Finding the Key to Unlock Stubborn Patterns of Behavior with Laura Aura

Ever felt like you're on a treadmill, running towards personal greatness but somehow ending up at the same spot every day? I sat down with the captivating Laura Aura, whose unique coaching philosophy and authorial wisdom illuminate the path to breaking those frustrating cycles. Together, we delve into the transformative impact of cultivating self-awareness and the undeniable power of having someone in your corner who not only believes in your potential but also keeps you accountable. Laura's insights on making incremental changes are truly a beacon for anyone seeking to inch their way to significant life enhancements.

Struggling with habit loops that seem as stubborn as a locked door? Our conversation offers a key to understanding the complexities of changing deeply ingrained patterns. As your host, Mindy Duff, I share the raw truth about the awkwardness and discomfort that comes with stepping outside those familiar zones, and Laura and I unpack the factors that influence how quickly we can reroute our life's map. We celebrate even the tiniest of triumphs, reminding listeners that embracing the awkward is the dance of change, not a step back.

Do you listen to that inner whisper, nudging you towards a different path, or do you shush it away? Laura and I tackle the importance of honoring your intuition and mastering the art of the pivot.  Join us as we chart out empowering steps towards the self-improvement you're not just seeking but truly deserve.

To learn more about Laura visit: 
https://lauraaura.com/

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https://tiktok.com/@thatlauraaura

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

hey, friends, this is your host, mindy duff, and you're listening to up. Level your life with mindy, your number one personal growth podcast that will bring you closer to uncovering your greatest self. As a certified holistic health and nutrition coach, I created this podcast for anyone who desires to improve physically, emotionally and spiritually. I'll be interviewing experts and sharing tips and tricks that have helped not only my clients, but that have guided me on my own transformational journey. I believe that we all have a greatness that lies within. We just need to uncover it. Are you ready to level up? Then let's begin.

Speaker 2: 0:58

Hi everyone and welcome back to Uplevel your Life with Mindy. I am your host, mindy Duff, and I have a guest with me today. I'm going to be chatting with Laura Ora and she is a speaker, a coach, an author, and we're going to be talking about some of my favorite stuff. In fact, laura, I've got some questions on here that I mean I'm not going to say that they're for personal benefit, but there may be for personal benefit.

Speaker 2: 1:22

We're going to be talking about leveling up and achieving goals and how to basically just live your best life, which is what this podcast is all about. So, before we get into all that, laura, thank you so much for being here and, yeah, I'm just glad you're here today. Yeah, thanks for having me. So can you, in your own words, tell us just a little bit about yourself and what you do?

Speaker 3: 1:45

Yeah, so I've been a business owner for the last 16 and a half years. I started off my journey as a graphic designer. I ran a branding agency for 16 years and through growing and expanding that business, I found a real love and passion for the minds behind the entrepreneurs that I was working with, and so I started to interview them and just talk about the good and the bad and the ugly and what keeps you up at night and what makes you really excited and what are you working towards. And it's just fascinating to learn about people. Right, like people were also similar, yet so different at the same time.

Speaker 3: 2:22

And you know my, my love and my passion for helping people to get out of their own way, um, began to supersede my passion for branding. So I sold my first business just a couple of months ago and I have stepped full time now into my role as a speaker, coach and author, and so I'm primarily working with women all around the globe to help rediscover who they really are, what it is that they actually want, to shift the mind junk that happens, that talks themselves out of it, and to really step into and take those risks and do things that make them feel alive. Right, we talk ourselves out of things that we really want before we even get started, and that's where I love to interject and help to reroute that so that you can actually start to feel the way that you want to feel, and even first just dissecting, what does that even mean for you in the first place?

Speaker 2: 3:21

Oh yeah, I think that this is really, really important work that you're doing, because I like what you say about we talk ourselves out of it before we even get into it.

Speaker 2: 3:30

I mean, that's like everyone that I know, basically, I mean self-included all the time doing those things, and that's why I mean this is, I guess I'm not. I wasn't intending on this, but here's a plug for working with a coach, right? I think that when you're working with somebody and maybe you know if you don't have the money for a coach find that really, really honest, trusted friend too, because we are so good at talking ourselves out of things and getting in our own way that sometimes you need that sort of more impartial third party to step in and be like hey what?

