# 78 What Are You Calling In?
Feeling stuck in the waiting space, holding dreams that won’t seem to arrive? In this episode, Lori Clarke shares one powerful story about returning to her authentic self, navigating self-doubt, and finding freedom in the process. With journaling prompts and gentle guidance, you’ll discover new ways to soften, reflect, and step into who you’re meant to be.
Show Notes
How to Return to Your Most Authentic Self: What to Do When Your Dreams Feel Out of Reach
Welcome to a fresh season and a new chapter in the search for authenticity. If you feel like you’ve tried everything, held tight to a vision, and yet your deepest hopes still feel out of reach, you’re not alone. Many of us find ourselves stuck in the waiting space, wondering what more we have to do for life to deliver what our hearts long for. This post dives into why that happens, how the waiting shapes who we become, and practical steps you can use right now to return to who you really are underneath all the noise.
Navigating the Waiting Space When Your Desires Aren’t Materializing
Calling something into your life is no small thing. Maybe you’re doing all the “right” things: visualizing your goals, putting in the effort, and staying patient. Still, the results don’t match the work. Frustration and heartbreak begin to creep in when it seems like what you want is always just beyond your reach.
This waiting period can be more than just empty time. It’s an opening. Instead of asking, “Why isn’t this happening?” try, “Who am I becoming as I wait?” What if this in-between is where the real growth lives?
For many, the hardest part is feeling like all your efforts add up to nothing. The job stays out of reach, the relationship doesn’t get better, or the creative breakthrough lingers just out of sight. These feelings are common:
Frustration that your efforts don’t equal results
Heartbreak when hope fades and disappointment sets in
Self-doubt about your abilities or your path
Confusion about what’s missing or what needs to change
Hope that maybe—just maybe—it will still happen
Sometimes, what you ask for doesn’t match what your beliefs or nervous system are ready to hold. You might say you want success or healing, but somewhere deep down, old stories or fears are fighting against it. The waiting space becomes a mirror, showing you where belief and desire don’t quite match yet.
The Core Question Guiding This Journey
One question has the power to break open everything you know about yourself:
“Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?”
At some point, everyone gets shaped—sometimes pushed or even pressed—by expectations, experiences, and the loud voices of the world. These can bury your real dreams, passions, and even your sense of what you deserve.
Maybe you’ve had thoughts like:
Who am I to want such a good life?
Who am I to hope for freedom from pain, stuck emotions, financial stress, or tricky relationships?
We all started out as dreamers, especially in childhood. We played, we imagined, we knew what we loved. When life got busy, hard, or complicated, those parts of us were often set aside for what felt safer or more possible.
By returning again and again to that core question, you can start to find the pieces you set down long ago. This question isn’t about going backward or ignoring your current struggles. It’s about remembering your baseline—who you are at your truest, before disappointments or outside pressures took over.
Personal Reflections on Authenticity and Creativity
Being seen as your true self can feel risky, especially in a world that rewards the polished, the popular, and the algorithm-friendly. Sharing your heart, your writing, or your story can bring up a repetitive, doubting inner voice: Who really wants to hear what I have to say? Will people still accept me if I let them see the real me?
Even with outward “success”—years of meaningful work, achievements, or amazing conversations—there’s often still the quiet feeling that you’re hiding something deep, something vulnerable and true. Creating a podcast, building a social presence, or following a passion can trigger inner stories that run on repeat. For some, that means feeling like you’re not smart enough, or fearing you’ll lose your creative edge if you share too much, too soon.
It’s not always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about letting the inside voice come forward, no matter how raw or unfinished.
Over time, it becomes clear that calling in abundance, success, or deep connection will never work if there’s an undercurrent of fear or a secret worry that your truth is too much or not enough. You can “call in” opportunities until you’re blue in the face, but if you’re skating around old hurts or keeping parts of yourself hidden, something will always feel out of alignment.
The Role of Somatic Work
For some, the path back to authenticity isn’t just about mindset—it's about the body, too. Somatic work (paying attention to how emotions and traumas show up in your body) helps you feel where fear, shame, or old patterns get stuck. Noticing this might be as simple as feeling your chest tighten when you go to share your writing, or your voice wobble when you speak up.
By focusing less on what others expect or what the “algorithm” wants, and more on what feels true inside, you give yourself a real shot at deep healing. True creative flow comes from sharing because you have something real to say, not just because it’s time to post.
Key turning points:
Realizing that “someday” never comes if fear leads your choices
Naming and facing fears gives them less power
Allowing yourself to shine in your own way, at your own pace
You may find that the stories you carry (from your upbringing, culture, or past hurts) aren’t actually true. Learning this helps you rewrite them, even if it means facing hard feelings from your past like family pain, bullying, or trauma.
