EP 205 | Embracing the Pivot: How to Find Confidence in Change

What if the clarity you're desperately seeking only comes after you take the leap? In this deeply personal episode, Lisa Tarkington reflects on seven years of podcast evolution while unpacking the complex emotions surrounding change and transition. 

Lisa identifies the subtle signs your professional life might be calling for transformation: dreading tasks that once energized you, feeling persistent heaviness, or catching yourself daydreaming about different paths. She also explores personal indicators like feeling drained in environments that used to inspire you, no longer relating to the same people, or experiencing physical manifestations of stress that won't subside.

The heart of this episode addresses why change feels so terrifying despite knowing it's necessary. Lisa unpacks how fear of disappointing others, fear of failure, and the comfort of familiarity keep us trapped in situations we've outgrown. She vulnerably shares her own "what if" stories that once held her back, revealing the powerful truth that "clarity often comes after the leap, not before it."

You will walk away with a practical framework for embracing change: listen to your internal cues, name your fears without letting them control you, and take small, aligned actions toward your evolving vision. Most importantly, you'll be reminded that you're allowed to outgrow things, evolve, and pivot—but first, you must give yourself permission.

Chapters:

• 0:00: Lisa's Podcast Journey Since 2017
• 8:40: Transformations and Rebranding
• 10:32: Taking a Hiatus for Motherhood
• 14:20: Signs It's Time to Pivot
• 19:34: Understanding Your Fear of Change
• 23:19: Building Confidence to Make the Leap
• 27:31: Navigating Transitions with Grace
• 29:12: Final Thoughts on Embracing Change

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Chapters

• 0:00 Lisa's Podcast Journey Since 2017
• 8:40 Transformations and Rebranding
• 10:32 Taking a Hiatus for Motherhood
• 14:20 Signs It's Time to Pivot
• 19:34 Understanding Your Fear of Change
• 23:19 Building Confidence to Make the Leap
• 27:31 Navigating Transitions with Grace
• 29:12 Final Thoughts on Embracing Change

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What if it works for only a month? What if I become the talk of the community? All of the stories that I told myself, because I let fear take over. And what I've learned is clarity comes or clarity often comes after the leap, not before it. Welcome to the Confident Podcast. I am Lisa Tarkington, your guide to mastering confidence and leadership. As the business and life coach, keynote speaker and the driving force behind LEAD, I am here to help you break free from self-doubt, silence, the imposter syndrome, and step into your power as the person you're meant to be. If you press play today, it's because you're ready for something bigger. Each week, I'll bring you real, raw conversations and actionable insights that will empower you to redefine your leadership, reclaim your confidence and transform into the unstoppable force you've always known that you could be. This isn't just another podcast. It's a journey we're on together, so buckle up and let's dive into this transformation. Your next level awaits. Hi everybody, welcome back for another episode of the Confident Podcast. I am your host, lisa Tarkington, and we're going to start off this podcast a little bit differently. I haven't taken you guys down memory lane in a while. I thought it'd be fun to go down memory lane to kind of give you guys where I've been in my life, where the podcast started and where we're going today. So I just want to say that I never imagined that the podcast would still be around to this day, but it's pretty cool to think about all the memories along the way. So I first have to share. We dropped our first episode on December 27, 2017. Yes, 2017.

Speaker 1: 1:56

When podcasts weren't even really even a thing and I had this vision, probably a few months beforehand, put really not much thought into it, but just wanted to call it the Confident Girl Podcast, like that was what I was called. The branding was very me, I would say, in the sense that it was teal and off-white, there was no photo of me, it was just plain text, and I literally made it on Canva with no logo, nothing, and that version ran for three years. So I was the one doing the audio, I was the one splicing it, creating the intro, the outro, watching YouTube videos to figure this out. It's so funny to think that I even like did this, but I did and and I figured it out. We were on a different platform than what we're on right now, all of the different feels with it it's. It's kind of crazy to look back at that. And then, in June of 2020, so I would say post pandemic, or actually not even post pandemic we were in the pandemic.

Speaker 1: 3:02

I was deep into, like the era of my life of getting my crap together like point blank. I had left my corporate job, I worked a part-time job for a while and I was going full into the entrepreneur nonprofit space, and so that's when I rebranded from the Confident Girl podcast to the Confident podcast. I cut the girl because I really wanted to broaden my audience, have different viewpoints on my show and just lighten it up in general. So we got a lightened teal. We added white, got rid of the off-white that we had and again it was all word-based. It was in Canva and it featured a photo of me.