Speaker 1: 4:04

are you?

Speaker 2: 4:04

doing? How about this? Have you thought about this perspective, you know, just to kind of get out of our heads a little bit. So I think that's amazing work that you're doing and really, really important.

Speaker 3: 4:12

Thanks, I. I just love it, right, like when I when I get to work with women and I work with them in all different capacities, right, um, because budgets and time are real things that we need to take into consideration. And you know, I find that one of the big things that they're looking for is that accountability, right Is that? You know? Oh, I know that Laura's got a checkpoint, right Like, it helps you to stay focused, it helps you to keep that momentum going.

Speaker 3: 4:39

You know, and then if you're surrounded by other like minded women and you're in your supporting and growing one another, like magic can happen in very short periods of time. You know, making growth, making strides, moving forward doesn't always have to be a huge, monumental shift. Sometimes it is, but more often than not it's in the tiny shifts that add up to have really big impact in your world. And celebrating that and having the accountability built in and just knowing that there's someone else that believes in you, right? You know, especially if you're at the beginning or or maybe even more importantly, in the middle of a transition, it's so powerful to know that there is somebody that has your back, because not everybody has that, that has your back, because not everybody has that.

Speaker 2: 5:23

Yeah, yeah, that's so true.

Speaker 2: 5:25

In fact, actually, just a few days ago I became aware that you know there's some goals that I'm working on and I'm not doing a very great job of it, to be honest, for no reason other than I mean, it's my own stuff, it's not hard, it's not complicated, I'm just I'm not doing it. So there's obviously I need to do a little work on. Why am I not doing it? But part of that for me was finding an accountability partner. So I reached out to some friends and I was like all right, listen, I don't need to take up a whole bunch of your time. In fact, we agreed that, like sometimes we're we might just do voice memos, but we have a set check-in day. We're going to try Friday mornings we're just going to check in and be like, hey, this is what I my progress on my goal. I did it or I didn't do it. And it's not to be judged and it's not to be coached or encouraged or anything, it's just I have to tell these people whether I did it or not.

Speaker 3: 6:16

Yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 6:17

And just knowing that for me, and I think for a lot of people, is enough sometimes to propel you forward. But yeah, when you have that coach or somebody that is like, you, know that you have to talk to them and tell them my word for the year. Laura, I don't know if you've done a word of the year ever, but my word for the year is consistency, and that's kind of along with that Like it's.

Speaker 2: 6:40

Like you say, it's not the big things always. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it's like what are you doing every day, these little small steps to kind of build your life, so to speak? So we're talking a little bit about this, but I'm wondering about your perspective on mindset. And is mindset the most important thing when it comes to leveling up? Do you think to?

Speaker 3: 7:01

leveling up, do you think? Well, I'll tell you this because I think that that you know it could be an opinionated question. I'll tell you. I'll tell you this, though the conversations that you have with yourself are, hands down, the loudest voices that you will ever hear, and so your mindset is either going to be the thing that propels you forward, pushes you forward, opens up new opportunities, or it's going to be the thing that stops you, the thing that talks yourself out of it, the thing that puts it off till tomorrow, the thing that doesn't want to have the conversation, the belief that I can't do this and I won't do this.

Speaker 3: 7:39

I'm too far behind, right? So is it the most important thing behind, right? So is it the the most important thing? I think it's part of a bag of wonderful tools that need to be considered, but I would argue that it's pretty damn far up the list, because if you're, if you're, just full of this, just self doubt and talking yourself down and procrastinating and resisting and all this other stuff, it's really hard to level up anything right, whether it's a business, your health, your finances, your relationships, right, your desire to travel, whatever, right. Like you can talk yourself out of something very, very quickly, but you can also lean into the possibility just as easily if you allow yourself. So I think it's pretty damn important if you ask me.

Speaker 2: 8:28

I had a feeling that you were going to say it was important. So now here's a question that I really I'm really curious for the answer to. Okay, what would you say to someone who's aware that they keep repeating the same patterns but doesn't know how to stop? Oh, and, while you're thinking about that, I'm just going to say I mean, this is me. I actually, even just yesterday, was getting really frustrated, kind of throwing it out to the universe, like, okay, I get it, I need to learn this lesson, but clearly I'm not. I'm not. I can see that it's something that's coming up again and again and I, okay, but like what, I'm not getting it. So how do you, how do you work through that so that you can learn the lesson and move on, so to speak?

