I guess you could say that I have been on this journey since November 23, 1980. That’s a long time ago, I know. In reality, it’s pretty simple, it’s the journey of life. However, I’d say that I didn’t enter into authentic living until about 5 years ago. Five years ago, I felt an internal shift; a realization that I was missing key pieces to the puzzle of life and I began to go about gathering what I was missing. About a year ago, I started to work with a new therapist and also joined an online recovery community and I finally felt like I had all of the pieces I needed.

I distinctly remember driving down the road one day last summer and it dawned on me that I finally knew my authentic self. As I grew to know her, I discovered that I actually liked her! That was a distinctly new feeling for me. I cannot think of a time prior to that where I genuinely accepted and liked myself. I then began to wonder whether I was unique. Was I the only person who missed the lesson on how to live a meaningful life? I’m not talking about what we think of when we thinking of building a meaningful life: career, partner, kids, house, maybe even a white picket fence. No. How to experience living, how to ride crazy emotional waves with grace, how to find joy in just being. Joy in being a human on this earth.

I don’t think I’m unique in that regard. Everyone gets swept up in all of the “doing” that comes with life in modern society. And in all of that “doing,” we often stop living from a place of authenticity. In nerdy brain science terms, we get stuck in survival mode (fight/flight/freeze/fawn). When we are stuck in survival mode, we are living superficially. And we are making ourselves sick–mentally, physically, and spiritually.

The good news–there is a better way and while it takes work, it is not impossible. A little spark started to grow inside of me; a desire to share my story with other women who feel the same way. Women who are desperate to live a more joyful and authentic life, but perhaps haven’t yet found all of the pieces. Most of us are not taught these skills in childhood so we enter adulthood emotionally unprepared. Now is the time to change that; not just for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children.

I took a huge leap of faith, bought a franchise called: The Mental Wellbeing Company. I now have a certification in somatic trauma informed coaching with a specialization in narcissistic abuse. And since I rarely go halfway, I created a personalized brand to expand my coaching options. I will be offering community workshops, group and 1:1 coaching. I want to help as many people as I can heal their nervous systems. Nervous system recovery. Stay tuned for workshop offerings, coaching centered on narcissistic abuse recover, and tips that I have learned along my journey.

One last thought–last night I was up late trying to figure out how to link this blog to my website and I really just wanted to get a quick post done so that I could test it out and determine whether I had done it correctly. I was exhausted and I had AI write a quick welcome message (I am leaving it posted as a reminder that the real me is always better!) I changed a few things, but mostly just left it even though it didn’t sit well with me. I woke up early this morning with the realization that the reason it didn’t feel good was because it was the exact opposite of authenticity. The very reason that I started this work! Sure, it sounds professional and has all of the catchy marketing gimmicks, but it’s not me. And I want my work to include ME because I am enough. And so are you! The question is: Do you believe it?