ANDREA CRISP
“
I’m learning not to rush myself out of this space.”
When Nothing Fits Anymore: The In-Between Season of Intuitive Leadership and Identity Shift
There’s a season I don’t think we talk about enough. The one where things don’t quite fit anymore… but you don’t have clarity on what’s next either. It’s subtle. Quiet. Sometimes hard to explain. But you can feel it. And lately, I’ve been right in the middle of it.
This episode is a more personal reflection on that space—what it’s been like for me, what I’m noticing, and how I’m choosing to move through it without forcing answers too quickly.
When It’s Not Wrong… But It’s Not Right Anymore
One of the most disorienting parts of growth is when nothing is clearly broken. Your work still “works.” Your message still makes sense. From the outside, everything looks fine. But internally… something feels off. Not in a chaotic way. Just in a quiet, persistent way that says: This isn’t quite it anymore.
“It’s not that anything is wrong… it’s that something in me has changed.”
And that’s a very different kind of space to navigate.
The In-Between Isn’t a Problem to Solve
What I’ve been noticing—both in myself and in the women I work with—is how quickly we try to get out of this space. We want clarity. Direction. A new plan. But the truth is, this in-between isn’t confusion. It’s transition. And if we rush to define it too quickly, we end up recreating something from the old version of ourselves instead of allowing something new to emerge.
“I’m learning not to rush myself out of this space.”
Nervous System, Control, and the Urge to Figure It Out
This is where nervous system regulation becomes really real. Because when things feel undefined, your system will often interpret that as unsafe. So the instinct is to: tighten, control, figure it out, make a decision just to feel grounded again.
But that kind of clarity is usually forced. And you can feel the difference. Intuitive leadership asks something deeper. It asks you to stay.
Embodiment in the Undefined
For me, this season hasn’t been about finding answers. It’s been about staying connected to myself while the answers are still forming. Letting things fall away without immediately replacing them. Letting my message evolve without rushing to define it. Letting myself be in process… without making that wrong.
“This isn’t confusion—it’s a transition.”
If You’re Here Too
If you’re in a space where things don’t quite fit anymore… You’re not behind. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re in a threshold. And the most powerful thing you can do here isn’t to push forward—it’s to stay present long enough to actually hear what’s next.
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Today's conversation is going to be a little more personal than usual, because it's something that I've been moving through in my own life, and it pertains to how we're shifting things here on the podcast. Lately, I have found myself in this in-between space where it feels like a lot of things don't fit me, not because they're wrong, not because they're bad, but because something in me has shifted.
And if you've ever gone through a season like that, you know it can be both incredibly uncomfortable, but also bring a lot of clarity at the same time. There's this moment when you start realizing that what once fit you, maybe the environments, the people, the communities that have been serving you or you have been serving, just really don't fit where you're going anymore. Well, that's the space that I've been in.
a season of letting go, a season of refining, and a season of getting really honest about what feels aligned for me right now. And interestingly enough, this has also made me realize something important about leadership and growth that I want to share with you today. Because for a long time, I taught that courage was the answer to be brave, to take the leap, to push through fear. And for
so many years, courage was what shaped my life. But lately, I've been realizing something. Courage alone isn't enough for the next level of leadership that many women are stepping into. Because courage can still come from pushing and from the adrenaline and from hustling. And there are so many of us, including myself, that are no longer trying to just survive our lives. We're trying to live in alignment with them. And that
my friend, requires something deeper. Hey there, welcome to the CourageCast. My name is Andrea Crisp. I'm glad you're joining me today. It actually feels kind of funny and I kind of bittersweet because it will be long before I'm sharing with you the new name of the podcast and not just saying welcome to the CourageCast anymore because it is
about to change. We are nearing the end of this series. We only have a few more episodes before we reveal the name of what the podcast is actually going to be. And I have been really sitting, thinking about just what I want to share with you and how transparent I want to be with this whole journey. And I feel like, you know, what the heck, might as well, right? Just go for it.
Because I've been in this place in my own life and leadership lately where it feels like nothing really fits me anymore. I know it's crazy, right? Like, is that possible that all of a sudden nothing fits? Well, yeah, that's kind of what it feels like. So for me, it has really caused me to pull back and to really sit with where do I want to start showing up in my business?
Where do I want to start showing up online? What events do I want to attend? What communities do I want to be a part of? What do I actually want to offer as a part of my business? And where am I going? So it's kind of been like a little bit like a whole revamp on what's happening in my world. And this weekend was no exception. So I'm going to share a little bit about how I have kind of been processing this.
And I think that there are seasons that we all go through in our lives where we're reevaluating things. Maybe it's in our leadership. Maybe it's in our business. Maybe it's in our relationships where things just don't seem to fit anymore. And there are a lot of moments that you probably have, you know, been in your own life where you've had to.
