Closing the Chapter: What This Year Taught Me About Becoming

What if the next season of your growth isn’t about doing more—but about protecting what already matters?

Five years in, the train feels different: lighter, clearer, and powered by choices that protect peace as fiercely as they chase growth. I’m sharing the unpolished truth of turning thirty, scaling back from three jobs, and learning that rest isn’t optional if you want your creativity and joy to survive. The throughline is simple: honor your body, guard your energy, and let go when holding on hurts more than it helps.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review to help others find the Self-Growth Train. What shift will you make first?

Chapters

• 0:07 Five-Year Milestone & Gratitude
• 1:31 Turning Thirty And A New Mindset
• 2:44 Work Hard, Rest Hard
• 4:23 Treat Your Body As Sacred
• 6:06 Medical Help And Weight Loss
• 7:15 Joining The 5 A.M. Club
• 8:17 Boundaries Around Access And Energy
• 9:12 Letting Go When It’s Time
• 11:55 Curate Your Circle
• 13:47 Match Energy You Give
• 16:22 Self-Worth, Patience, And Hope
• 18:38 Closing Blessing & Farewell

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Hello, my dear passengers, and welcome aboard to Self-Growth Train, a podcast that combines personal stories, opinions, and research in order to better guide you through your self-growth journey. My name is Tences Maritimera Pacheco, and I am your tongue. First things first, I want to say thank you for tuning back into another episode for the podcast. Because guess what? We're finally five years old. I know it doesn't seem like it because now the podcast only has 14 episodes. But keep in mind, I've had this podcast since December 22nd of 2020. And it has been a journey. Let me tell you, my dear passenger, it has been a journey. And you've been there with me from the get-go, or maybe you've been there since last year, or maybe this is the first time you're listening to one of my episodes. It doesn't matter, regardless of where you have joined me in this journey. Just know that it means the world to me that you choose to listen to the things that I prepare for you. And it also means the world to me that you feel comfortable to come to me and feel welcome. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. That is how I wanted to start the episode today. And also say to myself, happy birthday to the podcast. So today's episode is gonna be different. I've done this before where I improvise an episode and I don't do any research, and I just I talk to you about what has been going on in my life. And I think that yesterday being the podcast's fifth birthday, I think it will be cool today to kind of give you an insight of how this year has shaped my life, my character, and also made me realize what's really important in my life in this moment in time, right? So I'm gonna use this episode kind of as a reflection of where I'm at in my life right now, and I want to share this with you because I think it's important. So uh this year, as you know, I turned 30, which means that I am stepping into a new era, a new decade, a new mindset, a new mentality, a new way of living life. And let me tell you, it has been a year full of lessons, okay? And again, today's episode is gonna be a recap, so I'm just gonna recap it as fast as I can. First things first, you gotta work hard, but you got to rest hard, okay? So, as you guys know, at one point I had three jobs because I had the goal of getting my own apartment and obviously maintaining my own apartment and being financially stable. However, when at the beginning, I'm not gonna say no, at the beginning, I needed the three jobs. I needed the three jobs in order to get my dreams. However, there came a point where I was prioritizing work over rest time, and I got burnt out and I got very exhausted, and I got very not like myself, like I'm usually a pretty light person, and I was just tired all the time. I was also very like, I don't know, like I didn't really, I wasn't depressed because I wasn't depressed, it was more of like I didn't want to put effort into my creative endeavors because I was putting so much effort into my work life that I had nothing left for me. So that was a very big lesson to learn, and I ended up quitting one of my jobs, and honestly, it was the best decision I've ever made. And then I also stepped back from my other job, like by taking less hours, and that helped out a lot. So that is the first lesson that I learned this year. Again, you work hard, but you also rest hard. All right, I'm not trying to get spiritual, I'm not trying to get religious, I'm not trying to get philosophical, I am trying to get down with you, okay, and tell you straight up, my dear passenger, your body is your temple. You need to start treating your body like it is sacred. Why? Because the moment that you start teaching your body that it's sacred, you start acting with reverence, you start acting with love, you start acting with kindness, you start acting with the mentality of this is my temple. I need to take care of it because I only get one temple. Okay, and this applies to everything. I'm talking about what you're putting in your body, who you're letting near your body, and also what things you're doing to your body. Like it's so important to start looking at your body as a temple because it will really reshape how you see yourself, and also it will influence how you act and how you allow others to treat you. So, a