After a two-year pause, What Are the Rules?!® is back with a conversation that gets right to the heart of the show: who gets to decide the rules we live by?
So who gets to decide the rules for your life? Well, according to Rachel Llanes, the answer is you.
Rachel is a Human Performance Diagnostician, Peak Performance and Flow Expert, Keynote Speaker, and Founder of The Gardin Group. Put another way, she helps people identify what may be holding them back, understand what allows them to perform at their best, and intentionally create more of those conditions.
Drawing on more than a decade of experience, from marriage and family counseling to behavior change expert to master resilience training to the US Army, she combines a remarkable breadth of knowledge with the practical wisdom to help people take greater ownership of how they live, work, and thrive.
Today, through The Gardin Group, Rachel works with organizational leaders and their teams to cultivate the conditions that drive performance, engagement, and retention.
But I know Rachael personally, and she is no gatekeeper. In this episode, she brings that expertise directly to us, offering a practical framework you can use to examine the interconnected areas of your own life, establish rules that reflect what truly matters to you, and move from simply surviving to intentionally thriving.
While this conversation was recorded about two years ago, its message remains deeply relevant. All links will be kept up to date to reflect where you can currently find Rachel and the offerings she provides.
We talk about:
Why the rules we live by are often inherited before they are chosen
Rachel’s perspective on how people can decide what matters for their own lives
The practical Eight Dimensions framework and how it helps create clarity
What it looks like to question a rule without blowing up your whole life
Why reflection can be useful without becoming a full-time personality
How to reconnect with what feels true, useful, and livable now
Chapters:
00:00 You Decide the Rules
00:22 Meet Nancy + Show Intro
01:18 Introducing Rachel Llanes
03:30 Why Wellness Dimensions Matter
07:27 Environmental Wellness Rules
13:09 Physical Wellness Triad
15:53 Identity Discipline Motivation
22:49 Mental Wellness Reframe Thoughts
27:44 Emotional Wellness Feel It
33:40 Stop the Rumination Loop
33:57 Thoughts vs Emotions
34:58 Name the Real Feeling
37:03 Snow Globe Brain
37:58 Daily Spiritual Anchor
39:36 Find Your Beliefs
41:43 Connection Heals Health
43:26 Micro Moments Daily
44:43 Introverts and Boundaries
46:50 No Is Loving
51:07 Safety in Your Tribe
51:52 Money and Values
54:25 Define Core Values
55:29 Meaningful Work Mindset
58:03 People Over Career
01:00:46 Fast Rules for Life
01:02:48 Personal Daily Practices
01:04:50 Advice to Younger Self
01:06:28 Where to Find Rachel
01:07:22 Show Wrap
Connect with Rachel:
Website: https://thegardingroup.com
Instagram: @gardingroupconsulting @the.sovereign.sisterhood
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rllanes
Follow What Are the Rules?!® Podcast on Social:
Note From the Host:
This episode marks the return of What Are the Rules?!® after a two-year hiatus. You’ll hear the original conversation with Rachel and a current outro with updated links and next steps.
Sure, it’s a new season. But the question remains the same–What are the rules!?®
