123. Manifesting - My Cup Is Full Again

Welcome to The Manifesting Formula. I'm Christine Rizzo, and oh my goodness, my friends...I am SO excited to be back! You have no idea.

It's been two years, and let's just say...a lot has happened. LOL.

This season is going to look a little different. We're still going to talk about manifesting and creating the life you want, but we're also going deeper. We're going to talk about spirituality, intuition, gratitude, some of the lessons I've learned over these last two years—and of course, you know me, I'm going to tell you all the stories that go along with them.

But today, I think we need to start with where the hell I've been. LOL. Why did I walk away from something I loved for two years...and what made me want to come back?

So keep listening, my friends, because we have a LOT to catch up on.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the manifesting formula. I'm Christine Russo. Oh my goodness, my friends, I am so excited to be back. You have no idea. It's been two years, and let's just say a lot has happened. This season is going to look a little different. We're still going to talk about manifesting and creating the life you want, but we're also going deeper. We're going to talk about spirituality, intuition, gratitude, some of the lessons I've learned over these last two years. And of course, you know me, I'm gonna tell you all the stories that go along with them. But today, I think we need to start with where the hell I've been. Why did I walk away from something I loved for two years? And what made me want to come back? So keep listening, my friends, because we have a lot to catch up on my beautiful friends. How are you all doing today? Oh, that feels so good to say. You have no idea. I cannot believe I'm sitting here recording an episode. It's been two years. Two years, my friends. What the hell happened? You're all wondering, right? Seriously, I thought I was taking a little break. Apparently, my definition of a little break is two freaking years. But can I tell you something? Sitting here right now feels so incredibly good. I didn't realize how much I missed this. I missed talking to you. I missed writing for you. I missed sitting in front of my microphone and sharing whatever's going on inside this crazy head of mine. And most of all, I missed us. So, did you all miss me? I know you did. Now, some of you who have been with me for a long time are probably thinking, Christine, didn't you already tell us you were back? Yes. Yes, I did. Back in episode 121. I came back after taking a few months off and told all of you how good it felt to be back. And apparently, I was only back for one more episode. I'm so sorry. That was so wrong. At that time, I truly believed taking a few months off was all I needed. I thought I had rested. I thought I had taken my break. I thought I was ready to jump right back in. But obviously I wasn't. And I didn't know that yet. Looking back now, those few months gave me a break, but they didn't give me the pause I actually needed. My friends, when I look back two years ago, I honestly didn't think I was coming back. I really thought I was done. I wasn't sitting around for the last two years thinking, okay, when am I gonna start recording again? I wasn't planning another season. I wasn't secretly writing episodes. I didn't give myself a deadline. I didn't tell myself I should be recording. I let something I loved sit still. And that was so much harder for me than taking a few months off. There's a difference. A break gives me some time away. The pause gave me time to change. And my friends, I have changed. My life has changed. My priorities have changed. My perspective has changed. The things that matter to me most have changed. So this time when I tell you I'm back, my friends, I really mean it. Although apparently, based on my track record, maybe you shouldn't believe me until episode 127 comes out. I promise I'm back, and I have a feeling this next season is going to be even better than the first three. I genuinely thought this chapter of my life was over. And surprisingly, for a while, I was okay with that. I had recorded 122 episodes over two and a half years. I had given this podcast so much of myself. And when I walked away, I really believed I had taught what I needed to teach, that I had given you all the tools that you needed to create the life that you've always wanted. But you see, something started happening during the pause. I started missing all of this, not all at once. It was little things here and there. I missed writing. I missed sitting down with an idea and watching it turn into an episode. I missed having something happen in my life and immediately thinking, oh my goodness, I need to talk about this in an episode. I missed teaching. I missed sharing the things I've learned. I missed that feeling of talking to all of you like we're sitting in the same room together. And I even missed editing. Okay, let's not get carried away. I definitely don't miss editing at all. But it's so much easier today than it was back then. Seriously, my friends, podcast platforms have come a long way with sound and editing tools within two years. It's crazy. I have to be honest, I missed the whole process. And the funny thing is, I don't think I would have realized how much I love those parts of the podcast if I hadn't given myself enough time to actually miss them. And when I came back for episode 121, I hadn't given myself that kind of time. I wasn't gone long enough to miss any of these things. You see, my friends, I stopped thinking about when I was going to record again. I stopped wondering when I would come back. And eventually, I became completely okay with the possibility that maybe I wouldn't. I let the podcast go without knowing if I would ever pick it back up again. And somewhere inside that space, without forcing it, without planning it, without telling myself I should come back, something started to change. I started wanting it again. And that's when I knew. Not because I felt guilty, not because people were asking when I was coming back, not because I thought I should be recording, because I wanted to. There's a huge difference between feeling like you should do something and feeling something inside of you saying, I want to do this again. And this time, I wanted to come back. So when I tell you I'm back now, it feels completely different than it did when I said those words in episode 121. Because back then, I think I was trying to pick up where I left off. This time, I'm not picking up where I left off. I'm moving forward from where I am today. Oh my gosh, my friends, we have so much catching up to do. Two years of life, two years of changes, two years