Bring your best self to light
It's OK to change your mind - making a difficult decision
Towards the end of June, I resigned my position as Branch Director of LantzQuest. It was a difficult decision, not made any easier by the support, kindness and enthusiasm of the people I was leaving! It would have been easier if they were obnoxious or inconsiderate but they were none of those things. I had realised for some time (at a sort of peripheral level) that the whole thing wasn't working for me but found myself telling myself that I wasn't doing enough, that this was such a fabulous opportunity I'd be a fool to walk away, that I'd be letting people down. However I knew that deep down I wasn't happy. (Trying to convince myself was a bad sign. After all, when you need to convince yourself of something, that's pretty compelling evidence that it's not really for you...no matter how wonderful it looks! )
But finally as I began to realise that I wasn't happy about my new role, I decided to ask for a sign. I picked out one of Cheryl Richardson's Grace cards and read "It's OK to change your mind". I immediately got in contact with LantzQuest and let them know. I have worked on exiting as gracefully as possible and have offered to help the new incumbent (whoever he/she might be) as much as I can with my contacts.
I began to reflect on how I had managed to end up in this situation. And I realised a couple of things:
- Usually I spend a fair bit of time reflecting about a decision. I usually get all the options down on paper, with a list of pros, cons and anything else (no matter how insignificant it seems) . I then live with a decision for a day or two and once I have done that with them all...my intuition tells me what is right for me. This time, I didn't do that. I allowed myself to be seduced by the prospect of financial gain.
- I didn't factor in the extra time I would have to spend travelling in order to meet new customers and the impact this would have on my own self-care and on my family.
- I'm deeply interested in individuals, their journeys, their challenges. I love working with groups but the whole big business/corporate thing doesn't excite me or give me joy. Work with individuals and small groups has always been where I've been most successful
Now, let me say that I've met a lot of interesting people as a result of doing this. I've also come across one or two individuals who had an extra ordinary sense of their own importance! I don't regret the time I gave LantzQuest...mainly because I don't do regrets..
So what now? Well, I've decided to focus on creating a great life for myself and my family combining coaching, IT work, development of my website and work with UNEC. I'm also beginning a course in Spiritual Direction in September. This will help foster my growing interest in and passion for spirituality.
Take Action!
- If you are faced with a big decision what do you need to know in order to make a wise decision? I have a sheet on my website to help you. ( Decision making tool)
- How do you know when you have made a good decision? One that is not a good one for you?
- Take some time this week to design your ideal day/week. Identify one thing you could begin incorporating from this into your life this week.
Master Your Money aka The Money Mistress:
This is now in the form of an e-book which you can check out here. £1 GBP from every copy sold goes to a charity in Cameroon.Guest Slot
From next month, I will be including articles from other coaches, writers, entrepreneurs that I think you may enjoy...
Articles
I have been asked by the IFSCOnline website to become a regular contributor...which I'm chuffed about! Some of the articles have been published before but check them out under the Recruit Ireland heading.
Bits & Pieces - Blogging
I've decided to get stuck into the blogging phenomena. So you can read my ramblings/musings/occasional flashes of unparalleled idiocy...no, really! at http://www.lifelink.typepad.com/Recommended - what I'm reading
Jeffrey Deaver Garden of Beasts. This is a departure for Deaver in that it's set in WWII Germany but it's a great story about redemption and loyalty and a chilling reminder to us of what evil looks like.
Jack Canfield: The Success Principles: To be honest, I was disappointed with this. It's basically Jack summarising all he's written with lots of positive testimonials from people he mentions in the book. (no backscratching here!). Nothing new or fresh in it.