You know that moment when all of a sudden you achieve or accomplish something on your ‘dream-list’ or ‘goal-list’?
This month has been like that for me. The last 1,5 years I’ve been working towards becoming a certified coach and this month I’ve received my certification. Besides this, I’ve also co-hosted my first event and gave my first coaching workshop to a group of wonderful women. Something I’ve always wanted to do ‘someday’. And all of a sudden, I found myself being able to check off these two (in my eyes) big things from my so-called Dream List.
However, in the days that followed, I didn’t really feel extremely happy, proud or excited. It almost felt like some kind of loss. I thought I was being a weirdo, for not feeling immediate happiness, pride or relief even. And questions like ‘now what?’ and ‘what’s next?’ popped into my head.
So while realizing this, instead of letting my Gremlins take over, I decided to take a step back. To take a couple of days, a week even, to slow down and to not start anything new. This turned out to be exactly what I needed since it opened up space to explore, to prioritize and to revisit my ‘Why’ again. I realized I hadn’t looked at it in a while and it needed a bit of reshaping.
I could feel and hear my passion, I gained clarity around what my next steps will be and I was able to articulate clearly what my why is. And even though I haven’t added anything just yet to my Dream List, I feel confident, calmer and a bit of excitement in my stomach for what’s next.
Giving myself permission to not rush things, feel my feelings and not go all-out Gremlin on myself was a big win in itself. It allowed me to create the space needed for what’s next. And, very importantly, it allowed me to arrive at my celebration party at my own pace!
So whenever you reach a milestone (no matter what that looks like for you, how big or small it is), and you feel deflated and maybe even a bit anxious about what’s next, know that this might be the moment to first be still and even go back. Back to yourself and to your why. Because it all starts with your why and you can map out your path from there.
Simon Sinek was right by saying to start with why.
