Written by: Leslie Gaudet, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I’ve lost my passion for writing. There, I said it. I've never felt like this before, losing my passion for writing. How did I get here? I don't know. Let’s just say I’m a bit confused by it.
It's been a journey and I know, or at least I’m starting to believe, that it's because I'm stretching my edges. I'm reaching higher than I have ever done before in my business. I’m also still learning about what it’s like to live a location-free lifestyle and all the good and bad that goes with that. The rewards and the challenges, if you will. I've taken my coaching to a whole different level. Not only am I working with one-on-one clients in different parts of the world, which is extremely exciting, by the way, but I'm also stretching how I serve my clients so that I can meet them in a bigger and better way through my 30-day self-love group program. It's scary. Because transitioning into something new, serving several women at one time, with all the hopes and fears that go along with that, knowing that I want the best experience for these women that I serve because I truly want to help them, and I want to do it well, feels very daunting and I’m afraid to trust my decisions. But what has that got to do with losing my passion for writing? Well, for starters, I love to write! Whether that's content for social media or articles or blog posts, writing has given me the platform to share who I am and to serve powerfully through my experiences. Writing is, in fact, a big piece of what I do. I write all of my content. Now, for transparency’s sake, I’m not a trained writer. I just write from my heart and how I’m feeling based on my own life experiences and my experiences with others. And so, when I thought about my next article for this amazing publication, I faltered because it made me realize that I don’t have anything to say, or rather, it made me think that. I have lots to say, but I started getting in my head believing that I have nothing relevant or good enough to share with you, the reader. That made me start doubting my path, my vision for my life. As I was thinking about sharing today, when I sat down to write, I realized there is something of great importance to me that has changed my life in the most beautiful of ways, and that is self-love.
Let me tell you about self-love and why it’s so important to me. In fact, let’s first start with my mission statement, which is:
“Empowering women to fully love themselves, so that they create deeper bonds with those they love.” This is so important to me because self-love has played such an important role in my marriage. You see, I believe that when one truly loves themselves completely without judgment or criticism, it allows them to show others how they want to be loved. It also allows them to truly love people the way they want to be loved. Learning to love me first helped me create a deeper bond with my husband of over 26 years and I feel more in love with him than I did when I married him all those years ago. It’s why I created my self-love group program so that I could help other women create those deeper bonds with those that they love because love is something that we all seek out and crave. We want to be seen as we are and to be loved as we are but when we don’t love ourselves, it makes it that much harder for us to show up in our lives from a confident, positive, and grateful state of mind. I know, without a doubt, that I have something amazing to offer because in its creation, I’ve used the tools again and again in my own life, and it has helped me tremendously to continuously lean into putting myself first, to fill my cup daily, to creating those deeper bonds with my loved ones, and to creating and nurturing connections with people who support me and those that I support. I know that my program will help women all over the world learn to fully love themselves so that they can teach others how to love them and teach them how to love others the way they want to be loved. Now here’s the rub. Here’s what had me thinking and doubting my path, the path that I believe God has put me on. The thing that I am now faced with is trusting that I'm on the right path, which has me questioning if God was right to put me on this path. Trust is huge, especially when you are stepping outside your comfort zone and reaching for bigger and bigger goals. This can be the scariest thing to do, too trusting in one’s own abilities because you don't get to see the end results.
You don’t have a magic ball, and you can’t see into the future, and so you are forced, if you will, to release the control because you can’t control it.
You don't know if it's going to work, but you have to trust that it will.
You don’t know if you'll create the success that you’re seeking or if what you are doing matters, but you have to trust that it does matter.
And because you cannot see the end results, you have to let go and trust the process to do the work, even if you fail.
Even if you fail.
I just stopped to ponder those three words. It’s not easy to admit that failure can happen and does happen far more often than most of us are willing to admit, out loud at least.
But with failure comes a lesson and it’s what you do next that will determine the next course of your life.
So, I’ve decided that what I'm doing is important and that it does matter, and that God doesn’t make mistakes. God has me on this path for a reason.
I know that there are women in the world right now who are asking questions about life and what it means for them.
Questions like:
“Is this all there is for me to do?”
