Any moment in your life can be a turning point. Any experience can be a wake-up call. It doesn’t matter what that moment is to anybody else. It only matters what it is to you.
My turning point came on July 8th 2013. I had spent the last seven years trying to figure my life out. My career was making me miserable. I had spent most of that seven years working as a licensed counselor in the mental health field. I was anxious, depressed, unhealthy, and in debt. I was married to a wonderful man, but there were so many moments I was missing out on because I was so down about myself, and I was feeling so unfulfilled.
I left the counseling in field in February of 2012, and I had this idea that I would run a small home-based gift basket business. The problem was that it really wasn’t my dream. I just knew what I didn’t want. When the business didn’t work out, I knew I didn’t want to go back to counseling. I ended up going to work at a local technology company taking calls. I spent a little over eight months taking calls. Although I loved solving problems and working with customers, I was constantly being told to work faster, to not focus on the customers, and I was being evaluated based on things I couldn’t control. It was a humbling experience.
That leads me to July 8th, 2013. On that day, I sat in a large room with my colleagues, and we waited for news. We had no idea whether the news would be good or bad. We sat there in front of people dressed in suits that we had never met. We sat there and heard them tell us that they were closing our center down. The majority of us, including myself, were let go immediately. My husband was asked to stay on until October. Suddenly our plans to buy a house seemed like a distant memory.
I didn’t even like the job, but I still cried that day. It was a huge reality check for both my husband and me. The next day my husband went to work, and I was alone with my thoughts. In that moment I knew I had two choices. I could get into fear and end up depressed or I could keep moving. I chose to keep moving. I didn’t care what I was doing, but I just kept moving. I started cleaning everything and anything. I started throwing out years of accumulated stuff, and I prayed a lot.
July 8th was a wake-up call because I realized that I was spending all this time doing things that I thought was going to give us security, but it didn’t. I also realized, that at the rate I was going, my health was going to keep me from having the life that I wanted. At the time I weighed 511 pounds, and I was far away from starting the family that my husband and I wanted to have.
We all love happy endings and stories of people who have reached their goals. I could read stories of weight loss success, business triumphs, families that get out of debt and individuals that go after their dreams all day long. When you are at the beginning, however, all the stories can seem overwhelming and out of reach. Here are five things that I did to help me get moving, and on my way to living the life I had always wanted.
I asked myself what it is I really wanted
I wanted to be healthier, and be able to start a family. I wanted to be financially secure. I wanted to be able to travel. I knew I also wanted my own business, and to be a life coach.
I asked myself what I was willing to do
This question was key for me, and has been the question that I now ask myself on a daily basis. So many times I focused on what I thought I should do or what I was afraid to do. Now I ask myself what steps I am willing to take. For me at first this meant that I was willing to start being aware of what I was putting into my body. I was willing to look into training to become a life coach. I was willing to start looking at what being financially secure would look like.
I got moving
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that movement creates momentum. It is okay if you do something that doesn’t work out. You will find that movement, no matter how small the step; will lead to bigger movement and bigger steps.
I let go
One of the biggest things that held me back from change was shame. I had this awful idea of myself. I started writing a blog, and I started sharing my journey of change. By talking about my experiences, I realized that so many other people experienced similar things. Every day I learn more and more about myself, but I am allowing myself to slowly let go of ideas and beliefs about myself that are no longer helping me move forward.
I committed to the process
I have had setbacks along the way, but I know that this is all part of the process. We all make the best decisions we can at the time we make the decisions. As we learn new information, we can make better decisions. Change is a process. Even on my bad days, I now continue to commit to the process.
Over the past 9 months, I have lost 70 pounds, started my personal journey blog, become a student at the International Coaching Academy, and started my own coaching business. I have not reached the finish line, but I am not anywhere near where I stared from. More importantly I am truly enjoying the process.
Take a moment today to ask yourself what is that you really what in your life, and make a commitment to yourself to go after what you want. You are so worth it!
Like Leslie, if you would like to share your story, write to us at hello@coatom.com with a subject “My Story”
Leslie is a blogger and a life coach. She is happily married to her best friend and soul mate, and believes that each day we are given is a gift. Leslie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling. She is currently a student at the International Coaching Academy.
