Sometimes you’re stuck for a season. Sometimes it’s a few months. For me, it was an entire year. All during 2024, I felt like I had a little rain cloud following me around. It affected my work, my life, and my creativity. And after reading some of the survey answers I got back, I realized that a lot of you were going through the exact same thing. 

I was able to get myself out of that weird funk I was in, so I wanted to help you guys do the same. That weird funk is survival mode, and it can happen at any time. Whether you’re fighting with a loved one, having a hard time at work, or even just seeing what’s going on in this country. It’s upsetting, and it stops your creative energy from flowing. So how do we reconnect with ourselves and get back into that creative energy? 

In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the real reason you’re not taking action and how to finally start. Life is gonna get you down; what matters is that you get back up. Listen to this week’s episode to learn mindful strategies on how to reconnect with yourself, how to tap into your creative energy, and how to manifest from a place of abundance rather than in survival mode. 

Follow Erika on:
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Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:

Sign up for the FREE webinar, Make 2026 Your Main-Character Year, here!

Join the waitlist for the Courage Driven Latina program here.

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here!

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio. 

Episode Transcript:

Hello, friends. Welcome to this week’s episode of Chingona Revolution podcast. This is your host, Erika Cruz, and I am excited for today’s episode because I am sharing with you some market research. Results. And then we’re going to dive into one of the big themes that I saw in this market research. So a few months ago I sent out a survey and gave everybody a free coaching call in exchange for their opinion.

It was actually so much fun. It was [00:02:00] so great. I feel like I should do that Maybe a couple of times a year so that I can understand what it is that you’re all struggling with so that I can tailor my content to it as well as podcast episodes for it. So let me go ahead and share what the themes were.

So the first kind of theme and. Big block was mindset blocks, mindset and self-doubt. So people expressed that they lacked confidence to take action or to show up. They had a fear of failure or fear of judgment. A lot of them said that they were feeling like they needed to be ready or perfect before they could actually start.

Hence last week’s episode that was all about overcoming perfectionism and starting before you are ready. Other people said that they were struggling to believe that they were capable or deserving of success.

Unfortunately, this is a really common thing where people feel like, oh yeah, other people deserve this, but I don’t know if I do. And a [00:03:00] big part of it is cultural conditioning. Other parts of it could be. Childhood experiences or maybe feeling like you’re not of the class that can have nice things, but all of this that has been learned can be unlearned, and that is the good news.

Others described the fear of not being enough, not doing enough, or not being seen as enough. So that was like they themselves didn’t believe they were enough. They didn’t feel like they were productive enough, or they felt like others maybe didn’t see them as enough. The next. Kind of theme was about clarity and direction.

So people said that they didn’t know where to start with their idea or with their project. They are unsure about what their purpose or passion is. They feel torn between multiple ideas and direction. They are overthinking every decision. They are waiting to launch something, but are unclear on what the exact next steps [00:04:00] are.

Yeah. And then the next theme was money and time. So people said that they felt stuck in their current job due to financial stability. So maybe they want to change jobs or maybe they want to quit and start a business, but they feel like they have to stay at this unfulfilling job or maybe toxic job or job they don’t like in order to have financial stability.

Others said that they worry about investing time or money in something uncertain. So maybe they’re like, oh, I want to start a blog. I want to start a podcast. I want to start my business, but I’m scared to invest money because what if it doesn’t work out? Others said that they were burnt out from work-life balance and have no time to pursue their goals, so they just don’t have a lot of time.

We’re gonna talk a little bit about that today actually. People also said that they believed that they can’t make money doing what they love. Oh, this one hurts my heart because I had this belief at some point as well. The next. Theme was visibility and taking up space. So people said that they were [00:05:00] scared to show up on social media or to show up in public.

They’re scared of being seen. Others said that they felt nervous or feel nervous about starting a podcast or speaking up. In general, they feel like others are already doing the thing that they want to do, and they’re doing it even better than they can do. So what’s the point of starting. Others said that they are intimidated by putting themselves out there or by being vulnerable.

