Your Breakdown Is The Way To Your Breakthrough

I’m going to get vulnerable with you about one of my own breakdowns, are you ready? I’ve had so many breakdowns in my lifetime but this is the story I trust you need to hear today.

It’s my story of shifting gears in my biz over the past 2 years.

A little backstory for those of you who don’t know me. I started a blog called Divine Health in 2010, which morphed into Divine Health From The Inside Out. It was a place I wanted to share what I was learning and to use as more of my ‘storefront’ for clients, online course and products.

You see, in 2007, I had a bit of an awakening to myself. In 2009, I got out of a volatile marriage. In 2010, I decided to pursue my passion of holistic nutrition. My intention for my website was to share more of the ‘inside out’ aspect of health, not just the science of nutrition.

I ended up going all in on the nutrition, health and real food path of blogging on my website. I was obsessed. In part because I was figuring out a lot of that piece for my own health as well as my kids. In a way I shared my journey, but mostly I blogged ‘information’.

Over time, this led to a ton of clients, teaching lots of courses and eventually burning out.

I also gave away too much for free and was not always compensated for my efforts or my time. Which in turn led to more burn out.

I began to lose my joy around my blogging and my website. I wanted to shift gears but I didn’t know how. I felt trapped. I also didn’t want to keep teaching information based content anymore.

I realized people didn’t need anymore information, they were constipated with it. What I saw a big need for was helping people to actually assimilate the information and implement it. It’s in the actual implementation where the transformation occurs but usually what precedes that is the right mindset.

Of course once I realized all of this, I wanted to shift gears immediately but I didn’t quite know how. I had built a following and client base on information and functional testing, to just suddenly shift felt too radical.

I knew I would ruffle some feathers, but I knew I was no longer fully in alignment with the way I had once done things. I no longer felt joy doing things the same way anymore and knew that wasn’t ultimately serving my readers, followers or clients.

It felt heavy for awhile, until I realized just getting that out on the table and being honest about it was actually the first step to freedom. I hired a coach who helped me shift to implement the model of support I wanted to give to my clients. I began to offer my new mind-body coaching approach to my current clients and list and started the transition.

It was S-L-O-W at first but it felt good to be on my way. I also wanted a whole new website and to start a whole new way of communication.

Part of what I learned on this journey to recreating my business was my own mindset and how it was holding me back in many ways. I began to address why I felt blocked.

One of the biggest reasons, I lost sight of my ‘why’. I also hustled for my worth by doing what was expected vs. BEING who I needed to be to show up and serve with love and joy.

Suffice it to say, it was quite an unraveling that occurred. It took me a lot of time to process, to shift and to finally show up in an authentic way that felt like home, like me.

I believe now, as an entrepreneur… wait, let’s call it ‘soulpreneur’ instead… you must be operating out of alignment with your vision and authenticity of what makes YOU special. Your gifts, your unique story matter if you are going to show up and be an authority in the online space.

I had only just begun to find some of what I loved in those years as I wrote over at Divine Health From The Inside Out. I learned a lot about blogging, about writing, about people, about what it’s like to put yourself out there and so much more. But I lost part of what mattered most. Myself. My vision.

My original vision for starting an online biz via a blog was so I could create a flexible, and enjoyable work-life balance. As a single mom, with 4 kids, recovering from burnout that was a non-negotiable. Yet somehow, my work was burning me out, not lighting me up.

There were certain aspects of it I loved and many I didn’t. I noticed the ones that I did not like were making me cranky, stressed and even depressed. When I identified what was no longer serving me in my biz, I was able to create more boundaries while I made some shifts.

I figured out how to create the opportunity to bring these negative influences into my awareness, instead of continuing how I had been going.

I could have just sucked it up because I was experiencing a fair amount of success. I could have questioned my desires to change. I could have asked the question, why do you want more? BUT, I listened to my gut intuition telling me it was time to shift, as scary as that was.

When you allow yourself to SEE and acknowledge your negative patterns or blocks, you can then take action to free yourself from their hold. You can shine your light on the negative patterns that have been standing in your way for so long, and over time, you will loosen the grip they have on you.

It is up to you to make this happen.

The challenge was to work through all of that so I could get to the magic.

Instead of judging myself for wanting to move on, or for not feeling aligned with the work I poured myself into passionately for years - I looked back and appreciated everything I accomplished.

Even though, to me, it was the end of a chapter, an era… I created something pretty amazing. I created incredible recipes, courses and valuable resources for people for many years. Heck, I even helped people radically change their lives.

I am truly grateful for the experience, for what I learned and for all who I met and served along the way.

The New Era: Showing Up AS Myself

I decided years ago, I wanted to shift to a personal brand. This scared me a bit. I kept a running written google doc of everything I wanted in my new personal brand website. My friend Annie said it well, 'so like a vision board of sorts?" Exactly!

As I followed my heart and trusted my intuition it lead me to the opportunities aligned with my highest good. Part of this was getting to know myself better, which I’ve shared a LOT with you already in past blog posts.

Imagine this, I let my feelings and emotions start to guide me. Instead of constantly worrying and overthinking - ‘will this land?’ “Is it good enough? (essentially wondering, ‘am I good enough’). I trusted what they were showing me.

I began to go by when something felt fantastic, I would do more of it; and when something didn’t feel right, I’d do less of it.

