March 25, 2025 | Issue Archive
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Hey there,
A quick personal note before we get to today’s message…
I had the chance to join Pat Wetzel on her Bump in the Road podcast recently, and among other things, we talked about one of my favorite (and hardest) topics: finding meaning in the middle of life’s disruptions.
While I’ve had my share of messy, uncertain, “not-according-to-plan” moments, I’ve found time and again just how powerful a shift in perspective can be. It doesn’t take away the pain—but it can change your experience in the middle of it.
Let’s talk about that…
The Gift Inside the Disruption
Let’s be real: Life will knock the wind out of you sometimes.
Doesn’t matter how strong, smart, or spiritual you are—it happens.
And when it does, our instinct is to fight it. Fix it. Escape it.
Fair enough—who wants to sit in discomfort?
But here’s what I’ve learned:
If you can stop asking, “Why is this happening to me?”
…and start asking, “What is this here to teach me?”
You will change your life.
If you can find the lesson in the mess—even before you know how it turns out—that’s when you begin to reclaim your power.
It’s easy to connect the dots in hindsight:
“That thing I thought would break me actually made me stronger.”
“That failed project led me to something better.”
“That ending helped me find myself.”
But what if you could see that while you’re in it?
That’s when everything starts to shift.
Not because the pain disappears.
But because you start to see purpose again.
You start to grow—even when it’s hard.
And that might just be the most powerful moment of all.
In the clip I shared this week from my Bump in the Road conversation, I said:
“Even in this moment, I don’t know how this is going to turn out good—but I believe somehow it will.”
That belief—that trust—is what allows you to keep going.
And one day, you’ll look back and say:
“That was the moment everything changed.”
🎥 You can watch a clip from the podcast here on Instagram—or watch the full podcast episode on YouTube here. (Let me know what you think.)
THIS ENDS NOW
Identify one habit, belief, or behavior that’s no longer serving you—and let it go.
Let go of needing to understand everything before you move forward.
Some of the most important shifts in life happen when you let go of needing answers—and choose to trust the process instead.
THIS MOMENT MATTERS
One simple, actionable step to take to create a ripple effect of change in your life
Pause and ask: What’s the gift in this?
Even if it’s just a sliver of growth, a deeper strength, or a new awareness—it matters.
Write it down. Speak it out loud. Let it shift your experience.
Disruption will come. You don’t get to choose that.
But you do get to choose your perspective.
And that changes everything.
Up we go—
P.S. If you haven’t already, add shawn@shawnellis.com to your contacts to ensure important updates and messages like this reach your primary inbox.