of lessons, some beautiful ones, some extremely painful ones, some that I understood while they were happening, and some that took me a hell of a lot longer to figure out. And you know me, I'm gonna share so much with you, possibly more than I should, but you know I'm going to. Today, I don't want to spend this entire episode telling you everything that's happened over the last two years. First of all, we'd be here forever. And second, we have plenty of episodes ahead of us for me to tell you all the crazy shit that's happened while I've been gone. Trust me, we'll get there. Today, I want to talk about the pause. Because somewhere inside these last two years, I learned something that I don't think I fully understood before I walked away. Sometimes stopping is exactly what we need in order to know when it's time to begin again. Right at this moment, I'm sitting here sipping my coffee and thinking about how happy I am to be talking to all of you again, sharing stories again, teaching again, just hanging out together like we used to. Maybe you're listening to me in your car. Maybe we're out on a walk together. Maybe we're sitting at home on the couch drinking coffee or tea with one another. Or depending on what time you're listening, maybe we're having a glass of wine together, which happens to be my favorite time of the day, wine time. But wherever you are in the world right now and whatever you're doing, I just want you to know how incredibly happy I am that we're back together. I really miss doing this with you. Before I forget to tell you this, I wanted to tell those of you who never stopped listening, thank you. I know new people were finding this podcast while I wasn't recording, and I received messages asking where I was, if I was okay, and if I was ever coming back. I read every single one. They meant more to me than you know. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Truly, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. And to those of you who found me while I was gone, hello, my beautiful friends. Apparently you showed up while I was MIA. Welcome to the Manifesting Formula Podcast. You have 122 episodes to catch up on. You've got some homework to do. Now get to it. My friends, before we get into today's episode, there's something I need to ask you. A question I ask in every episode. And it's a question I will never stop asking. Do you remember the one question that I always ask? What are you grateful for today? Think about it. Take a moment and really feel the emotion of love for whatever it is that you are thankful for. Today, I'm grateful for being true to myself. I'm grateful that I knew I needed time to breathe and that I allowed myself to take that time. I listened to my inner goddess. You all remember who she is, don't you? If you are new to this podcast, don't worry. We are going to talk about her, for she is a part of you that will be with you forever. Now, if you want to meet her sooner than later because you're impatient just like me, which actually happens to be one of my worst traits as a Sagittarius, I have to say we don't have many of them, but lack of patience is a big one. So if you're like me, go back and listen to episode 12, listening to your intuition. You will find out everything you need to know about your inner goddess. And my friends, you will fall in love with her. I can promise you that. Your inner goddess is your inner voice, your intuition. She's the loving voice that guides you. Sometimes she whispers, keep going, you've got this. Sometimes she whispers, slow down, it's all going to work out. And sometimes she lovingly says, it's time to rest. That, my friends, is exactly what she said to me, and I'm truly grateful. So thank you, inner goddess, for always guiding me in the direction I need to go in. You always have my back, and I've never trusted you more than I do today. You know, I have to be honest, I really think one of the things that made this podcast so special to me was the community that we created together. So many of you became part of my life through social media, emails, and my online classes. Some of you even became clients of mine. And so many of you I've never met at all. I know from your messages that many of you feel like you know me too. That's the beautiful thing about this little community we've created together. After 122 episodes, I feel like I know you all too. We are definitely friends for sure. And I think it's time we talk about what actually happened. I think it's only fair that I finally tell you all where I went. I cannot tell you how many times my husband would say to me, I think you need to record one more episode. You need to explain to everyone why you're leaving. But at that time in my life, I didn't have it in me. After two and a half years of writing, recording, and editing, recording again, editing even more, I was exhausted. I don't mean the kind of tired that a good night of sleep fixes. I was creatively exhausted. I had poured so much of my heart into this podcast that one day I realized I didn't want to write anymore. Which was such a strange feeling for me because I have always loved creating. But my inner goddess kept whispering, Christine, it's okay to stop. It's okay to rest. Christine, it's okay to take time for yourself. You've given enough for now. And I knew I needed to listen. I didn't want to become resentful. And trust me, I was heading there. I didn't want to wake up every week feeling like I had to create another episode. It wasn't fun for me anymore. I knew something had changed when I was sit down to write, and there was nothing. Not because I didn't have ideas, but because I had poured every ounce of my creativity into this podcast. Did I procrastinate? Hell yeah, I did. I'm a master procrastinator when I need to be. I mean, everything else seemed way more important than sitting down to write another episode. Even doing my taxes. I'm not even kidding. Looking back, I think I put so much pressure on myself. Every episode had five or six different lessons because I wanted to give you everything I possibly could. And eventually, I think I just gave too much of myself to the podcast. I had reached the point where I didn't want to give anymore. And instead of fighting that feeling, I listened to it. I didn't sit there trying to force myself to write another episode. I simply knew I was done. And if you know me, you know that's how I am. When I'm done, I am done. For a while I actually felt guilty. I thought maybe I should just push through. Maybe I owed everyone another episode. Maybe I was letting people down. But here's what I've learned through all of this. Sometimes pushing through isn't strength. Sometimes strength is having the courage