I have had this thing bubbling on the inside of me for years.  I had no idea what it was or if I ever would.  I had no idea where it came from, why it was there, how it got there, or how long it would stay. 

I could describe this phenomenon as both nagging yet exciting, unsettling yet hopeful, and disturbing yet soothing.  It was both empty and full. 

Makes no sense, right?

The Puzzle Pieces

I have checked off many of the boxes, or checklist items, I created for myself in my younger years.  College:  check.  Career:  check.  Married:  yep.  Kids:  got two.  Friends:  great ones.  And the list goes on.  I have been living a good, well-rounded, wholesome life and I am grateful and appreciative for every single day for the life I get to live. 

The downsides of life are never easy but we always seem to get through them.  I have had “normal” challenges like sick kids, arguments with the husband, in-law drama, money constraints, and many more. 

A shocking, not-so-everyday, memorable event happened when I left Babies R Us after my very first, yet brief, visit during my first pregnancy to realize that my vehicle had been stolen.  WHAT!  Talk about an emotional mess I was! 

My most traumatic life experience to date was being diagnosed with breast cancer at 37 years old.  In traumatic events, you have no choice but to be changed by them.  This has been highly impactful in my life and I knew I would have to use my pain as stepping stones towards a greater purpose.  I WOULD turn my pain into power.

I explored, investigated, and thoroughly analyzed this conflicting, internal bubbling or emptiness I seemingly regularly had deep inside of my core.  I knew it was an energy, a passion of sorts.  I just did not know where or how to direct it. 

It was a yearning to grow. 

It was a yearning to give. 

It was unavoidable. 

It was unfulfilled potential.

Put Me in the Game, Coach!

I consider myself to be a competitor. I also consider myself to be an athlete. 

In my youth, I did not like to lose.  I connected with the opinion that 2^nd place is just the best loser.  I was driven to improve in order to win.  Hard work and I were partners.  We were the epitome of grit.

Through the years I have learned how to learn and grow from mistakes and losing.  Through education and maturity, I have developed more of a growth mindset than a fixed mindset and that alone has improved my life beyond measure. 

Nonetheless, I am not a sidelines kind of girl.  I do not want to be a substitute.  I will not be a benchwarmer.  I am a starter.

The Impact of a Good Coach

Coaches and coaching have been impactful in defining who I am. 

My high school volleyball and track coach taught me that I can dig deeper than I ever thought I could.  She taught me about mind over matter.  She taught strength from the mind and from the body.  She taught me about staying in the correct lane, being aware of my surroundings, and about life outside of the game.  She taught me to try again.  And again.  And again. 

My boys’ middle school basketball coach was a legend in our community.  He passed away in 2018 and I have never been to a more fulfilling and moving funeral.  The attendees came in masses to express how grateful they were for the positive impact that this coach had on their lives.  He believed in each kid he ever coached and coached them as individual people and part of something bigger, even outside of the basketball team.  He taught young boys how to be young men.

When I opened the door to growing my own life with life coaching, I felt overwhelmed with satisfaction, hope, joy, and relief from these experiences.  With life coaching, my experiences have been nothing short of liberating.  I felt as though I was relearning something I already knew but had forgotten about.  I felt as if I was finding the missing puzzle pieces that I symbolically had dropped on the floor but could not find until now.  I have had multiple “light bulb” or “aha” moments that brought unwavering peace and uncontainable exhilaration to my life.  My clarity has skyrocketed and my power has grown tremendously. 

“A good coach can change a game.  A great coach can change a life.”  Unknown

“An excellent coach is hard to find, difficult to part with, and impossible to forget.”  Unknown

I Have Been Training for This

Time to go back to the drawing board.  I am designing what is coming next in my life.  I am going to author my own story.  I am drawing my own picture.  I am creating the next checklist for my life.  I am the by-product of good coaching and an example of growth and transformation and that will be part of my foundation for what is to come. 

For a long time, I felt like I was stuck in the birth canal.  I couldn’t go backward but I wasn’t making any forward progress either.  My rebirth was dependent on my thinking. 

The puzzle pieces that I have already put together with the ones that I “found on the floor” have propelled me into my purpose.  Complete and utter honesty with myself revealed that the bubbling energy or passion deep inside me was wanting to align with my purpose to assist others in clarifying, simplifying, and managing their minds in order to create their own life by design.  In return, my life is more in alignment and in integrity with itself.

I am excited about my continued growth along with helping and teaching others how to grow in their own lives.  All my experiences, both chosen and not, have prepared me for this next chapter.  I have been in training for this.  I just did not realize it in the early stages of education. 

Like any sport, hard work is required.  Being coached is something you have to want and be open to if you want to improve, develop, grow, and win. 

Going forward, I am both a student and a teacher.  I will experience both positive and negative emotions.  Some days will be better than others.  Within all that is ahead, there lies the power and freedom of choice.  It is not the end game that I am looking forward to.  It is the process.  It is the game itself.

So, Coach, I’m ready to play.  Put me in!    

Who’s with me?