We’re all made up of different layers, a beautiful collection of natural talents and skills we’ve gathered along the way. For most of my life, I thrived in the world of analytics, timelines, and deadlines. It was my comfort zone, the place where I felt most capable and sure.
But something shifted in recent years. I found myself standing at the edge of an entirely new forest, one where the pathways were unfamiliar, the trees unrecognizable, and the landscape completely foreign.
I stumbled.
I walked in circles.
I got lost more times than I care to count.
And then, something unexpected happened: I stopped.
For someone who had spent decades moving at full speed, this felt revolutionary. I had mastered the art of technical projects and product launches, navigated global teams across continents, and juggled conference calls spanning time zones long before remote work became our collective reality. My manager lived on another continent, and that felt perfectly normal. I thought I had it all figured out.
But here’s what life teaches you when you pay attention: the rules change. They’re changing right now, actually. And sometimes what feels like a choice, like starting a new career, might actually be something deeper calling you forward. A path that was always meant for you.
When I finally allowed myself to stop, something remarkable happened. I could look around. Notice the details. Feel what my body had been trying to tell me all along. In my corporate years, stopping wasn’t an option, we only knew how to speed ahead. But doing the opposite of what I’d always done? That opened everything up.
I found my old watercolor set, tucked away for twenty years, and started painting again. At first, they were just blobs of color spreading across paper. But there was something magical in watching those colors flow and merge, sometimes staying abstract, other times becoming something real and recognizable. Each brushstroke opened a door to parts of myself I’d forgotten existed.
Being open creates space for creativity. And creativity? It broadens everything: our perspective, our possibilities, our sense of what’s waiting for us in that new forest.
As with most disciplines, it’s the daily practice that unlocks something within us, whether it’s painting, meditating, walking, running, or cooking. These acts awaken parts of us that the analytical work never touches. When we create, different regions of our brain light up and come alive.
What brings me joy now is so simple: putting different colors on a page. It doesn’t matter if they’re just blobs or barely discernible shapes. It’s my limbic system, the brain’s emotional hub, that finds pure delight in the act itself. Doing the opposite of what I’d always done has given me permission to let go of structure, to be carefree, to be creative. You can find this through art, music, or movement, especially something like dance.
The word “practice” carries such weight here. Whether it’s daily or simply regular, the act of showing up, of hiking in the woods, of picking up a brush, of moving your body, is what truly broadens our perspective. It’s in the repetition, the returning, the gentle consistency where transformation quietly takes root.
So, I’ll leave you with this: What activity defines the opposite of what you do normally? Are you willing to try something, to experiment, to explore?
If you’d like some support on this journey, I’d love to explore how coaching might help you move forward. Book a complimentary call – no pressure, just a conversation about what’s possible for you: https://L2BAppointments.as.me/IntroWebsite
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