And then the last section, which is the one I really wanna focus on today for the episode, is energy alignment and spirituality. So people said that they felt disconnected from joy, inspiration or intuition, that they know they want more, but they don’t know what exactly that looks like. Or maybe they feel guilty for wanting more.

They have lost touch with themselves and are in a season of survival. And others said that they are struggling to find aligned habits that support their vision. Some people describe that they felt like they were floating and like they have lost direction or their [00:06:00] spark or maybe their confidence. And that’s what I wanna talk about today because I think we all go. Through moments like this in our lives, and we could go through a day like this within the month, right?

But we can also go through seasons like this as well. I recently shared a post on my Instagram where I shared my resume and photos, and I shared all the different roles and jobs I had that led me to the place that I’m at today. And in some of those images I talked about feeling burnt out, or I talked about feeling unfulfilled, or I talked about feeling lost and these things happen, right?

Even now, I’ll have days where I’m like, oh my gosh, should I just close my business? I don’t really even know what I’m doing. So first I want to normalize that this is definitely a common thing and there’s nothing wrong with you if you. Feel like you are disconnected from yourself because just like you’ve disconnected from yourself, you can always connect again.

And one [00:07:00] thing that I want to bring to your attention that I’ve seen resonates with a lot of my clients, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot as well, and this theme is of creative energy. So creative energy is something that we can access when we have a regulated nervous system and when we feel calm.

But a lot of my clients come to me and they’re burnt out. Not even because they’re doing so much, but because they are in survival mode and their, their capacity and their thoughts are literally taking over their lives. So it’s not even like they’re sitting there working all day, every day, but their brain is constantly working and because they’re in this survival mode, they can’t access creative energy.

And if we want to live a purposeful life, we need creative energy. Let’s say that you want to go start a podcast that’s going to require creativity. You have to think about podcast episodes. You have to think about what’s the name going to be, who’s the podcast for. I mean, it’s a lot [00:08:00] of decisions that need to be made if you want to create content that requires a lot of creative energy.

If you are looking to. Apply for a different role and you want to update your resume or write a cover letter. All of this requires creative energy. And the more I meditate, the more I do these practices in my business, the better my business does, and I’ve learned that it’s because I. Making space for creative energy.

So some of the things that I do in my business that don’t make logical sense to maybe another traditional business owner are things like going to my boxing class. I feel like that’s. A great healthy way of letting out rage and letting out excess energy going on. Nature walks with my dog. I end up recording a lot of content while I’m on nature walks, because that’s when I feel really creative.

Another really important thing for me is ensuring that I’m [00:09:00] sleeping well if I get six hours of sleep. Or less, like let’s say I’m, I slept four hours and this happens a lot when I’m traveling or if I have to get up early for a speaking engagement or a flight, or maybe I want to go to 7:00 AM kickboxing, but I just had a late night the night before.

There’s many times in which I will sleep less than six hours. And I always notice a difference with how productive I am the next day. And what’s happening here is I’m lacking creative energy. Another thing that takes creative energy is if I’m in an argument with like a, a loved one, right? Like maybe a disagreement with, with, with a loved one, or I’m feeling conflicted about a decision.

Or, um, maybe if you have a work situation going on and you’re really consumed by it, that takes your creative energy.

Well, all of these different things that drain our energy, that takes away from our creative energy, and then we wonder why we are disconnected from [00:10:00] ourselves. So one of the common things that I hear from clients is that they don’t have clarity, but usually what that means is that they don’t have a regulated nervous system. Because clarity and creativity, they live in the body in the present moment. Not up in your head, not in your planner. You have to feel safe in order to access creativity.

One example that I gave my mastermind just uh, last week when we were talking about this. I was like, imagine that you are sitting at your computer and you want to get work done, okay? So think about whatever creative project you it is that you want to work on. Maybe you wanna write an email, write a podcast episode, apply for a job, and then imagine that somebody starts breaking into your house.

