You are someone who has recently had your world rocked.
Or, what was for a long time your true north no longer feels in alignment.
Women in their late 30s or early 40s often feel a shift upon them. This might be the case with your relationship, or your career. Or both.
I know I have been there.
Who am I…
Growing up, I did my best to fulfill this idea of the American Dream that had been set forth for me. My immigrant background placed an especially heavy weight in my childhood to ensure that I would fulfill this picture of being a “good girl” and went to college as my parents never had the opportunity to do so. I worked many 9-to-5 jobs, fulfilling what I thought to be a vision of success, based on my upbringing.
Taking the time to explore my “authentic self” not something that I really thought about, or really had time for, as much of the time in my 20s and 30s were about continuing the climb some sort of distant concept of success. To some extent, I thought I was happy: I had the trappings of material success. But I wasn’t sleeping well, nor taking good care of myself, as I prioritized my career. I didn’t know what other options were possible for me.
Growing up, I also had a very specific idea on what a successful relationship looked like as well. At age 32, I found someone who I thought was my ideal. And initially, we were very happy. However, as the years wore on, I came to see that I was not given the space to be myself. And I kept noticing how I would automatically fall into a pattern of accommodating this person without listening to my own needs. I never felt like I had the space to express what I needed from this relationship – it often felt like speaking to a wall. I hung on, thinking that was what I was supposed to do. Again, I didn’t know what other options were possible for me.
Into my late 30s, the idea would drift into my head: is this what success looks like? Continue to report into an office, day after day, put on a good face, for the sake of financial survival? Continue to stay with someone who is willing to ignore my needs in a relationship? The idea that I was living into some image or picture of “success” by some childhood ideal was not reflected in what I felt internally. So, the idea that I had “succeeded” in my career or relationship was being disrupted.
Looking back…
In retrospect, I didn’t know what was happening, and could only recognize that I was getting rocked and did not know what was next for me. Everything just felt so uncertain. I wished there were others around that could lend an empathetic ear, and offer a sense of community so that I could not feel so alone in this process. It would have been helpful to have perspective on this experience, and to recognize that I was not the only one finding myself in this moment.
Here is the invitation…
If this sounds familiar to you, I invite you to take a step forward with me. I offer a place of refuge while we strategize on your Next Chapter. We will create a roadmap for your journey, to give you confidence in where you have been and where you are going. I will teach you tools on how to counter feelings of uncertainty and overwhelm, so that you can respond from your most resourceful self.
I offer partnership to help you give birth to this next chapter for yourself. It is a chance to re-discover, re-new and re-claim who you are. It is a time to step out of old, outdated beliefs and assumptions, cast a new vision of who you will be in the world, and be that person. I will have your back and be your champion as you step forward in this new territory.
The world is calling forth for you to embody who you are truly meant to be. It is time for you to take on the shape of your most empowered self.