Speaker 1: 3:48

So 30-year-old Lisa and let me tell you, 30-year-old Lisa was probably one of the toughest years of my entire life. I went through so much heartbreak with a relationship I was like just holding it together from being broke, from having a corporate job and just living off of as much as I could a lot of my savings to pay the bills. I knew that I had to feed myself, feed my dog and then make sure my mortgage was paid and that, like you know, a few other utilities were paid, and that's literally how we lived. It was one of the hardest years of my life. It was one of the most transformative pieces of my life as well, and so that's why we needed to refresh the podcast as well. And then, two years later, in 2022, I wanted to level up. I would say that I thought I was leveling up, and so I got a new logo for the podcast, I got an updated photo and I got some new, fresh colors. So, instead of keeping with the teal theme, I went to blue and white, and when I say I thought I was getting my life together, I think that 2022, I was still, like, honestly making changes. I had worked so hard for the last two years between 2020 and 2022, to like revamp my life, so proud of how much hard work went into it, but I think the internal work really happened in 2022. It was also the year that I got engaged, the year that, like life, just like completely continued to evolve for me.

Speaker 1: 5:27

So fast forward, seven years from the start, so 2017 to 2004,. We made another big transition with the podcast, and it was honestly a full year of changes. That was the year of just so much. I would say Last year was kind of a blur I have no idea how like I swam out of it in a way, but we officially moved the podcast under my nonprofit lead, which I've talked a lot about. On this podcast, I was solo for so long with it and it was under my personal brand, but we finally settled into a studio, which you guys have got to enjoy for the last year and a half so far. And other changes that happened in 2024 was we rebranded my nonprofit from Self-Liberty to Lead, as many of you probably know. We restructured internally as a nonprofit, I took on new responsibilities and I officially changed my name. So I got married in 2023, changed my name in 2024.

Speaker 1: 6:30

And I just had a year of transformations and I've shared many of this on the show already and I guess I share all of this as a timeline and changes, because I think 2025, I'm going to say like was kind of like going back to my roots and kind of going back to not being done changing. I would say that this has been another year of transformation. I was saying to my husband the other day like it's kind of exhausting how much change I've gone over since the COVID years and how much my life has changed. But after a lot of reflection, a lot of time, I've decided to move the podcast back under my personal brand because I realized what was happening is for all the years from 2017 to 2024, every story was partial. Me, it was my stories. You guys were here through bad breakups, career shifts, heartbreak, really bad audio.

Speaker 1: 7:32

I remember recording podcasts on the way to my part-time job, so I'm driving and trying to also record things because I was such a multitasker then. Oh my God, I'm so sorry for all those people that listened to those ones. I had a lot of messy moments and probably shared, overshared, sometimes way too much, but every piece of it was really my journey and I realized that putting it under the nonprofit was fantastic. We brought on some amazing guests. We had so many great things, but I really wanted to take it back to who I was, and I think that that's what 2025 has taught me is who I am and I've learned a lot about myself.

Speaker 1: 8:15

But I also think it's been really cool to hear from all of you of how this podcast has helped your confidence and helped you grow, and I just want to be more real. I want to have different types of styles of things that we're going to be doing. So not that this platform is going to change too much, but it's going to just open up me to be a little bit more honest and authentic with all of you and bring in some additional stuff that I've never done before. So look forward to that. So looking forward to 2025, I'm excited to bring my best to you guys like hands down, really excited for this. But first we're going to take a little break. So, starting May 13th, we are going to take a pause on this podcast for three months and I'm going to be stepping into a new role which I've hidden very well on this podcast, but I am becoming a mom and I really want to honor myself during this process and I'm very excited for this new change, but I've been really quiet about it.

Speaker 1: 9:21

So this next chapter is really just about being honest with myself and giving myself the space to fully focus on it so that I can come back to you guys fully embracing the new era of who Lisa Tarkington is and my brand and what I want to teach you guys and everything. But sometimes that means looking internally and being like, hey, I got to take this break for myself in order to give everybody else the best of me, so, don't worry, we're still going to be running replays on socials. We've gotten some amazing episodes coming up before we take this break, so definitely stay connected. And again, I promise that I'll always stay real with you guys, because I love getting real feedback from all of you guys as well. So thank you so much to everybody that has been on this journey with me since 2017 and everyone who has joined along the way.

