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Life In Limbo
For a year and a half I felt stuck in my life and career.
What was the event forcing me into this kind of limbo? Nothing I would describe as an “event” occurred.
I just know that during the summer of 2014, whenever I wasn’t busy with my work as an image consultant, I was packing in as many fun activities into my schedule as I could.
Parasailing, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, biking, rock climbing and more. Heck, I even got to ride in a race car during one of the video shoots I was working on. It was absolutely exhilarating!
This opened up in me a whole new yearning for a fully-lived life, not just for me, but also for others.
But at the time, I couldn’t see exactly what that looked like. I started feeling restless and burned out with my image consulting work I once was very passionate about. And I was lacking a vision and purpose for the future of my business.
Despite having so much fun in my free time, I was definitely in limbo. Which is not always a fun place to be.
Fear As An Obstacle
During my limbo phase, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do or what God wanted me to do career-wise. It was frustrating and discouraging.
All I know is, during the summer of 2014, people were coming to me with the same struggles. They were saying to me how they feel they need some kind of change in their life and work. How they wish they could have the time and the means to enjoy life discovering and pursuing their passions like I was.
Every time I heard this my heart would go out to them. I would say, “You CAN!” But, my encouragement was always met with some kind of obstacle, either real or perceived.
Their responses included reasons (or are they excuses?) such as,
“I don’t have the money.” Or, “I don’t have the time.” Or, “I don’t have the skill/education,” etc., etc., etc.
I think a lot of those examples could easily be translated to “I don’t have the courage”. This is understandable because fear can be extremely paralyzing. Whether it’s fear of the unknown, fear of failure, or fear of change.
The Vision Becomes Clear
The summer turned into fall, then winter and then summer again. I continued trying and doing new things to help me make sense of the uncertainty I was experiencing.
I went ice skating for the first time in my life, took a fly fishing class, and learned archery.
In that time I also continued my favorite activity I had picked up the previous summer, stand up paddle boarding. I have two boards now and paddle every month of the year, even in the dead of winter, because I am so very passionate about it.
Also, I did something in September 2015 I never imagined doing. I paddled 16.4 miles from downtown Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on the winding Cumberland River to Rock Harbor Marina. I thought it would take me about five or six hours to complete. But I finished in 4 hours and 15 minutes. All while going against a headwind with little to no current to help carry me downstream.
This experience taught me that, although I couldn’t see the finish line because of all the twists and turns in the river, it eventually would become clear as I neared it. Even if it took what seemed like forever. All I had to do was be patient and keep moving one paddle stroke at a time.
That’s exactly what I did in my time of limbo. I kept doing the little bit I knew to do at a time and waited for the answer to come.
All this, along with much prayer, led up to the moment on December 17th, 2015 when suddenly my limbo ended. The clouds parted and the sun shined brilliantly on what my purpose is at this stage in my life.
I was in the shower, where I do my best thinking. And suddenly I could see in my head the word PASSION, as if written in flashing neon lights.
The message I was getting is I am to help other people discover and pursue their passions in life and work, and help them find ways over, through, or around the obstacles and fears keeping them from their passions.
As soon as this came to my mind, I could clearly see and visualize ways of helping people do this, using my own unique strengths and passions.
The rest of that day and for the time since, I’ve received numerous confirmations this is truly my new path. And I’ve taken steps toward making it a reality.
From Fashionista To Passionista
With this new vision for my future, I was also able to look back on the past and see how God is using my past experience to prepare me for this.
Straight out of grad school I became a college career adviser because I was passionate about helping college students discover what it was they loved and wanted to do in their life (instead of just doing what their mom or dad told them to do).
Twelve years of that experience has prepared me to coach people on how to incorporate their passions into their work and how to make money doing what they love while helping others.
My own sense of adventure and love for developing new interests outside of work has also prepared me to help others pursue passions outside of their work.
I was even able to see how the name of my image consulting business, paNASH, can still work with my new mission and purpose (God doesn’t waste anything!).
So, now, I am no longer an image consultant. While I enjoyed styling people’s wardrobes and helping them look and feel their best, I’m ready to instead help them BE THEIR BEST!
I now have my certifications in transformational coaching and solution-focused coaching to become a Passion & Career Coach (my own little niche and twist on career coaching).
I guess you could say I’ve gone from somewhat of a fashionista to a passionista!
I’m excited to embark on this new journey. I don’t look at it as something I do just for a living. It’s something I live.
If you want to start living this way, then pursue your passions with paNASH! Email me to find out more on the ways I can help you put your passion into action. Or, join our newsletter and receive a complimentary 8-Step Goal Achievement Plan.
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