I Forgot Who I Was—Until I Slowed Down Long Enough to Listen
I didn’t plan to blow up my life.
But when your body stops working—and your identity crumbles along with it—there’s no tidy way to hold it all together. My breakdown came fast. It came loud. And it forced me to face a truth I’d been avoiding for years:
I had no idea who I was.
Not really. Because for decades, I’d been living a version of myself that was built on achievement, approval, and never, ever slowing down.
I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t know what I needed. I just knew I couldn’t keep going like that.
For years, I wore every gold star like armor.
The straight-A student. The polished professor. The dependable friend. The high-achieving corporate exec who always had the answer and never missed a deadline.
From the outside, it looked like I had it all figured out.
But inside?
I was exhausted.
Disoriented.
Disconnected from myself in a way I couldn’t quite explain—only feel.
Because somewhere along the way, in all the performing and proving, I forgot who I was.
And honestly? I didn’t know how to get back to her.
At first, I tried to fix it by adding more noise: more productivity books, more planners, and more strategies. (Also: tons of therapy—highly recommended, BTW. Oh, and let’s not forget the deep dive into my childhood and the realization I’d been shaped by narcissistic parents. Fun times.)
But amidst all the workbooks and strategy sessions, I realized the answers weren’t out there for me to just suddenly find—and what I actually needed wasn’t more doing.
I needed space.
Space to hear myself again.
Space to not have all the answers.
Space to let the quiet in long enough to notice what was really going on under the surface.
What I needed was the slow, steady process of reconnecting with who I was—beneath the roles, the expectations, and the shoulds.
I needed the chance to discover who I was without the noise and expectations of everyone else.
And it wasn’t until I let myself have that space that I began to find myself again.
If you’ve been everything to everyone…
If your life looks “fine” on paper but feels like it’s missing you…
If you’re craving more space to breathe, think, feel, and just be…
I want to share something that might help.
🎧 Start With You is my free private audio mentoring series: 7 short, supportive episodes for the moments when you’re ready to stop living on autopilot and start reconnecting with yourself.
It’s a soft place to land—and your gentle reintroduction to the version of you that’s been quietly waiting for your attention.
✨ Listen to the series here and take the first true step toward feeling like you again.
