker 1: I want you to really think about how it's going
Speaker 1: to take you from where you are now into your
Speaker 1: future self. Just remember this, This is all about seeing
Speaker 1: change for what it is. It is not an enemy.
Speaker 1: It is actually something that helps us become the best
Speaker 1: version of ourselves. Coming up, let's get personal. I'm going
Speaker 1: to get real about how this marchra plays out in
Speaker 1: my life, the ups, the downs, how I've navigated through it.
Speaker 1: Stay tuned after this brief pause.