In my last article I explained how a transition in life is an opportunity to being intentional about our next step to truly understand what we are here to do in this world.
I thought that losing my job was going to be a disaster but it became the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had to really find my path and change my life.
I accepted my situation. I embraced it. I got in touch with my innate.
What resulted was definitely not on the script I had been given for years.
I don’t know how this is going to end but what matters is that I made a choice to choose myself and get started.
Here’s what happened once I decided to choose myself:
1. Traveling
Traveling has given me a whole new perspective on how I see the world experiencing new ways of doing things. In 2012 I took two weeks off from work and went on a trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida all the way to Kazakhstan stopping by Toronto and London and it completely changed my perspective and made me realize that I wanted to travel more. But once I got back from the trip, I got sucked back into the routine, even though my desire was still there.
A couple months after getting laid off, I moved from Miami, Florida and I have been traveling back and forth for four months now between Costa Rica and Nicaragua building an exceptional community of young adults passionate about life and traveling. I’ve had 5 people look into my eyes and told me personally that these trips have changed their lives and inspired them to follow their passions.
Wow!!! That really hit home for me.
I’m even more excited for the upcoming months because we have trips planned to Peru, Iceland, Bali, yoga and fitness retreat to Costa Rica, but even more than the trips, I’m really looking forward to the community we are building; that’s what makes all the difference. Just being surrounded by people passionate about life, traveling, and refusing to settle is so inspiring to me that makes me keep pushing forward towards what I want out of life. This community of young adults has become my support system. We share laughter and love. Fears and Dreams. Ideas and Potential. We push each other.
When I first became involved with Under30Experiences, I really wanted to travel fulltime and help Matt and Jared with their vision of making traveling more accessible to young adults and I remember having this concern in the back of my mind of not being able to travel because of my job and all the limitations that came with it, but now I see how the dots connect.
Remember that quote from Steve Jobs?
I just needed to take a leap of faith and follow my gut.
Traveling has also given me the opportunity to sit back, meditate, and embrace life for what it is and not for what we want it to be. Too many times we get caught up in the everyday hustle that sometimes we forget what’s really important. I first learned about meditation during our Costa Rica retreat back in October when I took my first ever yoga class surrounded by fresh rainforest air, abundance of local flora and fauna, singing of tropical birds, gentle breeze, and sound of the rushing river.
If you don’t practice meditation I strongly recommend you give it a shot because it allows you to get in touch with your thoughts and emotions, lets them flow through your system, and decide what’s truly important coming from a place of love.
2. Writing
People say they like my writing and I’m thankful for that, but as a writer I’m always hard on myself and probably my biggest critic when it comes to putting my thoughts in writing. Ever since I got laid off, I’ve been writing more often to get the ideas out of my head and reflecting on things that matter to me, and occasionally hitting publish on my blog or submitting articles to different publications. The more I write and publish, the more comfortable I feel in sharing my thoughts and ideas with the rest of the world using my own voice.
Also, writing has become one of my main sources of income doing freelance work during this transitional period. Sure it’s a big pay cut but the biggest reward is that I’m providing value through my writing and have flexible schedule to work from anywhere in the world.
3. Learning about myself
This is perhaps the most valuable outcome I’ve received from getting laid off: the opportunity to better understand who I am and what I want out of life. I have realized that most people rarely take the time to truly learn about themselves following predetermined scripts that society puts upon us. Go to college, get a degree, get a high-paying job, big screen TV, white-picket fence house, work for 40-50 years, climb the corporate ladder, and then retire. Even if you want to climb the corporate ladder, how do you even know that you have it leaned against the right wall? It’s all part of The Matrix. I have realized that learning about yourself is a natural process that is ongoing and there are no hacks about it or fast tracks. It takes time and we must make the time to determine whether we want to follow a predetermined script or if we want to write our own.
A few days ago I shared my big intention for life, business, and career with the universe with a single tweet and it is the following:
My big intention is to truly serve others in their journey within by writing, dancing, spreading smiles for miles and positive energy, creating and participating in transformative experiences that serve as a launching pad to help young adults figure out their next step.
The word is out!
It took me a few hours to write that short concise piece and I was fearful in sharing it through social media but I feel so much better now that I did. It might sound silly but that’s truly my intention and of course I know it can change as I grow older, but for now, that’s where my core true self resides.
There are moments when I feel fearful and doubtful and start to question myself about my decision to follow my own path, but I recognize it and don’t give control to doubts and fears. Instead, I remember that I’m being intentional about what I want out of life by doing things that allow me to fully express myself.
So let me ask you, what transition are you going through in your life right now and what are you learning from it?
Image Credits: www.imgion.com, www.shutterstock.com