Some entrepreneurs call this working in your zone of genius. Some call this working aligned instead of hustling to prove yourself.

I began to see a shift in the online space. People were craving connection. Authenticity. I was too. I was tired of the ‘hustlers’ out there, let alone being in that mode myself.

What I learned was, this breakdown experience of no longer wanting to stay in a job I created didn’t feel good anymore, that I needed to get back in tune with my inner guidance and let it lead the way. I had been seeking others approval out of fear born from self-doubt. That felt SO icky and defeating.

Let me tell you, believing in yourself is SEXY!

Your breakthrough will happen when you start to seek out opportunities that fulfill you instead of drain you. Options that align with your personal values instead of following the path that others expect you to take.

Eureka! Light bulb moment times a billion.

Could it really be true and possible to actually create a business by design, as my mentor James Wedmore teaches in his course?

Could it really be true to become a storybrand like Donald Miller wrote in his book?

Could it really be true that my primary and secondary archetypes, from Cerries Mooney's archetypal quiz could be the foundation of my personal brand?

You are your business - they all said! So I trusted this because you know what, it felt SO aligned! So good to my soul!

I wasn’t totally sure about the ‘how’ of it, but I knew I had to try and take the big leap.

Now, I have hit quite a few roadblocks along the way for sure, but I finally settled in to my new home, my ‘story brand’ as a ‘soulpreneur’, alchemist creative writer. And let me tell you, I feel more joy, more creativity and alignment than ever before.

And that’s just the thing, when you are in alignment with your soul purpose you experience a sense of joyful belonging. It’s like coming home to yourself. This connection with yourself is profound. Your breakdown can lead you to this kind of breakthrough, BUT you have to do the inner work. You have to listen to your soul, your gut and you have to take the leap.

If you think about it, that break down you had/have, it was or is a GIFT.

That blocked energy needed a pattern interrupt so you could DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. And shift TO your breakthrough.

So next time you feel STUCK, BLOCKED or repeating a negative pattern or energy - ask yourself; 'what is this trying to show me, so I can get back into alignment?'

The beauty for me has been, I can continue creation by being creative. The more I allow myself to be creative the more abundant my creativity becomes.

I’m so grateful for all of my breakdowns in life, because I let myself see them as the flashing signs they were to direct me towards new paths. Paths that have brought me more joy than I could have imagined.

A colleague recently asked me, "How do you keep in this flow of sharing on your blog the way you have been? How have you found this much creativity to come with ease?"

I learned to know myself, love myself, honor my gifts, trust my intuition to guide me, give it an outlet to speak and did the inner work to embody the love, joy and harmony of just being ME!

BE LOVE my friends, learn to be love. It starts with loving yourself first and out of that your environment and fellow humans.

Another lesson, I’ve learned to turning breakdowns into breakthroughs is that of FLEXIBILITY.

You see, life isn’t just about doing everything “right.” Instead, life is about constantly finding ways you can take meaningful actions with a playful attitude.

It’s helpful to be flexible when you are in a breakdown. Don’t push yourself so hard that you actually do break, but realize that stretching yourself is healthy.

Also, don’t get discouraged if what used to work no longer works. Instead, embrace the flexibility of trying and refrain from judging what transpires as a success or a failure.

This was something I wrestled with myself immensely, but I was taking myself WAY TOO seriously and inflicting my own pain on myself.

There’s an old saying that life really is like a game, so don’t take things TOO seriously!

Learn to simplify and enjoy the process. This was something I had to keep working at, letting things go that no longer served my new aligned vision. I learned there was a fine line between coping with many of the demands of my work and losing control. That line was THIN, so I cleared more space and let more things go.

A breakdown experience is always a good time to re-evaluate your priorities and created stronger aligned boundaries.

You need to manage your time, energy and resources carefully so you do not lose your balance. You don’t have to be busy to get things done. I repeat, you do not have to be BUSY to get things done. Sometimes taking a break is the most productive thing you can do. And my friends, that is a lot of what I did as I shifted. Took more breaks by including radical self-care practices.

Keep in mind, if you have multiple priorities going on (like me) it’s important to be adaptable and create healthy boundaries.

Embrace the dynamic energies at work for you in your situation and remember that the only constant in life is change.

If you find you are getting caught up in the day-to-day demands and losing sight of the bigger picture, ask yourself: “What life do I want? And how can I re-organise my schedule to create the life I desire?”

After all, you are the boss (well at least in my story that’s the case), but seriously… it’s YOUR life. You get to create your life to work for YOU the best way you can!

You can always be striving for equilibrium (like I wanted with work-life balance), but the truth is nothing ever stays in perfect harmony.

Stabilizing work and family commitments sounds fantastic, but in reality, your family might be more high-priority one week, and work the next. So, just as a reminder; be patient, flexible and adaptable as you try to juggle your responsibilities with your family, friends, work, finances, health and new challenges. Your breakthrough is you moving more towards what you want, while also being flexible with the ebbs and flows of life!

If you are looking for support with a mentor and coach to empower you further than you can on  your own, I invite you to book an intuitive breakthrough session with me. A breakthrough session is designed to provide you with clarity, confidence and effective tools to move beyond the challenges you are facing (aka: YOUR BREAKDOWN) and a simple action plan to follow so you can start creating a life you love.

Now, I would love to hear from you … have you learned how to turn your breakdowns into your breakthroughs? Did this post resonate with you in any way? Share in the comments below…