The Ultimate Tool to Reinvent YOU in 2025 | Authentic Life @traviasteward

Have you ever felt like you were totally holding back, like you're not showing up as your full self? Maybe you just were adjusting your words to avoid criticism and judgment. Maybe you were laughing at things that you don't really find funny, or even staying quiet when you really, in retrospect, wanted to actually speak up. You see, the thing is, at first this seems harmless, but then one day You wake up and you realize you are existing and walking through the world like some watered-down version of yourself, nodding along with conversations that you don't even care about, wearing clothes you don't even like because society says you should wear these things, and actually just being someone that you don't recognize anymore. But deep down inside, we all know there's more to us, a version that's real, a version that's unfiltered. Filtered, a version that's completely you. And since you're here listening to this podcast, watching this video on YouTube, you're probably not just looking to make a few changes this year in 2025. I would bet you're looking to finally be yourself without overthinking, without second-guessing, and without playing small. Because this isn't just about doing more, changing your behavior, changing your habits. It's about peeling away all of the crap that keeps you from being your full authentic self. And the best part, the tool that I'm talking about today that you need to do this with is already yours. It doesn't cost a dime, and you've had it your entire life.

Welcome to Be You, the podcast that helps you break free from expectations, embrace your true self, and live confidently as the real you.

What's up, my peeps? Happy Podcast Thursday. Today I'm talking about, you know, we're, we're always talking about reinvention in reverse. We're peeling that onion. Today we're peeling the onion away from this fake facade, all the layers that we've piled on top of who we are at our core, and really getting down to the version of ourselves that feel true to who we were created to be, that feel true to what we came to this earth to do and to be and how to feel. We all know that being yourself isn't easy for some people. And if it was easy for everybody, we would all be out here living our best unfiltered, unapologetic lives without being censored, without judgment, and actually doing the thing that makes us happy, the thing that brings us joy without any hesitation, without people pleasing, And again, no second guessing.

But that's not what happens, is it?

Instead, we filter ourselves. We play small. We shrink. We edit ourselves to be more likable and to fit in because God forbid we make someone uncomfortable. But so, my peeps, have you ever been in a conversation where somebody says like some dumb shit and you actually feel your soul leave your body? Because they said the thing and you really wanna say something in response, but instead you just smile and nod because you don't wanna be rude because you don't wanna upset them.

I have been there. That's what I'm talking about.

I have been there.

I've done that so many times in my whole life.

And what about when you say yes to something and immediately like your stomach is like, what the fuck? What? What the hell?

You had these obligations, these commitments, and you're out of integrity.

You're saying yes to this thing because you're in the moment. So even that little voice that you're hearing, that uncomfortable feeling, that is your body. It's your body's check engine light. You guys hear me talk about that all the time. It's your body's check engine light blinking so brightly, it's lighting up the entire console. But you know what happens is we ignore it because we've been trained to, because we've been conditioned to it, to do it. We've learned that showing up as ourselves isn't always welcome. So we adjusted and we learned that the more we did this, the more it became more natural for us to keep censoring, to keep hiding. And then we've gotten so good at being that person who was censored and hiding that we don't even question it anymore.

That is our norm.

