Building the Rainbow of Self-Awareness

🌈 This Isn’t a Framework. It’s a lifetime of felt experience.

I love it when inspiration strikes. It can be fleeting, but when it returns after a quieter period, it’s usually well worth it. An idea will spark that excites you, or a new opportunity will arise at the perfect time, re-igniting your passion for your work and/or your life.

Many will tell you that you need a perfect strategy in both business and life, but I believe we often overlook the messages and nudges that come to us. It’s about how closely we are listening. If we can trust ourselves to follow these moments of inspiration, we will honor ourselves and discover what truly lights us up and motivates us to get out of bed each morning.

Thoughts are complicated and sacred. They’re yours for a reason. Not everyone thinks the way you do. That’s the gift.

Recently, I was contemplating the question:

If we could create a visual for our thoughts, we would then have a compass to navigate our self-awareness journey.

This is a formula that my mind downloaded to me on a beautiful summer day. It wasn’t from a course or a mastermind but from spending time feeling the breeze on my face, watching the clouds dance across the sky, and letting stillness do its work.

This is when deep thinking marries inspiration.

It’s the product of sitting with patterns, of naming emotional cycles. I would ask myself, “What’s really going on here?” when I found myself triggered, spiraling, or stuck… yet again.

What emerged was a visual….a rainbow. I couldn’t help but notice that it was inspired by the magical double rainbow that appeared a few weeks after spending time with new friends (you can read about it here).

This rainbow is not the cheerful one you might see slapped on a T-shirt. This one had depth and meaning. It incorporates shadow elements, trauma healing, energy work, nervous system insights, and the therapeutic benefits of nature and movement.

I didn’t create it alone. Over time, I’ve been shaped by a chorus of wise voices:

• Carl Jung taught me that wholeness comes from integrating (not eliminating) the parts of ourselves we’ve banished.

• Teal Swan gave language to emotional fragmentation and taught me how to reattach to my inner child with compassion.

• Michael Singer helped me understand that peace isn’t something you achieve—it’s what remains when you let go of what you’re holding on to.

• Brené Brown, who taught me to rumble with my story and choose truth over comfort.

• Tony Robbins taught me to see that behavior stems from unmet needs, and that emotional state is something we can shift.

• Jim Rohn taught me the power of discipline, philosophy, and becoming more aware of the questions I ask myself.

• Bishop T.D. Jakes, who reminds me that transition is sacred, and storms are often signs of growth.

In conversations with my readers, the idea began to form.

• What if self-awareness doesn’t happen in straight lines?

• What if it isn’t about leveling up, but spiraling in (again and again) with more grace each time?

• What if we could map that movement, without judgment?

The Rainbow of Self-Awareness Was Born

It’s not hierarchical. There is no gold star for obtaining the highest level at the fastest speed. It’s layered and cyclical like the seasons and like the emotional arcs we all move through in our lives.

Here’s how it unfolded:

🔴 Reactive Fog
You're fully fused with the trigger or emotion. There's no pause between what happens and how you respond. Everything feels immediate, intense, and overwhelming. You are in survival mode, unaware that you're reacting instead of choosing.

🟠 Noticing Patterns
You begin to catch the loops. You’re not out of them yet, but something inside you is awake. You start recognizing familiar reactions and behaviors as they’re happening—or just after. The door to change creaks open.

🟡 Processing Truth
This is where clarity starts to land. You reflect on the why behind your patterns. You begin to name the origin of your responses, face uncomfortable truths, and sit with your emotional reality instead of avoiding it.

🟢 Letting Go & Leaning In
The need to control or fix softens. You start observing your inner world with curiosity, not judgment. You're more present with your emotions and less afraid of them. Letting go doesn’t mean giving up—it means creating space to respond differently.

🔵 Deepening Assumptions
You begin questioning the beliefs and narratives you've lived by. Whose stories are these? What roles have you played? This is where your inner compass recalibrates. You’re rewriting the rules based on your truth.

🟣 Emotional Regulation
This is where you meet your emotions with maturity and self-trust. You know how to soothe yourself, stay present, and choose aligned action. You feel anchored in your energy. The story no longer controls you. You consciously co-author it.

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This is a way to honor and provide you with the tools that suit you in your current season of growth.

If you’ve been here for a while…thank you for helping me co-create this.
I believe the best frameworks emerge from lived experience, not just theory.

This one was born out of my personal experience with self-awareness, emotional healing, and spiritual grounding.

I’m by your side. Layer by layer. Color by color.

📩 Next up: “Reacting on Autopilot”

We begin with the red band of the rainbow, where reaction runs the day, and awareness hasn’t quite landed.

In this stage, your reaction becomes your identity.
There’s no space (yet) to pause, question, or redirect.
You’re pulled into old loops before you even realize they’ve begun.

Awareness is always possible.
Once it arrives, you can start moving in a new direction. One that feels more grounded, more peaceful, and more true to who you are.

All love,

Sue