to stop, knowing when to stop, listening to your inner voice, letting go of the guilt and realizing I need to take care of myself. I need to rest. Around that same time when I was feeling a lack of passion to create more episodes, something else was happening in my life. I was working with my husband at his architecture firm. Now, before my husband listens to this episode, which he will, let me just say something that I realized very quickly. I am not meant to work for my husband or for anyone for that matter. Ever. Not this girl. I've been an entrepreneur for way too long. And this Sagittarius does not do well with having a boss. Especially when that boss is the man she's married to. We barely survived. I'm laughing, but I'm also serious. I knew something was truly missing from my life. I didn't feel like myself anymore. I didn't feel purposeful. Have you ever gone to work and thought, this isn't me? That's exactly how I felt. Where I was putting my time and energy, it just wasn't me. I'm a creator, a giver. I love creating experiences that help people feel loved and cared for. Eventually, after spending a lot of time meditating and asking myself what was missing, I found my way back to something that had been a part of me for most of my entire adult life, my career as an aesthetician. So I opened my own practice and poured myself into creating something that felt completely aligned with who I was, giving that love to others through my hands. Creating my aesthetics practice required every ounce of my creative flow. And at that point in my life, I only had so much creativeness to give. So I had to make a choice. I poured all of my love into building something that my heart knew I was meant to do again. Something else that I learned during this time is that just because you're not creating the way you used to doesn't mean you've stopped being creative. I think for a while I believed that because I wasn't sitting down every week writing and recording episodes, that part of me had gone away. It didn't. It was just quiet. And there's a difference. I was still creating. I was also learning. I was still growing. I was still having conversations with myself. And Daniel, of course. I was paying attention to my life in a completely different way. And maybe that's what a pause is supposed to do. Maybe we're not supposed to fill every empty space. We're so uncomfortable doing nothing, aren't we? Now, I have to be honest with you, my friends, I don't have this problem at all. I can sit and do absolutely nothing and be perfectly happy. I have friends whose schedules literally exhaust me just hearing about them. I watch my sister and my husband sometimes and think, why can't you just sit down? I have never had a hard time relaxing. I actually love doing nothing, and I don't feel guilty about it either. But I know that's really difficult for a lot of people. Somewhere along the way, we started believing that being busy means we're being productive, that if we're not doing something, accomplishing something, going somewhere, or checking something off a list, we're wasting time. But what if the quiet isn't wasted time? What if slowing down isn't something we should feel guilty about? What if some of the most important things happening inside of us happen when we're doing absolutely nothing? And here's what I realized. Letting something I loved sit still was different than sitting still and doing nothing. The podcast had been such a huge part of my life. So when I stopped feeling inspired to create episodes, I allowed it to be quiet. If I would have forced myself to keep creating just because I thought I was supposed to, I don't think I would be sitting here today feeling the way I do about this podcast. I needed to miss it. I needed to live without it for a while. I needed to grow. And I needed to come back because I wanted to come back, not because I felt like I had to. But I think sometimes that's what scares us about coming back to something. We think we have to come back exactly where we left off. But why? Why do we tend to feel that way? I am so not the same woman who recorded the last episode of this podcast. Thank God. Can you imagine going through two years of life and learning absolutely nothing? That would be horrible. Of course I've changed. I've experienced things that broke my heart. I've experienced things that healed parts of me. I've lost. I've gained. I've let go of people. I've welcomed new souls into my life. I've learned things about myself that I didn't necessarily want to learn. And some things that I probably should have figured out 20 years ago. But apparently, the universe works on its own timing. And all of that is coming with me into this new season. My friends, I'm not picking up where I left off. I'm beginning again from where I am today, for who I am now. This was such a powerful lesson for me. What I didn't fully understand back then, that I know today, is that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do isn't to push harder. It's to pause. You cannot pour from an empty cup, my friends. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for yourself and for the people that you love is to step away, refill your cup, and return when your heart is truly ready. My beautiful friends, my cup is full again. And I cannot wait to see where this next season takes us all. Looking back, I realized the pause wasn't the interruption. The pause was the gift. Sometimes the greatest power isn't found in pushing harder. It's found in honoring the pause. There is a beautiful Buddhist teaching that says life moves in seasons. There are seasons for creating, seasons for growing, seasons for resting, and seasons for beginning again. Looking back, I think I needed every one of those seasons to become the woman recording a new episode today. Thank you all for listening to the Manifesting Formula. Have a beautiful day wherever you are in the world. Sending you all so much love, peace, and abundance. And if no one has told you today, I love you. See you next week. Bye. Thank you so much for listening to the Manifesting Formula podcast. Each week we're going to talk about manifesting, mindset, spirituality, intuition, gratitude, and of course for life. Because that's usually where things get interesting. If you're enjoying this podcast, I would love for you to help me spread the word. Tell your friends, tell your family, share your favorite episode. And if you know someone who can use a little Christine in their life, send them my way. And make sure you're following the manifesting formula so you don't miss a new episode. Thank you for continuing to show up and spend time with me. I am so grateful for all of you. I'll see you in the next episode. Bye.