That's the person that we walk through the world, being this generic version of. But guess what? Even when we're saying yes to things that we don't wanna do, hiding and censoring, your body knows that you're faking it. My body knows that I'm faking it. My body knows when I'm forcing it. And our bodies have been communicating with us our entire lives because I know that I have the tendency to go back to, well, what am I thinking? What am I focused on? What is the awareness that's not in my thoughts? But what I want you to focus on is your body. What is your body communicate— communicating to you? Because before your brain even catches up, like those thoughts, your body already knows when you're holding back. Your body already knows when you're forcing something that isn't really you. It already knows when you're someplace where you know you didn't wanna go and it just doesn't feel right. Your body knows when you're not feeling free to be you. So when you think about it, what this looks like, the tightness in your chest when you wanna say something, but you hold back, that pit in your stomach when you say yes to something again that you don't wanna do. So these are symptoms. That big exhale of relief when you're finally around people where you don't have to censor yourself, where you feel free to be yourself. Those indications, those symptoms, That's your body telling you something is up. We feel those sensations. We notice that something is different, but the problem is, again, we've been conditioned and trained to ignore it. So for most of my life, I walked through the world with a default sentence, a soundtrack playing. And when I think about it, I think about this, this thought that was always present in my life. I think about it as a, you know, like when you're watching like Sports Channel, ESPN, or maybe when you're watching the news and the little ticker is running at the bottom of the screen. That's what I think about this thought, because one of the things that prevented me from showing up as my authentic self was that damn sentence that who I am at my core is not acceptable. And I carried that and I lived it and I believed it and I I showed up in a way as if that was truth because I believed that. Anytime I walked into a situation like a place where I didn't belong, where I didn't feel accepted, I knew I shouldn't have been there. My body's telling me because what happens is my shoulders get tight, my stomach gets— I get a knot in the pit of my stomach. I know that in those situations that I have stayed in places where I'm like, okay, but I'm doing it for them. Okay, but I'm supposed to stay and do it and pretend I like this thing. But what I've learned over the last several years is that who I am at my core is someone who honors how she feels. Who I am at my core is someone who loves to talk about deep shit with friends. Who I am at my core is someone that values my life that I've created with Chellie, who Who I am at my core is someone that is no longer okay with censoring herself for others. Who I am is someone who no longer gives herself to friendships, to people whose actions go against my very being and what I stand for in this world.

So who are you at your core? So how do we actually use this tool. First, we just have to pay attention. Pay attention when something shifts you out of homeostasis. But first, you have to know what homeostasis feels like. You have to know that you don't wake up and roll out of the bed stressed out. You have to know that you don't have all these things on your mind. You have to feel that ease, that freeness in your body so that whatever your definition of homeostasis is, Get to know what that feels like so that you know when you fall out. So you wanna pay attention to when you shift out of homeostasis, and then what happens is pay attention to where in your body that you feel tight versus feeling relaxed and open because your body reacts before your brain does. What shows up in the mind in a thought has already shown up in your body. Start noticing when you feel tight. Start noticing when you feel restricted. Start noticing when you feel heavy. Start noticing when there's tension. And so one of the things I was talking about this on, uh, actually we were talking about this on a, on a group coaching call recently, and this was an indication of How many times in our lives are we stressed about something and we don't even really realize that we are? And there's a part of your body that tells you down below, like you're squeezing it, you know, you're squeezing it tight and you're relaxing it. And I want you to pay attention to some of those moments when you're like in this situation and your butt tightens. And then pay attention to what relaxes it. That's a big indication as well. One of those times you can actually, like, Shelly does this shit to me all the time. She goes, "Oh, I see you squinching your butt." And then I go, "Oh, I am." And sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it, but it's just, it's my body communicating something in that moment. And that was something that I wasn't aware of 100% of the time because I have done those things all my life. And so I'm always learning.

I'm always evolving.

That is yet another layer of my, my evolve, my evolvement, my evolution shit, not my evolvement, my evolution. So I want you to think about when you feel tension, I want you to think about it like you're forcing something. You're doing something that doesn't come natural, that doesn't feel like you are fully expressed and that you are in your authentic core. And when you feel relaxed and at ease, think of that as feeling like you are actually in alignment. So the way I equate this to— the way I look at this is it's like, for females, wearing a bra like that's too tight, it's got wires underneath, and then the second you take it off is like, oh my God, I'm so free, right? And that's what we're going for is life and feeling free. And for the guys that are listening to this podcast, I don't really know what that looks like for you. Maybe that looks like, like you got tighty whities on, or some of you who listen to this podcast, maybe you have tighty reds on that are a little too small that we want to, you know, like get out of this thing because they look sexy on us, but they're not very comfortable. I digress. The second thing is we have to get to a point to where we stop ignoring our gut reactions. I know I've been in situations where I meet someone and immediately my gut is like, ooh, I don't have a good feeling about this person. I don't think I trust them. But you know what? We second-guess ourselves and we go, oh, am I being judgmental?