Turning 50 and Embracing Vulnerability
Turning 50 felt like a new beginning. Suddenly, there’s much less energy wasted on what others might think. The reality hits that years ahead are limited—why not use them fully, living honestly and leaving nothing unsaid?
Here’s what changed at 50:
Letting go of the worry about others’ opinions
Urgency to fully express the true self
A desire to soften emotional edges instead of hardening against pain
A choice to let others carry their own struggles while finding peace with your own story
Realizing it’s time to stop waiting and start living as your fullest, most open self
These shifts inspire action: allowing the creative, authentic inner voice to take the lead, even when past conditioning says to stay quiet or small.
Preparing for Deep, Messy Conversations This Season
This new season is all about depth and honesty. The focus will move into tough but important conversations—talking openly about family wounds, trauma, and the truth behind polished appearances. By sharing the real stories and hardest lessons, there’s room for powerful connection and healing.
Expect this space to feel raw at times. You might find new perspectives or be pushed to question old beliefs about worth, strength, and possibility. But most of all, the hope is that you feel free to return home to yourself—to the joy and lightness you knew before life got heavy.
Guided Reflection to Support Your Authentic Calling-In
Sometimes, all it takes is a few minutes set aside to reconnect with yourself. Here’s a guided exercise you can use any time you feel stuck in the waiting space:
Sit quietly and place your hand on your heart.
Take a slow, deep breath in. Let your body fill up with air.
Exhale gently, letting go of everything that’s weighing on you.
Bring to mind a specific desire you’ve been calling in—maybe a new job, a relationship, or a feeling of peace. Let yourself focus on it softly, without judgment.
Take time to journal on these questions:
What energy am I embodying now?
What am I waiting for?
What, if anything, is blocking me from receiving this?
Is this desire truly aligned with my beliefs and my life right now?
Am I calling this in from a place of trust or a place of lack?
What would change if I lived today as though my desire were already mine?
Write your answers down with as much honesty as possible. There’s no need to fix or force anything—just let the truth come up.
For a free printable list of these questions, visit the website or check the link in the bio.
Journaling Prompts to Uncover and Release Blocks to Authenticity
Journaling is a simple way to see your own patterns clearly and give voice to the things you quietly carry. Below are journaling prompts designed to take you deeper into self-understanding. Use them as gentle invitations, not as demands.
Where in my life do I feel like I’m hiding or holding back part of who I really am?
Is there a dream, a talent, or a truth you’ve locked away because you’re ashamed or worried how it’ll be received? For some, it’s creative writing that never sees the light because old voices said, “You’re not smart.” For others, it’s simply speaking in a group.
What fears or beliefs come up when I imagine letting myself be fully seen?
Will people judge, criticize, or reject you? Let those feelings rise—seeing them is the first step to healing.
What stories from family, culture, or society shape who I think I should be?
Many of us are taught—directly or by example—that we have to carry others’ emotions, be quiet, or not stand out. Name where those stories came from.
Which parts of me have I suppressed or silenced? What might they want to say now?
Maybe you pushed down anger, sadness, or dreams because it felt safer. Let that part have a voice. What does it want to express?
What does being authentic actually feel like in my body, my words, and my relationships?
For some, authenticity at first brings jitters or nervous energy. But over time, it can become calm, grounded, and clear.
What would it look like to give myself permission to soften—to release the weight I carry for others, stop people pleasing, or let go of the fear of being truly seen?
Imagine moving through your day softer, kinder to yourself, holding less.
If I trusted my truth was worthy of being loved, what would I share more openly?
Would you talk about your struggles, your passions, your past? Trusting your story is worth telling can open new doors.
How can I call in more of who I am, not who I think I’m supposed to be?
Each day, make one small choice to act in alignment with your real values and needs.
Tip: Revisit these prompts regularly. You might be surprised how your answers shift and deepen over time.
Embracing Continuous Becoming and Trusting the Process
Life rarely gives us what we want on our preferred timeline. Often, the reality we see mirrors not what we’re doing, but who we’re becoming on the inside. This is good news. It means every choice to be more honest, more gentle, or more trusting builds the future you want—whether or not your wishes appear right away.
It’s easy to get caught in old cycles of negative thinking. Patterns like “I’ll never succeed” or “It always works for others, not me” tend to repeat unless you call them out and choose new ones.
Take a moment each day to ask:
Who am I being right now?
What energy am I calling in with my thoughts and actions?
Trust the process. You are always becoming, right now, mess and all.
Whenever you catch yourself waiting, measuring, or doubting your progress, pause. Take a deep breath, recall who you were before life told you to shrink, and give yourself permission to live from that place again. The results may surprise you—and so will the person you become along the way.
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