I tried to break free from a life that didn’t fit me more than once.

First London, then New Zealand. Each time, returning to the same unhappy path. I was too scared to choose the road less travelled and didn’t know how to sit with the discomfort of uncertainty. Raised to believe that financial stability was the key to happiness, I spent my 20’s making choices out of logic and fear: engineering, business, a corporate career - instead of passion and trust. All the while, restlessness, anxiety, and even chronic illness made it clear to me that something wasn’t right.

In 2022, I could no longer ignore the signs when everything fell apart at once: a sudden break-up after buying a house, my mother’s cancer diagnosis, and an exhaustion that made me fear for my mental health.

For the first time, I stopped pretending I was fine.

I turned inward, using journaling and meditation to better understand myself, and embarked on coaching and therapy journeys to unravel deeper patterns. Slowly, I started to reshape my relationship with fear. I was still scared of walking on my own in the dark, but scarier than that was the idea of spending another decade living that life. I was finally ready to shift from fear to courage.  When the voice in my head asked, How will you pay the mortgage if you quit? What if it doesn’t work out? - instead of fighting it, I thanked it. I realised fear was keeping me still because I didn’t yet know the answer. And that was okay. Courage became the part of me that said: you will find a new solution, one that allows you to pay the bills while also following your purpose.