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What do you do when life pulls the rug out from under you and all that’s left is… the unknown?

In this episode, we’re talking about the messy middle: The panic, the letting go, the reminder that no one is coming to save you, and the quiet courage it takes to keep trusting anyway.

If you’ve been clinging to what feels safe or “good enough,” this episode will help you see that the unknown isn’t here to destroy you—it’s here to rebuild you.

Key Takeaways

• How to tell the difference between fear-based logic and intuitive truth
• Why surrender doesn’t mean giving up (and what it actually means)
• How to trust the universe when everything feels uncertain

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READ THE EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Emily Hirsh:

In that moment, it felt like the end of the world, but something better always happens. I swear to you guys, surrender is like my life lesson. I don’t think that we would be as scared of the unknown if we trusted ourselves. Who am I becoming? What am I building? What’s the life I’m creating and therefore, how do I need to show up?

Two things can coexist at the same time. I’m also learning that. Embodied CEOs don’t chase trends. They pave the way they lead from within. Move by purpose, unshaken by noise. When you are the source, you do not need permission. Hello everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. I hope you guys are having an incredible week.

Oh man. I came into the studio today and there’s so much that I wanna talk about. I, I cannot even explain the season of life I’m in. You know, someone told me a few years ago that when you turn 30, it’s like your Saturn return. And I’m 31, so a little past that, but whatever that means, that is my life right now.

And it’s beautiful and it’s so hard and challenging and uncomfortable and scary and all of the things, but I also feel so alive. Because I am living the depths of life. I’m so transparent on here, you guys, that there are some things I wanna be able to just share right now in the thick of it. But it’s not always just me involved and so I can’t do that, but I really want to.

Document some of this in like real time. So I’ve been writing a ton because I do wanna write a book one day. And I don’t know exactly what it’s gonna be, but as I have entered this season, I was like, this is the book. Like this experience is the content of the book because you’re gonna walk through things that will create that content.

So I’m trying on the podcast too, to just like bring that realness without. Crossing lines of what, of what’s not, not appropriate to share yet. But man, it is the most expansive season of my life and challenging by far, most challenging. So what I wanna talk about today, I think is something we all need to hear, which is the power of the unknown.

Also how the fear of that drives so much of our lives. So man, the, the universe, God is so funny because I, a few weeks ago, I. Basically drew a line in the sand, made a decision, and was like, I am ready to walk through some challenging things and to face them to speak truth regardless of, you know, the outcome of that.

And actually surrender the outcome. Like this is what’s true and whatever happens because of that, I surrender. And I actually did a podcast on it, like facing fear around if I, you know, speak this truth, I could be abandoned, judged, hurt, all the things, and doing it anyways. So I made that commitment, which led to some conversations in my life and, and some shifts.

And then it’s like this week, the amount of. Change that has happened overnight that I was not planning is crazy. And I’m like, okay, this is the loudest sign I have ever had from the universe. So a few of them I can, I can share, like I’m going through a massive life shift. And in the last 48 hours I have also found out I have to move my podcast studio which is overwhelming.

But also maybe good ’cause my studio’s a little far from downtown and so I’m like, okay, I can find a new location, just like forces that right. And also have to move gyms, which my gym is a big part of my life. And the way that I wanna train and, and have a coach and, and do all my own custom stuff, it just doesn’t align with the gym.

And they’re changing some things. And so I have to move gyms and I literally like woke up to that this morning. And it sounds like a silly thing, but for someone who trains two hours a day, 10 to 12 hours a week in this gym with the community, it’s like a big deal. And I, I, I noticed myself in the moment of kind of like receiving this news already overwhelmed by the podcast, by other things happening in my life.

And just by the level of change, I, I was already overwhelmed. And so when I got this news, I noticed myself like panic. I noticed that the biggest amount of fear was around the unknown. It was like, I’m comfortable with my routine. I’m comfortable going to this place at this time. I know where all this stuff is.