Speaker 3: 9:16

Yeah, so can you ask me that question one more time, just so it's top of mind.

Speaker 2: 9:20

The actual question is what would you say to someone who's aware they keep repeating the same patterns but doesn't know how to stop?

Speaker 3: 9:27

Got it. So a couple of things here. First, these are something we call habit loops. So whatever it is that you're doing or not doing is familiar, it's what you know how to do, and I'm not making it right or wrong, it just is right. And so there's a perceived safety in doing the thing that you know that is most familiar to you. So I like to look at this as this very much involves your subconscious mind, by the way, where you're not consciously thinking, it's just kind of running on autopilot. It's a wild west back there, and when you're trying to do something, especially if you're trying to make a positive change, but you just can't seem to get out of the rut of like getting past things to get to it, think of your subconscious mind like a dirt road. Okay, so this dirt road has been there for hundreds of years, let's say right, and so much that anytime a car or truck that turns down it, the grooves in the dirt road are so clearly defined that your vehicle just clicks into place and you just follow that path right.

Speaker 3: 10:41

That's the habit loop, that's the cycle cycle. That's literally what's happening in your brain. It's a groove that you know how to handle and that it's kind of already chosen for you because of repetitious habits, patterns, beliefs. You know the way that you've done things and so to get out of that groove you have to do something different. So if so, if we're using the same analogy it's like when you turn down that road, instead of following that path, you turn your wheel to the right just a little bit and you're going to be met with resistance and tension and it's bumpy, and it doesn't feel quite right and it's awkward and like, oh, it would be easier, let me just follow the thing that's the change. And like, oh, it'd be easier, let me just follow the thing that's the change. And so if you find yourself in that cycle, it's because you're either following the path or now you've chosen to turn the wheel to the right just a little bit, to try something new, to get a new outcome.

Speaker 3: 11:38

And it's that kind of clunky period in between where a lot of people get discouraged and frustrated and like this isn't working and you know, I want this to happen faster and like you literally have to give it the time to create the new path. Eventually you have a new path and you don't have to think about it as much. You don't have to do as many things to shift or change it. You're not consciously thinking about turning the wheel, you just are, because now it's your new normal and that old dirt road starts to fill in and it's not as prominent anymore. So it's in that recognition that, like, hey, I'm doing the same thing, I want something different.

Speaker 3: 12:20

That middle ground it's leaning into the shift right, it's leaning into that unknown territory. It's not just because it feels off doesn't mean that it's wrong, it just means that it's new, it's unfamiliar, it's not the way that you have been trained or have been living by. So you have to give yourself that time truly and I know people hate that, but like it's the honest truth you have to show up and turn the wheel to the right every single day until it becomes your new normal and then you break the habit.

Speaker 2: 12:55

So I know that there's not an answer to this, like directly, like I want you to give me, like a finite number, but like how long?

Speaker 3: 13:05

Well, how much, mindy? How much does a house cost? Right? It's one of those situations. I mean, it depends on how deep that groove is, right? Yeah, like, if you've been I don't know if you've been starting your morning the same way every day for the last 25 years it's probably going to take you a hot minute to shift that morning routine right, whereas if you just started doing something four months ago, it might not take you as long. It also depends on emotional attachment. It depends on past experiences. You know, know, there's just a lot of pieces to the puzzle, but you'll know, that's what I want you to know.

Speaker 3: 13:49

Like, I really encourage my clients to to learn and begin to trust themselves, because that's where so much of your power is, is in trusting yourself and knowing that just because I'm not where I want to be yet doesn't mean I'm failing. Just because this feels awkward doesn't mean that it's wrong. Right, I can trust that I'm making positive changes. I may not physically see it yet, but if I start to feel it just a little bit, then you can start to grab on to that. So there's definitely no. If I had a magic wand and a perfect recipe, I would be a gajillionaire. So stay tuned. If I figure it out, you'll be the first to know.

Speaker 2: 14:26

That's awesome, yeah, and you kind of answered my other question. I was thinking there about how I think there's this you hit a point when you're making a change where it's uncomfortable, and so maybe at first you're like, okay, no, I heard I'm talking on the podcast, this is good, I'm supposed to feel uncomfortable, I'm making changes. But then you stay in that for a while and it's so long that you think, okay, this has been a long time of uncomfortable. Is this really the right thing, or am I just trying to open a door that's locked or beating my head against the wall for really no quote unquote reason?

