This is MY LIFE STORY, a spiritual being, having a very human experience as Sandra Nand, a coach, and a budding writer.
Re-righting Life Stories is based on my life experiences. The choices I made and teachings I applied to improve my life. My motivation to find my passion and purpose. And the decision to assist women in considering a similar search for their passion and purpose in life.
I had a seventeen-year career in the public service, which I was reluctant to leave. The steady income and the identity I had created provided for a comfortable and safe life. These, however, no longer resonated with who I had become. My resignation was inevitable.
My mother’s death in January 2023 was a reminder to experience life instead of going through the motions of just surviving. This was the leverage I needed to act on my passion and live a purpose driven life.
The transition to being who I am today took me four years. Discernment of what I needed to live a passion and purpose driven life was necessary.
This started with a commitment to change and a willingness to invest in myself. I found mentors and a coach whose teachings inspired me to make changes. Their advice, guidance and support were complimentary of each other.
Knowing that thoughts shaped my reality, I worked on changing my thoughts to change my life. I stopped telling the stories that reflected how I used to think and react.
During this journey, I learnt to address the emotions I experienced through understanding and acknowledgment of it. The courage and strength to choose myself allowed me to move past the need to control my life and overcome my own resistances.
Life changed when I changed how I thought, felt, and reacted to the situations I faced. I knew I had changed when the past hurt and anger turned to gratitude for my experiences. I drew on these experiences to help me manage future situations.
The aspects of my life that I thought was keeping me safe had, in fact, been incarcerating me. The experience of freedom came with every significant decision I made, including my decision to resign from my secure and long-term job and the decision to assist other women.
As I entered this new and unknown world, I faced some challenges too. My own values, belief systems, and the structures I had previously applied in my life challenged me the most.
I had already taken the time to understand my mentors’ teachings and apply them to my own values and belief systems. Incorporating these into my new life was essential, including confronting my adversary.
As I learnt, the adversary can come from within. My ego often stepped in to “protect me” in the unknown world I had entered with thoughts of whether I would be successful in the path I had taken. Worse still was the ego questioning if this was an actual job.
The ego may think it knows, but the soul knows. Being the creator of my reality meant I could choose who I was listening to. Magic happened when I listened to my soul and took the next step, and then the next step, and acted in love with myself.
The idea of acting in love with the self may sound selfish, but I found it to be a self-less act and the key to my journey of living the life I had chosen.
Self-love was more than just getting my hair or nails done. It was sitting in quiet contemplation with me and opening my heart to the love that is innate in each of us. This love goes beyond the type of love shared with another person or felt from owning material things.
It was difficult to sit quietly at first, as invasive thoughts and emotions linked to life situations that I had stored away resurfaced. The feeling of unconditional love came from within me when I least expected it.
With self-love came authenticity, a higher sense of self-worth and self-esteem and clearly defined boundaries. The ultimate test came when integrating my new sense of being to everyday life.
In December 2022, I had booked in for a weeklong retreat scheduled for March 2023 at Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. This was to be my sixth retreat since 2019, when I had committed to and invested in my self-development. It was an opportunity to learn and meditate with like-minded people.
As the event drew closer, I questioned my decision to attend the retreat that was to become the most transformative experience of my life.
The coincidences I experienced at the retreat were uncanny when I introduced myself as a coach and writer. I met women in search of their passion and purpose driven life. Women who had committed to life changes and loved the outcome.
The universe reflected the story I told about myself.
When I returned, the proverbial veil had lifted with an empowering insight into life. It revealed the power I had to create the life that I wanted. I just needed to love life.
This is just a piece of my entire story.
The entirety includes the circumstances that led me to question where I was. What was I doing with my life? What led to my commitment to bring about changes for myself? The investment I made for the changes. The journey I took to find my passion and purpose and then retreating to integrate my new story and transformation.
What is YOUR LIFE STORY?
Find out about the WHAT, WHY and HOW of Re-righting Your Life Story in the next blog.
