I Got Fired...

You know those moments in your life that, when you look back on them, you see that it was a major turning point, but you just didn't realize it at the time. The day I got fired was one of those. I walked Into the gym for my regular before-work-6 am-session with my trainer, as I had done several times a week for many years.

On this particular morning, I started my warm-up while waiting for her to arrive. When she got there, instead of going through the usual rundown of what we were going to tackle in the session, she said very sternly, "We need to talk".

Why are those words never followed by anything good? My trainer proceeded to tell me that she was firing me as a client. "What?????". She went on to say that I was pushing my body beyond its limits and that my body was pushing back in the form of weakness and injury.

She said very emphatically, "You are not paying attention to what you really need." and that, in good conscience, she could continue to train me because it was not in my best interest.

And just like that, I was fired!

Who gets fired by their trainer? I was so angry. How dare she! Who did she think she was? She had no idea what she was talking about. Or did she??

Looking back on it now, it was the wake-up call I needed—one of the greatest gifts that has ever been given.

After stewing about it for a while, I realized that she was right. So right!!!

I was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted trying to hang on to areas of my life that were very clearly telling me that I needed to change. I was 50, recently divorced, let go from my executive position, an empty nester, and now fired by my trainer. Everything that defined who I thought I was in the world was no longer available to me…..wife, mother, corporate executive, and gym rat. And the worst part was that I had no idea who I was without it. And thus begin the journey to discover myself and reinvent my life.

This is my story. It's a bit dramatic, I realize, but I hear similar stories in differing degrees from my clients and women in the Old Chicks Know Sh*t community.

Women who, when life begins to shift and change, realize that they have completely lost themselves along the way. They have moulded themselves to suit the demands and responsibilities of life, only to come face to face with the fact that they don't know who they are underneath it all.

Over the process of my reinvention journey and in my work since, I have learned that this is exactly what is supposed to be happening at this time of our lives. This chapter of life is about stripping away anything - people, places and situations along with the patterns of behavior that no longer serve us so that we can return to the truth of who we are. Because in the truth of our authenticity, we find the gifts that are meant to be shared with the world. For some of us, it takes a nudge; for people like me, it takes a brick in the head to bring us there.

Which one are you? Do you have a story about how life told you it's time to change?

I'd love to hear it and possibly share it on the podcast. It's so important for us to share our stories so that we may support and inspire each other along the way.

Contact me to share your experience.

Talk soon.

Jennifer