How I Found My Unstuckness

My story begins with stuckness. I don’t use the word “stuckness” lightly.

Total frustration + sheer panic + helplessness + hopelessness + hating-myself-for-not-being-able-to-figure-things-out + there’s something wrong with me + no matter what I do my life is not going where I want it to go = Stuckness.

That was me. Sitting there at my desk working the 9-5 grind like everybody else. I was 20 years into my professional life and I hated every single minute of it.

I resented the confines of the 9-5 gig. (I felt like I couldn’t breathe.)

I hated not having control over how I spent my days (endless piles of work with ZERO creativity in the mix).

I felt lost about what my life purpose was supposed to be. (Was my purposed supposed to be summed up by number of files processed or calls made? NO WAY!)

I was frustrated by the self-serving behaviors of individuals who were supposed to be professional. (ZERO teamwork. ZERO collaboration. ZERO care about anyone but themselves.)

I was seriously disappointed in the lack of effective communication and leadership. (Ever work for a ghost? ZERO communication. ZERO presence. You know, the manager that doesn’t bother to show up.)

My professional life felt like an endless cycle of frustration and disappointment. Every opportunity landing in the same place: A place I didn’t want to be.

I thought there was something wrong with me. I couldn’t just accept the way things were. People would say, “Just be grateful you have a job.”, which was supposed to settle the anxiety and uneasiness I felt day in and day out.

I finally hit my breaking point. I felt like I was screaming inside, but I was the only one listening. THIS SERIOUSLY CAN’T BE MY LIFE!!!!!!!

In this desperate and painstaking moment, I knew something had to give. I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I made a promise to myself: I wasn’t going to stop until I took charge of my own life. And that’s what I did.

Now, I know in reading this now and in my own hindsight, this might sound really exciting, adventurous, maybe crazy...maybe even inspirational. But let me tell you...

This was the most terrifying moment of my professional life.

As much as I wanted change, I was completely overwhelmed by it. I felt lost. I felt incapable. I had no idea where to begin. But I knew I couldn’t go back. This was it.

Up to this point I had tried EVERYTHING. All things personal and professional growth focused became my obsession. I lived it. Breathed it. Even recited it in my sleep.

I kept thinking, “Maybe the key to unlock the mystery of creating change will be in the next article I read. Or maybe in the next blog post. Perhaps the next podcast episode will tell me EXACTLY what to do.” Self-help books began to stack high to my ceiling. Wobbling in all of their self-help glory.

Yet, here I was still. No answers. No way out. I was stuck.

And then it happened. In a moment of sitting quietly at my desk, alone with my panicked self...

One solitary word popped into my head. A word that changed everything for me in that very moment: The word? Insanity.

Insanity. I was living the definition. I was doing the same things over and over again expecting something would change. Somehow, someway, my life would be different if I spin the wheel one more time.

The word was penetrating my every thought.

I keep doing the same things over and over again, and look where I am.

What if...

What if I tried to do something different? Something I haven’t tried before.

I was really excited by the thought. But I’ve got to be honest here. My excitement quickly waned as I realized: I had ZERO idea what that something different would be.

Ughhhhh.

I pulled myself out of it. I’ve got this. Ok, something different has to happen. Something different. Something I haven’t tried yet. Something different...Sky diving? Learn a new language? acupuncture? move to a new country? What?!?

It took some digging and an honest conversation with myself, and then I got it:

Doing something different meant intentionally getting uncomfortable. Doing something outside of my comfort zone.

Ok, great! Yup, feeling good again. Ok, I’ve got my focus: Something outside of my comfort zone. Something outside my comfort zone...

When the announcement came across my screen for a public speaking club for women was coming to town I had such a mixed reaction: I was intrigued, curious and most of all terrified.

Yup, the moment terror set in, I realized this was IT: This is what I need to get uncomfortable. This is what I need to do something different. It would scare me, challenge me. It was going to help me get UNstuck.

And so I went to that very first meeting at my local Speaker Sisterhood club. I was scared. I was insecure. I was unsure whether I even belonged. But something inside of me made me go. Something inside of me made me stay. My journey as a member of this club changed my life in a completely unexpected way. Showing up and giving speeches wasn’t about becoming a better speaker, although it’s helped me to do that, but rather, it’s given me an opportunity to discover something even more meaningful and powerful: That little something that made me go? The same little something that made me stay?

It was ME. It was my own voice crying out because it needed to come up for air. It was suffocating under the weight of a life I didn’t want. It wanted to be heard.

So begins my story of Unstuckness...

I’m here today, writing this to you as The Unstuck Coach. It feels surreal. It feels unbelievable. It feels empowering.

My decision to get Unstuck not only changed my own life, it sparked a passion and purpose in me I never saw coming: To empower other women to create meaningful change in their own lives. Change that leads to more fulfilled careers, more meaningful and satisfying relationships. a stronger sense of self and confidence to show up in the world as you are.

I’m helping women to create change, one small step at a time.

When YOU create change, YOU create Unstuckness.

Unstuckness = Moving with intention toward the life you truly want and need.

Moving with intention creates ENERGY.

ENERGY creates POWER.

POWER puts the steering wheel of your life back into YOUR hands.

Where would YOU like to go?