Warning: Change Ahead

Recently, I have known the place I was and things I was doing were not working any longer. The career I built no longer brought me joy or allowed me to grow into the person and the professional I wanted to be. I struggled to make it fit, to make it feel right, to pretend I wasn’t changing in what I needed and wanted from my life. Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place or doing the wrong things and couldn’t answer why?

Change is a hard skill set to activate internally and to get comfortable with. It requires us to examine and dismantle parts of ourselves that have taken years or even decades to build. It pushes us to examine who we are, what we do and what we want our future to look like. I was scared to examine something that was working well and providing security to my current comfort zone, but it was not

bringing me joy or fulfillment. It was changing me into someone I didn’t want to be rather than cultivating the person I wanted to become. I often describe these growth periods in my life as starting with a moment when I am wearing a jacket that is too small and constricts my movement and flow. I can no longer raise my arms the way I would like, or I just feel constrained and forced into something I know doesn’t fit me. The jacket has been

great and been a closet favorite for me for years but suddenly one day, it doesn’t fit any longer. My natural reaction to this moment is to try to get this jacket to fit the way it used to. Maybe I should lose a few pounds or let a seam out. What I have discovered is this is the start of growth for me. It is me knowing that I need to be somewhere else and do different things to become the person I am growing into. Unfortunately, it has taken me years to acknowledge this as growth rather than fighting against

the process and security of my comfort zone.

Change is challenging, messy and a path of uncertainty, doubt, and self-exploration. Doesn’t that sound like a fun adventure? It can be but it is not an easy adventure. You do not always understand or see the destination this growth journey will take for you. You are disoriented, full of questions with little to no answers, but it is always the path to who you want to be and what you want to be doing. It is an adventure well worth taking in the long run.

Supporting each other on these journeys of growth is so important. Find people who challenge you to lean into this growth and answer the big questions you have been asking yourself. As I reflect on the

times when huge growth occurred in my life, it was when I was shedding who I am for who I want to be.

The beginning of those processes were the most difficult times in my life, but those times also revealed to me a new version of myself, my value, and my impact in the world. They built confidence in who I am and what I can accomplish in the process. I am sharing my change journey to help others understand that adventure is beautiful but difficult. Self- Improvement is not only about external things like diet and exercise, but it is also about challenging yourself in ways that break through today’s limiting beliefs and mindsets, to reveal the door to your next stage of growth and true impact. This is how you can Make Your MARC!