Hey, this is Erica Voell. Welcome back to Unfolding. I am so glad you're here. I am a Decision Mentor and Inner Trust Guide, and I work with smart, capable women, often those who are in midlife, who are stuck in overwhelm and overcommitment using human design. Coaching and Reiki. I help them trust their inner guidance and understand their unique strengths so they can stop saying yes to what drains them and build a life that actually feels sustainable and satisfying. My system gives them a grounded plan that works because it's built for how they're designed to operate so we can clear the noise and then their no feels powerful and their yes feels true. So a few months ago, a client told me about a book she was reading, and then a friend mentioned one that she was loving. And today I opened my inbox to see a coach recommending a book to her email list that she thought was perfect for her clients. I will be honest with you, I used to devour self-help books, personal develop books, especially if they were featured on a podcast I loved. I would read six a year. But, I had to stop reading them. Why? Because I started to notice something happening in me. Most of the time. I wasn't reading to expand and grow. I was really reading to fix something that I thought was still broken inside me. And guess what? The very feelings that I was trying to escape actually got louder when I was reading. And I would get to the end of the book and I would be like, that was great. And then I would be disappointed because I couldn't implement it. What was I doing wrong? Which actually made sense because those feelings were the reason I had picked up the book in the first place. That voice in my head that said, "I'm still not enough, and I still should have figured it this out by now." And there are some books that have helped. I've recommended a few books myself to other people, even a few to my therapist. And I'm currently working on my relationship with money through one that was actually recommended to me, and it's got some great good nuggets. And at the same time, I'm reading it in a completely different way than I used to read them. Most of the time I would walk away with a good nugget after 200 pages. But the last time a client mentioned a book to me that she was reading, something clicked for me. It is the core issue I have with the self-help book industry. This assumption that you're broken, that the assumption that there's something inside you that needs to be fixed and that their strategy or their system will actually be the thing that makes you finally feel worthy. But what if that strategy wasn't made for your energy? What if it's. By following it, you're trying to force it and you're trying to do it their way, and it's the very thing that's keeping you stuck. And it's actually suggesting that you work against your natural energy. I recorded a private podcast episode about this exact same thing, not to shame the books, not to shame the authors, but to name the subtle harm that actually gets missed, that quiet hunger that we have, that we need to be fixing something in our lives. We have been conditioned that there is something wrong with us. I mean, think about the diet industry. Or even the advertising industry, there's always something that could be better about you. Makeup is a perfect example. You could fix that one blemish with this amazing cream, but that belief may be that the next book might be the one that'll finally fix that part of you that still feels like you're not enough. And before you put that next recommendation on your library hold list or add it to your cart, I want you to ask yourself, have the last few books actually stuck? Have they given me something that I can use? And have you implemented that one thing that you swore you would try? Or has it become a distant idea that's already lost in the pages and already lost in your journal. You don't need another blueprint. You don't need another author's version of what worthiness looks like. You might need to just trust this version of yourself, the version of you that is not broken. This idea that you are not broken, like, oh my gosh, something doesn't need to be fixed about me. I am whole as I am. Like that is a mind blowing thing. I still struggle with it with myself. And there's the one that you know is right for you. You are, the one who knows what's true for you, and who is ready to stop chasing the fixes that don't fit? Let that be enough for now. So I want you to just ponder this. Think about it like what about you. Feels like it still needs to be fixed? And maybe there's nothing. Maybe you're reading it because you're truly enjoy just learning about a new concept, but I want you to just pause and think, am I reading this? Because I feel like something needs to be fixed? Thank you for joining me. If you want to learn more about your human design, you can grab my free confidence guide. It's linked in the show notes, and then you can book your free coaching call with me, where we'll explore your chart and what's coming up for you right now, what's working, and maybe where things are off. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would love it if you would tap the plus sign to follow the show so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you're feeling generous. Leave me a quick review that actually helps more people find Unfolding. I would be so grateful 'cause your support really means the world to me. And if there's someone in your life who would love these conversations, please share it with a friend or colleague. Be well and I will talk to you next time.