couple of examples of how I've been treating my body as a temple. The first one is I finally admitted it to myself that it didn't matter how much exercise I did or how much diets I did, for some reason my body just needed an extra push. And so I finally made the decision of getting medical help. And that means taking Wigobi. And I know that a lot of people don't like OSEMPIC, a lot of people don't like Wigobi, a lot of people don't like any of these shots. But I can tell you from my personal experience, it's not a cure, it's like a stepping stone that helps you get to a goal that later on you're able to work on. Like for me, my goal was to lose 50 pounds minimum, 50 pounds on WeGobi, so I can start working out again. And the reason for this is because of my bleeding disorder. I just want to make sure that I won't expose my body to potential spontaneous bleeds. And so, yeah, like it's been six months since I started on WeGobi and I've lost almost 50 pounds. So now the plan is to incorporate exercise again because now my body feels better and I can move better and all of that. So, again, that's one way that I've been taking care of my temple. Another way that I've been taking care of my temple is waking up at 5 a.m. Let me tell you, for years I've been wanting to be a part of the 5 a.m. club. I don't know why. It's always been a thing for me. Like I think it's so great and so cool that people are able to wake up early and have a moment with themselves where they don't owe it to anyone and they can do whatever they want before they go to work, right? So I finally invested on an alarm clock made specifically for people that are hard of hearing, because as you know, I lost my hearing in this year, like three years ago. So alarm clocks and I don't really get along, but I got this alarm clock that actually shakes my bed. And when I tell you my body has now learned to wake up at 5 a.m. on its own, it's crazy, it's lovely. I have been having a much better point of view of life because now I'm able to wake up early, take that moment for myself, and then focus on getting to work, you know? So that's the second the second way that I've been taking care of my body as a temple. And the third way that I am treating my body like a temple is deciding who has access to my temple. And trust me, this is not meant to be just in regards to romantic slash sexual relationships. I'm talking about platonic relationships, I'm talking about family relationships. Your body is a temple. You need to know how much time you have available for other people to vent to you, for example. You have to know what you're comfortable with when it comes to dating. Are you comfortable with hand holding? Are you comfortable with first date kisses? Are you comfortable with hookups? Like, you have to know what you're comfortable with, you have to know what boundaries you have, because again, this is your temple. So by starting to see your body as a temple, you will see a shift in your perspective on life as a whole, and you will start seeing yourself in a better light. And I'm telling you, like every day I wake up and I'm like, my body is my temple, and I feel very blessed. So that is the mentality that I step into every single day. And as you can tell, it works, it makes me feel very happy. All right, let's get back to the lessons that I've learned this year. I will say that the third lesson I learned this year is that when it's time to let it go, it's time to let it go. Okay, everything happens for a reason. I say this all the time: everything happens for a reason. But I think that, at least personally for me, I have such a determined mentality and such a powerful motivating drive when I decide to, right? That sometimes it's very hard for me to let go because I'm like, no, I can make this happen, I can make this happen, I can do the thing, I can do the thing. Like, if you just let me show you, I can do the thing. And here's what I've learned, my dear passengers. I can do the thing, but is the thing meant for me? Not always, not always, and I've had to learn that the hard way. And I think that this year I became more embracing of the fact that some relationships have expiration dates. I became comfortable with the fact that sometimes you're gonna be the villain in somebody's story, even if you really weren't, or if you really were, which I can happen too, you don't really regret it, right? And then the other thing that I've learned on this topic is that your lived experiences are lessons of themselves, and you can be thankful for them without holding on to them with this nostalgic idea that by holding on to them things will return to the way they were, right? And I think it's so powerful, and I mean so, so, so powerful, that as life goes on, you continue to learn what you want in your life, you continue to learn what is important in your life, and as you learn, you start shaping your life differently than what you probably thought it was gonna be like years ago. So, again, the third lesson for me this year has been when it's time to let go, it's time to let go. And the fastest you let it go, the better it is for your mental health. Because you're just releasing it back to the universe, you're releasing it back to God. If you believe in God, in my case, I do believe in God. You're just releasing it out there, and you're saying, that's not my responsibility, it's not my place anymore to see what's gonna happen with this. My responsibility is myself, and I need to