Many of us here are planners, and even when it comes to big life changes like career moves or international moves, we like to take the steps, be thorough and methodical and move intentionally.
Ideally.
The funny thing about life is that it is rarely possible. I know this deeply. I had a very different idea of how I would land on becoming an entrepreneur, or what this journey would look like. But at the end of the day, whether the changes and pivots we face are planned or not, on our own or as a family of four, there is one thing that will help us navigate them every time: self-trust.
In today’s episode of Lucky to Be Here (our last of the first season!!), I interview Veronica Sepehr. Veronica has developed a career that truly embraced pivots across industries and countries, having covered from academia to corporate research to UX to product operations to now Canadian immigration. We discuss her own story and experiences, as well as her perspective as an immigration lawyer on navigating lives and careers across countries.
highly recommend listening to this episode that is full of gems, like Veronica’s experience moving from Ecuador to rural Canada early on, then coming back to Ecuador for about a year before deciding it was time to leave again and pursue her Ph.D. in Canada. But she also opens up about the ordeals she had to go through at multiple points in time throughout these processes, both by herself, with her partner, and now as a family of four. She succinctly shares the mantra behind all of this: “We don’t quit.”
Today, I want to zoom in on this part specifically because as we have discussed throughout this entire season of Lucky to Be Here (and beyond!), we have had the chance to discuss and reflect through so many life stories, including our own, and one thing is clear: most of our lives are not spent in the milestones we seek to reach, our Ithacas like we mentioned in the last newsletter. Most of our lives are spent in the in-betweens, the uncertainty and the progress from where we are to where we want to be next. There is something scary about that truth: an acceptance that we have less control or stability than we would like to.
On the flip side, there are anchors that help us keep at it. The one that I work with as a coach, and that motivates me to do all the work you see me sharing, is ourselves. In other words, it is a fundamental belief of mine that it is self-trust that grounds us through each and all of our processes. We develop that self-trust when we know that no matter what, we have our backs. We know that when we know ourselves.
There is no easy recipe for knowing ourselves, and it is an ongoing process. The version of me who is writing this today is very different from the one a couple years ago (for starters, that version had not yet jumped into the abyss of rebuilding her entire life). So we all keep meeting ourselves where we are at throughout our lives. But the tools we develop to meet ourselves again and again make all the difference.
My invitation for us today is this one:
Think about a time where you felt that you had your back, a time where you felt you took care of yourself no matter how hard it felt, that you listened to what you needed and acted on it. What happened in that situation? Write it down as if you were talking about a friend to someone else (you know, a little chisme twist).
What did you learn about yourself through that time? How does knowing that about yourself shape who you are at this time?
I look forward to hearing what has come up for you.
On a personal note, thank you for being part of this journey with me. I teared up as I was queueing this last episode thinking about how scared I felt when I first launched the trailer for this project about eight months ago. I am thrilled of what has materialized since, and I am grateful that you are part of this experience.
Very on theme for today’s topic, we will have some bonus trailers and episodes in-between seasons, but our newsletter will remain the same every other Wednesday. I look forward to sharing with you some additional reflections and themes for your own exploration. Is there a topic you are particularly interested in? Reply back to share with me so I can consider it.
See you in a couple of weeks!