Disclosure: I only recommend products/services I would use myself and feel might benefit you as well. This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
As my friends drove me to the airport with the Rockies in the distance, we began to discuss work and our return to reality after several days of hiking, rodeo, and merriment.
Riding along talking about work for the first time all trip, one of my friends commented on how much I had evolved since the previous year trip. Because they live in Wyoming, we don’t see each other frequently, but we do get quality time together when we do get to see each other, so deeper conversations and insights become more illuminated.
As we drove further, he expanded further on what he meant by this.
It started as a summer break
The first time that I had visited these friends was June of 2022, shortly after they’d moved from Illinois to Wyoming. At that time, I had just left my corporate job and was taking a “summer break”. I planned to return to my usual corporate life and hunt for jobs at the end of the summer after having had some time to decompress and recharge.
On this particular trip, I was just happy to be on a break and proud of myself for taking the time and opportunity to put myself first. Not much had changed yet at this time for me though. I was still generally the version of me that they’d known when one of the friends and I had worked together a year prior.
Which turned into a jumble of uncertainty
As the end of the summer of 2022 approached, I had no idea what I wanted to do for my career but knew that I just didn’t have a good gut feeling about returning to corporate. I reflected on this for months. Did I have this feeling because I had been on a break all summer and had loved it? Did I have this feeling because the job I had left hadn’t met my expectations? Or was I really truly not meant to go back at this time?
As August came to a close, I really tried to buckle down on taking action for my next career move, but I just couldn’t figure out where to start. I considered being a freelance editor, but that didn’t seem to be a good fit. I considered being a freelance project manager or virtual assistant. That then led me to the idea of starting my own consulting and contracting firm where I would fly solo and could pick and choose what projects I wanted to take on. A friend reminded me on a few occasions though that this would still have a similar feel to corporate without some of the benefits.
I felt a mix of emotions. I was proud of myself for not just sliding back into my old ways and settling without putting some serious thought into what would light me up and align with my priorities. I celebrated the fact that I had realigned my priorities and moved work further down the list while finding more balance for family, friends, and travel. But I was also filled with lots of anxiety. I was stressed that I couldn’t seem to identify a path that would make me excited. I was oozing with self-doubt that I could ever make my own venture work which would lead me back to corporate anyways, but with a longer corporate gap in the middle.
Around Thanksgiving of 2022, my Wyoming friends were back in Illinois; we went out for brunch…. Which lasted 7 hours. We were able to have some more amazing quality time. As we sat and caught up, I explained that I really wanted to start my own venture so I could have increased autonomy. I told them that I wasn’t sure what this looked like yet but that I was leaning towards contracting or consulting. (That was such a catch all that I felt I could give myself a lot of options). I stated that at that time, I wasn’t interested in returning to the corporate world but that that could change.
Pretty much everything in my life during this era was “subject to change”.
A few weeks later, another friend suggested that I try writing, at least as a side hustle. I loved writing, and she felt that I had a talent for it. As I thought more about this, I realized that I was often complimented on my writing and storytelling abilities, and I also remembered how I loved to write stories when I was a kid. As we continued to discuss, I got very excited about this idea, and it stuck.
Several weeks after that, I decided I wanted to try to make writing my whole career. But there was one big problem, I wasn’t confident that I could be successful enough to make an entire living off of it…
My anxiety was high as I immersed myself into all these potential career ideas through this time of uncertainty. I wasn’t confident in any of the directions I was heading and didn’t know if I could be successful on my own outside of the corporate world that I’d grown into and learned to navigate so well. I woke up each morning feeling like I had an elephant on my chest.
And ended up creating a life of joy
Fast forward to that Jeep ride to the airport, where my friend was now telling me how much I’d grown in the past year, how peaceful and content I seemed with my life, and how my presence was a reminder to enjoy life. He explained how cool it had been to watch my evolution over the past year each time they’d seen me.
Hmmm… I hadn’t really thought of it like that….
That got me thinking though. During the months that had passed between our last brunch and our trip, I had:
- Started a Mastermind program with Rasa DiSalvo to get coached on pursuing this new writing venture. While I did get strategic and tactical advice, I also got so much more in being trained on overcoming limiting beliefs, increasing my energetic state, and clearing blockers weighing me down.
- A new confidence in which I knew I could make anything I set my mind to a success. By following my compass as inspired by Martha Beck’s book Finding Your Own North Star (paperback and Kindle), taking inspired actions, staying accountable, practicing mindfulness, and playing full out, I could make progress towards any dream and pivot when necessary.
- Decided that in addition to my writing business, I also wanted to pursue a career in transformational coaching to impact others as much as I had been impacted in order to help them pave their own paths and unlock their own joy, strength, and freedom. This really lit me up!
Wow… the more I reflected on this thought-provoking statement from my friend, the more I realized how much expansiveness had taken place in my life over the past year.
Sometimes you need a friendly reminder
So while I’ve gone deep into my own story of the past year as part of my quarter-century blog, my point to you is this:
You don’t always see your own growth and expansiveness. When you surround yourself with the right people that support you and energize you, they can help you see and celebrate just how much progress you’ve made.
Next time you find self-doubts creeping in or the thought of stagnation, tune into your trusted personal board of directors. Don’t take for granted the feedback they give you on how much progress you’ve made on your journey, whatever that journey may be.
You are constantly growing and evolving, but you’re just with yourself everyday! It’s hard to see this on your own when these changes are more often than not small, subtle steps that add up to major leaps and bounds.
If you’re interested in your own transformational journey, reach out to me using the button below to book your free discovery session to see if I can support you along your journey to unlock the full potential of joy, freedom, and strength within your life.
Disclosure: I only recommend products/services I would use myself and feel might benefit you as well. This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclaimer: This blog should not be construed as providing, or intending to provide, professional financial, legal, psychological, or other professional advice. It is simply meant to share my experiences for those that may find them relatable and helpful.