7 Mindset Shifts to Unlock Your Next Level

—from someone still figuring it out too

Let me just start by saying: I am not a perfectly evolved, eternally enlightened self-help goddess who wakes up at 5 a.m. with glowing skin and an inbox at zero.

I’m just a woman who used to cry in the Target parking lot every other day, learned how to breathe through a panic attack without Googling “am I dying?”, and now helps other women stop being so hard on themselves while building lives they actually like.

So if you’re feeling stuck, like your next level is hiding behind a fog of burnout, overthinking, or comparing yourself to strangers on the internet—pull up a chair. I made this list for us.

Here are the 7 mindset shifts that helped me stop surviving and start expanding into the next version of myself (spoiler: it’s still a work in progress, and that’s okay).

1. You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Begin

Perfectionism is sneaky. It wears a productivity mask and whispers lies like “just wait until you’re more ready,” or “you need a better plan first.”
But here’s the truth: most people who are doing the things you want to do? They just started.

I launched my blog with a Canva logo I made at midnight. I wrote my first coaching guide while crying into a bowl of mac and cheese. Was it flawless? Nope. But it was real. It was movement. And movement creates momentum.

✨ Mindset Shift: Start before you feel ready. Messy action still moves you forward.

2. Progress > Perfection (No, Really)

Listen. I still sometimes skip a meditation, eat cereal for dinner, or spend 3 hours on TikTok instead of writing. But I don’t spiral into shame about it anymore. (Okay, not as often.)

Perfectionism is the fastest way to self-sabotage. It tells you if you can’t do it perfectly, don’t do it at all. But healing? Growth? Confidence? They live in the trying anyway.

✨ Mindset Shift: A little progress every day beats the illusion of “one day I’ll get it all together.”

3. You Can Hold Two Truths at Once

You can be grateful and want more.
You can love your partner and need more alone time.
You can feel strong and still cry over a sad dog commercial. (Just me?)

Learning how to hold space for duality—without judgment—is one of the most emotionally freeing things I’ve done.

✨ Mindset Shift: You are allowed to be complex. Your feelings can be messy. You don’t have to pick one box to live in.

4. Rest is Productive

This one punched me in the throat when I first heard it. Because for years, I tied my self-worth to how much I could produce. If I wasn’t constantly doing something, I felt like I was failing.

But burnout taught me that rest isn’t a reward you earn for hustling hard enough. It’s a biological need. A spiritual reset. And honestly, sometimes the best business plan I’ve made came to me while lying on the couch staring at the ceiling fan.

✨ Mindset Shift: You’re not lazy—you’re human. You don’t need to earn rest.

5. Your Triggers Are Invitations to Heal

Oof, this one’s tender.

When something really gets under your skin—someone’s success, a harsh comment, your partner forgetting to text back—it’s not always about them. Sometimes it’s your old wounds waving hello.

For me, I used to get majorly triggered when someone called me “too sensitive.” (Cue my inner child crying in a corner.) But now I pause and ask, “What’s this really about?” Usually, it’s a need for safety, validation, or being seen.

✨ Mindset Shift: Triggers aren’t proof you’re broken. They’re signposts for where you need more love.

6. Healing Isn’t Linear—And That’s Okay

If I had a dollar for every time I thought “I thought I was over this,” I could probably buy a lifetime supply of lavender oil and weighted blankets.

Growth is not a straight line. Some days you’ll feel like a goddess in flow. Other days you’ll scroll Instagram and spiral into comparison hell. That’s not failure—that’s being a person.

I still have anxiety. I still overthink everything from grocery lists to life purpose. But I bounce back faster now. That’s growth too.

✨ Mindset Shift: Setbacks aren’t the opposite of healing—they’re part of it.

7. You’re Allowed to Want More—Without Guilt

Especially if you’re a recovering people-pleaser (hi, same), it can feel selfish to want more. More joy. More freedom. More money. More time. More peace.

But hear me: wanting more doesn’t make you ungrateful. It makes you honest. You can appreciate where you are and still crave expansion.

Wanting to grow doesn’t mean you’re rejecting your life—it means you believe in your own potential.

✨ Mindset Shift: Your desires are not too much. You’re just used to shrinking to fit other people’s comfort zones.

Real Talk Wrap-Up

If you only take one thing away from this post, let it be this:

You don’t have to earn your next level by being “better.” You unlock it by being more you.

Not the perfectly optimized, hustle-happy version of you.
The real you. The you who sometimes spirals. The you who journals with mascara tears. The you who is trying—even on the hard days.

You are allowed to evolve and expand and outgrow things that no longer fit. You’re allowed to want your life to feel more aligned, more intentional, more yours.

And you don’t need to become a different person to get there.
You just need to let go of the lies that told you you weren’t enough as you are.

Journal Prompts to Go Deeper

Try one (or all) of these when you’re ready to reflect:

• What’s one area of my life where I’m waiting to feel “ready” before I act?
• What belief about success or productivity is keeping me stuck?
• What would I do if I truly trusted myself?

Final Note from Selene (aka your favorite imperfect self-growth BFF)

If no one’s told you lately—you’re doing better than you think.

Yes, even if your to-do list is a mess. Yes, even if you stress-ate Pop-Tarts for dinner. Yes, even if your self-talk still needs a tune-up.

Your next level isn’t reserved for some future, shinier version of you.

It starts here. With this breath. With this decision. With you, exactly as you are—deciding to shift just a little, and keep going.

You’ve got this. And if you don’t feel like you do? I’m right here, cheering you on—with coffee, compassion, and probably an emotional support snack