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I Left My Comfort Zone for a Co-Working Space

Last week, I worked from an office for the first time in more than 20 years!

And why is this worthy of sharing?

Because I'm not going to lie—it was hard! I felt awkward, embarrassed, scared—stressful feelings.

I’ve been giving psychic readings and teaching classes for 20 years, but it was always under the radar of public scrutiny, which was very much within my comfort zone. I knew already as a young child I didn’t handle stress well so was content doing readings by referral only.

Then, for reasons I’ll share in another post, I (uncomfortably) launched Ascended Presence as an official business on Earth Day 2020.

Over the past 18 months, I’ve grown and stretched myself in new ways – learning all sorts of software that runs behind the scenes, attempting to show up on social media even if just sporadically, writing and sharing the Journals, and of course, starting the Practicum and my Accelerated Coaching Program.

But I continued to work from the safety of my own home. My husband, on the other hand, sometimes works from a cool co-working space downtown. I always wanted to check it out but was too intimidated. He didn’t understand my hesitations and just picked up the phone and booked me a day at the office. Yikes!

I Forgot How to Dress for Work!

As I was trying to get ready for my first day back in an office, I didn't know what to wear. I'm not a big shopper as it is, and my limited wardrobe consists of comfortable running-around-doing-a-gazillion-things attire that has withstood green smoothie spills, tears, dog hair, and sweat. Shoes that don't have a ton of padding? Fuhgeddaboudit. I didn't know how to fix my hair more professionally than a quick and messy top bun.

To be honest, one of the hardest things that morning was looking at myself in the mirror for more than a cursory glance and realizing that I don't look on the outside how I think I look from the inside. I also don't look at all like I did the last time I worked in an office. There was no primping or priming that could overcome these discrepancies!

Nevertheless, here's what I did—in real-time mind you, as I was blow-drying my hair (that’s the best part of the active energy management tools I teach—you do it on the go; no need to stop everything, sit down, close your eyes, get into a meditative state).

How to Process Uncomfortable Feelings

 The first step to processing uncomfortable feelings is to become aware of them. Alas, I noticed each tiny tinge of stress in rapid-fire succession:

·      What if I get hungry? I won’t have my supply of drinks and snacks at the ready.

·      Where to park, where to sit, how to access Wifi?

·      Who was I to work from an office anyway? why did it matter?

·      What on Earth am I even doing with Ascended Presence?

·      This stress is not worth it; I shouldn’t waste my time and money; it’s easier to work from home

·      And on and on…

Noticing our emotions is simple, yet we often unconsciously push them down into our lower gut and even hold our breath as we try to distract ourselves so we don’t have to feel or deal with the discomfort—out of sight, out of mind.

But as I always say, mindfulness and meditation are great first steps, but it's what you DO with your awareness that matters.

How to Transform Feelings

Once we notice our feelings, we can start to transform them.

Transforming emotions means we notice, learn from, and ultimately release them. If we’re filled to the brim with anxiety, for example, we have no room to bring in other, more pleasurable feelings.

After becoming aware of my distressing feelings, I asked them, “What are you trying to tell me”? It sounds weird, but when you get used to asking your emotions questions, they will give you the most insightful answers!

My fears, in this case, told me I felt unworthy. Offices are for people who have “real” jobs. Cool co-working spaces are for young, hip, millennials starting the next hot tech company, not moms with a psychic side hustle.

I used my grounding cord (our energetic connection to our Earth) to let go of all these feelings, frustrations, and fears.

The Benefits of Processing Emotions

Releasing all those uncomfortable emotions helped me create the space I needed to start bringing in feelings I wanted such as trust, acceptance, worth, and even amusement.

Yeah, you go girl! Good question--what on Earth are you doing at a co-working space? I'm not sure, I've never been to one, but I'm about to find out!! Woot!

Guess what!?!? It was scary. And fun! It was uncomfortable, and then it was comfortable. At first, I was distracted because all my senses were on high alert. I also accomplished a great deal because there were no dishes or laundry to do, no kids coming and going, no grocery stores nearby to distract me from the hard work of running a business.

I walked my talk—I used the energetic tools I teach to turn my anxiety into anticipation. These tools allowed me to overcome my fears, stretch outside my comfort zone, and have a productive day.

So yeah, the picture above means the world to me. Huge gratitude to my endlessly supportive husband, Niklas, and his buddy Raja who encouraged me to branch out of my bedroom office. They were so nonchalant about the whole thing and made it feel normal. Their actions communicated to me that, of course, I belonged out in the world with the real professionals.

Anyway, I started to just write a quick IG caption for the photo but ended up writing this Journal entry because it was that meaningful of an experience.

You Never Know What’s Going on Behind the Scenes

In the meantime, if you know a new mom re-entering the workforce after the metamorphosis of giving birth, or a seasoned mom who's getting back out there after years of toiling in the non-paid world of primary parenting, I hope this gives you a little more insight and compassion for the hurdles they are overcoming. Perhaps share this with them so they, too, can use their grounding to make their transition a little easier and within their realm of comfort.

Even something as seemingly harmless as working from an office can stir up deep-seated doubts, memories, and subtle self-talk that lurks below our consciousness. New experiences of all shapes and sizes are opportunities to use our energetic tools to learn, grow, and evolve.

Are you aware of your own self-talk? That’s the first step in transforming it!

Ascended Presence offers clairvoyant readings, intuitive coaching, active meditation program, grounding and energy management courses to help you transform your life.