Speaker 2: 15:07

But I think what you say there is is trusting yourself to know. I mean, I think at that point where you just maybe need to take, I wouldn't even I'd take days, probably, or weeks, depending on the person to just go within and listen and keep asking is this the still the path that I want to be on? Because, yeah, it can be, I think, easy to go. Okay, been doing this a while. I know she said it was gonna take time, but only cats.

Speaker 2: 15:33

You're like, but it's uncomfortable, yeah you know, that's the perfect question.

Speaker 3: 15:38

And the power of pausing right Like knowing that if you're working towards something and shifting something doesn't mean that you have to do it every day. I think sometimes we get change fatigue right, like when we're just constantly trying to change something. It's like how about we just let it fucking simmer for a second right? Can we just be right now and and check in with yourself is this what I still want? How am I feeling about this? Am I, am I still excited about the outcome of what I'm working towards? Does this still feel aligned in my body? Right, and if you even get like a whisper, like a little tiny hint that says no, I need you to trust that it's okay to change your mind. Women don't hear that enough. It's okay to change your mind. Women don't hear that enough. It's okay to change your mind.

Speaker 3: 16:26

I built a branding agency for 16 years On paper. It looked stupid to sell it Like why would you do that? Because my body said I was done. You've got to trust yourself and it's okay to change your mind. I thought I would have that branding agency till the day I died. Right, Like I remember starting it and I was like this is my thing. This is what I'll forever do, Like I will take this all the way. I'll be nine years old, making people's logos and one. I just started to fall out of love with it. I was finished, right, Like I didn't quit. I was just finished. I achieved all that I wanted to do and there was this new chapter calling me.

Speaker 3: 17:04

So, whether it's a yes or it's a no, trust that and your intuition. Trusting yourself doesn't have to be loud and proud and flashing in your face. More often than not, it starts with that little tiny nudge where you're like no, that's ridiculous, why would I do that? Why would I think that that's silly? No, that's not for me. That's your intuition's first way of trying to get your attention, and if something is really truly meant for you, it will get louder, It'll talk to you, It'll get in front of your face, It'll nudge you with the elbow and if you don't listen, ultimately it will punch you in the face. And that's when you end up in those situations where, like you, have no choice but to move. And so trusting yourself really is a muscle that you build over time. And when you're in those you know solitude moments and you're like this is what I still really want Trust, whatever comes up, and it's okay to pivot accordingly.

Speaker 2: 17:59

Yeah, yeah, I love that. Do you have any favorite ways of tapping into your intuition? That's a topic that's been shared many times on this podcast, but I think everybody has a different bit to bring to the table, so I'm just curious if you have some of your personal favorites or ways that have helped some of your clients.

Speaker 3: 18:20

Yeah. So I think it's cool because we're all so unique and if you're trying to do something to hear and to trust yourself and to tap in and it's not working, it just might not be your thing. So give yourself grace and permission to try stuff to see what actually works. So for me, I know, being outside is huge and it's so simple. That's the other thing. Like tapping into yourself is actually quite simple. You don't need this whole ass routine Sitting outside, like yesterday morning.

Speaker 3: 18:53

I just had this nudge to go sit outside to drink my coffee. It's one of my favorite things slow mornings, quiet mornings. I've really grown to love and appreciate. So I had this nudge. It was like don't go upstairs with the coffee today, go outside. So I grabbed my coffee, I went out back. It was like this warm and cool morning, Like the air was cool but the sun was warm. It almost felt like sitting on the beach. But you know, in rural Pennsylvania and you know I sat out there. I don't even know how long, I'm not a big timer type of person, but I sat out there till I was finished, right, and I just felt so rejuvenated.

Speaker 3: 19:34

I was having some anxiety prior to that. I was just feeling a little bit up in my head. I was just feeling kind of gunky. And prior to that I was just feeling a little bit up in my head Like I was just feeling kind of gunky. And when I came back in I was like, oh, I have just like a little bit of sun kiss on my skin and I feel reconnected with myself and it just grounded me back down. So grounding, being outside, is definitely one of my big ones.

