I didn’t intentionally choose my career; I fell into it at the tender age of almost 19.

I had just quit university and decided to get a temp job while I figured out what I wanted to do.  That job happened to be within an HR department, and one day’s work processing overtime data ultimately turned into a successful 20+ year career.

I had variety and challenge, I had progression and reward, but there came a point when I felt ready for something new.  I was a bit bored, a bit burned out, and more than a bit unhappy.

The trouble is, I stayed in that place for years, never quite able to figure out my next move.  I was loyal, but unhappy.  I was well paid, but unfulfilled.  I was successful, but stuck.

I took a year off to travel, assuming that along the way I’d miraculously find the answers to what was next for me.  The answers didn’t fall from the sky, and within a week of arriving home I found myself working in a well-paid HR role.

I moved to literally the other side of the world, and within days of landing I got a role almost identical to the one I had just left.  

I seemed unable to break away from a career that I had fallen out of love with.

I complained to my friends about my work, but didn’t take action to change it.

I didn’t love what I was doing, but worked long hours anyway.

I repeatedly put the needs of the organisation before my own, and wondered why I was unhappy.

If you’d met me then, there’s a good chance you’d have heard me jokingly say “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up”.

It wasn’t really a joke, though.  One of my leaders once pointed out to me that I was in fact already grown up, but I felt frustrated that I didn’t know what I really wanted to do.  I certainly didn’t know what I needed to do to figure it out.

I didn’t know it then, but what I needed was to get to know myself better.  I needed to learn to become aware of myself, responsible for myself, and aligned with myself.  

I also needed to give myself permission to actually be myself.

When I finally took action to make change, I found myself learning things about myself that were literally life-changing.

I discovered that I had a constant monologue of negative thoughts playing in my mind - and I had no awareness of it whatsoever.  (It was actually really upsetting to discover how unkind I was to myself).

I learned that I had shut down and hidden parts of myself at work, and that I had inadvertently become someone I was not.

I found out that I knew all along what I loved and what was interesting and inspiring to me, I’d simply never found the way to explore and embrace it.

Once I liberated myself and got clear on who I really was and what I really wanted, I found a new level of confidence to make things happen, which led to amazing impact for myself and others. 

I set some work-related non-negotiables, and found a new role that met my needs. 

I reclaimed time and space for myself, and started studying coaching and positive psychology. 

I continued to stretch and develop myself, diving deeper into personal development and taking on a new level of accountability for my physical and emotional wellbeing. 

And ultimately I took the leap to set up my own coaching practice that allows me to do the work I love most, supporting people to get to know themselves better, to gain clarity and confidence, and to become intentionally impactful.

I’d hate for you to stay stuck for as long as I did.

Once you give yourself permission to take action, the changes you desire are right there waiting for you. Chances are, you just need someone to give you a nudge in the right direction.