What could emerge if you dedicated time to reconnect with yourself?

Querida Amiga,

Last week someone asked me about pivotal conversations that have changed the trajectory of my life. The one that immediately came to mind occurred 4 years ago this November.

I was scheduled for a meeting with the other leaders in my organization. It was suddenly canceled. I thought it would be a few minutes to catch up on my inbox.

What came next changed the trajectory of my life.

My boss walked into my office and said, “We haven’t caught up in a while. Can we use the time we just got back to catch up?” We started talking and I don’t remember the details of the conversation. What I remember clearly are the words that flowed out of me. They were words I had been mulling over in my mind for quite some time.

At one point I said, “I will not be coming back at the end of this year.” My boss was caught off guard and encouraged me to go home relax and keep this between us, it was probably just a really hard week.

I knew those words were my stake in the ground. I was done with this chapter of my life and ready to move on, even if the future was unknown.

With complete peace, I walked away from a successful career that had spanned 15 years. I did not have a plan or a vision of what was next. What I did know deep in my soul was that I was destined for more and willing to take a leap of faith to explore what that could mean.

The next 6 months were a glorious sabbatical full of rest, meditation, journaling, visualizations, travel, cooking, spending time with family and friends...it was a time of deep listening to what my soul was yearning for.

I asked myself over and over again, “What do you want to do with your one glorious life?”

As the answers emerged from within me, I reconnected to my passions, gained clarity of purpose, and rooted my intentions moving forward in my personal values. At the end of this time, when I knew I was ready to reemerge, I saw with laser focus what was meant for me and followed those opportunities with clear action.

I now live the life I wrote about during that sabbatical.

Will I ever have 6 months again to deeply invest in listening to my soul and map out a completely new trajectory for myself? I don’t know. What I do know is that smaller sabbaticals are available to me at any time. I may plan out a two week vacation to turn inward or carve out 20 minutes to meditate in the morning. 

The amount of time is not as important as setting the intention to have regular sabbaticals for rest and reflection. We all need dedicated time to navigate through our thoughts and dreams to set audacious plans for our future self.

What a radical act it would be for all Latinas to take sabbaticals.

Latinas connected to their passions would be able to identify more opportunities to also connect with joy.

Latinas who can see the dreams living inside of them would have a picture to paint of their fulfilled future self.

Latinas who take time for rest are able to listen to the sound of their soul speaking to them.

Latinas who take time to shut off the expectations of the outside world and instead focus on the intentions of their heart are able to experience the love that they embody.

What a radical act it would be for all Latinas to take sabbaticals. A radical act not only for themselves, also for future generations of Latinas who will follow in our steps.

Quiero saber de ti. What could emerge from giving yourself dedicated time to reconnect with yourself? What do you want to do with your one glorious life?

Un Abrazo, 

Michelle

P.S. Did you hear my announcement this week on social media? The next group coaching program for the Thriving Chingonas community will be kicking off at the beginning of January 2021!

I am excited to start sharing information about The Chingona’s Sabbatical: 10 weeks to reconnect with your purpose. This 10-week journey will be a dedicated time and space for us to reconnect with our passions, gain clarity of purpose, and move forward in our lives with intention guided by values. The beautiful part is that this will all happen in a community of Latinas on a similar journey.

If you sign up this week for a call to learn more and decide to join the group, I will add on a free one-on-one coaching session with me to personalize your experience beyond the group. Are you interested in kicking off 2021 together with a sabbatical? Shoot me an email and let’s talk!