I was chatting with a client recently who had made the big decision over the festive period to go for it and start her own business after spending many years in the corporate world. Around the same time, she was also approached by a rival to her old employer, who offered her a very similar role to her previous one and which was also based closer to where she lives.
Initially she was flattered and excited. She knew she would be able to perform the role well and it was a tempting prospect to have a shorter commute. However something didn't feel right.
She checked back in with her values. And her newly discovered strengths. She thought about her clear vision for her future, and the kind of career and life she wanted to purposely create. And she realised that going back to this role would be precisely that... going backwards.
And she herself had changed. She had more confidence now. She understood what the fears in her head were that had stopped her before. She could identify them when they cropped up and had strategies for dealing with them. She felt excited about the future and wanted to see what she was truly capable of.
And so she turned the job offer down. Which wasn't easy. Sometimes it's hard to say "no" because we feel like we're letting others down. But if you spend too much timing pleasing others and saying "yes" to them, that can come at the cost of saying "no" to yourself.
She said YES to herself and is now getting her brand new business ready to launch. She made a conscious choice, based on her new goals and her vision for the future, and feels 100% more empowered because of it.
There's a quote I love by baseball Yogi Berra which says "If you don't know where you're going, you might end up some place else".
What that's really about is making conscious choices about the kind of life and career you really want to have, instead of reacting to daily events out of fear, insecurity, or worrying about other people's opinions.
So this week pay attention to the opportunities and decisions which come your way, and each time just pause for a moment to consider what you REALLY want. After that, you can make a conscious choice instead of a reactive choice, and will feel 100% more empowered because of it.
Speak soon,
Juliette
