By Ann Darwicki
A few short months ago, I was working at a job that I used to love. Somewhere along the way, I noticed that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing.
The compassion that used to come so naturally was almost more than I could muster.
At first I felt bad about it, thinking there was something wrong with me. This was always my first go-to thought when things were not working out for me in some way. This time, however, instead of self-judgment and recrimination, I asked, “What could this mean instead?”
As a nurse, I had spent so many years happily taking care of others, but I had not been heeding the advice I had given so freely to the new mothers I cared for. I always told them that if they did not take care of their own basic needs, they could not take care of their baby’s needs. Just like the airline states,
“Put the oxygen mask on yourself before placing it on your child.”
Wise, simple advice…yet often unheeded.
With this realization, I knew what I needed to do. I had the full support of my husband, and I started making preparations to exit my job—a position I held for 14 years in a profession to which I devoted 21 years.
Fear and doubt quickly replaced my exuberance. I contemplated the loss of a large part of my identity. I was a nurse. I was not leaving my position to go to another one, and I was going to lose a valuable income that I thought was absolutely necessary for my family’s survival. The fear was, at times, overwhelming, but I confronted my fear of stepping into the unknown.
Once I thoroughly addressed each of my emotions, a joy started to simmer and bubble to the surface. I was getting the opportunity to reinvent myself, to do things differently than I had before, and the possibilities were seemingly endless!
The first thing I did was completely change my appearance to more accurately reflect who I was on the inside. I cut the long hair I had worn for the better part of the past 30 years and colored it red—a color I had wanted to try on for 20 years. And I loved it! I felt so vibrant, so alive, so rejuvenated. I wondered why I had waited so long to make the changes.
I decided to go into coaching, and as I went further down the path I found myself enjoying the unexpected twists and turns of guiding others toward their own self-discoveries. I also had—and continue to have—my own internal growth as part of the process. One of the most valuable lessons I learned ended in a vow to live my life from this new place of joy from this point forward—following my bliss in each moment.
The change was difficult, but it wasn’t as costly as I had thought. It did not mean that I shirked my responsibilities; instead, I did them from a place of pleasure and they were completed effortlessly. I am extremely fortunate to have taken a leap of faith and landed in a place where I follow my passion every day. I now have a new lease on life, and you can too!
What changes are you putting off until tomorrow?
Are you living the life that you have imagined? What are you waiting for? I encourage you to take a leap of faith!
Ann Darwicki is a nurse turned professional life coach. She completed her training at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching and is now the owner and founder of Whole Being Coaching, specializing in coaching caregivers and nurses to live the life of their dreams. Ann has 22 years of nursing experience caring for women and children, with a life-long affinity for holistic medicine. She is a Reiki Practitioner and an outspoken advocate for both people and the environment. She is a Nurse Luminary and a founding member and current chair of Delaware Nurses Association’s ad-hoc group Nurses Healing our Planet. Ann also has been a Delaware Clean Air Ambassador. She can be reached at 302-750-0574 or by email at adarwicki@comcast.net.