The Confident Woman Podcast

<p>Starting over sounds simple in theory—a fresh page, a clean slate, a new beginning. But in real life, starting over is rarely neat or easy. It’s often messy, emotional, and uncertain, especially when you’re letting go of a version of yourself that once worked.</p><p>In this solo episode of <em>The Confident Woman Podcast</em>, Rachel Brooks speaks to the woman who feels caught between who she has been and who she knows God is calling her to become. She explores why real starting over isn’t just about changing circumstances, routines, or goals—it’s identity-level work. Without an internal shift, old patterns quietly follow us into new seasons.</p><p>Anchored in faith, this episode unpacks why starting over requires surrender rather than control, release rather than hustle, and trust rather than certainty. Rachel shares why uncertainty isn’t the same as danger, how God often reveals the next step instead of the full plan, and why beginning again doesn’t mean failure—it means awareness.</p><p>This episode is an invitation to stop forcing what no longer fits and allow God to redefine you from the inside out.</p><p><strong>Talking Points &amp; Takeaways</strong></p><ul><li>Why starting over is emotional, spiritual, and identity-level</li><li>How old patterns follow you into new seasons when identity doesn’t change</li><li>The difference between uncertainty and danger</li><li>Why surrender is the doorway to peace</li><li>How letting go of survival-based identities creates space for growth</li></ul><p><strong>Scripture for the Soul</strong> </p><p>“If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17</p><p><strong>Memorable Quotes</strong></p><ul><li>“Starting over isn’t just external. It’s internal.”</li><li>“Uncertainty isn’t always unsafe—it’s where faith can breathe.”</li><li>“Starting over doesn’t mean you failed. It means you’re awake.”</li></ul><p><strong>Next Steps</strong> </p><p>If this episode resonated and you’re ready to begin again but need clarity on what comes next, visit <strong>START</strong> to choose your next step with intention. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/start">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/start</a></p><p>If you’re seeking high-level clarity and direction, you can also explore a private strategy call. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/work-with-me">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/work-with-me</a></p><p><strong>Connect with Rachel Brooks</strong> </p><p>Listen to more episodes: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play</a> </p><p>Subscribe to The Confident Woman Weekly: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/newsletter">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/newsletter</a> </p><p>Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com">https://iamrachelbrooks.com</a></p><p>Instagram: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/instagram">@iamrachelbrooks</a></p>

<p>Have you ever reached the end of a season and realized you moved through it on autopilot—doing what you had to do to survive, but never stopping long enough to reflect on what it shaped in you?</p><p>In this solo episode of <em>The Confident Woman Podcast</em>, Rachel Brooks invites you to slow down and take honest inventory of your life. Not to relive the past or judge yourself for how you handled it, but to learn from it with clarity, compassion, and wisdom.</p><p>This episode is a guided reflection designed to help you move forward without dragging unnecessary weight into what’s next. Rachel walks through three powerful reflection questions that help you notice gratitude you may have missed, patterns that need to be named so they stop repeating, and what this season taught you that you’re meant to carry forward—or finally release.</p><p>Reflection isn’t about getting stuck in the past. It’s about redeeming it. When you take time to understand what a season required of you and what it formed in you, hindsight becomes a teacher instead of a critic.</p><p>This conversation is for anyone who feels like they’re rushing into the next chapter without fully understanding the one they’re closing. It’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and move forward with intention instead of pressure.</p><p><strong>In this episode, you’ll reflect on:</strong></p><ul><li>Why reflection is essential before moving into a new season</li><li>How to look back without judgment or shame</li><li>What this season taught you that you couldn’t have learned any other way</li><li>Gratitude you may have missed while you were just getting through</li><li>Patterns that continue until they’re named</li><li>What you’re meant to carry forward—and what you’re done carrying</li></ul><p><strong>Scripture For the Soul</strong></p><p>“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12</p><p><strong>Continue the Reflection</strong></p><p>If this episode stirred something in you and you want a quiet, intentional space to continue reflecting, you can explore <strong>Create Your Own Story.</strong> This inspirational blank journal-style, paired with reflections and points to ponder, is designed to help you process seasons of transition, identity, and becoming.</p><p>→ Explore <em>Create Your Own Story</em>: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/newsletter">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/create-your-own-story-journal</a></p><p>To receive weekly faith-anchored reflections and updates from <em>The Confident Woman</em>, subscribe to the weekly newsletter.</p><p>→ Subscribe here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/newsletter">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/newsletter</a></p><p>And if you’re ready to pause and begin with intention, you can start here:</p><p>→ Start: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/start">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/start</a></p><p><strong>Connect with Rachel Brooks</strong></p><p>Listen to more episodes: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play</a> </p><p>Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com">https://iamrachelbrooks.com</a> </p><p>Instagram: @iamrachelbrooks</p>