Be very brave. You've had to take some risks to make some bold moves and maybe even leave things behind. But there are also times where it's not about taking a huge risk. It's actually about refining and pulling things back just a little bit to shift something that's not working.
Over the past six months, that is exactly where I have been. And that has been my story. I felt like I've had to let go of so many things that just don't feel aligned for me anymore. And it also has been coming to some realizations and moving through some emotions, even more recently, like the feelings of guilt around the fact that I might not.
please everybody. And that's just okay. You know, sometimes you have to just kind of move forward. And for some time, I have felt this pull to deeper soul alignment. But if I'm being just really transparent, it's been very scary for me. It's been very uncomfortable. And I mentioned that, you know, this weekend, I was thinking about my business and what I'm doing. I was thinking maybe I should just like
stop doing it all together and burn it all down and I'm sure if you are an entrepreneur or you have you know something that you're passionate about you probably felt very similar but it made me look at everything in a new lens and and start to think okay if I'm going to be intentional about what I'm doing in my business what I'm doing in my life where I'm pouring my energy then
I also need to take a look at the output, like where am I serving? What communities am I a part of? What events am I attending? Where am I spending my energy, especially as I'm moving forward? And it's not as though I feel like that everything has to change, but definitely I know where I'm spending my energy.
really has to shift. And for a long time, I kind of followed the prescribed way of doing business, especially online business, and going into spaces that made a lot of sense on paper and, you know, seem to be like the place to be the it place to be. But the truth is that just being in communities to be in them and be part of them just actually doesn't serve me anymore.
If they're not really valuable for me and they don't, you know, make me come alive, then I'm just like, well, I just don't need to be part of them anymore. And over the past couple of months, I have actually seen this to be so true for me because I spent probably a good part of February and then the beginning of March.
getting ready, preparing for two different trips where I attended friends events. Now, to be very, very clear, these were amazing rooms. Women I deeply respect, friends I love seeing and just absolutely adore value in every way, shape and form. But something interesting kept happening for me.
And I want to share it with you. So every time I got ready to start to pack to go to these events, my body felt incredibly stressed.
I have been learning to pay more attention to what is happening in my body when I'm doing things because for a long time I didn't and it is part of my intuition to listen to my body but I would bypass that and just kind of go with the flow anyways because it's the right thing to do or that's what you do and my nervous system
was trying to tell me something because it was giving me the information that something was up for me specifically but I was like you know what I've already committed and I'm just going to push through. For both of these trips I felt like canceling probably a week out of each event and I thought you know what this just doesn't feel right for me anymore.
And that was really hard for me to admit because I felt like, you know what, I've committed to these events. I've paid for the tickets. I've booked kennels, you know, for the dog and my brother's dog who was staying with me at the time. I was putting a lot of money out. I kind of needed to get away from, you know, being where I live and being so isolated.
with all of those things, it just didn't feel like it was sitting right for me. And I went to both events. And just in full transparency, they were amazing. Like, I learned a lot at both of the events, I got to connect with some amazing humans, like, it was just really, really good. But even when I got home, I still had this lingering
feeling, this lingering sense that something is off. And that can be a very strange place to be. Because when you don't really know why, you don't feel like you're supposed to be somewhere anymore. But you don't know what's next. It can feel like you're in this like, void, you're in the in between. And
There's nothing particularly wrong with where you've been. It just doesn't seem to fit anymore. And so I had to make the decision that, you know what, it's time for me to step out of the big rooms and for a time, not attend any more big events. Not because there's anything wrong with them, but because it simply...
doesn't feel aligned for me right now and what I'm craving is really small intimate rooms with deep connection really really good conversations a sense of belonging where you feel totally held supported and where it feels like you can truly be yourself that is what I am craving
right now. And I think my nervous system is also craving that safety. And when we put ourselves in spaces and environments where we are not feeling truly safe to be seen, it is really overriding our own innate wisdom. And friend, that is something that I am no longer willing to do.
And there comes a moment for many of us where we kind of wake up to this realization that I actually can't keep doing this. I can't keep saying yes to things that are not a hell yes for me. And that is the space that I have found myself in. So kind of moving from this place of forcing things to work in my life and in my business.
to allowing them to unfold. And even as I've been recording this podcast series, I think I told you, you know, a few episodes back that I was still in the middle of renaming the podcast, I was in the middle of kind of like shifting myself from where I had been to where I'm going. And things have been messy over here. They really have, like it has not been a clear path for me.
in any way shape or form but the one thing that I can tell you is that I am moving from this place of striving and trying to make things happen to just being like okay I surrender I'm open to what needs to happen like I'm done trying to perform to belong I'm I'm done trying to fit into spaces that really don't serve me and
I don't want to do that in my business either. I really want to embody this new version of myself. Maybe the version of myself that I've always been and come back to this like sense of who I truly, truly am and really, really honor that. And this transition has not been graceful.
in any way. In fact, I have felt so confused at times. I have been looking at like what works, what doesn't work and feeling like, oh my gosh, so much of this doesn't work. Now what do I do? And questioning it all. It's been exhausting at times. It's been frustrating. It's been challenging. But that's what happens when you're evolving. The old ways stop working.
