Living Beyond the Waiting Room with Rachel Anderholder
- Delia Grenville
- May 1
- 2 min read
The Trap of Staying Busy
It’s easy to stay busy.
Moving from one thing to the next, crossing things off the list, doing all the right things—without ever stopping to ask: Am I really living?
In this conversation, I introduce an idea that comes from Christina Rasmussen’s book Second Firsts—something she calls the waiting room.
It’s the space where we’re technically alive... but we're stuck.
Safe. Predictable. Comfortable.
And maybe a little disconnected from our full potential.
A Leader Who Chose to Check In
Rachel Anderholder, who’s been leading Carpe Mundi for almost a decade, connected with that idea during our conversation. She’s making a transition—not because something went wrong, but because she chose to check in. To make sure she wasn’t just operating on autopilot.
How Her Story Started
Rachel’s spent her career helping first-generation college students open their worlds through study abroad. It started with her own trip to Spain as a senior in college. One experience cracked everything open, and from there, she followed the thread. Teaching in Costa Rica. Graduate school. A move into international education. Each step a reflection of a bigger question: What really matters?
The Zones That Shape Us
As we talked, Rachel shared how she thinks about transitions using the lens of comfort zones, learning zones, and panic zones.
Comfort zones feel safe—but growth doesn’t happen there.
Learning zones are where things get interesting.
And panic zones? That’s when things get so overwhelming that it’s hard to grow at all.
"Transitions don’t have to mean starting over. They can mean building on what’s already been—just in a new way."
Leaving Doesn’t Mean Letting Go
Rachel’s decision to step away from Carpe Mundi wasn’t a rejection of the work—it was an acknowledgment that she was ready for her own learning zone again. A space where she could grow new skills, deepen old passions, and reset habits on her own terms.
She’s not leaving empty-handed. She’s carrying the work forward. The relationships, the lessons, the impact.
And she’s reminding all of us that transitions don’t have to mean starting over.
They can mean building on what’s already been, just in a new way.
What We Get to Choose
It’s a choice we all get to make:
Stay in the waiting room.
Or take a step—however small—toward something more.
It’s not always easy.
There are moments of doubt.
There are growing pains.
But as Rachel reminded me, it’s worth it.
"We only have this one life, so how are we going to really take care of ourselves and live it to the fullest?"
Listen to the full episode here
Connect with Delia Grenville:
Website: https://www.tolivelist.com/
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