From Knowing What You Want… to Knowing How to Move Toward It

I have myself been through many transitions. To mention some of them: relocation, separations (including a divorce), childbirth, career changes, burnout. I want to share one that I personally struggled most with. ​ My transition away from corporate work began in 2020. At the beginning I imagined the change would happen relatively quickly. I knew I wanted to be a coach, so I followed a course, I got my certification. I thought this would be the hardest part, but no. The difficult part started after. It took me almost five years to go through this transition. ​ Looking back, I do not regret the time it took. What I regret is how much I struggled during some periods of this process and how much I judged myself at times. I often pushed myself to follow strategies that worked for others but did not truly work for me. ​ There were also very real life events happening during those years. I went through a separation, started a new relationship, I moved. There was pregnancy, the birth of my daughter, and multiple other things that were impacting me on different levels. All of this slowed down the professional transition. At times I interpreted that as failure. At times I thought I was not persistent enough, or not ambitious enough. I doubted myself and what I wanted.  Today I see it differently. ​ Transitions involve much more than practical decisions. The biggest shift usually happens in the mind. It requires questioning long-held beliefs, redefining identity, and developing trust in yourself again. ​ This kind of shift cannot be rushed. ​ One thing that made a profound difference during those years was having support. I didn't accept this support early enough though. At first I didn't even realize I needed it. I was not in a deep crisis, after all. It was thanks to my daughter that I finally admitted to myself that it takes a village not only to raise a child, but to create anything meaningful. And I started to reach out and ask for support where I needed it. This made the biggest difference. Besides having a partner who believes in me and friends, who were there when I needed, I also worked with a therapist who helped me navigate difficult emotional moments, and a coach (several different coaches over the years) who helped me see the path forward more clearly. Without that support system the process would have been far more lonely and overwhelming. This is the space I now offer to others.