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.

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 and 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.

Because, honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Have you ever ignored those little nudges from the universe? You know, I'm talking about those whispers that you need to hear even if it's not necessarily what you want to hear. Or sometimes it starts off just as an idea or inspiration or something that comes to you when you're out on a walk or meditating. And let me be real honest with you.

I am guilty of not leaning into those nudges all the time. I'm guilty of not listening to them, because let's face it. Right? Those just seem to be nudges. There's not scientific evidence. There's not data to back those up. But what I have really learned over the past couple of years is that those little nudges that you get, those ideas, those whispers, they're really just gifts if you listen and if you lean into them. But I think it's so easy that we take those nudges and we take those gifts and we say, no. It could never be me, or why would I ever do that, or I can't take that risk, or there's no way that I could ever because I'm not smart enough, I'm not tall enough, I'm not the right person for that job. But here's the deal.

Those nudges are gonna keep showing up and showing up, and you're either gonna keep ignoring them or you're finally going to trust yourself to listen to those and take action. And that's what I wanna talk about today, and that is trust. Trust in the universe, trust in yourself, trusting in the process. And I wanna talk about that because trust has become my word of the year, and it's not one that I ever would have expected or picked for myself. But the more I lean into this idea of trust, right, trusting in the timing of things, trusting in my decision making, the more I have learned what that really means for me, what does trusting really mean for me?

So today, we're gonna dive into what that trust really means. I wanna talk a little bit about how I learned to lean into those nudges and how you can too and how you can build more trust in yourself. 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 you can live your best life. I'm Erica Rooney, and I'm on a mission to bring more women into positions of power and keep them there. 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. Hey. Hey. Hey, y'all. Welcome back to the podcast. I am so excited to dive into this episode today because we're gonna talk about trust. And trust me on that one, no pun intended, y'all. This isn't the word that I thought that I would pick for myself, but here we are. Right?

So grab a cup of coffee. Let's get those headphones on because I wanna talk to you about how did trust even become my word of the year. Because honestly, I didn't even know I needed it. I thought I did trust myself, right? Because I always tell people, you can only count on yourself. Like you are your star player. You are the one person that you can count on. But how often do we tell ourselves that we're gonna do something, whether that's working out or eating healthier or not drinking or getting all of your emails, inboxes down to zero. We tell ourselves we're gonna do all those things, and then we let our own selves down. And we often do that because we're putting everybody else ahead of our own needs.

Right? We're putting our kids ahead of ourselves, our bosses, our colleagues, our partners, our neighbors. I mean, really, since when do we put ourselves first? It really is a struggle. And I just recognized that I would set all these goals for myself, and I would do my best to get them all done. But the ones that I didn't get done were always the ones that I was setting for myself. And this word actually came to me when I was having to make a financial decision on did I want to invest. And the question was really, like, do I have the money to invest or not? And what do I do? What is this gonna do for me and my business?

And I didn't really have the answers. And if I'm honest with you, I still don't really have the answers, but I just had this nudge that kept telling me it was what I needed to do, that that was the next step I needed to take. And so I just decided that's what I would do, that I would trust those nudges, and that I would make the investment. And that is really hard to do when you are an entrepreneur, you don't have that regular corporate salary. And you're trying to pay the bills, if you have to make a big investment, it's like, holy shit. I wanna know what's gonna pay off. But the problem is sometimes you don't. Sometimes you have to do a million things and see which one sticks. Right? Sometimes there's AB testing.

Who knows? But for me, I had to trust those nudges that I was getting that it was the right decision. And I don't mean like, oh, just trust that the universe is always gonna give you the right opportunity, because that's not the case. But what I mean by trusting is I really felt in my bones that was the right business decision for me to make. And so for me, I needed to trust my own gut. And that is so hard to do sometimes.

So I'm going to rewind it back in time a little bit for you to just a couple months ago when I started thinking about what did I want my word to be right now, probably about November 2024. And I'd done abundance before, and that really stood for abundance of love, abundance of money, abundance of purpose, and that really resonated. One of my words one year was undeniable. Right? I was undeniable. This life was meant for me that I wanted. And as I was leaning into 2025, I thought I would pick another word like that, especially since this is my first year as a full on solopreneur. Right? And I wasn't sure. I mean, abundance sounded great. Right? I like this idea of rested ambition. That sounded good, but nothing was just, like, binding to my heart.

And I feel like if you do this word of the year thing, you know when it hits you. You know when the right word is. But I just kept missing out on whatever could be. Right? But I kept thinking, alright, I need to trust myself. I need to trust myself. And, y'all, that word trust would come into my purview, and I'd be like, that's a terrible word. Don't ask me why I thought it was a terrible word. But I kept thinking it was a terrible word. Right? Here's the thing, though. Life has a funny way of nudging you towards what you need, even if it's not what you think you want. Right? So already, the universe is nudging me towards this word of trust.

So I finally trusted my gut. I leaned into those little moments where my intuition was whispering, like, Erica, hey. Pay attention to this. And that's when I said, like, okay. I hear you. Let's do this. And that's when I said, trust is my word of the year. So I wanna talk about what does it mean to trust myself. And it's not just about trusting the process, trusting that what's coming to me is made for me, which it's all of that. But it really means trusting myself, trusting my gut, trusting the nudges that I get about what is the next best step. Even if I don't have the full plan baked, right, even if I don't have the whole idea, I can still move forward.

