Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Snap out of it. How many times have you heard that before? Snap out of your bad mood, the rut you're in, the funk, just snap out of it. Well, I'm here to tell you it is that easy and that hard to snap out of something.

Erica: But what I am thrilled about is dropping this very special episode to you because this is the framework that I used to bust out of my rut, to get out of my funk, my depression, and my addiction to alcohol. But it's not just that. It has helped me snap out of my imposter syndrome when I was being held back by not feeling as if I was good enough to be in the room with other people. It's helped me identify areas where my perfectionism has creeped into my life and was sabotaging my efforts. And guess what?

Erica: It's still helping me today with feelings of enoughness, of worthiness, of belief that I can do big, hard, and incredibly amazing things. And I'm gonna share it with you today. Now this is science backed, y'all. And even more exciting, it's the premises of my book, Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors. Shatter Limiting Beliefs and Toxic Behaviors to Uncover Infinite Possibilities.

Erica: Because if you're stuck, if you have big dreams but you aren't chasing after them because those dreams are for special people, not you, definitely not you, you, then this is for you. If you find yourself repeating behaviors that aren't bringing you closer to your goals, this is for you. If you find yourself struggling to speak up in meetings, own your seat at the table, and tell that mansplainer to f off, this is for you. This is for you because I am you. I have been the girl and the woman in every word that I have just spoken.

Erica: This is for you at any age, any time, any stage. This is for you. And this simple four step framework will help you get unstuffed from that damn sticky floor that is keeping you from busting glass ceilings. You are listening to the Glass Ceiling and Sticky Floor podcast, the podcast that will empower you to shatter limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors to uncover infinite possibilities so that you can live your best life. I'm Erica Rooney, and I'm on a mission to to bring more women into positions of power and keep them there.

Erica: I'm obsessed with all things growth and abundance, and I'm here to talk you through the tried and true secrets to get you to level up your career and your life. We talk about the hard stuff here: imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, and burnout. So pull up a seat, pop in an earbud, and let's dive in. And I am so excited to go all in on this episode for you because here's the real deal. If you listen and you take this framework and you put it into action, it will change your life.

Erica: It will. It is science backed. It's proven. And I know it will change your life if you follow it. So okay.

Erica: I'm gonna stop wasting your time and I'm gonna jump in to the S. N. A. C. T.

Erica: Method. High level it stands for stop and take note name it ask and answer some deep and difficult questions and pivot. It's all about noticing what's going on and pivoting your thoughts. But let me dive a little deeper and I'm going to connect it with what I'm personally struggling with right now, and I think you might be too. So let me give you a little backstory.

Erica: Lately, I've been questioning myself. All of the effort that I put into this work, this podcast, my clients, my digital course, is it ever gonna pay off? Will I ever make it? And I've been feeling these feelings of just self doubt creep in. Now, you might not be on this quest to be a keynote speaker and world renowned author like me, but you probably have your own big goals and dreams.

Erica: I bet you you do. That's why you're listening and you might even be doubting yourself. But these feelings, these feelings of doubt, they're so easy to ignore and stuff way down deep. Of doubt they're so easy to ignore and stuff way down deep. It's so easy to pretend they don't exist but here's the thing shutting those feelings away in a box compartmentalizing them it doesn't make them go away.

Erica: In fact when you do that it gives them power to actually creep out of the box when you are most vulnerable or when you're trying to sleep like, Jesus, that is the worst. And then you get stuck and you ruminate and you wonder, gosh, am I enough? Can I do something like this? And I don't know. And then boom.

Erica: You're halted. You're stopped right there in your tracks. Now we all know those thoughts are bs in our conscious brain, but they keep bubbling back up because you haven't really dealt with them. And if you're gonna conquer these thoughts, those sticky floors to really open up a world of possibility, you have to shatter them. And that actually starts with stopping.

Erica: Yes. Stop and take note of the physical sensations in your body. If you are feeling anything less than happiness, contentedness, joy, fulfillment, you need to stop and take note of how this is showing up in your body. It might be nervousness, sweaty palms, a racing heart. It could be a wavering voice, constantly tapping your leg, or feelings of anxiety.

