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.
A few months in to being a contributor to this amazing online space, I wrote about my life and more particularly, my journey to Mexico.
It was my first time leaning into the unknown experience of living a digital nomadic lifestyle; and truth be told, I had no idea what that meant or even what to expect. It was all new.
It was scary, and it was the best experience of my life!
It was the first time I came alive into being more intentional of who I wanted to be. I had more clarity on how I wanted to live my life and for the first time in a very long time, I was no longer afraid of the unknown. Sure, I didn’t have all the answers nor did I have any idea of all of the moving pieces or puzzle pieces that would reveal themselves to me, but my drive for learning and growing (and exploring) was more powerful than my fears keeping me stuck.
I came alive in Mexico. I mean that. I can’t explain the feeling. I can’t really put into definitive words what that looked like for me, only that it was a feeling and it still is.
You see I made the decision to come back to this beautiful and wonderful place where I came to life in 2020. But before I did that, I had so many things happen over this past year.
I like to call it my “yellow brick road” experience. Like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, I had to make a decision to stay the course or to stop myself and keep myself from moving.
Like Dorothy, I didn’t know at the time that the answers were within me and that all I had to do was find the right question to find the right answer for me.
The first time I stepped onto my “yellow brick road” was when I became an Executive Contributor to this amazing magazine. It wasn’t an easy decision, if that’s what you’re hoping I would say.
Truth be told, when I first received the opportunity to explore what that would look like, I got into my head and started questioning myself. Why me? I would ask this over and over again. Who am I that I could possibly be someone that others would be interested in learning about or from or would even consider what I have to say?
I felt like I was no one special. I felt like I didn’t have anything interesting enough to share with the world, and on top of that, I wasn’t a writer. That’s what I told myself.
I was thinking, how was it possible that an organization like this one would think that I was worthy or even deserving enough of this opportunity?
I realized in that moment of reflection that I had a choice. I could choose to ignore the call and allow my self-doubt (my fears) and feelings of unworthiness stop me from taking a chance so that I could step outside of my comfort zone and learn about life and who I am. OR, I could choose to slay my fears by facing them head on, stepping through them and stretching myself and most importantly having faith and trust that I could do this if I just believed it was possible.
This opportunity showed itself to me and it was an opportunity for learning and growth. So, I took the chance and I’ve loved every minute of it. But, I didn’t just decide. I prayed about it and my connection to God helped me to decide in that moment that I was meant to be a part of this experience and that I had something in my story to share with the world.
From there, another opportunity revealed itself to me and it scared me to death!
I was approached about possibly contributing to a book anthology about inspiring women to live their lives and to do it together. Again, I got into my head and started asking those pesky questions. Why me? What do I have to offer that would help other women and inspire them? My brain was just trying to keep me safe so that I wouldn’t fail. Oh yeah, our brain does that.
I realized again in that moment that an opportunity like this one only comes around a few times in one’s lifetime and I didn’t want to miss being a part of something that I truly believed I had been waiting for my whole life. Something bigger than myself.
And so I said yes, and I wrote a book. Or shall I say, I contributed to an amazing book with 24 other incredible and powerful women from all over the globe and we started smashing our own expectations of what this book could possibly mean and our book became an international bestseller in 9 countries in 26 categories and this book only dropped this past September, which still blows my mind.
The book is Becoming An Unstoppable Woman: 25 Strategies To Help You Achieve The Unstoppable Mindset and it’s more than just a book. It’s a movement that is meant to inspire women all over the world that we are all together in this and that we can support, uplift, and encourage each other to live our best lives knowing that we are not alone in our struggles, and that we can also celebrate each other’s triumphs and victories, which is a beautiful thing to behold.
These are just a couple of the most incredible life experiences that have happened to me these last 12 months and there’s so much more life to live, because I have more to say and I have more to do.
In my moments of reflection, I’ve realized that what I have been doing is Getting Into My Story and living my life by the doing, by the experiencing, and in the making of choices and decisions and also learning from each experience as I go.
