The start of 2019 has been a whirlwind for me already. I’ve moved house, enrolled Mr 8 into a new school, fundraised my heart out to help get Miss 18 to Hong Kong where she will be volunteering in an orphanage for a year, set up an amazing Wellness Studio, launched a new business, and rebranded an old one. If the last month or so is any indication of how the rest of the year is going to be, I guess I better strap on that seatbelt and get ready for a wild ride!
You may, or may not, have noticed the change in my details below. There’s a story to that which I want to share with you today. It’s a story of crippling fear, suffocating doubt, and a bunch of other overdramatic emotional baggage that most of us experience, but not all of us like to admit.
For those of you who have been following my articles, you’ll know that I like to put it ALL out there. Better out than in I always say, and if one woman can admit it then it makes it that much easier for more women to get real, be brave, and link arms with the rest of us in solidarity. That’s my humble opinion anyway.
For a long time now I’ve been pushed, prodded, pulled and even shoved in a new direction by the winds of change. For the longest time I pretended I was the Kikazaru monkey (without the wisdom part) and tried my best to ignore it all. I dug my stubborn heels in, pretended I didn’t hear what those winds were whispering, and stuck steadfastly to what I’ve always done, even when the whispers turned to roars. The winds of change had met their match!
Or so I thought.
If I could offer up some advice at this point: Ladies….don’t bother! Take those heels off, kick that monkey to the curb, tune your ears in and LISTEN.
Listening is the first step to being brave. The next step is deciding you’re going to do what you heard. The final step is actually doing it. Taking just one step at a time in the right direction will answer the deep cry in your soul. You know that cry? The one that quietly begs to be heard. The one that often gets drowned out by the busyness of our everyday task-driven lives. The one that would tell you it’s possible to do the thing(s) you really want to do, if only you would take those steps.
Do you even know what that voice sounds like? Maybe you hear it faintly as you force yourself to walk into that job you hate every morning. Maybe you hear it when you start thinking ‘there has to be something better than this’. Maybe deep down, you know that what you’re doing now is not what you really need to be doing with your life. Listen.
I wasn’t even stuck in a boring 9-5 job that was silently killing my spirit every day when I finally decided to listen. I had been doing Life and Insights for YEARS and had built my whole life and sense of purpose around it. It wasn’t making me rich but it fulfilled me in ways far greater. I thought I had found the thing I was supposed to do for the rest of my life and never once did it occur to me that this was just a pit stop – a season that I was fortunate enough to discover and enjoy, but a season that ultimately needed to change like all seasons do.
Friends, letting go was HARD. For so many reasons, but let’s just chat about a few.
Stepping into the unknown – or into something that may seem left field to those in your world – is not a walk in the park. Excuse the clichés but that road may not even be built yet, let alone be smooth and easy to walk on. FEAR, whether obvious or hidden, is always a contender. Fear of failure, fear of what others might think, fear of being rejected, fear of the unknown, and my personal favourite, fear of not being good enough.
I’m just scratching the surface but you get the point, right?
And then something happens to validate your fear and you’re back to square one again. Obviously, I’m speaking from experience! Here’s just one painful example: I was asked to run a workshop last year around something I am extremely passionate about, and pretty good at too (or so I’ve been told). This was something I had wanted to do for this particular group of ladies for as long as I could remember, so I was pretty excited. I then received an email rescinding the invitation because I wasn’t ‘qualified’ and didn’t have 20-odd years of experience. Needless to say, I was devastated and my fears were firmly realised at that moment.
It took me a while to pry stubborn hands away from those ears again, but I’m so glad I did. Because now as I sit here writing this story just for you, I do so in my very own Wellness Studio, surrounded by the things that make my soul sing and a door that is wide open to women everywhere seeking advice and support for natural wellness. Not only am I good at this, I love it! Medical letters next to my name or not, this is what I’m called to do in this season and life cannot get any better! Or maybe it can…watch this space 😉
The point I want to make is that there will always be obstacles and convincing reasons to slap those hands over your ears and pretend you didn’t just hear what your soul tried to tell you. The question really is: are you going to let anything other than your heart/soul/ spirit dictate to you what you can and cannot, should or should not, will or will not do with YOUR life? Your one and only life? Don’t get to the end of it with any reasons for regret!
My final words of encouragement to you: If it is indeed time to make a change, then be brave enough to listen and make that change. As usual, I will be your biggest cheerleader, and I can honestly say that it is completely worth your courage. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it!
Feel free to check out my brand new website here: www.crearewellness.com And you are officially welcome to come and say Hi at the Creare Wellness studio. Email me before you come so I can make sure I’m around: crearewellness@gmail.com
Photos: Designed by ijeab, Freepic.diller, jcomp / Freepik
Rebecca Tereu is an author, wellness advocate & educator and business advisor.