Speaker 3: 19:53

Um, tapping into myself also comes a lot with. With music I have found um and driving, ironically, um, I can't, I'm not distracted when I'm driving. I'm focused on driving and inevitably my brain likes to be like great, you're not doing anything, I have a lot of ideas for you. So I've I've learned how to safely document those through just voice messaging on my own phone so that I can remember those things for later. And then I have my own form of meditation, you know, like again, it's one of those things like do you have to sit a certain way and have your hands a certain way and do it a certain amount of time and quiet your mind?

Speaker 3: 20:34

That probably works for a lot of people. I'm certain that it does. It doesn't work. For me. My brain has a constant dialogue of information going on, so for me it's really about connecting with the feeling that I am hungry for or I'm achieving, like striving for. So I'm really good about visualization and I'm really good about tapping into the emotion and the feeling. So, like when I'm working towards something, I I focus on feeling what it feels like to already be in that and sometimes I get emotional and sometimes I get chills and sometimes I get really stupid excited and there's just all different ways that my body lights up to let me know like, hey, we've connected with that and it's it's real and it's a matter of time and it's not my job to dictate that timeline.

Speaker 2: 21:25

Oh, I love those tips and I love I love that you shared some things that are a little bit different and not necessarily like if you Google, like how to tap into your intuition, like they're probably not going to say, go outside with your coffee and just sit till you're done.

Speaker 2: 21:43

Like, yeah, it's probably it's, you might find it somewhere, but that's not going to be on all the top 10 lists, but that doesn't mean that that's not super valuable. So, um, I'm glad that you shared that. I'm sure that there's somebody else out there listening to this today. That's going to go. Oh, I always thought I had to do this and it never worked. Well, yeah, that's, that's's the thing.

Speaker 3: 21:59

Like you know, we all Google, right, like we're all looking up stuff and you think that you have to do things a certain way and I think that there's some value in trying that Right, Because obviously they're in lists for a reason. They do work for a lot of people. But, like I said earlier, if it's not feeling right to you, tweak it, adjust it, make it whatever works for you, because, one, not only are you going to connect further, but, two, you're gonna sustain it Like it will. It will stick around. If you've been trying to do something that's not been working, maybe it's just not the right way for you, maybe you need your own unique way of doing things, way for you. Maybe you need your own unique way of doing things Right, like for me.

Speaker 3: 22:44

Like dancing around like a fool is so therapeutic to me. It releases energy, it gets my endorphins going like I. Just it helps me get pumped up and I just dance like an idiot for like 10 minutes. I get a little bit of a workout in and I'm so connected Like that. That's not textbook, anything that works for me, because my body is all lit up and my inner child was like yay, we get to have fun right now, right? So let let whatever it is that you're trying to do be for you Like. Do it your own way. That's what's going to stick around.

Speaker 1: 23:14

I love that.

Speaker 2: 23:15

I love that Because, like you say, you know when you're doing it your own way, you're more likely to keep doing it, which is kind of the whole idea here, which brings me to another question. So how do you stay motivated? How do you stay motivated and what are some of your favorite tips? Just for staying motivated, Because even on things where you know you set a goal, you know it's the right thing, Everything in your body says yes, this is a good idea. And yet sometimes I just don't feel like it.

Speaker 3: 23:43

Today, yeah, so I think that first, I want to start this off by saying sometimes it's okay just to not be motivated. Yeah, like you don't have to push yourself through if you're just having a day and you have the flexibility. Like there are some days I wake up and I got nothing, right. Like I love to speak, I show up on video every single day just about writing porosotomy, and there are some days where it's just like not today, laura, we're not doing that, and so it's okay to have an introvert day and to not push yourself to be motivated Again another topic that I don't think we talk enough about. So I feel super compelled to talk about that. You don't have to be motivated all the time. So I just want to set that preface. But I also know, kind of, when that time is up and you have to know that for yourself, right? Like if I get into a place where I start like wallowing or I'm I'm losing interest in things I'm not, I'm not doing the work that I know really helps and supports, like I'm like okay, laura, like we need to do a little bit of a recheck. Um, one of the best ways that I have found that motivates me is um, goodness in. So what I mean by that is like a good audio book, like to sit and read a book. While I think that's lovely, sometimes it's just not always how my brain operates, and so putting on an audio book while I'm getting ready in the morning rightment and self-support and growth and tapping in and energies and stuff like that that's just where I shine, and so listening to that stuff while I'm getting ready has been very powerful for me because it like resets my energy, to be like okay, I got this Right, I remember who I am. What else motivates me? New experiences. So I'm a, I'm a Sagittarius, which, for anybody listening that may or may not know I thrive on adventure and trying new things and seeing new things. So what motivates me is like trying a new restaurant or going to a town that's an hour away that we wouldn't typically go to, or, um, finding new little shops and going in and seeing what they have like adventure, new little adventures. For me, like I love a good weekend trip. It's, it's so nice because you don't have to plan your whole life to get away for a week and then you don't have to recoup for a whole week coming back from it, like it's just this little like fuel, um, and that really motivates me because it reminds me how big this world is and how many different things and people are out there, um, and just being.

