26 | How Your Environment Shapes Your Nervous System, Identity, and Business Growth
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Hey, thank you so much for tuning in to the Spiritually Embodied Leader Podcast. It is a bit of a wild and crazy time for me, but I'm so elated to actually jump on here because there's been some big shifts going on in my life and I've noticed it in a couple other people in my life as well, like some close friends, and and then I saw a social media post that speaks directly about it, and I was just like, you know what?
It's time to talk about the impact of our environments and how much the atmosphere of the rooms that we are in and the people we surround ourselves with, like how much that has a huge impact in how we are showing up or not showing up in our business and life.
In the environments that we are in matters a lot. And it's so, like, it's not talked about nearly as much, especially it doesn't hold as much importance or value as the topic of mindset. Right? And the way in which we perceive what is possible, which is huge. Like, I'm not wanting to diminish mindset at all.
It's such a big important factor, yet environment and the ways that our nervous system and our embodied intelligence picks up our environment and it shapes how we behave, what we believe, and who we believe ourselves to be.
And yeah, I just feel like there's so much talk about mindset and belief, but not so much talk about the rooms that we are in, the people we surround ourselves by, and the environments that we decide to be a part of or decide to walk away from. And it is huge, especially on the brink of shifting out of 2025 and into 2026.
Like I just really, I don't know, there's something about. This big shift going on right in the year from nine to 10 or nine to one, however you view it like there's been a lot of endings and a lot of closures this year. And with every ending there is also the threshold of a new beginning. And so I just felt really called to shine some light on this topic of the impact that our environment has on ourselves.
Because while it can be scary sometimes the opportunity to step into a new room or surround yourselves with people that are at a different caliber in life like that could really make it or break it for you because you can be so deeply committed to your growth. Still feel stuck. You can work so much on your mindset or really starting to decondition out of limiting beliefs.
But if your environment and the people you surround yourself by no longer fits who you're becoming and no longer aligns to all the work that you've been putting in, like that can really be kind of like a ball and chain, or it could be rocket fuel to you completely like quantum leaping into a new timeline.
Sometimes the blockage that you may be experiencing may not be solely dependent on your mindset. Okay? It may be that you are just have been planted in a container that is far too small for you.
Lately I've been thinking about a plant that has been growing in a pot that is just too small for it, and the roots have been getting nodded up. They've been getting too constricted within the container that's too small for itself. And if you have been in a container that's too small or not in alignment with where you're going in life and all you know is that small container,
You probably haven't noticed how constricting it is for you, because you've been in that environment for too long. You get used to it and you think that's just the way it is, right? Or there's an opportunity to go into a bigger pot, a bigger container, but it might be a little scary, right?
Because unroot ourselves and maybe even taking out some of the soil to give more breathing room for the roots, it, it's very ungrounding, right? Like I'm literally moving homes right now. I'm so glad you cannot see the state of my room. Even my desk, there is stuff freaking everywhere. Okay? I've got like all kinds of, all kinds of stuff all around me and I'm like, oh God, this is, so, it's uncomfortable, but also because I finally trusted myself to just dive in, go for.
The new environments, a new home, a new community, like I am much more excited and I feel more pulled to that growth that I now realize staying in this container of the room that I've been in is just too small for me. and even though the new home that I'm moving to is a bit of a stretch for me, like specifically financially, I'm like, oh gosh, okay, now I gotta like readjust myself in order to pay more rent. Right?
Like, because I had to really trust myself and I wasn't ready, quote unquote, ready to actually make the jump comfortably. It feels like a bit of a trust fall. Yeah. Yet, with the amount of growth that I've been doing on myself, I'm like, you know what, Cynthia, you're made for this.
You got this. And actually moving into that new container is going to foster even more growth because it, it's this expansion that I'm able to finally like, ah, get planted into a bigger pot. It's like, I, I think of a bird right now that's been in a cage, but once it's set free, oh my God, it can finally expand its wings to its fullest capacity, to its fullest extent.
It just goes to show that our environments are constantly shaping our identity. And over time, when there's misalignment in our environments and the people we surround ourselves with, it quietly trains our nervous system to contract. We get used to not being able to expand our wings within the cage.
It's like, okay, well it's kind of pointless to expand the wings in a cage because why would I, for what purpose? But once we are set free and we expand into the infinite potentials of the sky. It's like, oh my gosh. Now there's more possibility. Now our nervous system feels safe. It feels supported in order to expand even further.
