What if the thing keeping you stuck isn’t reality… but the story you keep telling yourself about it?

In this re-released episode of Roots of the Rise, Sarah Hope explores the “BS” that quietly shapes our lives: belief systems. From confirmation bias and inherited family patterns to unconscious loyalty, identity, and self-sabotage, this episode dives into why we cling to limiting beliefs—even when they hurt us—and how those beliefs shape our relationships, self-worth, healing, and future.

You’ll learn:

• How confirmation bias reinforces limiting beliefs
• Why familiar suffering can feel safer than change
• The difference between illusion and vision
• How inherited relationship and family patterns affect your life
• Why some people stay stuck in painful cycles
• Practical ways to begin questioning the beliefs that no longer serve you

This episode also includes powerful reflection questions to help you uncover the unconscious stories driving your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Perfect for anyone interested in:

• personal growth
• self-awareness
• nervous system healing
• mindset work
• emotional healing
• spirituality and psychology
• breaking old patterns
• healing limiting beliefs
• shadow work and self-inquiry

Plus: Patreon members can access a companion handout and a guided visualization designed to help you release beliefs that are keeping you from becoming the next version of yourself.

Related Episodes:

Episode 99 - Common Limiting Beliefs That Keep You Out of Alignment

Episode 101 - Limiting Beliefs and Language: How to Recognize and Reframe Thoughts That Hold You Back

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

In this episode of Roots of the Rise, we’re exploring why honest communication can feel so emotionally difficult — both for the person giving feedback and the person receiving it.

If you’ve ever carefully rehearsed a difficult conversation, softened your tone, tried so hard to say something kindly… only to have the other person still hear criticism, rejection, or attack, this episode is for you.

We’ll talk about why feedback so often activates shame, defensiveness, and nervous system dysregulation, and how nonviolent communication can help us express ourselves with greater clarity, honesty, and care. You’ll learn the difference between criticism and constructive feedback, why timing and tone matter so much, how to communicate needs and requests more effectively, and why healthy communication is ultimately about repair — not perfection.

This episode also explores:

• Why people become defensive
• The connection between feedback, shame, and perfectionism
• How to give feedback without emotional dumping
• The difference between requests and demands
• How to stay honest without becoming cruel
• Why you can’t control how someone receives your feedback
• The role of nervous system regulation in communication and conflict

Whether you struggle to speak up, fear conflict, tend to people-please, or simply want healthier and more connected relationships, this episode offers practical tools and compassionate insight to help you communicate more effectively.

Episode 69 - When "Please" Becomes Pressure: Understanding Requests vs. Demands and Why it Matters

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

In this episode of Roots of the Rise, we explore why feedback can feel so deeply personal — and why some people hear criticism even when constructive feedback is being offered. Sarah Hope dives into the connection between shame, perfectionism, defensiveness, trauma, and the nervous system, explaining how past experiences shape the way we receive correction, guidance, and emotional discomfort.

You’ll learn the difference between criticism vs feedback, why defensiveness is often a form of self-protection rather than ego, how perfectionism creates fear around mistakes, and why being corrected can sometimes feel like rejection. This episode also offers practical tools for receiving feedback with more curiosity, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and discernment — without collapsing into shame.

If you struggle with taking things personally, feeling overly sensitive to criticism, people pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional defensiveness, this conversation will help you better understand yourself and others with greater compassion.

Topics include:

• criticism vs feedback
• shame and the nervous system
• perfectionism and self-worth
• defensiveness and emotional triggers
• taking things personally
• emotional regulation
• healing shame
• self-awareness and growth
• trauma responses and feedback
• learning how to receive feedback in healthy ways

Related Episodes:

Episode 6 - Curiosity Required

Episode 55 - Breaking the Silence: How Shame Holds Us Back and How to Heal

139. Learn The Four Agreements And Start Living With More Peace and Clarity

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com