take care of me. Lesson number four The people you keep around you will keep you where you want to be. Let me say that again for the people in the back. The people that you keep around you are keeping you where you want to be. Now let's dissect this a little bit, right? You've heard it said before. Tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are. So important. For so many years I argued that, and I was like, that's not true, because I can still be myself and I can have all types of friends. No, no, I say not anymore. I want the people that want the best for me. I want the people that love me, I want the people that keep me accountable, I want the people that root for me, I want the people that literally show up at my door and they're like, Francis, you are wrong. And I'm gonna tell you how you're wrong, and I'm gonna help you see a different way of approaching this problem. That's the type of people that I want in my corner because that's the type of person that I want to become, and the type of person that I want to show to the world. So if there are people in your life that you consider friends, and you're like, oh, I'm friends with them because we've been friends since middle school and we've been friends since whatever, okay. Who cares? History does not determine destiny. History does not determine destiny. I'm gonna say it again. History does not determine destiny. I have had a former best friend that was in my life for many, many, many, many years. Okay, and there's a lot of history there. There's a lot of love over the years, and don't get me wrong, I still love her, but from a distance, and also I know that we're not destined to be in each other's lives anymore, and I'm okay with that. I think it's great. I think she's gonna find people that fit her lifestyle, fit her goals, and fit the way that she thinks way better than I could have fit into her world. So that makes me happy and that makes me excited for her and the people that I currently have in my life. Again, I have been curating and making changes and making sure that the people that are around me are the people that I want to be around me. And when I tell you my life has changed 180 degrees, and it is amazing. Like, I wish you could experience the same thing that I have experienced within a time frame of like a month. Okay, so all you gotta do is take inventory of who's around you and who is helping you stay where you want to be. Start doing that, take inventory, fire, fire the people that are not there for you. It's okay, they'll find better opportunities elsewhere where their gifts and talents and skills are gonna come in handy. But if it doesn't work for you, it's definitely not working for them either. And you guys are just trying to make something happen that shouldn't be happening. So curate your circle of friends and see how your life starts to change. The last and most important lesson that I've learned this year is that I deserve the same energy I put out into the world. Listen. And this is not to brag, if you know me in real life, you will know that this is true. I am one of the most caring, loving, and welcoming people that I know, right? And yet, for some reason, for many, many years, I've thought that I don't deserve the same energy and love and just overall feeling that I put out into the world. And this year, I finally learned that what you put out into the world is exactly what you're trying to get out of it. And if you're not getting that, it's because you're putting those efforts in places, in people, and in situations that don't need those efforts, that don't need that energy, because you're placing it in the wrong way. So if there's one thing that I can do for you today is tell you that you deserve what you're putting out there. So analyze what you're putting out there and check if you're getting an ROI on it, a return of investment on it. Like, are you a loving person and are you with a loving partner? If not, why? What's happening? Can you guys talk it out? Can you express what your needs are and hopefully work together? Or can you look at the relationship and say, you know what, this is not gonna work out. And I love you, but I deserve better. And again, there's some emphasis on my episodes on romantic relationships because I am 30 single and dating. So a lot of what I'm currently going through is I know what my partner looks like to me. And I want to make sure that my partner is someone that loves me and takes care of me the same way that I do. So if that takes a while, I'm gonna wait that while I don't want to waste it on people that don't deserve it. And that took me years to learn. So I hope that you take this advice and you treat yourself with way more love than I have before, and you say to yourself, I deserve better, so I'm gonna go get better. So I leave you with this message that you are important, you are special, and there's a purpose for you to be here. And maybe sometimes it feels overwhelming, and sometimes it feels like it's too much, and you feel lost. Trust me, I've been there, done that. But I can guarantee you that if you take the time to be with yourself, to get to know yourself and to get to love yourself, you will find so much joy, love, and blessings around you that life is going to be fulfilling in a whole new world that maybe you never even consider for yourself. And all I can do is wish that you get that because I think you deserve it. Well, until the next up, your passengers, safe travels. Bye.