Erica: All of those physical sensation is your body's way of screaming out to you to pay attention lady. And the thing is, we quickly shut it down. We push it away and we go through the motions of our day ignoring those physical sensations and what really lies underneath that. But now that you're tuning in here, you know to stop and take note. How are you feeling?

Erica: What is happening in your body? What might it be signaling to you? Now for me recently, I've been feeling a bit blah, a bit down, a bit of nervous energy and really I guess just lackluster if you will, which is not like me and I've been ignoring it. I've been pushing through my day not really addressing that lack luster feeling, but not anymore. Because once I have stopped and I have taken note and when you do this, you're actually disrupting your brain in a way that you can say, What is this that I'm experiencing?

Erica: Which leads to the second step of naming that sticky floor. What are those physical sensations signaling? Is it imposter syndrome? Perfectionism? Is it the fear of what other people will think of you?

Erica: Is it self doubt? Now, when I dug down deep and I noticed those feelings of lackluster and just blondness, the procrastination around creating things that I would always have so much energy creating before I had to name that sticky floor. And the label I'm slapping on it right now is believing in myself. Self doubt, if you will. I could call it a million things, imposter syndrome, whatever, but it feels right to me to call it believing in myself.

Erica: And you might wonder, why do I need to name it, Erica? What's that? And the reason is when you name something, when you give it that label, you actually start to have power over it because you're understanding it for what it is. And once you've identified that sticky floor and named it for what it is, you can start taking action against it. Think about if you have a cold or something like that.

Erica: If you don't actually take a moment to figure out what physical ailment is happening and what's going on inside of your body, you can't treat it properly. Right? If you have strep throat, it has to be treated with antibiotics. You can't just take NyQuil and hope it goes away. You have to actually name that sticky floor, name that sickness for what it is, and then you can start to take the action against it.

Erica: But that, my friend, is step three of the SNAP method and what we're moving towards right now, which is ask and answer some really deep and personal questions. Now in my book, Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, there is a ton of questions I list out for you and research around what kind of questions you can ask yourself. But for the sake of today's podcast and a touch of brevity, I will share with you the two most powerful questions that you should memorize, write them down, put them on a sticky note where you can see them. Because whenever you are feeling like you're stuck in a sticky floor, you need to ask yourself, number one, is this thought helpful? And number two, is it true?

Erica: So let's peel back the onion on my sticky floor of believing in myself. Is the thought that I'm not capable of doing all of these things helpful? Absolutely not. Hell no. Is it true?

Erica: Also, absolutely not. Hell no. Now I believe in my core that I made for more and that I am capable of doing things, hard things, amazing things. So why am I feeling this way? Well, that's when you gotta ask a few more questions.

Erica: Like, when did I first notice this shift in my energy? Why am I feeling this way right now? Has anything happened that might make me go back to this old way of believing? Now those are some of the questions that I had to ask myself. And this step, the ask and answer, is the most intensive and lengthy step of the process because the questions have to be tailored to your life, your situation, and your experiences.

Erica: You cannot just follow this 10 question framework and be cured of your sticky floor. Trust me, if it were that easy, I'd be making bajillions of dollars by now. But I have found that working with a coach or therapist is really the best way to quickly dig deep through those questions because they can sometimes ask you ones that you aren't thinking about yourself. But when you get curious and when you get introspective get introspective about your sticky floor, whatever it is, when you peel back that onion, you can start to get to the root cause. Think of it like a weed, right?

Erica: Like you can cut that weed down to the dirt when you're out there in the garden cleaning up your yard, and it will look good for about a day or two. But those damn weeds are resilient and they are fast growing. And if you do not dig down deep and pull out every piece of root and chuck it over the fence into your neighbor's yard that you can't stand, alright. Don't do that. But you know what I mean.

Erica: Then that sticky floor thaw will keep coming back time and time again. You can keep cutting the visible parts of it down, but those roots keep growing deeper and deeper. The longer it's been there, the harder it is to eradicate. The more extensive methods you need to excavate that sticky floor. Now here's a side note about this step.

Erica: Many of these sticky floors have been formed, repeated, and reinforced over your entire life. They may come from the beliefs of your parents or whoever raised you or from one life experience that you lived through as a child. This is not an easy step to just breeze through, and it might take years and years of work on your sticky floor, especially if it's something as deep as worthiness or not enoughness. But please do not give up. Do not lose hope because you have to do the work.

