PART 3: Jump as if your life depends on it, because it does – Part III
Change has come, and with it, Tina Woosley’s personal breaking point. No longer content to stay put or look back, she receives strength from a very specific desire – one highly common among those of us who are drawn to coaching.
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, you met Tina Woosley. You learned how she pursued a life coaching certification after receiving a very specific wakeup call. But she also decided to play it safe, holding onto her role as bookkeeper for a major supermarket chain while coaching her coworkers after hours. But with one coworker after another coming to her and recognizing her coaching abilities, then moving onto more meaningful pursuits in their own lives, the cracks are beginning to show in Tina’s dam of resistance.
Fast forward to February 2017. Tina wakes up and starts getting ready for work. Like all other mornings, she takes time for her prayers, meditation and journaling. But on this morning, her feet won’t move. She tries everything she can think of to get her body to respond. She even does visual work in her journal, sketching out her thoughts, feelings and desires – all to no avail. The message from her body is final: You’re not going. You can’t do it.
Tina surrenders. Something within her has shifted; she is no longer content to simply “get through” another day. Tina has witnessed the potential she can bring to the lives of others. And once you get a taste of it, there’s no going back. She picks up the phone, dials her boss and, with a steady voice and level of confidence that would have surprised even her just a year earlier, Tina quits her job of 28 years.
Like a bird defying gravity, her spirit begins to soar.
The next phone call is to her hairdresser. A blow dryer whirs in the background and several conversations are audible on the other end of the phone. The salon is obviously busy. Undeterred, Tina tells her hairdresser “I’m ready to cut it all off.” Without hesitation, the hairdresser apologizes and says she’s booked solid. There are no openings with her or any of the other stylists until the following week.
Tina’s enthusiasm flags momentarily – the forces of doubt doing their best to retake her. Is she really doing the right thing? Is she reading the signs wrong? Has she just made a huge mistake? But then two minutes later, her phone chimes. It’s a text message from her stylist: “OMG, somebody just canceled at 2:30. Can u be here?”
The universe has opened for Tina once again, removing all remaining doubt. She goes into the hairdresser that afternoon, and leaves 20 minutes later with a neatly shaved head.
In February 2016, not only did Tina Woosley give up a 28-year career to become a Whole Person Life Coach, she gave up her hair as well! In the process, she discovered that her biggest gifts and assets weren’t applicable to her job description – a job she had spent nearly three decades in. They were however tailor-made for helping others find their personal joy and alignment in life and meaningful work.
“It’s my deepest desire to leave this world a better place by connecting with others and watching them shine their wholeness out in the world,” she says.
That’s exactly what you’ll find her doing today, on a new path: one of her own choosing.
It’s never too late to pursue your passions and a life of your own making. Whether you’ve hit a dead-end in your current career path or are just getting started in the world and want to make every day count, you can begin today. Start by championing the voice inside that led you here (surely you didn’t think you landed here by accident!). Next, resist the apathy and complacency that would like nothing more than to see you hit the proverbial snooze button again.
Jump as if your life depends on it. Because it truly does. Think of the missed opportunities, not just for yourself but for others – the friends, family and potential clients who could have benefited from your unique wisdom. Now think of everything you can do from this point on – your potential impact is limitless. Don’t let another day go by. Charge!
More of Tina’s Story
Watch Tina talk about her experience and where she found the strength to keep moving forward, even in the face of uncertainty: https://youtu.be/smqM7jsBVw0.