Speaker 1: 10:09

I'm really excited to see what's next and, kind of segueing into the episode that we're going to have today, it's going to be all about embracing change, the confidence to pivot, and I felt that this was a great conversation to have because I have learned a tremendous amount since 2019, when I left my corporate career to do the entrepreneur and nonprofit life to now. So many changes found. My husband got married, we moved in together, got our two dogs, combined lives and our household, and now we're expecting our first child. And not only that, but on the other spectrum of work, like I went from an amazing corporate job to finding myself through the process of being an entrepreneur. I went without insurance health insurance for a long time, without a 401k. For a long time I lived off my savings. I built a nonprofit to impact people because I knew how important that was, and we've transformed 13,000 lives since doing that and I have an amazing team and I'm still evolving as a human into a keynote speaker and coach, which has always been on my heart and just finding who I am.

Speaker 1: 11:27

And so today we're going to be talking about not only how to pivot, but I'm also going to be sharing some of my stories to hopefully relate to you, so that you know that you're not alone. So just take that deep breath in, because we're going to get honest and we're going to have some fun. So let to get honest and we're going to have some fun. So let's get into it. So, when I was thinking about this topic and about racing, change and having confidence to pivot, the stories that I just shared and kind of like laid down is exactly what I was feeling when I was thinking about how much I've pivoted. And so maybe you're listening because you're going through a pivot and you need confidence Been there.

Speaker 1: 12:08

Maybe you're going through a change, or maybe you're kind of slightly hoping that, after this podcast, that you're going to have the, or, after this podcast, that you'll have the confidence to really embrace the change or to embrace the pivot, whatever is coming your way. So, whatever this might be, let's just be honest with ourselves. Change is hard, but change is going to happen and it can be beautiful and it can be hard, but all of it can be true at the same time, and I think that that's the thing that I really want people to embrace about change is it's always going to happen. Yeah, it's not always going to be easy, but it's going to be beautiful, and all of those things can be true. And so whenever I'm going through a change or a pivot, I'm well aware that I'm excited for what's next, also really scared to go through it, because that just means all of the hard work is also going to have to come into play, and I've been in the seasons of pivots.

Speaker 1: 13:06

You can ask my husband, who is really deep in the trenches with me. You can ask my parents, who have been there since day one, and my friends as well, who get the phone calls every time. I was just with a friend recently and I was talking about a shift recently and she goes you know, you've been talking about this for years, right, and my face was like oh yes, I know. So it was just like interesting, right. And there's just so many things that we shift and we go through, and I've been there, right, I've already shared some examples.

Speaker 1: 13:38

So I want you to think about a time in your life when you knew a change was needed but waited. Think about what held you back. Think about what would you tell yourself now and think about how many times we were the ones holding ourselves back. So reflect on that. What held you back from making a change in the past and what would you tell yourself now? So, as we talk about confidence, that it takes to have a pivot, think about how do you know when it's time to change, how do you find the courage to go for it, and what happens in those uncomfortable moments and maybe that middle space. Think about those feelings as well, because when I'm thinking about all that for myself, I feel like the middle is very not clean. Not clean, I guess, but I swear there's gold at the end of the, the rainbow, but we just have to get through the rain and the storm and there's this beautiful thing that's going to come at the end. So there's going to be a checklist for today, three things that I want you to think about when we're going through this.

Speaker 1: 14:43

So listen to your inner, inner cues. So our internal cues are very key, and I'm going to dive into that here in a second Name your fears. When change happens, you have fears, and then what is a small step that you're going to take to really move to the next level? So the first one's going to be about again, listening to your internal cues. What are the signs? It's time to pivot, and this is where I'm going to share some examples of work, but then personal as well. So here's some signs that might be coming up for you. If you're like, oh, do I need a change? And so this is your checklist for work, so maybe you dread. You're dreading the things that used to light you up. The work is getting done, but it feels really heavy. There's this quiet nudge in your gut or a loud sound coming from the universe, and you need to listen to that. Maybe you find yourself dreaming about something else. You know, I'm just picturing someone looking out the window like envisioning what their life could be like, or maybe you just feel lost, unsure and sometimes maybe even frozen, of what's the next step that I need to take.