Are you gonna be able to just. Focus on the email. No, you are literally in survival mode. In that moment. You are going to ensure that you are safe and you probably won’t be productive the rest of the day. But what’s happening with us, with our thoughts, and you know, because our brain is so [00:11:00] powerful and the brain doesn’t know the difference between something that’s vividly imagined and something that’s actually happening.

So if you’re vividly imagining the worst case scenario, like what if I post this video and then. People cancel me Or what if I apply for this job and I don’t get it? And your, your body is, if you’re imagining that very vividly. Or constantly thinking about it, your body is reacting as if that’s already happening.

So you are in survival mode, and that means you cannot access that creative energy. Just like if somebody’s breaking into your house. You can’t, you’re not gonna focus on cleaning the house and making the house look good, or on writing the email or whatever creative thing you wanted to do. No, you’re literally in survival.

All that matters is that you’re safe and unfortunately. If you are a woman, which I think most people who listen to this podcast are, we naturally are looking for safety in the society, unfortunately. And then if you’re a woman of color, even more, right? Or if you grew up in a Latino household, I can only speak for Latino households ’cause that’s the one I [00:12:00] grew up in.

But it was constant chaos. Constant survival, and this idea of finding. Creativity can be so hard. And so we wonder, oh my gosh, why can’t I make me my dreams a reality? I just need the perfect strategy. And if you are looking for strategy, listen to last week’s podcast episode because I dive deep into one very simple strategy to help you overcome perfectionism, but.

That’s not the only thing that’s going to help you get there, because I can give you the strategy, but if you still don’t have the creative energy, which is what I’m talking about in this podcast episode, then you’re not going to implement the strategy. It’s impossible to show up as the main character of your life when you are just trying to survive. So let me give you some signs and some examples of what it’s like when you’re disconnected. So maybe you make a decision, but then you immediately change your mind and you begin to second guess yourself. So you second guess every decision. Maybe you feel like you don’t know how to listen [00:13:00] to your intuition.

You are trying to meditate, maybe trying to figure out, okay, what is it that my intuition is saying? But all you’re really doing is maybe writing down pros and cons lists in your journal, and you’re actually really relying on your intellect. Nothing excites you anymore. You maybe just kind of feel numb.

People in the survey directly said, I feel like I have no direction, even though I want more, or I feel like I’m floating. Maybe you are craving purpose, but overthinking blocks you. Um, another one is maybe you’re just constantly searching for answers outside of you. Maybe you’re kind of surveying everybody around you.

Maybe you have an idea or, and you’re like, what should I do? What should I do? And you’re really just relying on other people rather than listening to yourself. So. I mean, like I told you, this can happen for a day. It can happen for a month. You can be in a whole season. I feel like 2024 was this season for me.

And of course I had moments that were still really good. I still had a lot of wins. But [00:14:00] in general, 2024 for me felt like a year of like a little rain cloud following me around. 

 so in order to reconnect, it’s important to implement these strategies that are the most unhinged strategies. They’re not really strategies, it’s, it’s not business strategies. It’s more alignment strategies. And these are so important because I could give you my step-by-step framework, but unless you’re doing this.

It won’t work for you. Why? Because you literally will not take the action. We do not lack information. You could go to YouTube, you could go to Google, you could go to chat GPT. You can find any information you want. We are not lacking information. We are lacking the courage to take the action. And these strategies will support you in taking the action.

And these strategies, again, are alignment strategies. So some of the things that I do. Are I prioritize my fitness, whether it’s kickboxing, maybe orange theory, uh, [00:15:00] depending on, on where I am. If I’m traveling, I try to do nature walks. With my dog, and you’ve probably seen videos on my Instagram where I’m doing these nature walks.

I really make time for stillness. So, um, journaling, meditation, putting my phone in another room, putting my phone on, do not disturb. It can be so easy and so I can justify being on my phone so much because I run a business and a lot of my stuff is on social media, but sometimes I really just need that.

