Welcome to the Blooming Mindset, a weekly dose of clarity, mindset, and practical wisdom to help you stay consistent, think more deeply, and build a life aligned with your identity and purpose. I'm Ruth Rieckehoff, and I'm so glad you're here. Please share this newsletter with a friend!
Beloved Architect of Identity,
I’ll never forget the day a jaguar shut down my college campus.
Sounds like the start of a movie, right? But it actually happened.
I went to college in Mayagüez, on the west side of Puerto Rico. Part of the campus sat right next to the island’s largest zoo, literally sharing a fence with it.
One weekend, I drove back to campus to work on a project with a few friends. The place felt… strange. Too quiet. Empty parking lots. No students walking around.
Something was off.
As I wandered toward the engineering building, a security guard rushed over. He asked what I was doing there.
“The campus is closed,” he said. “A jaguar escaped the zoo.”
I froze. A what?
He told me to get in my car and leave immediately.
So I did. And as I drove away, all I could think was, how on earth does a jaguar just escape a zoo?
Later, we found out someone had intentionally broken the enclosure. The zoo’s security systems failed, and by the time anyone noticed, it was too late. The jaguar never made it back.
It was tragic, and it made me think about how often the same thing happens in our own lives.
We get blindsided by chaos, loss, or “failure,” and our first instinct is to blame the visible threat:
the lost client, the social media algorithm, the missed opportunity, the burnout.
But most of the time… it’s not the jaguar.
It’s the broken enclosure.
The weak system.
The unprotected boundary.
The part of us that wasn’t prepared for pressure.
For years, I used to believe people made poor decisions because they were too emotional, too soft, too trusting, too led by comfort.
But I’ve learned that even strong, intelligent people get blindsided when their structure isn’t strong. When they operate reactively instead of strategically. When they rely on willpower instead of systems.
Here’s the truth I see now:
Your growth doesn’t depend on how “wild” life gets.
It depends on how well you’ve reinforced your enclosure.
So… how strong are your systems?
Do you have a rhythm that protects your focus?
A structure that nurtures your ideas and momentum?
A plan for when chaos inevitably strikes?
Because when you do, you don’t have to fear the jaguar.
You can lead with calm, not panic.
Strategy, not emotion.
That’s the kind of self-leadership that builds unshakable confidence.
So today, ask yourself:
Where’s the weak point in your system, and how can you reinforce it before it breaks?
Because peace isn’t the absence of chaos.
It’s the presence of strong structures that lets you thrive through it.
Always cheering for your growth,
Ruth
Reflect
- Where in your business or life are you relying on emotion or comfort instead of structure and clarity?
- What “security gaps” exist in how you make decisions, choose partnerships, or guard your time and energy?
Reframe
Old belief: “If I just trust people and follow my feelings, things will work out.”
New belief: “I can lead with trust and heart, but I need systems that protect my vision, energy, and assets.”
Actionable Transformation
- Audit your systems.
Look at how you manage leads, clients, time, or even your energy. Ask, “Where could someone take advantage of me or my work?”
- Separate strategy from emotion.
When making decisions, pause and ask: “Is this driven by clarity or comfort?” Strategic choices come from intention, not impulse.
- Strengthen your enclosure.
Build clear boundaries, repeatable processes, and filters for who and what gets your access. Because when your structure is strong, your creativity and confidence can roam freely, without fear of collapse.
Products & Resources
Trust Yourself Again: A self-guided journey to rebuild self-trust from the inside out, so you can stop second-guessing and start showing up with quiet confidence.
Bounce Back Blueprint (Free): Feel like you've fallen off track? This powerful reset guide helps you regroup with compassion and get back into aligned momentum your way.
From Reactive to Rooted (Free): Tired of putting out fires? This mindset and action guide helps you shift from scattered to strategic, so your days flow from clarity, not chaos.
P.S. Protect your vision like it’s the jaguar, majestic, powerful, and worth defending.
If you want more of these bite-sized lessons and mindset shifts, I share daily over on X. Come hang out with me there → Follow me on X.