Speaker 3: 26:31

I think another thing that motivates me is like being in the presence of people doing what they're supposed to do. That motivates the shit out of me, like like seeing a show on broadway. Literally I weep, like I actually weep, because it's so overwhelmingly beautiful to be in the presence of people doing what they're called to do. Their passion just exudes from them. Like so any like concerts, broadway, um, I went to see a friend who had a book book launch the other day. Like I just feel this overwhelming joy of being in the presence of people doing the things that they love the most. So those are a few of my motivators.

Speaker 2: 27:12

Oh, I like those, all of those, and I would agree with with most of them. But again, I'm really glad that you're sharing them, because what motivates one person is not what motivates the next. It's funny that you're talking about being a Sagittarius and like adventure and go and do things, and I'm thinking in my head like I am a Taurus, I don't move, like I stay in the same, I need routine and predictability and yeah, which is so funny, but I also enjoy a good weekend trip. So I'm with you on that one. But as you were talking, it made me just think that you know, I think that all of us probably know what motivates us. It's just, but we, we don't think about it very often. I mean, how often does somebody having coffee with you say, hey, so what motivates you? Like Whoa, where'd that question come from? Like we don't think about it. It's not like a common thing, but I would encourage everybody that's listening to think about it. Like I mean, laura shared some things. I just shared some things that are different for me. I mean, what about whoever's listening right now? What motivates you? You know, bring it to top of mind or write it down on a piece of paper, whatever you need to do so that when you need that motivation, you've got it, you know where to go, because everybody's just so different.

Speaker 2: 28:32

Now, I know that sometimes, when we're working on a goal, part of the issue is like the get going. So, okay, we've got our motivation, we're ready to get going, and we know that we're creating new patterns and habits, and it's going to feel a little bit uncomfortable. But what about when we just start to not believe in ourselves anymore? What about when that creeps in, when you go? Okay, I know it's supposed to be uncomfortable and and I'm okay with that, and I'm doing all these things to keep me motivated, but something deep inside me just says it's not for you, you can't do this. I've seen other people do it, but some. There's a little voice inside me that says not you, though. What are your favorite tips for boosting that self belief?

Speaker 3: 29:17

Yeah. So a handful of handful of things come running to the front. So, first, having really good people that you can lean on and talk to is underrated, grossly underrated, because sometimes a quick conversation is enough to just like turn the whole car around and get you back on track, right? So, whether that's a coach, a mentor, a good friend, a group that you're a part of, like, find your people, and it doesn't have to be huge, it can be one or two people that you can just say hey, I'm kind of struggling with this. What do you think, you know, can you have? You have 10 minutes we can hash this out, that is, that's everything. Sometimes, though, we we have to go at it alone too, right, we can't always rely on everyone else to help us get back on our path. We have to know how to do that for ourselves. So one of my favorite little tricks is, especially when I'm getting like in that little, like blah kind of place, is you have to catch the thought right, which I have a process I can share with you in a second, if you'd is you have to catch the thought right, which I have a process I can share with you in a second, if you'd like. You have to catch the thought and then a statement that you can say to yourself, very simple, is same or better, do I want the same or better? And sometimes that's enough to just like, ooh, jar you forward just a hair to start that momentum going. So an example of this um, I really enjoy walking, like around my neighborhood. It's just that feels good to me, it's it's good energy movement. I like being outside and but sometimes I just don't feel like walking. But I know it helps me and I know I've never regretted taking a walk and so I'll be sitting on the couch like slumped over and I'm like Laura, you want the same or better. And I'm like shit, I want, I want better, I want to feel better. So I put on my shoes, I go outside and like, thank goodness I went out because I got an idea while I was walking and my anxiety went down and I feel good and I'm laughing again, right, like all these great things happen. So that's a nice little phrase to catch yourself in the moment same or better. And it's often enough to like, just like, nudge you a little bit in one direction or another. The other thing is actually my foundational method that I teach called the power back process, and this is a very simple acronym that helps you to catch your thoughts in the moment and then to reframe them so that you don't get caught in your own way. Would it be helpful if I shared that? Absolutely Cool. So the power back process is an acronym. It's Aura, funny Surprise A-U-R-A. That was not intentional, by the way, it just kind of worked that way and I'm like well the stars aligned.