And you have to question things in order to know what comes next. You have to say, like, this is not serving me anymore. And only when you get to that place can the new things emerge.
So for me, it's been a lot of listening, tuning in, and maybe you can resonate with that. Maybe you're like, I'm in that place in my own life. I'm shifting in my own business. I'm shifting in my own life. Maybe you've made a big move. Maybe you are, you know, realigning something in your life. And you might be in a place where everything is, you know, shifting for you. I want to say this, just because things no longer fit doesn't mean you're failing.
It just means you're evolving. And if the systems that you once used don't work, or if the methods you once used don't work, or if the messaging you use once does not work, doesn't mean like, okay, it's all over and throw in the towel. It just means that maybe it's time for something different. And you need to create more alignment in your life and really get clear on what is for you.
And even though, like, even it was funny, as I'm recording this, I got a message that popped through from one of my old mentors that I was in this big program many, many years ago. And they're offering this mastermind. And it's really interesting because as my computer pinged, and I don't know if you can hear it on the recording or not, I guess it really doesn't matter. But I was reminded.
of places that no longer fit, that are...
no longer where I'm at in my life and business. Because there used to be places where I'm like, I want to be seen in that space. I want to be acknowledged in that space. I want to be known in that space. But honestly, that is not where I am at anymore. So I have really come to learn for myself that if I'm leading through force,
then I'm not really trusting what is meant for me. And so often I have to just take a step back and go, all right, what feels right? Even if I don't see that it makes logical sense. And that part has been really kind of asking my body to be like, okay, does this feel safe to shift in this direction?
And of course, you know, when you're making any big moves in your life, you have to regulate your nervous system to accommodate the move and to accommodate where you're at. It's not just like an easy like, you know, oh, here I am, I'm just going to move right into the next thing. Because when you are shifting, when you are evolving, it really is about
regulating to that new level, that new sustainability, that work that you're going to be doing wherever it is. And that often takes time and space. Now,
When I first started recording the podcast today, I kind of had a little bit of a sense of where I wanted to take the episode, but I wasn't entirely sure, which actually now makes a whole lot of sense for me because I am realizing that this whole episode is really about getting honest in your life and in your leadership about where things need to change and being okay with that.
Because it's not always this easy transition from one thing to the next. But yet we want to make it look seamless like it is. And you might have to step from one place in your life to another place by taking a big risk. But it really is about asking yourself, is this right for me?
leading yourself in a way that allows you to be the most authentic version of yourself and to expand in a way that feels right for you in that next evolution. And as I'm, you know, moving into this new place in my own business and transitioning,
I have been feeling that same thing. Like I have been asking myself those same questions. Like, does this feel right? Does this feel authentic? It's not about just making a big shift to make a big shift or make a big splash. It's a, it's really about being honest about what is it that I want and the safer I feel to ask myself that question.
the more that comes through for me, the more that lands for me, the more that opens up for me, and the more I get to experience what it is that is in my next evolution, more in alignment with who I am and what my soul is asking from me. So this whole evolution of the podcast, moving from
courage into alignment has really been a real shift for me. And it's been exciting. It's been challenging. But it's also asked me to show up in a new way. It's asked me to have more courage. But it's also asked me to refine what I'm doing, who I'm doing it for, where I'm showing up.
how I'm leading, and especially how much I'm trusting myself. So friend, you might be in that same space. You might be like, yeah, Andrea, I totally get it. I'm asking myself those same questions. Well, friend, I hope this encourages you that it gets to be messy, that it doesn't always have to look like everything is.
put together, that you have everything figured out. Because inside of leadership, there's always this shift or this evolution that we don't want to talk about that we don't want to share with other people. Because heaven forbid, anybody take a look in and go, Oh my gosh, what a mess that is. It's always messy before it moves into alignment because
It's where you're getting the clarity. It's where you're asking yourself those hard questions. So I hope this encourages you. And friend, yes, there's more coming. I was going to lead into, you know, this is how you would coach with me one on one. But honestly, I don't feel like that's where I'm going to go today. I will leave all of the links in the show notes of how you can connect with me, how you can work with me. But here's the thing.
No matter where you're at in your life or no matter where you're at in your business right now, I really want to encourage you that it's okay if things don't look like how you thought they would look. Because when you ask yourself these questions, you know you're in the right space. You know you're asking yourself what really matters. And when you're asking yourself that question, what really matters, that's when you're going to take that next
brave step in your life. So friend, thank you for joining me today. And until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely. And if you like this episode of the Courage Cast, make sure to like, follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast player. Original music and production by Stephen Crilley.
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