How One Simple Affirmation Empowers Me to Name What I Need

what if autopilot behaviors and limiting narratives don’t get to decide how you show up anymore?

I am a directionally challenged adventure-seeker with a knack for building community and a desire to explore the world.

So, when I had the opportunity to host a small group of beginner hikers through California’s national parks one year ago, I said a brave yes.

Shaped by the women beside me and the landscapes around me, I returned more aligned with who I am and how I want to live my days than I had in years.

Starting today, I get to do it again – this time with eleven women exploring three of Utah’s national parks. As the host, with a background in education and writing, I’ve prepared daily Trailhead Talks, short audio journals or podcast style lessons for travelers to absorb as we are transported to each daily adventure.

And because I don’t want to leave you behind, I’d like to offer you one to tuck into your back pocket, wherever you happen to be.

For the richest experience, I suggest listening — simply press play at the top of the essay.

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In early July, as I prepared for an eight-hour drive to visit my parents, I queued up a handful of podcasts. One was from a show I’d never heard of before – Enough with Mandy Lehto. The episode title caught my eye: I Do This Every Morning. At just thirteen minutes, it felt like the perfect place to start.

In the episode, Mandy shared a personal practice she was experimenting with – a way to consciously create her day instead of letting her day create her. The practice centers on that brief, pliable period right after waking, before reaching for the phone, before stepping into the noise of the world. Mandy described it as a “creative, uncluttered state” where the mind is still soft from sleep, open to direction.

In that space, Mandy speaks a simple affirmation:

“I am the conscious creator of my experience.”

Mandy explained how this phrase is helping her avoid slipping into autopilot and becoming a victim of her to-do list before the coffee is even brewed. It also shields her from the self-limiting narratives that creep in: Who am I to pursue this dream? Who am I to take time for myself? Who am I to lead others? Or: I’ll never get this done. I should be over this by now. I am not enough.

In the podcast Mandy specifically said:

“To be the creator of my day, as opposed to it creating me. I’m done with that.”

The way she said it – firm, final, and a little bit defiant – struck something in me. Each time she repeated it, I felt a surge of solidarity rise inside: Yes. I’m done with that too.

By the time I reached my destination, I knew I was going to try this practice for myself.

When I got home from visiting my parents, Mandy’s words slipped easily into my mornings. They paired naturally with a habit I’d begun in November: writing down my dreams, encouraged by my somatic therapist who reminded me they often carry clues worth remembering. Now, as I reached for my notebook, I began stacking the two practices together: first recording my dreams, then affirming aloud, I am the conscious creator of my experience.

Almost immediately, I noticed the phrase showing up in unexpected places.

The first was when I instinctively reached for my phone. My hand hovered, then I caught myself: Do I really want to spend my morning scrolling? That’s when the words surfaced—

I am the conscious creator of how I spend my time. I choose presence over distraction.

Later, as I considered whether to prepare a nourishing lunch for the busy day ahead, the thought returned—

I am the conscious creator of what I put in my body. Preparing nourishing food is a gift to my future self.

The practice also met me in more difficult moments. When I needed to decline an uncompensated work request, when I felt the urgency to protect my personal space, or when the headlines left me feeling helpless – the phrase rose up, reminding me I had a choice. Each time, I adapted the phrase to anchor me in purpose and strength:

I am the conscious creator of my experience. Protecting my energy from what depletes me allows me to show up for those who are vulnerable in my community right now.

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But the truest test of my new practice came at the end of summer, during my family’s biennial beach trip. One afternoon, my 10-year-old niece Kate spotted the bright yellow banana boat bouncing behind a speedboat and immediately turned to me with wide eyes:

“Aunt Rachel, will you ride it with me?”

Without hesitation, I said yes. If anything can motivate me to push through lingering body image struggles, it’s my daughters and my niece. Their zest for life overrides my insecurities and draws me into the moment.

Kate quickly rounded up the rest of the crew — her brothers, Sam and Evan, plus her cousins Natalie and Avery. It was set: we would fill the banana together.

But when it was time to put on our life jackets, I caught sight of the fancy camera being pulled out of its bag. Long lens. High resolution. Me, in a bathing suit, under that kind of scrutiny? Suddenly my confidence faltered. I thought about backing out and letting my husband take my place.

Then, almost reflexively, the words rose up:

I am the conscious creator of my experience.

I asked myself: What do you really want? The answer was clear: I want to ride with the kids. I want to laugh with them, tumble into the waves with them, make this memory with them.

So, I named what I needed: I don’t want photos of me in a bathing suit online. I voiced this boundary to my family, and they were more than willing to respect it.

Minutes later, I was clinging to that slippery banana, salt spray in my face, laughter ringing in my ears. I was tossed, tumbled, hauled back up – soaked, ungraceful, messy, fully alive. And when I looked at the faces of my beloveds, eyes shining, mouths wide with delight… I knew I had chosen right.

The conscious creator doesn’t let fear, distraction, or self-limiting thoughts steal the moments that matter most. She shows up. She says yes.

The truth is, life will always offer us reasons to hold back – fear, doubt, distraction, critical voices – both internal and external. But in those small, pliable moments when we pause to ask: What do I want? What do I need to make it possible?—we give ourselves the chance to create a different story.

My friends, we don’t have to miss the memories. We don’t have to surrender our days to autopilot. We don’t have to let limiting narratives decide how we show up fully in the bodies we have and the lives we’re creating.

That is what I’ll be practicing this week in Utah with eleven women who have said their own brave yes. Together, we’ll walk the canyons, explore the red rock, and listen for what our inner landscapes are asking of us. Each day, we’ll remember that we are not passengers of circumstance – we are conscious creators of how we show up.

And you don’t need a plane ticket to begin. Each time you choose presence over distraction, nourishment over neglect, courage over fear, you strengthen the muscle of conscious creation. Those choices, stitched together day after day, shape a life that feels true, connected, and free.

So perhaps today, before the world rushes in, you whisper the words Mandy shared, and I’ve now claimed as my own:

I am the conscious creator of my experience.

Then notice what changes. Notice what becomes possible.

My hand in yours,
Rachel

Here is Kate, the joyful girl who invited her aunt to ride the banana boat and thought to take this selfie of us while on that memorable vacation. I love her so.

🏔️ If you’d like to be kept in the loop for future small-group travel adventures, please add your name to the notification list by clicking here. As my open-nest days have begun, I hope my travel adventures are only just beginning! If there’s enough interest, I’d love to create experiences that also include those who prefer more relaxed trips—no camping or hiking required—and even opportunities for international travel. If you haven’t already, please fill out the survey so I can gauge your interest. Thank you!