In recent years I decided to take my love of helping people and became certified as a health and wellness coach. Then the last 18 months happened and I didn’t live up to my self imposed ideals of how I should thrive during a pandemic. I cratered. I gained weight – a lot – and mis managed my mental health. To make matters worse, there is no place to hide. It’s as obvious as the nose on my face that I’ve gained weight and am struggling with depression. For me, this became a humiliating lesson to learn and to bear. How in the world can I help others when I’m struggling so myself? And then, someone said this:
“I am perfectly positioned to coach imperfect people like me!”
I’ve always been honest with my piano students. I tell them “I know how to do this (whatever “this” is) because it didn’t come naturally to me. I had to work at it. It’s made me a better teacher. Now I’m learning to circumnavigate my self imposed perfectionism and am practicing compassion with myself. It’s been quite the lesson.
sudden detour 