I traded in my stiletto life for a flip flop

According to Heraclitus, “the only constant is change.”    Call it perpetual motion, flux, evolution, development, metamorphosis; but it is what it is — change.

We all know change is inevitable, and yet, we often resist ; straddling the fence of inevitability.  However, I recently jumped off of the fence into a new life.   To borrow a page from the Christa in New York playbook, I’ve recently decided to take a leap of faith in my career.   Not as brave as starting my own business, but about two months ago, I decided to take a step back.

Going through Yoga Teacher Training changed me, in a beautiful way.   At the risk of being cliche, I found myself.   Under the armor, under the facade, under the crap that we cover ourselves in to protect our hearts, there I was.  At first, like many teacher training students, I thought, “I never want to leave here.  I want to teach yoga as my job and be surrounded by like minded supportive people.”  But, what I really wanted was just NOT to do what I was doing any more.

Each Monday after training, I would return to work only to be frustrated and heart broken at a work environment that didn’t mesh with who I really am.   My mentors helped guide me on how to re-acclimate each week, but I never really quite got there.  In fact, I didn’t want to “acclimate.”  It felt inauthentic and raw like trying to push through the pain of wearing a gorgeous shoe that hurts your feet.

So, I took two months off and examined where I was, and where I want to go.   In that two months, I realized that my instincts were right.  My stiletto of a job just didn’t fit anymore.  So, without knowing where I was going I kicked off those shoes, closed my eyes and took a leap of faith.

As fate would have it, I found a new job.  It’s a completely different industry, with about 500,000 less employees, and it’s an organization that I can feel passionate about.  It fits my personality like Cinderella’s glass slipper, or should I say flip flop.  Like the first day of kindergarten, I’m filled with fear, uncertainty, and excitement at the thought of starting this new chapter in my life.   Life is full of choices.  Choices that shape who you are; that come from who you are.   I chose to trade in a stiletto for a flip flop.

“You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are. ” ― Fred Rogers

Namaste.

– Your Charmed Yogi