And it has a direct correlation to our capacity to be visible, right in our business, showing up online, all of that, in our leadership skills, being able to hold more responsibility to have boundaries, to be able to lead ourselves in our lives and our team.
Our capacity to make decisions, to be able to manifest things in our business and life, and especially our capacity to trust ourselves and to trust the universe.
So again, our environments are constantly giving our nervous system information. And that data over time will shape what feels safe and possible or allowed for us to be and do or have.
Now, when we look to an environment, I want us to go beyond just the physicality of this space, right? Like we have the type of environment, like if it's a home or what kind of room it is, where it is in the world, the location, um, maybe even like the geographic aspects of it too and that is important. And let's also look at it relationally of like the people that are a part of that space
as well as who is in charge of the space and who is a part of the space, who is a supporter? Who, In what ways are they contributing or not contributing into the space? And then we also have the energetic aspects of it that can be like unspoken expectations, if there's rules, guidelines as well as like the emotional tone.
And this even has me thinking about, um, in the house cleaner communities. That's my side job, right? I follow a few house cleaners on social media and sometimes they put out content. What they're like, Hey, if you go to a service, especially a home that you've never been in before, and maybe, you know, talking on the phone seemed fine.
Everything on paper seemed okay. But when you walk in, even though visually it may look safe, but your body might be picking up on something else, there might be something else going on in the space or the person that's in the home, there might be something off that conceptually you may not pick up, but on a nervous system, unconscious level, your body is picking up and it goes into a state of like.
Fight or flight, right? It's like, oh, safety protective mechanism starts to turn on. And in that moment, like you don't need an explanation as to why you feel like it is time for you to actually cancel the service, pack up all your stuff if it's safe to do so and leave immediately. Right? And that is the energetics of an environment that your body is communicating with you immediately.
And you also wanna pay attention to the conversations of an environment. Like what's normalized, what's encouraged or what's even dismissed. What, what is being shut down. Like there's certain places or people, even events where I don't really talk about business. I don't really talk about entrepreneurship because maybe they just don't really have interest or, um, they have their own preconceived ideas and beliefs in the state of my business.
And it might not be very supportive. Right. And I'm aware of that and I'm just like, you know what, there's a time and place for it all, right. A time and a place for it all. And if you don't feel comfortable sharing certain aspects of you, like you are not obligated to, and it's probably safer and it protects your peace to only share certain things about yourself in specific environments that have certain people around that only have the capacity for certain type of conversations.
And I am just so grateful to have gone to the BBD Live. Right? In the last episode I was mentioning that I went to a business conference, um, that was put on by James Wedmore and the Business by Design community. And in that environment is packed to the brim of entrepreneurs. Some of them five figures, six figures, seven and beyond in the same room.
And the conversations are wildly different, right? Like, it's like there's a whole different version of me that comes on and I'm like, yeah, I could finally like allow this aspect of myself to just be celebrated, to express myself fully, receive help, right? And it's just like, ugh, I can, I'm getting full body chills just thinking about it. And it brings this aliveness to me.
And I want you to pay attention to all of that because it really is not worth gaslighting yourself into staying where you feel like you have to stay small, where you feel like you can't fully express yourself. And while, like I said, there's a time and place, you know, like I have a really big family, I see them.
Often throughout the year for different events. And it's like, okay, yeah. Like they see this certain version of me, yet I know that I can go to certain places and people where I can come fully online for them and yeah, they may not be as interested in my family, right? Like they're more interested in the business and the entrepreneurial side of me.
And that's okay. There is no one person or community that's going to meet every single one of your needs. But do not deprive yourself of the spaces and the people that are going to encourage and allow other aspects of yourself to emerge so that you feel like a more whole well-rounded person. Yeah.
I also wanna encourage for you to not always assume that the discomfort that you feel or like your needs are not being met means that you need to just do more mindset work. You just need to look within yourself and being like, what within me is causing this, right? I want us to also, while yes, that is a good practice to have.
I invite you to also explore different people and places, communities, right, of different conversations that are happening for you to learn more about yourself.
And not only that, I also want you to experience and notice what it is like to shift from one environment where you may be feeling like you don't really fully share your ideas.