Speaker 1: 15:54

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Speaker 1: 17:12

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Speaker 1: 17:45

Change doesn't always happen in career. Sometimes it's personal. So here's some for personal. So maybe you feel drained in environments that used to energize you. Maybe you no longer are relating to the same people or conversations. Maybe your routine feels more like survival than joy. Maybe you're craving a deeper connection, more peace or space to breathe. Maybe your body is showing signs of fatigue, tension, headaches and stress that you just can't shake. And maybe you have that voice inside yourself saying is this really it? What else is possible? And when we think about our personal and professional life. There's just so many avenues of change that will continue to go into our lives. So in those moments I always tell people take a deep breath. It happens to all of us.

Speaker 1: 18:38

I've been there, and normally during the time of change is when I'm comparing myself the most to people, because I'm jealous or envious that they have blah, blah, blah, blah blah, because I know that that's where the change that I need to make to go there. I remember a time at corporate where I just felt frozen. I just didn't know what was next for me, and I really struggled with that for a few years. To be honest, in my personal life it was dating or I just was unsure of a lot of things. I remember that a lot and I knew that I needed to make a change. I needed to start dating people that respected me more. I needed to start kind of aligning to what I wanted my future husband to be and being that person as well.

Speaker 1: 19:26

And when I felt that the decisions, or when I felt that I needed to make these decisions or these changes, I will tell you it was very hard. I never had the answers right away, especially with big changes. But I had to just sit with it. Sometimes I had to listen to my gut feeling and then when things didn't align, I was like, okay, I need to make something different, because I knew that I was being called to show up in a different way. And that's really tough. It's really tough to feel to know, but it's when you have that checklist of internal cues telling you something.

Speaker 1: 20:04

I always say like my heart, my gut's telling me something, my head's probably telling me something I'm just getting. Sometimes I always say like signs from different places where, like I'm hearing something from one place and then someone randomly will say something over here and I'm like, oh, my God, I've heard that multiple times, like should I dig into that? And so first it's starting to understand like what are those internal cues? So if you're listening to this, start to think about what are some internal cues. What from that checklist resonated with you? The next one is the fear factor. So what makes change so hard? So this is really about fear, and so this is kind of something for you to think about. Maybe you have fear of disappointing others Raising my hand been there. Maybe you have fear of failure, of the unknown Feel that Maybe you have had very big comfort in whatever you're doing right now and maybe it's not working anymore for you, but you know it's comforting, right.

Speaker 1: 21:05

But I think the real talk here is I've had so many moments in my life where I've had what if? What if people don't get it if I make this change? What if I lose momentum? What if it works for only a month? What if I become the talk of the community? Gosh, I've thought that, excuse me, so many times of like all of the stories that I told myself, because I let fear take over. And what I've learned is clarity comes, or clarity often comes after the leap, not before it. And I am laughing at that because I remember when I was ready to leave my corporate job and I remember talking to some entrepreneurs and I'm like how did you do it? How did you know it was the right time? When did you know it was? And they were like you just know. And I remember having some clarity, but I took the leap and that's when it just really started to make sense.

Speaker 1: 22:04

And after you make one change, it makes it easier to make the next change. And and I've gone through many moments in my life where fear has taken over. I've let other people's opinions take over. What will people think? Will people get it? That's another thing that I find so interesting, because I think for a long time I get an idea and I'm like, oh, this hasn't been done. Will people even get it? And then I see like later on, something grow, or someone that really dug their heels into something, and I'm like, oh, my gosh, that could have been me. Right. And obviously everything happens for a reason, but fear Right, and I think about that even with the podcast. I started this in 2017.

Speaker 1: 22:45

We've gone through so many changes, but I've allowed fear to kind of take over it sometimes. And so thinking about that is asking yourself what is a fear that's kind of holding you back right now from chasing your dreams, from making a change. And when I say change, it doesn't have to be dramatic that you're leaving your job or you're changing your group of friends. It can literally be like I need to eat better, I need to wake up an hour earlier. What are the changes that you have to make in order for your future to be better? And then the next one is the confidence. We need confidence to pivot.

Speaker 1: 23:21

Obviously, this is the Confident Podcast, and so what we have to really do is, when we're thinking of change, we have to understand and reflect on our why. Why are we making this change? Because we have to be very grounded. I'm picturing like people's feet like stuck in the mud, like saying, like this is my why, this is why I'm making this change, and when you can be so empowered by that change and the why behind it, it makes it easier to pivot. It's also about thinking about reframing it to growth versus loss, and I think this one was really hard for me, because for me, I always thought oh, if I make this change, I'm losing X. Yes, that's true, but what are you gaining? Right, like, what are you gaining by letting go of something? It's pretty powerful when you kind of start to reflect on that.