Erica: You are made to do this work because you are made for infinite possibilities. So ask yourself those deep and personal questions. Get quiet and really reflect on why you might be thinking, feeling, and acting the way that you are. Help yourself make sense of this sticky floor because once you've done that, you get to move on to the next and most amazing step of them all which is the the pivot and this is where the magic happens but you have to trust the process once you have named that sticky floor questioned your beliefs around them you must pivot your thoughts and your ideas that you have about them So when you break it down, pivoting is simply a reframe. It's when you shift the language around a concept or an event to give it a more helpful perspective.

Erica: Now in the clinical world, it's known as cognitive reappraisal. Reframes help you shift the way you see your life and the lives of others. So if I'm having a crazy busy day, one of those that is just filled with back to back meetings, no breaks, a missed lunch, and then my calendar reminds me it's carpool pickup time, I might go into full on exasperation mode. Right. Unless I remind myself that this is something that I get to do versus something I have to do.

Erica: There are plenty of people out there that do not have the flexibility like I do to work from home and pick their kid up from carpool. So even though it disrupts my day, I am so so grateful that I get to do that. Now the pivot is powerful because it provides you that space to acknowledge your initial perspective while simultaneously recognizing that your perspective is only one perspective. Just one. You accept that other perspectives exist and those other perspectives just might be advantageous.

Erica: Now taking my current life sticky floor to the pivot, the questioning if I'm really the person to do this work, the pivot may look something like this. I'm not as well known as Mel Robbins yet, but I'm working towards it. Or from will I ever make it to the steps I'm taking towards my dreams are bringing me closer every day. You have to find a pivot that works for you. That's the trick.

Erica: You can't just pull something out. If it's disingenuous for you, it's not going to work. It has to inspire you. It has to feel right. It has to resonate.

Erica: Y'all, the pivot is personal, and pivoting is a skill that can be learned and developed over time. It certainly isn't something that comes naturally to most of us. But as the saying goes, we can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses. Now imagine how this could work for you and all of your sticky floors. And you've heard this saying by Henry Ford, whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.

Erica: Those words could not be more true. What you believe about yourself, about your life, it controls the outcome of your life. Now this is the best part of my snap method because now that you can realize you are a powerful being with the capability to change, to grow, and to achieve your dreams, You can. You can do that. So let me ask you.

Erica: What's holding you back? What's keeping you small? What's causing you stress and anxiety? And I want you to stop and I want you to notice those physical sensations. And then name that damn sticky floor for what it is.

Erica: And start taking its power away right now. Grab your favorite journal, your favorite pen, and start asking yourself the deep and personal questions. Is this helpful? Is this true? Or better yet, grab your coach or therapist and work through it with them and then get a pivot that works for you.

Erica: And keep the emphasis on the pivot. Because now when you notice those physical sensations, you can automatically, like, just take note and notice, like, okay, it's coming up again. I need my pivot. I need to do the deep work. I need to say it out loud.

Erica: Write it down. Truly feel it in your bones. Now, I love short ones like I am enough just as I am or I am worthy of success. Or one of my favorites, especially when I'm out running is I can do hard things. But pick one that works and resonates for you and then narrow let it go.

Erica: Use physical reminders like a sticky note on your mirror or a bracelet that reminds you every time you look at it and repeat that daily until the sticky floor slowly gets cleaned up, until you start to truly take power over your thoughts. Now, I love this trend about the friendship bracelets because I just made one with my daughter right now that says abundance. And I have this one on my wrist because abundance to me means abundance of creativity, abundance of potential, abundance of money, love, friendship. It just means so much. And it means that I can be expansive.

Erica: Right. So find something that works for you, a physical reminder and get it in front of your face every single day because the only thing that is holding you back from busting through the glass ceiling is you, and it's time to snap out of it. Alright, y'all. Thank you for listening and tuning in. If you haven't already dropped that five star review, do it today.

Erica: It truly helps it land in the hands of the woman that needs to hear it most. And don't forget, jump over to my socials too, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and even TikTok. I drop some really great content and freebies over there so you do not want to miss out. Now until next time remember the only ceilings that exist are the ones we place over ourselves. Let's smash through them together.