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I previously worked in a field that had me travelling. I had small children at home and being away from them for any period of time was not ideal for me. Day to day I was going through the motions of being present physically, because that was what was expected of me but emotionally I was struggling with a strong desire to just be at home with my kids. I was struggling with finding balance in my life that felt good.

On one business trip I met an individual who was hired by my firm to do some leadership coaching. Our facilitator, Ross Buchanan made a huge and unexpected impact on me this one week-end.

As much as I did not want to be at this training, be away from my children, I surprisingly found myself really engaged with this strategic coach. There was a connection we made early on in the training and I suddenly became interested in Ross’ message and teachings. I really liked this human! And I was caught off guard that something good was coming of my time on the training because I was so miserable. One of the main messages I left with was Ross speaking about being comfortable being uncomfortable. I heard this message loud and clear because I truly was not comfortable being there! I believe my connection with Ross, the strategic coach enabled this message to come through in a way that overrode my strong desire not to be present at this training.

As the days and weeks carried on, being comfortable being uncomfortable became a mantra for me. I left that week-end conference feeling better than when I had arrived and realized that being comfortable being uncomfortable may be a new path to explore. This new path took a lot of courage on my part!

My new path ultimately led to some clarity around something I had been struggling with; the difficult decision to leave the job that brought me to the training with Ross.

The employer had waited several months for me to take on the job; I had to re-certify for my license and I worked hard to get to where I was. I felt a sense of obligation that weighed heavily on me to stay in the position as it were. Plus I was considering leaving the corporate world which included security and a full-time pay cheque in favour of a less predictable and some would say scary world of part-time work.

But, I leaned into the uncomfortable.

I realized that I wanted most was to be home more with my kids. I realized that without leaning into the uncomfortable I may compromise what I truly wanted for myself and as a mother to my children for the sake of obligation and security of a full-time pay cheque. But, I was really miserable, something had to give and challenging myself to be comfortable being uncomfortable allowed me to park my thoughts around obligation and all the right things, whatever that was and gave me courage to do something that made me very uncomfortable.

By leaning into the uncomfortable I grew as a person. I explored things in my time off with my boys as a young mom and this included me venturing into the world of full-time student and ultimately as a qualified helping professional doing a job I love and am very passionate about. Ironically becoming a helping professional, a job that builds on strong connections towards therapeutic relationships. Not only was Ross’ message heard loud and clear on this day from my past it also was an experience that is a great example of how building a relationship, a healthy connection with someone can truly make a difference in your life. Lean into the uncomfortable, challenge yourself and awaken to new possibilities and life experiences you might not otherwise have.