For a long time I've felt pulled in two different directions, a constant internal tug-o-war. One direction is a love of helping people organise their holidays to create beautiful memories for themselves and their families. The other, a love and passion for helping people understand life and the meaning they've chosen to give it, being able to overcome fears and limiting beliefs to create a way forward.
Both directions are full of passion. Both directions light me up. I thought I had to choose one or the other. I beat myself up about this for the longest time.
So I told everyone that I didn't like my job (Reality is that I love my job, didn't necessarily love the environment I was working in). Over time I've tweaked my life to be working in my job less and more in my coaching environment. Except when in my coaching environment, I have been very afraid of many things. So much time wasted getting caught up in small, insignificant details that don't even matter right now.
For quite awhile I thought I had to choose one over the other. You see, the end of my maternity leave was edging closer and I knew a decision needed to be made - return to work or go full throttle into coaching. Having to choose one option threw me into complete chaos. The very thought of returning to work full time, 5 days a week in a busy office environment made my heart die a little bit (okay maybe a lot).
The thought of working from home, creating a business and working in that business for me made my heart sing, yet fear was hanging out there too. Was I good enough? Could I do this? Would people want to come and see me as a coach? Do I have a message that other people want to hear? How would I cope working from home and having a baby here too? Blah blah blah blah blah.
Then I had a thought - what if I could do both and on my terms? After a conversation with my manager of my "job", I discovered that I could work solely from home. I could still book holidays for my very loyal repeat clients, earn an income and the best news was that I could do it in my own time. I didn't have to clock on or off each day. Hell, I could sit in my pj's with bed hair working if I wanted to.
Suddenly my heart was singing, my soul felt at ease and I realised I could have my cake and eat it too!
The doors I once thought would close if I chose one over the other have been flung widely open simultaneously. I am loving the new-found variety and flexibility of having choices in my days. I love the fact that if someone calls and asks me out for coffee, chances are I can say "yes".
I am feeling wonderful. I feel alive. Switched on. Plugged in. Vibrant. Ready. It's like someone has flicked a switch and everywhere I look I now see possibility. My creative juices are flowing again (and yes I can even fit in some blogging time too!).
Lessons learned:
- Fully check out your options
- Be open to possibility
- Tune into how you really feel about your situation
- Find something that lights you ups
- Variety really is the spice of life!
To celebrate my newfound awareness, I am offering "pay what you can" coaching sessions for the rest of the month. If you are ready to move forward or are just looking for some direction, send me an
email with your availability . It's time for you to have your cake and eat it too!
That moment when your creative muse comes to visit, is the moment you must embrace its presence. You will never have this moment of opportunity again and you may not recall your creative idea unless you let it flow when it's there to flow.