“Is this all there is to life?”
“Am I doing enough now, or could I do more?”
“Am I making a difference or am I just wasting my time?”
“Have I done enough and am I worthy enough to do more?”
“Is what I’m doing even good enough?”
These are all questions that I have asked myself many times before, and these are some of the questions that my clients are asking me. The scary part is thinking that we don’t matter and when we think that way, we double down, believing that we have to do it alone, that we can’t or shouldn’t ask for help, because that would look like weakness or that we are not worthy or deserving, and we believe that other people will judge us for being vulnerable. On this journey, what I’ve found is that somehow losing passion for writing is because I am afraid. Yes, I am admitting to you that I am afraid. That’s what fear does. It doubles down on our doubts. Being open to admitting this has been something I have been struggling with for some time. And if I have to admit it now, which I truly believe is most liberating for me, is that I have been struggling with having a passion for writing for several months now. But as I walk on this journey of writing this article today, I now understand where my doubts are coming from. I have new questions and they are:
Why am I doubting the journey that I am on?
Do I still have a passion for what I am doing?
Do I believe that self-love can change lives?
Do I trust God and his plan for my life?
How do I figure this out? Now that I'm in this place of self-doubt about my path, my gifts, and my journey, what do I do? What would you do? Let me tell you what I'm doing because I know this will help you, or at least I hope it will help you when you get into this moment of self-doubt, especially now that we are fast approaching the end of 2022 and maybe you were hoping to be further along in your life vision goals than you are and you find yourself getting in your head, allowing your negative thoughts to fuel your emotions which are keeping you stuck and stealing your time. This is what I am doing.
I’m trusting God and letting Him lead me and guide me on my journey. You know the saying “Let Go and Let God,” well that’s what I’m doing.
I regularly take time to reflect on where I'm at in my journey, where I've been, and what I've accomplished so far.
I also take time to celebrate what I have gone through, all of my failures and lessons learned, all that I have accomplished and how it has impacted my life to accomplish it and how it's impacting my life now.
This is the most important one (that my faith has pointed out) because it has helped to not go it alone, to not feel alone, to not feel lost. And that is being open and vulnerable and asking for help. It’s why I truly believe in the power of community. Even if you only have 1 or 2 people in your life who you can turn to and be open and vulnerable with and share from the heart without fear of being judged or criticized; that right there is gold.
Now, if you are at this crossroads in your life and you are asking those all-important life questions, but you’re struggling with believing that you are worthy and deserving and that you don’t particularly like the person staring back at you in your reflection, then maybe it’s time for you to take a closer look at self-love and what it can do for you.
For now, I’ll leave you with two things I ended my chapter within the book that I was so deeply honored to co-author, and that is Becoming an Unstoppable Woman.
Lean into uncomfortable spaces, even when it gets scary, because when you allow yourself to be open to receiving, amazing things can reveal themselves to you.
Don’t let anyone tell you your worth. The only person who is qualified to do that is You.
Sending you much love and gratitude.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Leslie!
Leslie Gaudet, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Leslie Gaudet is a Mindset and Emotional Awareness Coach for women. She helps her clients achieve self-awareness around their emotional triggers by shifting their mindset to make better decisions when they respond, allowing them to bring more balance, peace, and harmony into their lives.
Almost 4 decades working as a Legal Assistant and Paralegal in the corporate world left her feeling emotionally and physically drained. That’s when she decided that she had to make some changes for her to live the life she loves. Those changes involved learning to love herself (without judgment or criticism). That mindset is the key to everything because our mindset influences our thoughts, and in turn, our thoughts dictate our words and actions. Thru her journey to self-love and self-acceptance, Leslie became certified as a Life Coach and attained further certifications in Group Coaching and Emotional Intelligence.
She works closely with her clients, starting with mindset because that is the foundational piece to self-love and self-acceptance. She teaches her clients about triggers and how they affect us emotionally by helping her clients tune into, spot, and understand their own so that they can become more self-aware of their trigger moments and emotional responses.
With proven tools and techniques and with her guidance, her clients tap into and discover their true potential to living their life and loving the life they are living.
Leslie believes that you will transform your life when you Change Your Brain (the way you think).
