THE GRASS CAN BE GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE

If you told me five years ago that I would be heading to another country to conduct leadership workshops, I may have thought you were crazy.
 
As I sit here on a plane, soaring through the clouds, I realize how much effort and transformation was required for me to be sitting in this seat.
 
Is this real? That is the question that is on a continuous loop in my head.
 
I distinctly recall sitting at my cubicle desk at my old job holding my head down and feeling so out of place. I had a great career, but I had evolved. I was at a point where I was meant to be in another place, doing things where I could experience the feeling of true passion in my work. As more time passed, the feeling of loneliness and dissatisfaction crept into my life. It was very clear that I wasn't using my gifts and no one understood me in my professional life.
 
I must have told myself a thousand times during that period that I was going to find a way to do what I really saw myself doing. In short, I saw that as being able to help other hungry leaders develop themselves.

To move forward it required several transformative years of sacrifice and digging into who I really was as a person. It required getting dialed into my own self-awareness. This meant not being afraid to speak up, placing myself in risky situations, and being vulnerable.
 
The last few years have been a total transformation of who I used to be versus who I am today. I will continue to develop my natural talents and raise my hand to serve anywhere I can and for anyone who will let me.
 
Transformation is not an easy process by any means and it is a very restless phase.
 

The key is to understand that no one is going to change you, except YOU.

 
You have to do all the hard work, make the sacrifices, and be prepared to not be very good at first. 
 
You are responsible for cultivating your next move. You have to create the soil which is the foundation to start, plant the seeds for your growth, and make sure you are exposing them to sunlight and water so they have their best chance to bloom.
 
Here are three tips that helped me once I decided to take action and take control of my future:

1. Get rid of any ego you have. If you are used to being "top dog" where you are, be prepared to be the underdog (for just a while!). Remember why you want to change in the first place; obviously being "top dog" wasn't everything that you were seeking or you wouldn't want to change.

2. Embrace the inevitable feeling of discomfort. Making a big change in your life is hard. We become so comfortable knowing our job and being used to the feeling of success. It becomes a habit. Remember how you grew in doing your current job? At first, you probably weren't very good at it. The prize is in the process. That's where we stretch and begin to grow.

3. Understand you won't be very good at first. No one is and you must learn to establish reasonable expectations. It takes practice to master something we have talent in doing. Remember that 10,000 hours is the magic number, so until you have done it over and over and over, accept that your Chapter 1 won't be the same as someone else's Chapter 20. 

You can make your move, but spend the time to create a plan. It's easy to be in a successful career but experience a void in your overall satisfaction. Once again, only YOU have the power to create positive change in your life.

To your growth,
Kelly Merbler