How I got started
As a first-time blogger launching a new website, I find myself searching for something like a tagline. A phrase or few words that represent my brand, values, and what I deliver. As a part of my preparation, I begin to look back at my life. My influences, experiences, the values I have developed and why I developed them. And I started to look at my challenges, digging in to each one. I know that I cannot help others understand themselves without continuously spending time looking inward. Putting my oxygen mask on first.
I’ve been doing this work for a while and over the course of my years of coaching, I have told the same story time and time again. It goes a little like this. When I was 5 years old, I used to hide in a closet when people came to visit because I was so shy, I was afraid to look them in the eyes and talk to them. I spent elementary, middle and high school doing quiet things like reading, playing music, studying, hanging out with my close-knit group of friends. I started college the same way, studying, working, mostly keeping to myself. One day after a bad break up, I decided to go for a run. One run turned to 2 turned to a lifetime passion and 10 years of competitive distance running. While I loved the competition, running gave me so much more. Running gave me belonging, I started to eat better, sleep better, drink less, and feel more and more confident. And inside my confidence I found my voice. With my newfound voice, I started seeking out leadership positions.
With years of telling this story, when I started work on launching my blog and website, I assumed my tagline would be finding your voice. It had been my story. I told it hundreds of times and it fit. But as I dug deeper, I started to wonder HOW did I find my voice? What did I do to find it? What were the steps between starting to run and starting to take leadership positions?
In the curiosity and in the digging deep I realized that in order to be willing to put myself out there to get involved in leadership, I had started to identify some of the things that had been stopping me. Beliefs about myself, my place in the world, unpacking a long-held belief that I didn’t matter enough to be heard. I started to remember how I had been the one holding myself back. My constant comparison of myself to others, my need and desire for approval of others. All invisible barriers that had stood between me and what I wanted to be doing. As I started to identify and expose these beliefs, I looked at myself in the mirror, and faced them one by one. And then I had a choice to break through them.
Do you feel something is missing in your career growth? Stuck, in a plateau or ready for that next level? You can perform and deliver the impact you imagine. Coaching will help you get to your next leadership level.
Be the first to know about new articles, workshops and specials by adding your email below. We never sell your information.