The Distracted Dreamer

#86: The Difference Between Quitting and Completing a Dream

Send Carlene a text or voicemail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412227/fan_mail/new] I sat down to record this week thinking, honestly, that I had nothing left to say.   And instead of pretending otherwise, I decided to talk about that. About what it feels like when a dream goes quiet, and how you tell the difference between a hard week and a finished chapter.   We've all picked up the idea that if something is truly your dream, it should feel exciting. It should be easy to want. When it doesn't, we read that as proof we chose wrong.   The question is, are you holding onto something you still want or just holding on out of habit?  We're not landing on a clean answer here. That's not how this works.  But we are going to talk about what that question actually means, and why the fact that you're still asking it might be the most honest thing you've got right now.  3 Key Take Aways From This Episode 1️⃣ You can be fully inside your dream and still have days where you'd rather be anywhere else. That's just what it feels like to be in something real.  2️⃣ There's a difference between quitting and completing, and knowing which one you're actually looking at changes what you do next.  3️⃣ When someone else's dream looks steady and certain from the outside it is often just them showing up anyway, on the bad days too. SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: The Tuesday Letter with Carlene right here [https://coachcarlene.com/newsletter] DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE [https://coachcarlene.com/dreamer] Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com [https://coachcarlene.com/] MORE FROM ME Follow me on Instagram:  @coach_carlene [http://instagram.com/coach_carlene] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week! FOLLOW NOW Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Episode Website  [https://thedistracteddreamer.buzzsprout.com]

#85: Why "I Don't Know What I Want" Is a Nervous System Problem, and how to fix it.

Send Carlene a text or voicemail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412227/fan_mail/new] I don't even know what I want anymore." If you've said that to yourself lately, it's likely your nervous system is maxed-out.  In this episode, I'm getting into what happens when your body has spent years managing everyone, holding the family together, running the mental and emotional load nobody sees. Because when that happens there's no room left for your dreams to surface.  I'll walk you through what it actually looks like to reset and regulate your nervous system so your dreams can find you again, starting with five quiet minutes.  3 Key Takeaways: * A maxed-out nervous system can't hear what you want. * Dreams live in the margins, in the quiet, in the moments your body finally settles. * Regulating your nervous system becomes how you take care of yourself in mid-life. SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: The Tuesday Letter with Carlene right here [https://coachcarlene.com/newsletter] DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE [https://coachcarlene.com/dreamer] Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com [https://coachcarlene.com/] MORE FROM ME Follow me on Instagram:  @coach_carlene [http://instagram.com/coach_carlene] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week! FOLLOW NOW Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Episode Website  [https://thedistracteddreamer.buzzsprout.com]

#84: Why You Feel Disoriented in Midlife — And How to Find Your Footing Again

Send Carlene a text or voicemail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412227/fan_mail/new] One foot in a season that's closing. One foot in a future you don't quite recognize yet. Midlife has a way of reshuffling everything at once, which is why so many of us hit a wall. We're trying to move forward while standing in two seasons at once. The roles that used to tell us who we were have shifted. The life that used to fit doesn't quite fit anymore. And nobody handed us a map for the in-between. In this episode, I'm naming what's actually happening. The quiet disorientation that comes with this season. And giving you three grounded practices to help you find your footing again. This isn't about becoming someone new. It's about recognizing yourself right where you are. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE 1. Disorientation in midlife is a sign you're right in the middle of a real transition. 2. Your surroundings, your shifting roles, and going it alone are quietly keeping the old story running even when you're ready for something new. 3. You don't have to see the whole path. Finding your footing starts with knowing where your feet are right now. This season is disorienting. But you are still capable right now, exactly as you are. SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: The Tuesday Letter with Carlene right here [https://coachcarlene.com/newsletter] DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE [https://coachcarlene.com/dreamer] Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com [https://coachcarlene.com/] MORE FROM ME Follow me on Instagram:  @coach_carlene [http://instagram.com/coach_carlene] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week! FOLLOW NOW Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Episode Website  [https://thedistracteddreamer.buzzsprout.com]

#83: Your Nervous System First: The Summer Reset That Actually Works

Send Carlene a text or voicemail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412227/fan_mail/new] American culture has taught us that being busy, slammed, having so much going on makes us important.  Like a packed calendar is proof that we matter. But what if everything we've been measuring our worth by is working against us? Against our health, our clarity, our joy, and yes, even our productivity? If you've been running on fumes and calling it productive, this episode is going to give you both the science and the permission to finally slow down.  Not because the to-do list doesn't matter. But because taking care of your nervous system first is exactly how the to-do list gets done with less stress, less friction, and more clarity. I say that as someone who calls herself a productivity strategist. I mean every word of it. In this episode, I'm sharing what the research says about why we've become addicted to busy, what chronic stress is actually doing inside your body, and a simple summer reset menu,  backed by science, that you can start today, right where you are. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE 1️⃣You don't have to choose between being productive and taking care of yourself. Caring for your nervous system first is what makes the to-do list actually get done. 2️⃣ Doing nothing with someone you love is not wasted time. It's co-regulation. Your nervous systems are literally calming each other down. 3️⃣ The guilt you feel when you slow down? That's withdrawal. Push through it — because what's on the other side is clarity you forgot was possible. SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: The Tuesday Letter with Carlene right here [https://coachcarlene.com/newsletter] DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE [https://coachcarlene.com/dreamer] Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com [https://coachcarlene.com/] MORE FROM ME Follow me on Instagram:  @coach_carlene [http://instagram.com/coach_carlene] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week! FOLLOW NOW Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Episode Website  [https://thedistracteddreamer.buzzsprout.com]

#82: Are You a Perfectionist or Just Hiding? 5 Questions to Find Out

Send Carlene a text or voicemail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412227/fan_mail/new] You've said it before. Maybe you're saying it right now. "I'm a perfectionist." But what if that's not the whole truth? In this episode, I'm coming back to perfectionism — because just when we think we've put that monster to sleep, it sneaks back in. It disguises itself as excellence and hard work and caring oh so much. And today I'm giving you some tough love, because the only way through it is to name it for what it really is. I'll walk you through five honest questions to help you figure out whether you're in perfectionist mode — or hiding mode. Because they look the same from the outside, but they have very different solutions. Then I'll give you three shifts to build momentum and keep it going, even when perfectionism tries to nudge its way back in. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE 1. If nothing has materially improved in the last week, you're not refining — you're stalling. 2. Nothing can be perfected until it's completed. You cannot improve what you refuse to release. 3. Progress is not a mood. It's a system. Map it, make time for it, ship it at 80%. If your dream has been waiting on you — this is the conversation that gets it moving. SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: The Tuesday Letter with Carlene right here [https://coachcarlene.com/newsletter] DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE [https://coachcarlene.com/dreamer] Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com [https://coachcarlene.com/] MORE FROM ME Follow me on Instagram:  @coach_carlene [http://instagram.com/coach_carlene] SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week! FOLLOW NOW Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-distracted-dreamer/id1772968728?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1772968728]! Episode Website  [https://thedistracteddreamer.buzzsprout.com]