Why You Want to Stop Running from Your Weak Spots, like Yesterday

Self-development starts with self-awareness and the willingness to embrace - or admit - that you need help.

In August of 2018, the three key areas of my life were all in high gear. You know how that goes….

• Family of five kids, in-laws, grandkids, et al (spread across five states and two countries);

• Professional (at 62, I was planning the exit strategy from Corporate America to do self-employed me again) and

• Tennis, where my team was heading to Sectionals having taken a wild card to State and barely beat out the first place team.

That is when the lights came on. Not a ‘big idea’ light bulb mind you, I’m talking literal shooting rays of light in my left eye, intermittent, and seemingly benign because it wasn’t painful at all. In fact, they were stunning, fun, and entertaining.

Denial told me this is no big deal, and ego said I had too much going on to go to the eye doctor. And my Web MD surface-level ‘wisdom’ told me that no pain means no problem, so why be a bother to the doctor with a non-painful symptom? That proved to be a darn-lousy call on my part.

Three days later, I woke up with nearly no vision in my left eye.

Twenty-four hours later, I was in a hospital gown prepped for surgery… the first of three emergency surgeries in 100 days to fix what turned out to be a very serious detached retina.

If you’ve had this experience, you know the post-surgery drill: lay face down, all day, for several days or weeks, with no “face up” time except for meals and bathroom breaks. As you can imagine, this forces an introspection that normal life doesn’t typically allow and the type of personal growth that can only come from being pinned face-down on the mat.

I would never wish this experience on anyone, but I’m thrilled to be able to share with you the insights (or gifts) I received during this time…

• Remember to ask for help. Then allow people to give it.

• Ask for what you need.

• Don’t mess with your eyes. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t tempt fate.

• Also, I CAN put drops in my own eyes (#mythbuster). I will survive, happily, with less than 20/20 or even 20/60 sight and still thrive.

• I can help others not do what I do by being vocal, open, honest, and even vulnerable about my experience.

My face-down time forced me to think about ME including how I show up. I started realizing that maybe some of my real me had gotten lost in the crazy of life. And some of me was hiding behind the idea of busy.

So the universe, knowing best, gave me three emergency surgeries on my eye, each one scary, to tell me to slow down. And the irony is not lost on me that my eye forced me to really pay attention to my “I.”

So, how’s this relate to you?

Take the next 60 seconds to listen to your body and see what comes up for you. Where could you use some help? Where is there “stuck energy?” What is holding you back from the life you want?

Whether you’re seeing warning signs like I did, or you want to get ahead of them, I’m here to help. Schedule your consultation today!