I know the people I don’t like. I was like a kid for a second. Like, I don’t want to go to a new place. I don’t want to do this. Like I don’t want to deal with this. In this, like I think the biggest thing that we come up against in life and and oftentimes don’t realize it is the fear of the unknown. And in that same token, I’m sure you just like me, can think so many times when something fell apart or didn’t work out or.

You lost something or somebody, or a relationship or a business partnership or all of these things that happen in that moment. It felt like the end of the world, but something better always happens. And there’s a part of me that’s like really leaning in and learning to go, this sucks, valid. Validate it.

You know, this sucks. I don’t wanna have to. Deal with this. I don’t wanna have to face this. I’m already overwhelmed. I’m already tired. Can somebody else just fix this for me? That’s where I go to like, somebody save me. That’s another thing this week I’ve, I’ve had plain in my mind is like, no one is coming to save you.

No one is coming to solve these problems. No one is coming to, you know, create your reality. So can I acknowledge that in the moment and then go. But what if it leads to something better? What if this is part of the plan? And on this same note, so I went out to dinner last night with a friend. I’ve been hanging out with a lot of friends and leaning on friends right now in this season.

And I went out to dinner with a friend and they were sharing like basically that. They have a situation in their life that they’re settling for. They are like, it’s good enough. It’s good enough. But I know it’s not really what my heart wants. I know it’s not really fully aligned with who I am and for my values, but if I close the door to that situation, I don’t know what’s on the other side of that.

I don’t know if there’s something better and what if there’s not? So I’ll just settle. And I said to them, I’m like, you are operating from fear. You are operating from fear and it is keeping you from possibility because by keeping the door open to that, and literally they said to me, I will just settle.

Like I am fine. Just settling. Even though I’m not really happy, I. If you do that, that’s fine. Like that’s your choice, but you don’t know what you’re turning down. You don’t know the possibility and the unknown. It’s impossible for you to know. And in order for you to figure that out, you will have to sit in the fear of being alone, of, you know, walking through pain of facing this inside of you to then be able to get to.

Whatever the possibility is. And I also said to them, what if? What if the lesson in this is that you have to actually say no to this situation, to sit in the discomfort and the pain and the emotions that come from that in order to build the skills for something better. And they were like, yeah, you’re probably right, but I don’t know if I’m gonna do it.

And I’m like, you know what, that’s fine. Like people only do what they’re ready for. But if you’re my friend, I tell you straight up. But I just found it so interesting because like as an outsider, I’m looking at this going, you’re an incredible human with so much possibility. If you just believed and trusted that something better would be there.

But instead, you’re hanging on to what feels safe and comfortable. Because you are scared of it not being better than that. And I’m like, how much do we do this? How much do I do this? Right? Because I don’t, you don’t always realize you’re doing these things. So the purpose of this episode is to challenge you to think about like, what are those decisions?

What are those actions that you are not taking because you don’t know what would happen after. And you know those things in your brain that are like, well, I could close that part of my business that I hate to start this new one, but I don’t know if that new piece is gonna do well. So I’ll keep this because I’m scared of the unknown.

And just what if we played with today as you listen to this and you challenge like any of those places that were not in alignment. With where you wanna go, with who you wanna be, with the environment you want around you. What if you actually got honest with that and then surrendered? I swear to you guys, surrender is like my life lesson and.

God just keeps giving me things where I have no choice but to surrender and, and watch it unfold. And I think one of the things like this that is hard is you can’t watch it unfold in a day or a week. And that’s what’s hard for me is like. If you told me like a timeframe, like if you were like, Hey Emily, we’re gonna blow this thing up in your life, and you just have to get through three months, and then you’ll have it better, but you don’t know if it’s like a year or two years or six months, like you don’t know.

You don’t know because it’s the unknown. But I noticed my brain going, like if I knew like it was a challenge and it was like you just have to like push through this discomfort for this amount of time and days, I’d be able to do it easier. But the unknown is like, it’s completely uncertain and we do not like uncertainty and I am.

