#263 - Paige's Perspective: Why Not Me: The Question That Changed Everything

Paige opens up about one of the most powerful questions she’s ever asked herself: “Why not me?”

In this raw and empowering episode, she shares how that simple question pulled her out of self-doubt and helped her become the woman she never thought she could be. A leader. A podcaster. A motivator. Someone who keeps showing up even when it’s uncomfortable.

This isn’t about perfection or pretending to have it all together. It’s about remembering that change doesn’t happen when life gets easy. It happens when you finally decide you’re done sitting on the sidelines.

If you’ve ever looked at someone thriving and thought, “That could never be me,” this one’s for you.
Paige is here to remind you that it absolutely can.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Hey y'all, welcome to Paige's Perspective, where I help you find your inner strength to cope with life. I have to be honest, I struggled more than I've ever struggled to come up with a topic today. I spent hours going back and forth, reading inspirational passages, reflecting on the week, waiting for something to just hit. And nothing felt right. You know, I could talk about how your environment shapes you, what peace really looks like, how clarity sneaks in when you stop chasing, but none of it felt authentic today. Maybe one day I'll hit those topics. And y'all, that was just a fraction of the topic topics that I started writing about. Um, there were a lot more than that. But today I want to be me a bit. So instead of forcing it, I went back to one of the phrases that's pulled me out of pity parties in hard seasons more times than I can count. And that's the why not me. It's such a simple question, right? But it is a life-changing question. For so long, I told myself stories about why I couldn't. I wasn't qualified enough. I wasn't brave enough. I wasn't disciplined enough. Um, I can't handle it. I'm just not good enough. And I'd see people doing big things and think, all right, cool, good for them. But I never thought that I belonged in that category. Then one day something shifted. It was December of 2021. Mental and emotional, mentally and emotionally, like I was okay. I was doing really well, but physically, not so much. I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a before and after photo of a woman who had made some massive changes. Like her transformation was incredible. She looked amazing. And instead of scrolling past like I usually did, I caught myself thinking, why not me? Why do I believe everyone else can change, but not me? So I joined the same program she was in. I started showing up. And at first I was discouraged. You know, these people were thriving. And I'm not just talking about physically thri, just physically thriving. Like they were mentally and emotionally thriving as well. They were strong, happy, disciplined, and I thought they must, they just must have some damn good genes and haven't been through any tough shit. So this must be easy for them. Yeah, I'm just being honest here. That's that's how I felt initially. Um, then I saw their before pictures and I realized, oh my God, they look just like me, like how I did then. They weren't born confident or fit or thriving. They built it. Some of them had been through some really tough shit in their life too, and that didn't stop them from being who they wanted to be. It was really inspirational. And that was the moment that I decided to stop sitting in my pity party. I stopped saying, that could never be me and started saying, why not me? So I followed the plan. I showed up when it was uncomfortable, I built resilience, and through that process, I found a version of myself I never knew existed. I became an inspiration for a lot of people in that group. They looked at my story and my pictures and thought, hmm, why not me? And they began to do the hard things. And it was an amazing time in my life where I was really beginning to realize I could be a different version of me. I never thought I'd be fit. I never thought I'd be a leader. I never thought I'd have a voice people heard and listened to. But here I am, a podcaster, um, a woman leading a movement. Uh, I've done push-ups I never thought I could do. I've hosted workshops I never thought I'd be brave enough to lead. I've set boundaries that made me the villain in someone else's story. Um, and I survived it. And some days it feels really strange. Like I'm I'm proud, I'm excited, but I'm also tired. You know, growth has stretched me in ways that I didn't see coming. Sometimes I still question if I'm built for the pressure or if I just keep doing it because I know what it's like to have no one saying the hard stuff. But I know this every time I show up when it's uncomfortable, I do meet a stronger version of myself. And that's where my purpose keeps finding me. It's not in the perfection, but it's in persistence. And through it all, I've realized that growth and peace don't come from comfort. They come from the moments you challenge yourself and say, I can do this even if it's hard. You know, many people relate to my story from when I was with my husband in active addiction. They're like, whoa, you have put into words that I couldn't. I'm living that life. I relate so much. And many times I relate to Paige from 13 years ago. I'm not that gal anymore. I've worked really, really hard to be who I am today. I'm more confident, I have more clarity, I get out of my comfort zone and I ask, why not me? instead of saying I can't. And this tells you that you can also do hard things to become who you want to be. You can ask, why not me? I'm not just talking about physical either. I'm talking about all of the self-care categories that keep us going. You know, the mental, emotional, environmental, spiritual, all the things. I just refer to the physical part a lot since it's visual proof of what we what we can accomplish. And it also pushed me harder than anything else because it required massive change and discipline within myself. Um, that portion taught me a lot about myself and who I am. This is why I want to speak more of who I am today than who I was then, because I want my story to inspire others. I want you to come out of this episode feeling empowered and knowing that you can do hard things, even when it feels like you're drowning. It's not easy, but damn, it's worth it. We can't run and hide and make excuses all the time. We do need to push ourselves occasionally to find our full potential. Obviously, knowing your limits, but you know, there's that gray area there. Anyway, when we created our online community, my goal wasn't to just help people survive through their chaos and validate them through what they're going through. It was to show that thriving is possible, regardless of your relationship status, your past, or your pain. Thriving isn't about bragging, it's about proof. It's a story that you're telling. Self-care, boundaries, healing. You know, those aren't fluffy Instagram buzzwords. They're evidence that you can do hard things. They're proof that you can rebuild your life from the ground up. Some people see self-care posts or stories of others succeeding, and it they feel discouraged and they tell themselves, I could never do that. I don't want to see that. I'm not there. You know, they kind of get resentful and bitter. And I get it, I understand that. Trust me, I've been there before, but I know what it's like to be on the other side of it. I want to challenge that voice. Every person that you look up to started in a place of doubt. The only difference is they stopped believing their own excuses. We need to surround ourselves not necessarily with those who are like us, but those who we look up to, those who inspire us, those who challenge us. Our environment plays a huge role in how we show up in the world. Being surrounded by growth-minded people is what helps us thrive. Instead of being discouraged by their journey, be inspired, learn from them, allow their journey to be a lesson for you and tell them they inspire you. You know, that has been one of my main purposes from the get-go. This is authentic me. This is real me today. I want to challenge others and let them know that they are capable of being who they want to be. So if you're listening right now and you're feeling stuck or you're feeling small or unqualified, ask yourself, why not me? Why can't you be the one who turns it around? Why can't you be the one who gets healthy, who finds peace, who creates a life that feels aligned? Saying I could never be that person is a lie. It's a lie that we tell ourselves. You can. You just have to decide you're done watching from the sidelines and take action. You're capable of becoming everything you admire in someone else. It's going to be uncomfortable. It's going to take time. But the moment you start asking, why not me, everything changes. I'm here to give people a voice to validate yes, but to challenge too, because we don't grow if we aren't challenged. This world doesn't need more comfort. It needs more courage while being comforted, obviously. There is a middle ground there. So stop saying that can never be me and start saying, why not me? Because the only thing standing between who you are and who you want to be is the belief that you can. That's all I have for this week. Until next time, I'm Paige. Bye.