I have allowed myself to not sit on the sidelines of my life anymore. I have allowed myself to experience real life and embrace all of the good and the bad and to never give up on me.
I’ve learned to trust in myself again and to believe that I am on the right path with the life that I am living.
It’s why we (my husband and I) came back to Mexico. The only bittersweetness of this journey back is that I didn’t get to bring my faithful companion Jackson, my Papillon pup of 15 years, for he crossed over the rainbow bridge in September.
When Jackson departed, it was like a piece of me left with him and I wasn’t quite sure if I would be able to move through that experience without feeling like I had to forget him in order to move on.
I had to really dig deep and be okay in those moments of being alone without him by my side as I worked and as I showed up for my life.
It has been difficult, I won’t lie. But I have found a way to move on with my life without leaving his memories behind and I can pull upon those memories in that I can feel comforted that he got to experience the first time we came here to Puerto Morelos, Mexico; the place where I came alive and where I found myself, my true self.
Coming back here has been bittersweet, like I said, but it has also brought me great joy. I truly feel at home in this country of Mexico like I never thought would be possible and I have truly embraced being here as a steppingstone, if you will, to creating more powerful experiences and opening myself up to many more new and exciting opportunities.
Getting Into My Story was the piece of the puzzle that had me truly living my life and I believe that the only way that life is good or bad is us making the choices and the decisions of whether we sit on the sidelines letting the chips fall where they may or us getting into the thick of it all and being able to make a difference in our day-to-day or in the lives of others.
It’s up to us, and I realized that when I took my first steps into the unknown life of living a digital nomadic lifestyle.
It’s hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been rewarding far more than I could have ever imagined and if I hadn’t taken a chance on myself and allowed myself to get curious around my fears that would stop me from really living to my fullest potential, I don’t know where I would be today.
I do know that because I started intentionally living, is when doors started opening for me and I started filling my “Life Bucket” with the most beautiful of memories that I will get to pull upon whenever I need to remind myself of a life well lived.
I like to say that our destination is in our journey and that our journey is ever evolving and that when you allow yourself to be open to and accepting of change and accept that pivoting may be part of the process, that you are allowing yourself to step into the greatest adventure of your life and that what you thought was your picture of your life could turn out to be so much bigger than what you ever imagined because your picture keeps growing when you allow yourself to get into the story of you.
It comes down to you and what you want for your life. You can choose to crush your fears by giving yourself permission to step outside of your comfort zone and take a giant leap of faith into the unknown realm of possibilities and allow yourself to really enjoy the experience of your life or you can stay in the known zone of safety which means nothing ever will change.
You can step onto your own version of your “yellow brick road” and start following your dreams. It just takes a bit of courage, sprinkled in with a little bit of faith and trust that you can do it because you believe in you.
If I had let my story be managed by my fears, I wouldn’t have taken that first leap of faith into digital nomad living and I wouldn’t have seen a part of the world that I had only seen in pictures.
I wouldn’t have allowed myself to live my life and could have missed out on coming alive again and finding my clarity, my path, my purpose with more certainty than even I imagined.
I’ve said it before, but this is true. It’s not easy living without a “defined” home base and living out of two suitcases. It does sometimes feel “too small” and sometimes I do wish that I had a more set and defined place to call home. But then I release myself from those thoughts because I believe that home is wherever I am happiest laying my head to rest at night.
I am happy to say that we are back in Puerto Morelos for another few months and I can say with clarity that I have never loved living in a place with such intensity as I have living here in this beautiful little fishing village.
It truly has not been hard for me to love it here. The people are amazing, welcoming, kind and giving, and I have never seen such hardworking people have such an inspiring mindset. They live life as a gift and working hard is just their way of loving hard the people in their lives by providing them a better way of life than they may have had and they do it without resentment, always with a smile on their face.
Last year, I left a piece of my heart in Puerto Morelos, and I came back to reclaim the beauty of this place and to really learn more about what makes this people so inviting to me that it makes me long for it when I am not here.
This year of 2021 has been so many things for me. I have more trust and faith in my future, and the story that I tell myself of who I am has evolved.