Break something else is trying something creative with zero pressure, something just kind of for fun. So for me, this is salsa dancing and bachata. It’s movement as well, but it’s also connection. But I can’t use my phone. I’m still somewhat beginner. Obviously I’ve been doing it for a couple of years at this point, so I, I can follow well, but.

There’s, I feel like I kind of hit a plateau and haven’t really gone to more advanced classes. It’s something I do want to do, but there’s always something new to learn there, and it’s never, it’s not like I’m trying to go [00:16:00] be a professional. It’s not like I’m trying to go get paid for this. So because of that, it does get to be this hobby that is fun and it’s zero pressure. Another thing that I suggest is follow your joy breadcrumbs. So if something is like causing you to feel excited, curious, follow that because usually that’s clues that are leading you to a bigger purpose or, uh, something that’s. That’s there for you and for me, that was also like salsa dancing or even creating content.

I never thought I was going to create a business from creating content. Another thing you can do is take one brave action, and I recommend listening to last week’s podcast episode about overcoming perfectionism, and you’ll get some ideas in that one. But I want you to remember that clarity and connection doesn’t come from thinking.

It comes from doing and it comes from being, and what I’m talking about a lot in this episode is [00:17:00] being because what we all really want at the core. We want peace, right? You want the new job because you think it’s going to bring you peace. You want money because you think it’s going to bring you peace.

You want the relationship because you think it’s going to bring you peace at, at the core, we all just wanna feel calm inside. We don’t want to feel chaotic. Let me give you an example from one of my clients. Her name is Nancy. She is a lawyer and she’s, we did an Instagram live together in, in the past. Um, so she has shared this story, that’s why I’m comfortable sharing it. But when we first worked together, she was a client inside of courage driven Latina, and her big thing was, Hey.

Went through all this work to become a lawyer. There’s only like, what was it, like 2% of Latina lawyers, but I’m ready to transition out. I’m ready to do something different. But there was a lot of pressure of, oh man, I’m part of the representation here. I went through all this effort to become a lawyer. Am I really going to leave?

And [00:18:00] deep down, she knew that she felt unfulfilled. So when she came to me, of course I gave her the step-by-step strategy, but I knew that that wasn’t where the work was. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the ability to take action. She freaking became a lawyer, right? Like she’s very capable of, of doing. But what she really needed in that moment, the support she really needed, was to get out of survival mode and think more abundantly, right?

Because what was happening is she was thinking, oh man, if I’m gonna leave this job, I’m leaving something behind. Instead of, oh, this job has now supported me in being able to transition to a new role. But what she needed was. To be connected to herself.

So to quickly recap, Nancy didn’t just need strategy to be able to transition out. She needed to reconnect to herself and reconnect to abundance because it was actually a [00:19:00] really abundant move for her to move out of the role that she was to transition to the new role and. Nancy and I continued to work together.

She actually ended up even negotiating a pay raise and she was no longer in a lawyer position, but she still, she moved to a strategy position, still ended up negotiating a pay raise, and she recently rejoined the program again. And, um, we’ve been working together for a couple of months and she launched a podcast, so talk about creative energy, right?

She was able to create some of that creative energy for herself, and now she’s making even bigger, bolder career moves, and it’s been so amazing to see her prioritize herself, step into abundance, but we cannot access abundance from survival. We have to have creative energy.

If this podcast episode resonated with you and you enjoyed what I talked about from creative energy and reconnecting to yourself, as well as how to reconnect with yourself, and you would like more on this than I invite you to my free training, it’s happening on [00:20:00] November 10th.

It’s all about how to make 2026 your main character. Year. So whatever it is that, that you are looking to do, maybe 2025 didn’t go the way that you wanted. It is not too late to turn 2025 around, and it is not too early to start planning for 2026, right? The actions and the decisions that you make right now are going to dictate what your 2026 is like.

So sign up down below in the show notes. Be sure to tell a friend. I can’t wait to see you there, and I’ll see you next week. [00:21:00]