Speaker 1: 24:15

The other thing you have to do to really pivot is you have to think about am I making space to give myself grace and give myself self-compassion? You know, whenever I'm going through a change, I'll talk to my husband a lot about this, and he gives me so much grace and so much self-compassion. You know, my mom is the same way. So are my friends. I have the best people around me. But I think it's giving myself that of like I don't have all the answers right now. I can feel in my gut that I need to do this, but what does that mean, right? And so it's like slowing down, it's reflecting, it's not maybe putting a timetable with something, or maybe it is Right, and just really reflecting on what you need in that moment to make that change, to have that confidence in yourself.

Speaker 1: 25:01

And I just shared about the people in my life who have supported me, and that is huge. That is huge. I cannot tell you enough how having a support system in a community is important. And if you do not have that, get one. Like, hands down, dm me, I'll give you all of the resources to support you and help you on that, because that has been a game changer for me. And so when you reflect on this, confidence doesn't mean everything is going to be certain, but it means trusting yourself to figure out things as you go, and confidence is built upon. So I teach a lot about this with skills, with talents, and that goes with change too, like, once you go through it, once you're able to have more confidence in the next one and the last one is being able to navigate in transition with grace. So I've shared a little bit about this already, but just something for you to think about. So, being transparent with yourself, you have to be honest with yourself. You have to be honest about the highs, the lows. This was hard, this was great. I feel really good when I do this, because the more that you can talk to yourself and know the person inside, it makes it way easier to keep making these changes.

Speaker 1: 26:11

Create a plan, but have room for flexibility. I'm a type A girl. I love me a plan, but what I've learned over the last couple of years is to be flexible with it, because sometimes I've had to veer in a different lane than what I've wanted to, but I knew that it would get me back on the path eventually. And this is something that a lot of people struggle with. Like I have coaching clients who are like just give me the roadmap and everybody's a little bit different and that's OK. Right, it's about building that, but also knowing OK, we veered off for a second and it was on purpose to get back on the road. It's about celebrating yourself, it's about taking rest.

Speaker 1: 26:51

Change is so exhausting it really is and it's just kind of reminding ourselves that you're allowed to outgrow things, you're allowed to evolve and you're allowed to pivot. And I want to say that again You're allowed to outgrow things, you're allowed to evolve and you're allowed to pivot. But this is the most important thing you have to give yourself that permission. You have to give yourself permission, when you notice that you've outgrown something and that change is on its way, to give yourself permission to dive deeper into that and make those changes for your life Now. Will it happen overnight? Maybe not that and make those changes for your life Now. Will it happen overnight? Maybe not, but when you become self-aware of it and you start putting the pieces together, it is a game changer. So remember to listen to those internal cues, name your fears, make one small change and align it to action.

Speaker 1: 27:52

And when we close out today, I really want you to think about how change is so powerful, it's so important, it's so needed, and it's going to be hard, it's going to be beautiful and all the feels in between right, but it's because you're becoming who you are meant to be. So think about all of the pivots that you might already had in your life, all the seasons that you've gone through, all of the real moments that you've had to maybe embrace in your life and just know that you're going to keep moving forward. You're becoming the next best version of yourself and I'm here right alongside you making those changes as well. So it's about being confident in yourself and believing in yourself and then getting the support that you need. So, again, if you ever need my support, I'm here for you. I get it. I've gone through so much change and I can coach anybody on how to walk through as much as I can, but it's about the internal process. That's really important. So please be sure to subscribe to my channel. As we evolve, we're going to be making some amazing changes. Be sure to tell someone today how amazing they are and be sure to tell yourself that as well. So continue to spread love and kindness to everybody that you meet and have a great day everybody. I'm so excited for what the future of the Confident Podcast is going to look like.

Speaker 1: 29:17

Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Confident Podcast. If today's episode resonated with you, head over to leadconfidentlyorg for today's show notes, along with discounts to our services. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button, leave a review and follow us on Instagram and YouTube at the Confident Podcast. Your feedback means the world to me and it helps more people discover the show. And hey, if you're feeling inspired to dive deeper, let's connect. You can find me on Instagram at Lisa Tarkington official. Drop me a message and let's explore how I can support your journey to confidence and leadership. Remember you have the power to choose confidence every single day. Keep showing up, keep striving and keep believing in your potential. I'm cheering you on and I'll see you next time.