This article is an excerpt from a past monthly letter. If you enjoy this kind of grounding support, sign up to receive the monthly coaching package: it includes an article like this one, journaling prompts, creative practices, spiritual rituals and supportive tools to help you navigate your rebellious path as an artist or creative entrepreneur.

Today, here, now. This is a season you’ll look back on one day with so much gratitude: a catalyst moment for the beautiful, spacious and inspiring life you’ll have created for yourself. You’re planting seeds for the beginning of a new chapter to flourish. Maybe it’s even the start of a brand new book for you. This is an exciting moment, and it might also bring up fear, anxiety, frustration, impatience, vulnerability— maybe you’re feeling all of it at the same time. This blank canvas creates an open space for so many inspiring possibilities… and potentially a bit (or a lot) of that blank page anxiety.

As I’m writing these lines, I’m also navigating these fluctuating waters and riding the waves of many conflicting emotions. I’m opening a brand new book that I cannot wait to read and learn from, and I’m also grieving important chapters of my life. Moving through these liminal spaces can be unsettling at times, as we’re also undergoing the personal transformation that is needed to manifest this new vision into reality.

We may be experiencing a vast range of emotions as we move through this period of change— and feeling the growing pains that come with it. This could look like:

“This feels so scary. I may risk losing something.” (fear)

“This is not going fast enough, It’s not worth it.” (impatience)

“This is hard. This is not meant for me.” (discouragement)

“This feels embarrassing, I want to hide.” (vulnerability)

“This is too much, I can't handle it.” (overwhelm)

It’s a lot for our nervous system to process. We may feel the urge to turn around and go back to the paved roads we’ve already walked on; our brain registers uncertainty as an error we need to correct and shed lights on safer (known) pathways. It’s easier (and perceived as safer) to stick to what we know— staying in that lukewarm relationship, borrowing strategies that work for other entrepreneurs, and keeping that stable job. What these choices have in common is simple: it’s a known path, and it’s definitely not our path.

We may focus our energy on avoiding the discomfort at all costs instead of bravely facing it. But if you’ve been around that cycle enough times, you know this only leads back to one thing… square 1. There are countless valuable lessons hidden under the uncomfortable moments we're trying to press fast-forward on.

I’m encouraging us to explore how we can choose courage over comfort in this season. How can we keep making progress towards our vision despite the anxiety we may feel around the big unknowns it comes with?

Choosing courage over comfort doesn't mean pushing our way through these growing pains. It also doesn’t mean to “be strong” and bypass our emotions— rather, it means creating space for all of it to be felt and learning to slowly but surely be okay with being uncomfortable. Sometimes, being strong is more about learning to be unwaveringly soft.

Change is…well, change. It disrupts the status quo. And that comes with waves of (annoying, awkward, frustrating) discomfort. It asks you to plant your feet in new grounds, walk on an unpaved road, and sit with the discomfort of not knowing how this change is going to unfold.

If you're reading this letter, I can only assume you’re different in some way, shape or form. You want a life that feels, looks, sounds, tastes like you— one that doesn’t follow anyone else’s blueprint. The truth is— if you crave something different for your life, chances are the means to make your way there also get to be different. You're atypical, your dreams are atypical, and how you create that atypical life will also be... atypical. You’re unconventional, nonconformist, rebellious. Your vision and your path will also be unconventional, nonconformist, rebellious.

The reality is that most likely, no one walked on this path before. Maybe there are no footsteps to follow simply because it's waiting for yours.

You do not need to know all the details right now. What matters in this very moment is getting clear on what your very next step looks like— not the whole staircase. By skipping ahead, trying to know the unknown or prepare for any potential roadbumps, you may be overlooking the lessons you need to guide your next steps.
Creating change is not (only) about building a plan and finding the right structure to manifest your vision. Often, it’s simply about learning to be with that discomfort. It's uncomfortable, it's painful, it sucks and it gets to be just that. We can learn to be brave enough to expect, invite and welcome discomfort— sit with this uninvited guest instead of trying to make it disappear.

This may be a season of traveling to new destinations for you and sometimes, there is simply no map to follow. But you can always rely on your inner compass and internal anchors to root yourself and continue taking brave steps on your path.