When Your Heart Trembles: How to Hold Yourself Through Expansion and Self-Doubt.
Don’t we all wish life could just be easy?
But if we’re honest… do we really?
This morning, my heart trembled. Maybe it’s the caffeine, or maybe it’s my nervous system catching up to the bigness of life I’m allowing in. Maybe it’s that sacred trembling we feel when we enter territories far beyond what’s familiar or acceptable. The kind of trembling that says,
“You’re no longer who you were. And who you’re becoming terrifies you.”
Have you ever felt your body tremble not from fear, not from the cold, but from the wild aliveness of stepping into a version of yourself that no longer fits the mold?
I sit here at a coffee shop, trying to act normal, whatever that means. My fingers dance across the keyboard, composing my inner world into language. This could be my life forever: writing from coffee shops, processing life in real time, doing my best to make sense of my thoughts, and wondering… who am I to write this?
And yet, I write.
Because even in the presence of self-doubt, especially in its presence, something inside says, “Keep going.”
We often think self-doubt is something to eliminate. But I’m learning… it might be what keeps us grounded. It sharpens our awareness and teaches us to distinguish between self-loathing and self-inquiry.
Because what even is “enough” when we’re told we’re too much? And what do we do with our greatness when we don’t know where to pour it? These are the questions that break the mind open.
And in that breaking, we realize: there is no ceiling. Only the limits created by thought, by us, or by others.
The journey of becoming isn’t linear. There are thresholds. Initiations. Sacred ruptures that feel like being cracked open from the inside out, while still holding yourself outwardly with a straight spine. Not in performance. But in presence.
Because that’s what power looks like:
Being able to feel everything, dopamine and sorrow alike, without losing yourself in the waves.
Life is not meant to be numbed. It’s meant to be lived deeply, in every cell.
And that’s why boundaries matter.
To know when to put everything aside and tend to your inner altar.
To ask yourself:
What fruits am I expecting to harvest?
What seeds am I planting?
And who am I becoming in the process?
Because clarity of intention matters.
If you plant mango seeds, don’t expect apples. The miracle is not in the switching of fruits, it’s in the devotion to what you actually planted. Water it. Wait. Trust divine timing. The fruit will come.
This writing today is not just a reflection. It’s a reckoning.
Because even as I sit here, I feel myself hitting another edge. Another wall.
And I know:
If you’re committed to evolution, walls are sacred.
Each wall is an invitation to expand.
But expansion isn’t about force. It’s about capacity.
How much can your nervous system hold?
Can you sit in the tension of growth, spine upright, shoulders soft, heart open?
Can you love yourself even when everything feels like it’s pressing down on you?
Because here’s the truth no one tells you:
To expand, you must be willing to shrink.
And your power lies in how you hold yourself during the shrinking…
And how fast you spring back, wider than before.
The deeper the exhale, the deeper the next inhale.
That’s life.
And when it gets rough, it will for sometimes, and we wish for someone to hold our hand and whisper, “You’re going to be okay.”
But instead, you might hear:
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t be too much.”
“Be more realistic.”
And for a moment… you’ll shrink. But then, you’ll remember: You’ve heard this before. And still, you rose. This moment is not for self-loathing. It’s for sovereignty. Not blaming others for not showing up how you expect, but realizing: you are the one you’ve been waiting for. And yes, you may feel like you’re drowning in a vast ocean, craving rescue…
Until you remember, you can float. Not by fighting, but by surrendering.
Opening your arms. Softening your body. Trusting the ocean will hold you. That’s not weakness. That’s mastery. Surrender is not passivity. It’s the most alive choice you can make. To stop resisting and meet life, fully. To accept where you are not as failure, but as fuel.
From that relaxed state, you see clearly. You breathe deeper. You act bolder. Because panic creates chaos, but presence creates power.
So if what brought you here no longer serves you make a new move. A conscious leap. A recalibration. Because you are not here to repeat patterns. You are here to break them. And not just survive. But to lead.
Ready to Expand Without Burning Out?
If you’re navigating a season of growth that feels too big, too fast or if your heart’s trembling and your nervous system’s screaming “slow down” you don’t have to walk this alone.
In private 1:1 mentorship with me, I guide high-performing, heart-awakened souls like you through the sacred terrain of personal evolution:
🜂 Learn to regulate your nervous system while holding bigger visions
🜂 Transcend self-doubt without abandoning your truth
🜂 Set boundaries that honor your energy and deepen your impact
🜂 Build a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside
🜂 Reclaim your sovereignty, presence, and power, in every moment
This is where strategy meets soul.
Where embodied leadership begins.
And where you finally allow yourself to grow, gently but unapologetically, into the next version of you.
Joanne Genoza