Speaker 3: 32:03

So the A in the process this is the very first part is awareness. You must get consciously aware of your thoughts and your feelings. If you don't notice them, if you don't catch them, it's almost impossible to change them. So you have to notice. What am I saying to myself, what am I feeling, where am I feeling it in my body? And this process, by the way, you can do silently in like a couple of minutes with yourself, sometimes a few seconds, so you don't need to go buy anything, you don't have to like, go meditate in a room, like you can literally just do the standing in the grocery line. So A is awareness, catching the thoughts.

Speaker 3: 32:43

The next part is U, which is to unpack it. Where's this coming from? This is a space of curiosity. So normally what we want to do is immediately go into beating ourselves up for thinking something shitty, right? So what I'm suggesting with this is instead look at it through the lens of curiosity. This part of the process is much like talking to an inner child, right? Like if you were talking to a child and they were experiencing a big emotion or a big thought, how would you communicate with them? How are you feeling? Where's this coming from? Tell me more about it, right? It really starts to soften the spiky edges of what was just happening in your head and it helps you to start to reconnect with yourself. Then you can move into R, which is to reframe it. Reframing it is about tapping into your higher self. Okay, so we've, so we've acknowledged and loved on our younger self. Now we're tapping into our higher self. This is where your innate knowing is.

Speaker 3: 33:44

We talked about trusting yourself earlier. The trust. This is what you know. If you take away all that mind gunk for a second, this is what you know to be true or possible. I know I'm capable of this. I figured this out before. I can figure this out too, you know. All I have to do is this. One next thing I don't have to control the timeline right.

Speaker 3: 34:05

We're starting to take that initial thought or feeling and starting to give it like an actual context for our real life, and then you can move into A, which is to take aligned action.

Speaker 3: 34:16

This is where you're choosing to consciously move forward with what you know to be true, instead of believing the old shit that would usually talk yourself out of it. So this is where you're literally taking the action forward to make that change. This is the turn of the wheel of the car that we talked about earlier. And these, this action could be the smallest of things, right, it might be making the phone call, it might be closing an account, it might be sending an email, it might be cleaning out one drawer, right, like it can literally be one small thing. And that process, over and over again, helps to get you to where you actually want to be. So anytime you start getting like in that, I call it mind fuckery. That's one of my signature classes that I teach when you start really feeling that and you get all up in your head. If you walk through that process, I promise you you will start to see and feel change. It is inevitable.

Speaker 2: 35:22

Yeah, I love that and I like that. It's just four kind of simple steps, starting with awareness. We talk about awareness a lot on this podcast. Everybody hates it, but like that's, you're right, you have to have it, you can't you.

Speaker 3: 35:29

I would love to see somebody argue with me about that. You can make change without it, like, yeah, I'm, I'm ready, I've got my notebook yeah, no, I absolutely agree with that.

Speaker 2: 35:42

But I like that this seems kind of empowering, because when we talk about having the awareness and even, like your, your second step of unpacking it, um, that's, I mean, it's obviously it's very important. But I think a lot of times we kind of stop there and it doesn't always feel empowered. It can a little um, when you're like okay, oh, wow, what am I feeling? Right now I'm actually feeling really anxious and worried, and why? Well, because xyz happened. Of course I'm anxious and worried, but then we stop and then you just are aware that you feel anxious and worried right, yes, that's not.