<p>Have you been telling yourself you’ll have peace <em>after</em> you catch up, after the holidays, after the deadline, after life calms down? In this solo episode, Rachel Brooks flips the script on the pressure that keeps you performing and teaches you how to choose presence—right now—so peace stops feeling like a reward you have to earn.</p><p>If you’re a high-achieving, faith-led woman who feels “soul tired,” constantly rushing, multitasking, or living like everything depends on you, this episode will call you back home to your body, your breath, and God. Rachel breaks down why pressure is loud and convincing, why presence is quieter but more powerful, and how gratitude becomes an anchor that pulls you out of anxiety and back into the present moment.</p><p>You’ll learn how to recognize the hidden ways you abandon yourself through tiny daily habits, how to stop treating rest like weakness, and how to build micro-moments of presence that actually restore your peace, your relationships, and your faith. Rachel also shares a simple morning practice to shift your nervous system before your day takes over, and why being still is not just physical—it’s internal surrender.</p><p>In this episode, you’ll hear:</p><ul><li>Why peace isn’t something you earn after the chaos (and how pressure keeps you chasing it)</li><li>What it looks like to choose presence over pressure today</li><li>How gratitude pulls you out of spiraling and back into reality</li><li>The faith connection: presence as trust, surrender, and spiritual discipline</li><li>Practical ways to stop abandoning yourself in the tiny, everyday moments</li><li>Why “be still” is about releasing control, not doing nothing</li></ul><p>Takeaways:</p><p>“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10</p><p>“Peace isn’t something you earn after you catch up. It’s something you choose when you stop letting pressure lead.”</p><p>“Pressure is loud and convincing. Presence is quieter, but it’s where peace actually lives.”</p><p>“Gratitude doesn’t ignore reality—it anchors you in it when anxiety pulls you everywhere else.”</p><p>“Every time you rush past yourself, you abandon presence. Peace begins when you slow down enough to stay.”</p><p>“Stillness isn’t doing nothing. It’s releasing the belief that everything depends on you.”</p><p>“You don’t need more time to find peace. You need fewer moments where pressure is in charge.”</p><p><strong>Ready for a simple next step?</strong></p><p>If you’re tired of living on autopilot and you want help quieting the inner noise, start with Rachel’s free <strong>I Am… Enough Reset</strong>—a 10-minute identity reset designed to bring you back to presence, peace, and truth.</p><p>Get the free reset here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/reset">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/reset</a></p><p><strong>Connect with Rachel Brooks</strong></p><p>Listen to more episodes: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play">https://iamrachelbrooks.com/play</a> </p><p>Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com">https://iamrachelbrooks.com</a> </p><p>Instagram: @iamrachelbrooks</p>

<p>There are seasons in life when everything you knew about yourself begins to shift—not loudly, not all at once, but quietly beneath the surface. Nothing is obviously wrong, yet nothing feels quite right either. You’re still showing up. Still functioning. Still carrying responsibility. But inside, something feels unfamiliar.</p><p>In this solo episode of <em>The Confident Woman Podcast</em>, Rachel Brooks opens up about one of the most disorienting questions a woman can face:</p><p><strong>Who am I now?</strong></p><p>What began as a simple moment—rediscovering an old journal with three words written on a pink sticky note—became a mirror reflecting the season she’s currently walking through. A season marked by grief, rebuilding, identity loss, and becoming someone new without fully knowing who that woman is yet.</p><p>Rachel shares candidly about the last year of her life, including the sudden loss of her father, the unraveling that followed, and the quiet ways grief reshapes not just your world, but your sense of self. She speaks to the exhaustion of holding everything together while feeling disconnected from who you are beneath the roles, expectations, and versions of yourself you’ve carried for years.</p><p>This episode is for the woman who feels caught in the middle—no longer who she was, not yet who she’s becoming. It’s for the one navigating loss, transition, burnout, or a life shift that has left her questioning her identity, her faith, and the story she’s been living.</p><p><strong>Inside this conversation, Rachel explores:</strong></p><ul><li>Why identity often unravels before it rebuilds</li><li>How grief and major life transitions quietly reshape who we are</li><li>The danger of clinging to old versions of yourself that no longer fit</li><li>What it means to surrender control instead of forcing clarity</li><li>How faith becomes an anchor when certainty disappears</li><li>Why becoming is a process—not a destination</li><li>And why, at some point, you have to stop living by inherited scripts and create your own story</li></ul><p>If you’ve ever felt like you disappeared inside your own life, or sensed that the woman you’ve been can’t come with you into what’s next, this episode will give you language, permission, and reassurance—you’re becoming.</p><p><strong>Next Steps...</strong></p><p>If this episode put words to something you’ve been feeling but couldn’t name, here are grounded ways to support yourself in this season:</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/iam-becoming"><strong>I Am… Becoming</strong></a> A guided identity journey for women who are rebuilding, redefining, and learning how to create their own story from where they are now—not who they used to be. </p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/reset"><strong>I Am Enough Reset (Free)</strong> </a>A gentle place to start if you need space, grounding, and truth right now.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://iamrachelbrooks.com/substack"><strong>Create Your Own Story </strong></a>Quiet, journal-style letters and reflections Rachel has been writing beyond the podcast—shared as an ongoing conversation for women navigating identity shifts and becoming. </p><p><strong>Connect with Rachel Brooks</strong></p><p>Instagram: <a target="_new" rel="noopener" class="decorated-link" href="https://instagram.com/iamrachelbrooks">@iamrachelbrooks</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://linkedin.com/in/iamrachelbrooks">linkedin.com/in/iamrachelbrooks</a></p><p>Listen + Subscribe: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://iamrachelbrooks.com/podcast">iamrachelbrooks.com/podcast</a></p><p>Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://iamrachelbrooks.com">iamrachelbrooks.com</a></p>