Like you're downplaying your dreams or you have dreams, right? It's like we do so much mindset work within the coaching realm, yet it's like, it seems so distant, it seems so like out of place. And maybe you might be feeling like too much or you could be feeling too far ahead. I remember one of my mentors saying that you should be in rooms where you are like the dumbest person.
If you feel like you're the smartest person in the room, you need to get into a different place. You need to connect with different people. You need to go into a different room where you are the dumbest, because that is going to help you expand and reach farther beyond what you think your potential is because they're stretching you.
They're already in the place that you are wanting to be at. So if you're too comfortable and you've lost that sense of aliveness, it is probably time for you to shift into a different environment and surround yourself with different types of people.
Now I'd like to guide us through a short and sweet practice to have this type of embodied experience of what it is like to shift environments. And yes, it's more of a visual practice, but I want us to notice how our body starts to shift and change as well as the quality of our mind.
Okay. So if now is a good time for you to close your eyes if you'd like, that would be fantastic. If you're driving, probably not a good time to do this. You can come back to it later.
And when you're ready, you're welcome to close the eyes or leave them slightly open and start to imagine yourself as a plant in a pot that you've been growing in for quite a while. And even though your branches are continuing to grow, start to notice how you feel in your body. Don't change anything. You're in a pot that is a bit too small and your roots are a bit constricted, and you're trying to grow and expand. Right? Yet. Notice the state of your breath.
Is it shallow?
If you try to breathe into your belly, how much can you breathe into your belly? Notice your posture.
Notice the state of your thoughts or emotions.
And now imagine yourself being repotted into a bigger container.
And notice how that feels in your body. Does anything shift and change on its own? Like for me, the backside of my body started to open up wide. How is the state of your breath? Are you able to breathe a little better in any way?
Notice your posture. Notice the state of your mind or emotions.
Last part here, notice what it's like to be taken out of that big container and then planted into the earth, into a garden or a vast field.
How does that feel in your body? What changes then in your breath, in your posture, in the state of your thoughts and emotion?
Fantastic. Good job. When you're ready, you're welcome to open the eyes, come back to your physical space and environment.
I want you to reflect on the sensations of a supportive environment that might've felt like relief, like you were finally able to exhale fully, or breathe, take in more air, and have that spaciousness in the lungs, right? If there was more aliveness in any way or curiosity, possibility.
And also notice maybe at the beginning of the practice if there was any tightness. Or even like small thinking, right? If there was any sense of, of numbness
or like there was too much efforting. Like whenever I think of myself in a too small of a pot, I'm like, okay, like, try not to tip over because I could fucking fall on my face, right? Like i'm trying to micromanage myself too much and it's exhausting.
So all of those visceral sensations that you just experience are clear indicators of whether or not you're in a right place or if it's time for you to grow and expand into a different place.
You know, that's not to say you're always in the wrong place if it's constricting, it's just that maybe you've outgrown it. It's served a purpose for a place in time in your life, and now it might be time to move on.
So this is a great time to reflect on your life and business as to where you may be feeling like you are shrinking too much or you're editing yourself too often. What environments are actually draining you versus nourishing you? And where or who does your body feel that sense of relief? Are you starting to get clarity as to what you might be outgrowing even if it once felt right?
And I'm asking all of this outta a sense of curiosity. Okay? This isn't like I want you to just jump ship right away. No. Sometimes there is a lot of strategic things that need to happen, or conversations that need to be had as well, even just that one conversation could really change the dynamic of the environment. It could shift the atmosphere, the energetic state of that environment.
And I know that this can start to feel like you're walking the edge of your comfort zone, especially when it comes to like having challenging, difficult conversations in order to finally change the dynamic of an environment to change the energetic atmosphere of you being in that space with certain people at certain times or whatever.
Or you have an opportunity to walk into a new environment, to move homes, to invest in a, in a greater container, right? I want to shift the relationship with our fear, because even though growth can feel scary, the fear actually to me as I see it, the fear is an indicator of untapped potential that we have not cultivated within ourselves.
And so our ego will start to grab onto any logistical reason to not do the thing. Oh, but how are you gonna afford it? Oh, but how is that gonna happen at this time of your life if you don't have this and, any reason to walk away, to not even go there.
And this is where I'm going to highly encourage you to talk to a coach, a mentor, or even a very dear trusted friend that has been in the shoes that you are walking in.