Speaker 2: 36:22

You know you need to go that extra step to, you know, help you to actually help yourself not only feel better, but to do something about it, and to do something about it in the direction that you want to see your life going. And so I think that's a really, really powerful and easy, easy to well kind of easy. Well easier said than done, but easy steps to follow.

Speaker 3: 36:43

It is easy. That does not immediately mean that it's simple, right.

Speaker 1: 36:49

Or vice versa.

Speaker 3: 36:49

It's simple doesn't mean it's easy, right, it's it's. You know, you hear about people doing the work. That's the work, my friend. Yeah, that's it, that's the work. It is the consistent showing up for yourself, it's the consistent walking through that process or whatever works for you. Right, this is just one modality that you could integrate. Or give a try. If something else hasn't been working, try it great. Or give a try. If something else hasn't been working, try it right I I literally use it every day.

Speaker 3: 37:18

I teach it every single day. I've seen what it can do for people and it's it's mind-blowing when you when you truly do get out of your own way. The way that you can level up your life is absolutely limitless. But you have to be willing to show up for yourself first, because no one is coming to level up your shit for you oh, I love that.

Speaker 2: 37:43

yeah, I completely agree. Um, sorry, I'm writing that down because I'm like, oh, that was good. I'm gonna go back and like, what time was this? What's the time stamp on? I won't go back and write that down. Oh, that's so true.

Speaker 2: 37:58

And all of these things you know, just does everything that we've been talking about today just designed to help people live better lives. If, unless you know, if you're listening to this, you're like nope, my life's just exactly how I want it. Okay, cool, good for you. That's amazing. Maybe go write a book on how you did that, but we all would be curious.

Speaker 2: 38:15

But I like that you say that you use it every single day, because there's no one person that has all this figured out and is just living life on that proverbial mountaintop just oming their way through everything and life's great. I think we're going to have struggles and challenges until the day we die, no matter how how much we've quote unquote figured out. But I think that there's so much power that can be put back on our own selves and directing that life to go in the direction that we want, and I just love these, these tips that you've shared today. Now I do have one final question for you, and this is the question that I ask everybody, and that is what is one thing you wish everyone would do in regards to their own well-being.

Speaker 3: 39:17

I'm very intuitive, so I like to intuitively answer questions like this, and the answer that's coming up today to share is that I wish that everyone would trust themselves, even if it's just a little bit more. You know I, there's always going to be times and situations where you question yourself. You know, especially especially when it's time to make a big move or a shift or something is changing in your world or it involves other people. I'm not saying to just flip over tables and throw up middle fingers. I'm suggesting that you have that little voice or that little nudge or that little intuitive hit, that feeling that you get, and my wish is that everyone believes that a little bit sooner, so that they can experience how incredibly amazing their life actually could be.

Speaker 2: 40:12

I love that. I love that answer. Hear, hear to that. Well, laura. Thank you so much for being on the show today. If people are interested in working with you or following you or just knowing a little bit more about you, where can they go?

Speaker 3: 40:28

Yeah, so I'd love to share a free resource, if that's okay with you. Yeah, so that process that I was talking about earlier, the power back process I found that it's so foundational that it's literally what I teach everybody as they come into my world, and so I built a free five day podcast that you can listen to their 20 minute episodes very quick and very easy that we go through that process and it's called the foundations for getting out of your own way and and it walks you through that in depth there's an awesome little worksheet that goes with each day so it helps you really get introspective, um.

Speaker 3: 41:03

So I would invite you to to hop into that you know process, cause it's, and you can listen to it over and over again. So, lauraoracom, forward slash foundations is where you can find that. Um, that's also going to lead you onto my website where you can find that. That's also going to lead you onto my website where you can find you know more about my programs. I have a community called the gutsy collective where you're looking for that support, the accountability, guidance, that motivation. That's an incredible place and resource. And then, on social, I play the most on Facebook and TikTok and you can find me at that, laura.

Speaker 2: 41:35

Ora Very cool. Well, I will be sure to put some links in the comments below so people can just find you easily with the click of a button. And Laura thanks so much again for being on the show today and everybody else that's listening. I hope that you're having a fantastic day and I will catch you on the next one.

Speaker 1: 42:02

That's it for today. Friends, if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe or, even better, leave a review and let me know what resonated with you the most. The more you tell me what you love, the better I'm able to create future episodes with even better content. I'm sending you so much love and light. I'll see you in the next episode.