One of the things I say on the front page of my website is “I believe in life makeovers…”
I’ve always been fascinated by that idea: of beginning your career and life doing one thing and then pivoting to something more interesting and meaningful. Think the bankers who have created beauty products, the former lawyer who runs a marathon company, the advertising executive who became a successful boutique hotel owner.
Or the publisher who became a life coach.
It’s a great story of leaving the old you behind so you can finally pursue the dream you had while you were toiling away in your cubicle, grinding away at the spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations for the eventual future when you can pivot to the life you truly want.
I understand its appeal.
But as someone who is now deep in the trenches of making that pivot, what I know for sure is that it’s not as simple as the “success stories” make it look. There are days of confidence, of sure steps, of easy wins, of knowing deep in my bones that the change I undertook is the right one.
And then there are days of lost-ness and confusion, of craving for the security of your comfort zone, of the failures that come one after the other, of feeling stuck and wondering where your go-getting, achieving self has hidden.
There are days when the After photo looks exactly the same as the Before.
When you realize how Photoshopped and edited the After photos is.
When you realize that after removing the makeup and coming home from the glamour of the photo shoot, you’re still the you that faces yourself in the morning, wondering how to recreate the makeup that transformed you and realizing that you can’t.
So maybe what I believe in isn’t really a life makeover but small shifts.
Small shifts so you can feel happy in the moment.
Small shifts so you can celebrate and be grateful for you and your life, whether you win or not.
Small shifts so you can take the next step, despite fear, the possibility of another failure, confusion.
Small shifts so you can take risks even if everything in you just wants to be comfortable as your favorite pambahay.
Because sometimes it’s the smallest of shifts will make you realize that you don’t need the life makeover, that YOU are enough, just the way you are and that life has its own wisdom. And that shift can be something as simple as letting go of an old idea that no longer makes sense for you.