It’s actually funny, like I’m so deep in that, and then all these other things happened and it’s like, okay, I mean, I, I’m expecting probably more things will happen. That’ll be like, this thing has to end because there’s a new thing coming and you don’t know what the new thing is and you don’t know when it’s gonna happen, and you’re gonna have to just trust that.

So my challenge for you guys today is to maybe journal, tune into your, to your body, tune into your heart, but really think about like, what are those things? When you think about where you wanna take your life, who you want to be, the impact you wanna have, how you wanna show up, when you think about all those things, where are the places in your life, the decisions, the relationships, the choices, the environments that do not support that, that you are hanging onto for comfort, for predictability.

Really challenge it ’cause it might be hiding from you. It’s very tricky and until you know you have situations like I’m experiencing right now where God’s like, you have no choice, we’re gonna make this decision for you and you’re gonna learn how to just trust this and you know, until you have that you can stay in in comfortable situations forever.

But I mean, I am just so clear that that is not the life I want. I will choose courage over comfort every single day. And the level of impact I wanna have in this world has to equal the level of discomfort I’m willing to face, and growth I’m, I’m willing to walk for and not even chasing it, you know, it’s not even chasing growth, it’s just constantly and consistently pursuing who you are becoming.

Because if you pursue who you are becoming and the life you are creating and you challenge the current environment compared to that, there’s always gonna be discomfort. And I see this a lot in in people, my friends and entrepreneurs is like fear of the unknown is driving. Their life, and yet they’re not happy with the reality.

Like this friend that I had dinner with last night was like, they, they weren’t, they’re not happy in that situation. They have plenty to say about how they’re not happy about it and how they wish it was different and they want different, and then here’s where it gets hard. It’s ’cause you turn it around and you go, but you’re choosing it.

You’re allowing it, and we are going to. Fall to the level of what we accommodate and what we allow in our life. And I mean, I continue to receive that message of like, when challenging things happen, it’s really easy to be like, someone come save me. I don’t wanna deal with this. I feel bad for myself. This is why this isn’t fair.

And while it’s valid that things suck, right? Like things happen that suck. You can validate that also. You’re the one who has the power, and the more we can take that accountability, the better it is. So that’s my challenge today for you guys, is where are you allowing fear of the unknown to drive your life and business and get so real with yourself?

Get so brutally honest with yourself. If you do that, it should feel scary. Like when you think about making a decision to change the thing that you’re realizing, fear of the unknown is driving, it’s gonna feel really terrifying because to the nervous system and to the brain, that’s like, you’re gonna die because we don’t know the future.

And if we don’t know the future, we can’t keep you safe and you’re gonna calm yourself down. And you’re gonna still make the decisions. And I think also, this is where, this is where not needing the whole plan comes into place. And I, I used to, I’ve gotten so much better at this and I, I witnessed myself this week and was like, wow, I’ve really grown in this way because I used to be so tied to such rigid structure.

Like I needed very rigid plans, very rigid goals, step by step, like. Telling myself what to do, and I think I needed that because I was constantly living in my brain driving things. But when you are tuned into your heart and your soul and your intuition that comes from feelings and that that can’t always be planned out A to Z, you will always have clarity on what’s next.

And it’s like, can I get aligned on what the next decision is and then surrender the rest. Trust that when I’m faced with those things, I will make the right decisions because I trust myself. And what would life feel like if you trusted yourself more? Because here’s the thing, I don’t think that we would be as scared.

Of the unknown. If we trusted ourselves, it comes from this place of distrust. And we’ve been programmed all of our lives that the answers are outside of you, that you are not okay on your own. You have to have somebody else, or you have to have this safety. And it’s like, but if we trusted ourselves in whatever the, the higher source connection that we have.

Then we will know that we’ll always be okay and we would be able to face the unknown, but you have to constantly overcome your brain that does not want the unknown. But Dispenza says this, and I totally agree. It’s like if I think back in my life, I’ve never been disappointed by the unknown going into it.

I’ve been terrified. But when it plays out. In the timeline that it plays out, that it’s supposed to. I’ve never been disappointed. It’s always been better than I ever could have imagined. You know, even if I think about my life, right when I got, when I got pregnant at 20, like, I mean, that was so scary that that upheaval everything.

