Chapter 1
Unexpected Change
October 9th 2016 was the day my life changed forever.
A freak windstorm roared through my quiet suburb and ripped a gigantic gum tree from its roots crushing my home, cars, plans for the future and my heart.
Chaos surrounded me while I stood there staring at the devastation.
I remember the cries of my children as they gripped into my legs, digging their nails into my skin.
Shivers ran down my spine as my daughter’s bed lay crushed under the rubble.
I remember being trapped as the cars were stuck under the sprawling branches.
I remember the howling winds, thrashing and snapping of the branches from towering trees above, waiting for the next tree to fall.
I remember wondering where would we be safe to shelter till the storm passed.
I remember the thudding of my beating heart and crystal-clear clarity- my life will never be the same again.
We were left homeless, with no belongings.
My world had been turned upside down.
I remember waiting.
For the next 14 months, while I grieved the loss of my home, I also battled an insurance claim. I fought my hardest for my family, for my home, and for justice. To do this, I had to resign from work and close down my business I had just begun.
The intensity of this time made me grow up and look into my life deeply.
I journaled, I walked and took beautiful photos to process the emotions flowing through me.
I remember the day we demolished our home, watching in disbelief as my old life was taken away in a skip.
I remember moving back on our property and living in our garage.
I remember the thin walls and tin roof echoed the wind. I’d wake up holding my breath, praying it would go away.
I remember the day ombudsman determination came through. The battle had been won by us, the applicants. The freedom of no longer being in an insurance claim was short-lived as I was forced back into a job as a teacher to rebuild our home. I made it work, for a little while.
After the council dragged out the permits for our new home, we watched it being built from our tiny home in the garage.
I remember the day we moved in, 3 painstaking years later in October 2019.
I thought it would make me happy, I had longed for this day. It did for a little while.
2020, a new year and a new beginning. My hopes were high.
Within the first week of teaching my new grade, something didn’t feel right. I found it hard to shake off what used to be ok and I had accepted as a teacher. I now know I was being shown loud and clear, for the second time, teaching was not where I was meant to be.
I knew I didn’t want to be in that job, I knew I didn’t want to be there anymore yet I didn’t know where else I could go or what else I could do. I pretended everything was ok on the outside yet on the inside I felt lost in an empty dark void and stuck with nowhere else to go. This was my Career Crisis.
Then covid hit and we were in lockdown.
I remember time slowed down and I had a chance to breathe.
I began to take stock of my life, deeply reflected and became curious about the big wide world out there. After everything I had been through, I was no longer the same person. I wanted to get to know the stranger staring back at me.
I began to question my life, search for more meaning and purpose.
I creatively looked at what I didn’t want and what I did want.
I identified what was holding me back.
I rebuilt my strengths, confidence, faith and trust in myself.
I adjusted my priorities from surviving to thriving, set intentions and expanded my thinking.
I got to know myself, my fears and values.
I began to study transitions, career development and understood my journey, where life had been taking me all this time.
I remember finding my way and connecting the dots.
I remember my biggest leap of faith, the day I told my principal I would not be coming back as a teacher. I didn’t know where I would end up, I just knew my plan for life would unfold.
I had tasted flexibility, working from home and fell back in love with coaching.
I began to search for opportunities and talk to people in jobs I wanted to be in.
I took steps towards the new chapter in my life, closing the void and becoming the person I knew I was meant to be.
Life began to flow through me and I felt successful as I moved into Career Development.
This book is my transitional journey in finding meaning and purpose in my life and career. This is the knowledge and stories I collected along the way.
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