In life, we travel many roads.
A few years ago, my road had taken me to a new landscape where my path seemed to come to an end. Here, a small but bold inner voice spoke to me. On this particular day, while sitting in an ordinary staff meeting, I heard my voice with crystal clarity. “You need to get out of here. You are DONE!”
Apparently, it was time for me to quit my job of nearly 10 years. And it was especially time for me to find a new “vehicle” — to abandon the perfectionism and toxic stress that I was navigating through life with.
You might think my inner voice was fairly bossy. But, to be fair, it had taken me a long while to listen to it. I hadn’t wanted to notice how I was approaching my road’s end. Nor did I want to acknowledge my exhaustion or disappointment about the end of my journey. Listening to my tiny voice meant I would need to grieve the loss of old dreams.
So there I sat, at the end of my road, uncertain where to go, and out of gas.
Out of gas
Like my inner voice, my body had been communicating an important message. Chronic stress – both personal and professional – had taken a toll on me. I had burned out mentally and physically and the work I had once loved was no longer serving me. Chronic fatigue overwhelmed me daily.
For years, I had tried to force my body to re-energize through lifestyle changes. For instance, I ate a clean autoimmune diet, modified exercise, practiced stress management, reduced my work hours, and tried many supplements. These strategies were helpful, but not entirely effective. My body continued to steer me back to the truth: “I can’t go on like this!”
I was ‘out of gas’ precisely because my usual pattern of overcoming barriers was perfectionism, self-imposed stress and hard work. This pattern was depleting me! At first, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work, doing what I always did: I kicked my tires, criticized/beat myself up a bit, and pushed myself to the limit. Unfortunately, I only grew more exhausted!
The gift of exploration
I would later discover that coming to the end of this road was an amazing GIFT. It forced me to stop and re-evaluate my map. It was a key moment for me to consider new directions and methods of travel for my life. My inner voice had pointed me in this important direction!
In fact, I now recognize that the end of the road was never meant to be a dead-end for me. At first, it was an invitation to explore!
In my exploration, I went ‘off roading’, searching for new ideas and options. And here, I discovered new ways to apply my strengths and skills. Because I cared deeply about health and wellness, I enrolled in the ADAPT Functional Health Coach Training Program and changed my life!
Curiosity replaced fear and I began to enjoy my adventure more and more. I fell in love with professional coaching. After graduating from ADAPT, I became a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach and completed ICF credentialing as a Professional Certified Coach.
Coaching is a lot like going off-roading.
I now love exploring with my clients as their coach! Coaching is a great opportunity to appreciate the unexpected twists and turns in our lives. Also, it is a powerful method of exploring our inner worlds while learning new things about ourselves and our relationships. And perhaps best of all, coaching takes us to new points of view where we can discover our own freedom and self-empowerment to choose new paths and create new realities.
Coaching gave me new perspectives on my life, my dreams, and possibilities. And what did I discover? With astonishment, I learned that what I once thought was a dead-end was never an ending at all – it was a RUNWAY!
As I took ownership of that runway and prepared for flight, I began to become an aviator, a creator. I recognized resilience within me. My dreams for my life became my new horizons. And I began to seek to create peace, purpose, fulfilling relationships, and meaningful personal growth.
My body is now healing from years of stress and extreme exhaustion. And I now listen carefully to my inner voice each day.
I am grateful for the end of my road!
As you go through your own life transitions, are you trying to understand changes in your road or landscape?
- What is your body and/or your inner voice saying to you?
- What aspects of health or wellbeing do you need to give attention to?
- Would it help you to go off-roading? What new perspectives do you desire?
- Are you meant to keep your feet on the ground? Or are you meant to take flight?
- What area of your life may be calling out for redefinition?
- What would you like to create in your life?
These life questions are the type of questions that I help people answer for themselves as a Health and Wellbeing Coach.
I believe all people, including you, are capable of taking flight. In other words, we are all capable of becoming creators of our realities. Therefore, we are all capable of creating higher wellbeing, whatever that might look like for us.
In one of my favorite poems, “Notes for the Road”, author Robert Moss, says
To get to a place you do not know
you must go by a way you do not know.
Burn your maps to make beacons
Robert Moss
Do you feel called to burn your maps and go by a path you do not know?
You don’t have to navigate alone. As a coach, I serve as a traveling companion. I help individuals map out new possibilities, explore new landscapes, see new perspectives, and choose new destinations.
Through the coaching process, my clients
- obtain new resources and skills
- overcome limiting beliefs
- envision the life of their dreams
- rediscover passion and purpose
- tap into their greatest strengths
- choose their own paths
- and empower greater wellbeing
Consider your own coaching/off-roading adventure with me! Regardless of your preferred method of travel, I would be privileged to explore with you!
Want to learn more at no cost to you? Book a free initial consultation with me!