It was like, you thought you were gonna have this path, you’re gonna have this path, like. Unknown to the max. And years of that playing out led to the life I have today, which at 20 years old, having my son, I could have never even described this life. I could have never thought that I would be living the life I am today, which makes you realize in 10 years from now, what’s the life we’re gonna be living and the more.

You lean into the unknown and the more you follow that heart and that voice, the bigger you can dream, the more magic that happens in your life. I wanna say one more thing that is somewhat relevant to this, that I think needs to be included in here, because this for me was always really confusing and I had a coaching moment yesterday.

With a mastermind member that, that’s related to this. So the voice of the heart, and I’ve talked about this on another podcast episode, but I’m bringing it up here because that is the voice that allows you to follow the unknown because it’s the voice that whispers to you, we gotta change this, we gotta make this decision.

We gotta quit the job, we gotta leave the relationship, we gotta move to a different city. Like those, those decisions come from the heart and they come from feeling. But there’s, there’s this line with feeling okay. The heart and the body speak in emotion. The, and the heart and the body are the subconscious mind.

The heart always knows, the body always knows the body keeps the score. Now those things can never be wrong, but the stories and the thoughts that we create around those can cause us. The, the, the problems or the misguided direction and that’s not coming from the heart. So I had this coaching moment yesterday where they were saying, you know, I really want to just like take a weekend and go unplug and like pamper myself and I know that I wanna do this because of, you know, childhood thing, that this is when I felt safe and they were going on and on and I said to them, you know.

The heart always knows. The heart always knows, and like these feelings in your body are real. And she said, you know, but I don’t want to have to spend money to, to go and do this weekend and to have this experience. Like I just wanna work and I’m mad that my body’s saying this. And I said, hold on. The real part of this is that your body and your heart are tired.

They’re tired of fighting. And they, they want to feel love and connection, and they’re not feeling that right now. That part is real. Now, the logic of I need to go to this place and do that means I need to do this thing and dah, dah, dah, dah. That’s not coming from your heart. So even in, you know, as the situation that.

I literally was dealing with this morning of like finding out I need to change gyms. I felt overwhelmed. I felt sadness. I felt a little bit of anger. All of that’s real. And then the stories associated with that are not. So then comes in the brain of like, here’s why that’s not fair. Here’s why that’s stupid.

Here’s why I’m gonna fight this, and you know, I’m gonna try to come up with a different solution. All of that is the brain. What’s real is the feelings, and then going, can I trust that this is for a bigger reason? Can I validate where I’m at? And then trust. Finding clarity on the next thing and just allowing that to lead me somewhere because who knows what possibilities this will open, and that’s how I’m, I’m living My life is like very day by day.

Today is that every day is like, I don’t have overly structured, and I’m not just like, oh, here’s what I feel like doing. It’s no, who am I becoming? What am I building? What’s the life I’m creating? And therefore, how do I need to show up? How do I need to show up as a human? And what actions need to happen?

So recap, if you wanna listen to this episode and go take an action, I want you to tune into your body, and I want you to ask yourself the question, where am I not taking action? Or tolerating a situation because I’m scared of the unknown. And what would taking radical action from a place of alignment look like in my life?

And you should feel a little bit of fear. That’s normal because that’s your brain kicking in, going, oh no, we can’t do that. That’s crazy. And lean into that. Then when you feel those feelings of excitement and peace and that buzzing and love, you know, you’re on the right track, you will feel relief and two things can coexist at the same time.

I’m also learning that you can feel extremely sad, grieving a past or, or feeling scared and fearful of the unknown, and you can feel aligned at the same exact time. We’re not linear. We are not linear beings. So hopefully this gives you guys a challenge. I want you to be so radically honest with this, and if you come up with something that’s like, that clarity of like, this is what I need to do.

I just realized this is what I need to do. I wanna know what it is. All right everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in. I’ll talk to you guys next time.