In 2019, I had the opportunity to lead a workshop at the Girlboss Rally in Los Angeles—and it was all about blending purpose with work. The experience was amazing. I felt like I was at Hogwarts, surrounded by Girlboss banners on the beautiful UCLA campus. But the thing that surprised me the most was what happened after my talk was over. The DMs started rolling in on Instagram, and everyone wanted to talk to me about my “repotting” theory.
What exactly is “repotting,” you ask? Think about it this way: If you’ve ever bought a plant from a nursery and squeezed it out of its plastic sleeve to put into the earth or a pot inside your home, you may know that there’s a chance the plant could go into shock and/or die. You really won’t know for at least a few days if it can accept its new surroundings. Now, am I talking about plants anymore—or the ever-changing nature of life?
There’s one crucial thing to remember when it comes to “repotting”: The pot that you are placing the plant in should always be slightly bigger than the plant. This creates the freedom to flourish. As a human, you are constantly repotting in order to discover your purpose. Here’s how you can get the most out of the uncomfortable, but transformative, experience of “repotting”.
Pain Can Lead To Joy (Eventually)
Say, for example, you’ve just been repotted and you’ve gone into shock. We’ve been sold that things have to feel good in order to be good. This is a huge amount of B.S. Growth sucks. But without it, you live on a one-dimensional plane. When something feels uncomfortable, it’s often a signifier to lean in and not away. The key is to derive joy wherever you can, even when everything feels out of control. No one enjoys pain (except for people who are very into tattoos). We all want a roadmap to know how to skip all the heartbreak, whether professionally or interpersonally. Guess what? You must go through it. Being uncomfortable is the necessary gateway to joy.
Be Persistent
No matter what your business plan says or what you budgeted for and how many subsequent setbacks you have, you must remain persistent. No one can tell you how long it might take to come back to life in your new pot. I can tell you that everyday you need sustenance to stay alive: Water, sunlight, and the food of persistence. If you keep knocking on the same door in the same spot, I promise you one day (meaning maybe two months or 10 years) it will open. Instead, most people run around knocking on different doors. They drive themselves crazy because they are not focused on the work, but rather on making money. We all want to make money, but that is not apurpose. Do not get tired of knocking on the same door: Take a break, then keep going.
Lean Into Fear
Ohhhh “fear”: Such a cute word with a scary exterior. Sort of like the ‘Death’ card in tarot, it just means transformation. Round of applause for fear! If you think you can’t do something because you are fearful, then please go fucking do it immediately. Fear is not intuition—repeat that until it sinks in. Fear is hazy smoke and mirrors, it’s deception, and an illusion. Some people at this time will go run back to their old pot…but not you. You will push through because, as you know, fear can stimulate growth.
Be Consistent
At some point, you’ll start loving your new pot and feeling secure again. Every single day in your new pot you get water, sunlight and the food of persistence. You’ll grow and blossom by battling through fear, listening to your intuition, and doing the work. The good news is that you have evolved or risen in consciousness. The obvious news is that you will need to repot again at some point, because (duh!) you are ALWAYS growing!
Manifest
Life tries to throw us off. Eventually, we all hit rock bottom—but what you decide to do after the fall out is what matters the most. You do not want to settle. You want to evolve. Enlightenment is a gnarly, hard road, but on the other side is clarity. Manifesting is not a 30-day detox diet, but a lifestyle that you commit to. I personally have been through a few majorly significant repotting sessions that I thought I wouldn’t make it through. I made it thanks to a team of kick ass spiritual advisors including my mom, crystals, and being consistently persistent. Visualize what you want. Speak it out loud to the universe, meditate on it, put it on a vision board. It’s all smoke and mirrors until one day it isn’t.