And I'll give you an example about this. I really leaned into trust when I launched the community HER Collective. And if you follow me, I know you have seen this all over the place, but I recently launched an online digital community aimed to empower women and amplify their voices and help them get into positions of power without burning out. It's an amazing concept. And when it first popped into my head, I, of course, had these ideas of, like, you don't know how to do that. That's gonna take six months to launch. Like, what do you know about this, Erica? All of these little self doubts. But I just leaned in, and I started working, and I started leaning into what would this look like and brainstorming and thinking. And I didn't know how it would turn out. I really did not. But what I will tell you is it's been a lot easier than I thought it would.

Don't get me wrong. It has been a lot of work. There have been a couple tears behind the scenes, but mostly excitement, and it's all coming so easily and naturally. And I think that's happening because I trusted myself. So I wanted to share that example with you. Oh, by the way, all founding member slots, they're almost full. I only have a few more left. So, like, what I'm doing, it's working. But I wanted to share that with you in case you have this big idea for something at work or at home or in your business and you just aren't sure that you should do anything with it. Trust yourself to take that next best step.

And in doing so, entrusting yourself to take that next best step, you can then take the next one and the next one and the next one. And maybe it brings you down a very clear marked path, right, that you know exactly how it's gonna end up. Or maybe it totally takes you down a path that you've never walked, but has the most gorgeous and stunning and breathtaking view. So, again, trust yourself. Show up. Right?

Now if you're like me, though, you're probably like, I'm not sure how to trust myself. Like, I think I do. And I will tell you full on, I thought I fully trusted myself until I realized how I was breaking my own promises to myself. But here's how we're gonna do it. I've got three things, three ways that you can work on trusting yourself. The first one is gonna be honoring your commitments to yourself, but with a dose of compassion, and I'll get into that. The second one is listening to your intuition, trusting your gut. And then the third one is all about taking the small steps.

So let's rewind it back to that first one, honoring your commitments to yourself. This one is the hugest. It's going to make the most massive difference for you. But basically, if you say you're gonna do something, even if it is as simple as drinking more water or taking an afternoon walk, show up for yourself. Right? Do what you said you're gonna do. Drink the water, lace up your shoes, get out there and do the walk. Okay?

But here's the kicker, and this is a big one. And this is the game changer for me is do it with compassion. So for example, if you're like me, you got the intention to work out every single day. But, let's be real, like, after a rough night of night sweats and hello perimenopause, like, I see you, girl. I don't always have it in me to do that. Instead of talking trash and all that junk, I just take a deep breath and I adjust. Right? I give myself the grace, and then I move forward because trust is not about perfection all the time.

It's about consistency, and it's about kindness. And if my goal was to have a kick ass workout in the gym, but all I have in me is a walk around the block, I'm gonna take that walk. I'm gonna do what I can do. So honor your commitments. If you tell yourself that you are not gonna use your phone when you're laying in bed at night, put your phone somewhere where you can't use it or tell your partner who can then hold you accountable. Right? Put boundaries in place for yourself, guardrails if you need, so that you do stay true to your commitments with yourself.

Now the second thing is all about listening to your intuition. And I wanna know, how often do you ignore that little voice that is deep inside of you? You know what I'm talking about. The one that says, hey, girl. This is not the right decision. Or maybe that little voice that says, get after it. Go. Go. Go. Go. Do the damn thing. I want you to start tuning in.

And one thing that has helped me really kinda tune in is to get quiet. So I'm that kind of person. Like, I jump up, and in the morning, I start my day, and I immediately dive into reading a different material. When I feel like I'm really struggling with a decision or a question in the business that I'm having, I try to sit down with my journal, actually, and just take a little bit of time to meditate. Or sometimes I get out and do walking, just like think tanks with myself or with a friend where I talk through the question or the problem that is in my mind. And I do that because the quiet helps, but also movement helps. Right? People don't get these great ideas for things, and they certainly don't tune in when they are knee deep in emails or doing all these crazy things around the house. Right? You get real clear during those quiet moments. So get quiet, listen in, tune up. Your gut will never steer you wrong.

And then the third step that I told you about is all about taking small steps, but I also want you to celebrate your wins. Because when I say trust yourself, it doesn't mean go all in and take these giant leaps of faith all the time. Sometimes it really is just about the small steps. Y'all, I'm gonna be real clear. I've been putting off this podcast for like two weeks. And you know what it does? Then it just keeps showing up on my to do list every single time. So sometimes that small step, like, for instance, the one in recording this podcast was like, let me just get my ass upstairs and put myself in my podcasting seat and do the damn thing. Okay? That's all it takes. Sometimes it's as small as saying no to getting coffee with a friend because you know it's going to stretch your free time and you just don't have any to give. Right? Those are the moments that matter. Those are the moments where you can really start to build trust in yourself.

So here's what I've learned, y'all. When you trust yourself, when you really trust yourself, you align with your truest path. You start to feel less overwhelmed because you're not fighting yourself. It's not you against you. Right? You begin to see that you don't have to have all the answers all the time, that sometimes you just have to take the next best step.

Now y'all listen. Trust is not just a word. It is a practice. It is a daily decision for you to lean in, to listen, and to believe in yourself. And speaking of trust, y'all, I just wanna say I'm so grateful that I did trust myself to lean into creating HER Collective. And if you were listening today and you thought, okay, I need to double tap on that, or what did the kids say these days, double click on that? Hit me up. Message me. Let me know if you wanna join the community, but we will all be working with each other to help each other lean into trusting our gods, trusting the next best step, and just trusting that this is all gonna be the best freaking year yet. Right? Are you with me? Hell yeah.

So that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening. And if this episode resonated with you, please do me the favor of sharing it with a friend or someone you don't even know, because it really helps it land in the hands of the woman that needs to hear it most. But until next time, let's stop placing the ceiling on what's possible and start smashing through it.