<p>There comes a moment when the life you worked so hard to build no longer feels sustainable. You’re successful, capable, and still showing up—but underneath it all, something feels off. The pace feels heavy. The pressure feels constant. And the version of success you’ve been chasing starts to cost more than you’re willing to pay.</p><p>In today’s episode, Rachel sits down with <strong>Alexandria Ott</strong>—founder and CEO of Chrome City Creative, creator of The Blank Table dinner series, and a woman who knows firsthand what it means to rebuild yourself from the inside out while leading, mothering, and navigating massive life transitions.</p><p>This conversation pulls back the curtain on what “having it all” really looks like behind the scenes: the seasons of burnout, the pressure to perform, the identity unraveling, the motherhood layers, and the strength it takes to build a career, a life, and a self you’re actually proud of.</p><p>Together, Rachel and Alex dive into:</p><ul><li>The internal shift that happens before an external change</li><li>Why identity transitions feel confusing — and why that’s normal</li><li>How to rebuild your life when the old version of you no longer fits</li><li>The truth about balance, burnout, and the pressure to be “all things”</li><li>The privilege, the sacrifice, and the support required to make big dreams work</li><li>How to stop comparing your path to everyone else’s</li><li>Creating a life you feel instead of a life you simply manage</li><li>The role of rest, health, and internal grounding — especially for high-achieving women</li><li>Why you must decide how you want your life to <em>feel</em>, not just what you want to accomplish</li><li>The mindset shift Alex uses to keep fear and scarcity from running her life or business</li></ul><p>This is the kind of conversation that gives language to what so many women are silently navigating: the unraveling, the rebuilding, and the courageous middle space between who you were and who you’re becoming.</p><p>If you’re in a transition season—or if you’ve been questioning your pace, your identity, or your path—this episode will meet you exactly where you are.</p><p><strong>QUOTES:</strong></p><p>“Not everyone is meant to be in the A-seat. You can thrive in the role that aligns with your soul—not the one the world tells you to want.”</p><p>“The middle isn’t a void. It’s a crossing. It’s where God does His deepest rebuilding.”</p><p>“What if the baseline is that everything works out? What if the default is abundance?”</p><p>“You can’t build a life you love by modeling someone else’s blueprint. You have to look within.”</p><p><strong>RESOURCES &amp; NEXT STEPS:</strong></p><p><strong>I Am… Becoming</strong> - A guided identity journey for women navigating transition, rebuilding, or stepping into a new season. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://iamrachelbrooks.com/iam-becoming">iamrachelbrooks.com/iam-becoming</a></p><p><strong>I Am… Enough Reset</strong> - A simple 10-minute reset to help you quiet the noise and return to yourself when life feels overwhelming. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://iamrachelbrooks.com/reset">iamrachelbrooks.com/reset</a></p><p><strong>CONNECT WITH ALEXANDRIA OTT</strong></p><p>Chrome City Creative: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://chromecitycreative.com">chromecitycreative.com</a></p><p>Instagram: @alexvott</p><p>The Blank Table + Wild and Wise Podcast: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://alexandriaott.com">alexandriaott.com</a></p><p><strong>CONNECT WITH RACHEL BROOKS:</strong></p><p>Instagram: @iamrachelbrooks</p><p>Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://iamrachelbrooks.com">iamrachelbrooks.com</a></p>