Am I being critical?

Am I not being open to receive? No, your body has already told you what you feel about that damn person. And then you second-guess yourself and you let them in your life. And then 6 months later, they prove you right. We have to start trusting that gut feeling the first time so that we don't have to go down this path. The 8th time. And then number 3, your body tells you when it wants to speak. And I know that sounds weird the way I say it, but your body tells you when it's time for you to speak up, when you have something to say. So have you ever felt like you're in a meeting or you're in a conversation with someone and there's a tightness in your throat and there is like, like you're quiet and you feel that tightness just come on like all of a sudden? That's your body saying, hey, say something, say something, say something now, but you don't. And that's your body saying, I have something to say. And when you hold it down and when you keep it down, that's you not being your authentic self. It's one of the ways that you are not being true to who you are and the person who wants to show up authentically. So the next time something like that happens where you feel it in your throat, challenge yourself. Even if it's just a little bit, we wanna practice speaking up when our bodies, when our throats give us the signal, because the more you ignore it, the more I ignore it, my body is like, okay, so we're just gonna stop listening again, right? We're just gonna keep doing the same bullshit.

Why am I even talking to you?

Why am I even communicating if you are just not gonna listen? Because at the end of the day, becoming more authentic and becoming more of the you that you really wanna be isn't again about adding new behaviors. It's not about adding new habits or it's about removing everything that isn't really you. So what I want you to do is start paying close attention, start paying attention, know yourself so well to where it doesn't take long. For you to know, oh, that's a check engine light. Oh, that's not my authentic self. Start paying close attention to how you feel, the physical sensations in your body, and the way your body reacts to things, because your body has been guiding you this whole time, your entire life. We just have to listen. So today I want you to actually try something. It doesn't necessarily have to come around like when something happens. I just want you to Tune into your body, pay attention to what happens. Like, lay in your bed, lay on the floor, sit in the chair, whatever. Pay attention to what's happening, how you're feeling in that moment. And then think about some shit that happened yesterday, or think about some shit that pissed you off, and notice what happens then.

And then think about that last time you were in your happy place, like you were at the beach or you were making love or whatever that thing is.

Observe how your body feels when you tune in, taking that deep breath and allowing that mind-body connection and actually feel what's going on. Feel the sensations and what changes from the things that you're thinking, the way that you're feeling. Just begin to pay attention to how your body's communicating with you because that is your most precious tool. That helps you to navigate this world better than anything else. So ask yourself right now, what is your body telling you in this moment? Because again, that's your guide. That's the ultimate tool. So my peeps, if this hit home for you, I want you to let me know. Shoot me a message on IG, leave a comment on YouTube, send me an email, whatever, on the interwebs, whatever. Share this episode with someone else you think could find value in it. And then let me know if there's something that you want me to go deeper on. I am so passionate about this because the most authentic version of you, the most authentic version of me, we've been here all along. That version of you has been there all along. And showing up authentically as the real you gives other people permission to show up fully as themselves. So let's pay attention to what's happening. Let's pay attention to what our body is communicating with us in every moment. When things are happening. And when you begin showing up as your authentic self, the person who has peeled back all these layers of conditioning and the shoulds and I must do that and because someone said it and because I'm in comparison, when you begin to show up as the real you, if anybody has a problem with that person showing up, well, that's a different conversation. That's not the conversation we're having today. The conversation we're having today is, one step at a time, getting us, getting you to show up as your authentic self. All right, my peeps, that's what I have for you this week, and we'll talk next week.