I have learned to trust in my decisions, to have faith in the choices that I make, to deeply love the person that I am, to wholeheartedly love the life I am living, and to be excited and have an openness to accepting of newness and the wealth of opportunities waiting for me around the corner.
I am living my best life because the stories I tell myself are ones of empowerment, of lifting myself up and encouraging myself to be adventurous and enjoy my life.
If you are feeling like your story is managing you, maybe it’s time for you to take a closer look and revisit these questions I posed to you a few months ago.
Ask yourself:
Do I like who I am and the person that I am being?
Am I content with the life I am living, OR am I looking to make some changes but I’m not quite sure what that is or if it is even possible?
Am I letting fear narrate my life which is keeping me stuck from stepping into the possibilities that keep revealing themselves to me?
Making change is possible. Rewriting your story is possible if you are willing to take a chance on you and allow yourself to step into the unknown and decide that you are open to the possibility of an amazing new life and a new you waiting just around the corner for the big reveal.
If you are living your life in alignment with your purpose, and you have clarity and commitment to going all in for you, then keep leaning into that and supporting that vision and never give up.
However, if you are not satisfied and you are feeling the itch to make some changes and finally step into your story, it is possible. It may not be easy. Heck, it may even prove hard and challenging sometimes, but the beauty of that journey is that you will learn so much about yourself and you will experience life in a way that will blow your mind and you will be able to look back with certainty that you truly lived your life.
Living life to your fullest is the reason why I advocate so highly for all of us to get into our story and start living our story.
My Journey Back to Puerto Morelos, where I came to life, has allowed me to be more present in my life and to have more confidence for my future.
If you want that then look at where you’ve been, where you’re at today, and where you want to go.
Don’t judge your journey, just notice it and then choose and decide if it’s the path you are content to stay on and if not, then choose and decide what you want and how you want to get there.
Don’t focus on the obstacles because they will always be there. Instead, focus on the pathway through, even if it’s only a sliver of light lighting your way.
Focus on the positive when you are in the midst of making a decision, especially if it is on the heels of overcoming a hiccup.
Remember Fear is just another word for Curiosity and when you understand that your fears in life are just ways for your brain to keep you safe and that you actually have a choice to question the narrative in your head, you can push back on your limiting beliefs.
Ask yourself questions like:
Is it true?
Does it have to be true?
Does it serve me in a positive way to keep me safe or is it keeping me small?
Learn to reframe your thought habits and picture a positive future for yourself by exploring and recognizing the positive experiences from your past and assign positive feelings to your memories and reflect back on those often for they will support you in those moments of doubt of what’s possible.
Start a daily gratitude practice for every gift you have and continue to receive; and for every obstacle you’ve overcome.
Have a daily end of day celebration for every task you complete. Don’t just check “done” and move on. Really reflect on what you have achieved, how it has and will impact your life, and then reward yourself with something fun just for you.
Focus by changing your mindset to what is possible, not the impossible, because your mindset is the key to rewriting your story, and to showing up every day in your story.
Adopt a growth mindset and allow yourself to be open to and receiving of new ideas, of new information, and of new perspectives, so that you empower yourself in your choices thereby allowing yourself to step outside of your comfort zone.
One of the things that comes with knowing oneself is knowing one’s gifts and the only way to know that is in the living and the experiencing of your life; not in the safe zone but in the uncomfortable spaces where you are challenged to stretch your edges.
I know myself so much more now than ever before because I continuously allow myself to step outside of my safe zone into the uncomfortable spaces and getting really comfortable with being uncomfortable until I find the answers I seek.
And in the process of knowing myself, I have found within me a gift from God that allows me to help others lean into and learn how to get into their stories so that they spend their time wisely and have more quality time to spend with loved ones.
If you feel like life is passing you by and you are being held back, or your fears are keeping you stuck from taking a chance on you and getting into your story, and you’d like to know more about how I can help you, then reach out to me at lesliegaudetcoaching@gmail.com, and let’s start a conversation.
Your new story awaits you and I am ready to meet you where you are, right now.
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).