Especially if they've gone to the other side and they've gone through that whole situation and they're able to share with you or ask you questions or help you perceive something in a different way to start to detach from the fear.
The fear that has a sole purpose of trying to keep you in the familiar, trying to keep you tethered to what you already know, even if it's unhealthy for you, even if it's detrimental or it's just not supporting you like it once did.
It only wants to conserve your energy and keep you managing what you have been all this time because it's easy, it's safe, it's familiar, right? And when you go to a new realm that is bigger, better, more expansive, that has more resources and support for you to grow into something else, which is stepping into the unknown, you want to talk to people that have walked into your shoes.
Lean on your community, ask for support. That is going to help start to recalibrate your nervous system to resourcefulness, to having a support system and that naturally starts to reestablish safety within your body. And when you start to feel safe again, then it's much more doable and possible for you to move even further into a new environment.
And sometimes it doesn't have to be a permanent drastic change. You can start to play with this in small incremental ways where like, if you starting to get too bogged down with the city life, go on a hike out in nature, go out camping for a weekend to immerse yourself in nature and get away from the advertisements and the billboards and the lights and the traffic and all that shit, right?
Or if you're wanting to recalibrate yourself to greater wealth and maybe, I don't know, a designer store is something that's symbolic of wealth to you and you're like, one day I wanna have this thing or whatever, or drive this type of car. You can literally go to that shop or you can go to that car dealership and like, ask for a test drive.
If you're going into the designer store, put on the clothes. Go. Just try it on. Immerse yourself in those environments for you to have that visceral sensory experience of what it's like to have that be part of your reality.
And pro tip, if you know some regulation practices and you go into environments that are just like uncomfortable for you and you're like, oh, like I feel like I don't belong here.
Practice regulation techniques and tools to help recalibrate your nervous system to establish safety again in those environments.
And straight up, this is no joke. I used to feel so uncomfortable walking into Whole Foods and I wasn't even seeking it out. Like I had a friend, Yeah, in the early years of college that would shop there and one day we were hanging out and she was like, oh, I need to pick up this.
At Whole Foods. And I was like, what's Whole Foods. I go with her walk in, oh, it's a grocery store. But as I'm like looking around, I am noticing the types of products that are in there, the pricing of it especially. And I was just like, whoa, like this is totally different. And I felt very uncomfortable.
Like I felt so out of place. Now I didn't like consciously, 'cause back then I knew nothing about nervous system regulation, right? But over the years, as I'm starting to follow my soul's calling and you know, what lights me up the most and learning more about myself and allowing myself to grow, evolve, and expand, I have become comfortable and even a whole food shopper now I go in there, no problem.
Right? So just because you feel out of place now or you don't feel like you belong, doesn't mean it's gonna be like that forever.
And also you don't have to force all of your growth either. Some things unfold naturally. You might circle back around a place, person or event and be like, wow, like I'm such a different person now from focusing on other things in my life. And hey, you may actually be intentional with certain things that you wanna grow into as well. All of it's good and gravy.
I just wanna encourage you to explore, to put yourself in different rooms, connect with different people, do different things to support you and who you are becoming, and just learning more about yourself. You're allowed to grow beyond the rooms, the people, the events that once held you
if you feel like you've been coming up on this threshold where you're outgrowing an old environment or an old identity, right, this old version of yourself, then I wanna invite you into a practice that helps your body catch up to what your soul already knows.
On Tuesday, December 30th, I'm hosting a workshop where we'll be practicing Timeline Jumping. It's a manifestation technique used to activate your body, mind, and soul into a new reality.
This is about letting your entire being experience what it feels like, looks like, sounds like to live into a new reality and interrupt the pattern of your mind trying to impose its limitations on it, and instead, receive valuable information from experiencing it in the present moment to help support you throughout the new year.
So if you're ready to intentionally create a better, more aligned reality for your life and business in 2026, then definitely sign up for this free timeline jumping workshop. So make sure you sign up with the link in the description of this episode.
I'm really looking forward to the next episode because I'm gonna be bringing in a past client of mine that I facilitated timeline jumping for, and her story is absolutely amazing. So if you wanna learn more about it or hear somebody else's experience about it, definitely tune into the next episode and sign up for the free workshop. Thank you so much for tuning in. Take care.
