Homecoming was the keyword of our original episode with Mutiara Alam, who was determined to build a global career since she was a student in Indonesia. In this bonus episode, we delve into the experience of transformation, change, and homecoming from her perspective and lived experience, with a twist. Both Mutiara and I have become trained coaches to support others in their own journeys and transformations. Our discussion is informed by that as well.
We cover a lot of ground: the balance between letting things unfold while working hard for a specific goal or vision; the question on what is home, especially as we build lives across countries that stretch that definition; the process of building confidence through action, and what I like calling “building bold moves from within.”
One piece of our discussion is about how often we feel lost in this process. I know this very deeply: we keep working on a specific goal or vision but the seeds are yet to bloom, and it is so easy to feel like we are lost. We do not see the result, so our natural default becomes doubting ourselves, and what is happening around us. There are many reasons for that to happen. One is our own rebuilding: most times, the external changes we see around us are meeting an inner transformation we are undergoing, even if we are not fully aware. The goal you started pursuing after so long needed you to believe in yourself and your ambition. The scary leap you want to take needs you to trust that you are going to be okay. The project that felt impossible and has now materialized needed you to know that you were capable of creating it, and act on it.
All of this requires us to also let go of certainty and comfort. Because it is true that sometimes, even the most constraining beliefs have a sense of comfort… otherwise we would not hold on to them as tightly. But as we discuss with Mutiara in this episode, that is not a space where you want to stay for too long. It will make you feel like shrinking.
For today’s reflection, I want to offer two questions that can help you explore these themes for you. First, if you are in this season of feeling lost, and unclear on where anything is going, what are the small seeds you can recognize from your last week, month, year? They may not have bloomed yet, but they may still be worth watering.
Second, what is an inner transformation that you can recognize in yourself during this time? It does not need to be a big one. Sometimes the biggest transformations are the most subtle ones. Think about how you have changed your mind or your behavior in recent times. How does that relate to the seeds you are planting and watering?
I look forward to hearing what this episode and reflection sparked for you, and what those seeds you can identify are. Remember you can join me on Patreon to continue the discussion through our group chat, behind-the-scenes updates and our live chats on our episodes and these themes.
See you in a couple of weeks, when we are going to do a recap of what we have learned through the first full season of Lucky to Be Here,