My Transformation from Stuck to Sticky

Waking up to my life, getting unstuck, and finding my health and happiness did not happen with a snap of a finger.  My journey from being stuck in my goals to creating a vision that allows me to stick to achieving and maintaining my health and happiness is a daily practice I enjoy.

The Secret Language of Birthdays declares my birthday as The Day of Dogged-Persistence. Hindsight says, this is true!

My tendency is to allow my dogged-persistence to get me stuck.  It has my entire life.  I am very determined and when I set a goal, I achieve it.  The goal is the goal, regardless.  I put on blinders, hunker down and get to it.  Yes, that can be good but it comes at a cost.  My blinders can be too effective. In the past, I did not think about a big picture or have a vision.  I knew nothing of adjusting my goal and learning from my experiences.  Now, I believe that is what life is about.  Live each day.  Enjoy successes and learn from experiences.  Adjust as you need to.  Constantly change.  Pay attention.

I grew up believing that when you set a goal, you achieve it.  Not a bad way to grow up.  I won’t go into the details of my youth.  Let’s just say my grades were good, my parents never had to worry, and I don’t have wild stories to tell from high school or college.

Jumping ahead to 2000 I was married to a great guy and I had a great job and great
friends.  I was completing my thesis for my second Masters degree.  But I woke up many nights thinking … This is not my life! It was not a bad life but it wasn’t right for me.  I was stuck and I did not know how to get out … this was what I have been working toward. This was the goal, right?  I reached the goal, but I was stuck.  This was the beginning of waking up and realizing there is more to life than reaching goals.  Sadly, my marriage ended (that will always hurt).  I finished the masters course work but I did not complete my thesis.  I learned that success is not always about what you acquire but it may be achieved by letting go.  That was a huge lesson!

I wish that was the end of my learning journey.  It was tough but only the beginning. There would be lots more letting go.  Fast forward 2013ish … I am stuck.  I had a good paying job.  I was in a relationship with a great guy.  I ran almost daily and my yoga practice was strong.  I owned an adorable home.  Again, here’s the “but”.  I was often saying “Once I get through this, everything will be better.  That’s when I will be happy.” The this I was “getting through” was my life.  As far as I know, I only get one life and I was not living it. I was enduring it.  The relationship of four plus years had a mutual ending.  I resigned from my global, corporate position of nine years.

With time, I began a new relationship and a new job.  I wish I could tell you my life was all roses.  Nope, not yet, doggedly-persistent and obviously a slow learner.  The new relationship and job were learning experiences and not the stuff of dreams.  Relationship lasted a few months.  Job … let’s just say we did not part on good terms.  I was payed-off to leave.  Can’t say anything else because I signed a contract saying I would never speak of it.  I think that says enough.  The good news, I was much faster at getting unstuck.  I set a record, under a year.

Fast forward … Poe Wellness Solutions. With years experience at being stuck, it was time for a change.  The timeline for acknowledging my stuckness was shorter. That was a plus but I knew I could do better. My passion for health of mind and body, years of yoga practice and health coaching experience became tools for developing the process for transforming stuckness into stickiness.  I am no longer intertwined with my goals.  Yes, I have goals.  But they are no longer the driving force. They are no longer the end.  My goals are the milestones along the way.  Now, I have a bigger picture.  A vision that matters to me, a purpose, a passion.  It took time to create and it needs tending to.  My vision provides direction and motivation, a stickiness that keeps me on track.  I experience success.  I fall short.  I learn.  I keep moving.  I am not stuck on the achievement of my goals but instead motivated by the stickiness of the bigger picture, passion and purpose of my life.

The happy ending?  I don’t see an ending.  It’s an evolution, a continuous transformation from stuck to sticky.