It’s been a while since my last newsletter. I’ve been especially busy the past few months, due to a sudden and unexpected move into a new home, a new office, and a brand-new town!
Making decisions regarding major life changes—especially those initiated by others—can be daunting. When I found out last winter that I had to move due to changes in my building, my first reaction was resistance. With 34 moves under my belt, yet another one was unappealing, to say the least. My next feeling was dread followed by overwhelm. I loved where I lived and my beautiful home office. Where and how would I find another place as nice?
I recognized that having to move had pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone—a place I hadn’t visited in a while—and that as such, fear of the unknown was being activated. I then re-framed the situation as an exciting, new adventure, which helped me to override the fear and move into action.
Several years before, I had sold my house as I contemplated a move back to the west coast. To give myself time to decide what I wanted to do, I rented a lovely home, where I also set up a home office. A few years in, I became a doting grandmother to an incredible baby girl, which eliminated a move across the country as an option. By then, I was so comfortable in my rental that I decided to stay put for a while. From time to time I’d think, “I should be paying my own mortgage, not someone else’s”, but having moved so many times before, I lacked the will to make a change.
As is often the case, what began as something to resist, became a blessing in disguise. Not only did I find a beautiful new house and office, but my ideal home turned out to be the first and only place I saw when I began my search.
I wanted this 35th move to be my last, so it was a rather big decision. As a strong “feeler” with past experiences of making real estate decisions from my emotions—and living with the not-so-great consequences—I wanted to be sure to get this one right. I considered how it felt to be in the house and an area that was familiar, but in which I’d never lived. I also engaged the “thinker” part of me in the decision-making process, getting facts about town statistics, demographics, and governance. But the final decision about whether or not to buy the new house was left ultimately to my intuition—the instinctive and deeper part of me that is connected to, and a conduit for, the pathway that is “on-course” and best for me. I’m now joyfully settled into my new house and office, where I continue to serve my coaching clients in-person and via Skype for people in other cities, states, and countries.
Being reminded about the important role of the intuition when evaluating options inspired me to include something about the intuition this month, and how important it is to differentiate the latter from emotions when making decisions.