Tuesday Tales: Misfit

You have an origin story. It might be in your past, and it might be unfolding right now.

Can you imagine walking a path, maybe even enjoying some success… but feeling like you are still not quite where you belong?

I was working with Annette, who thought she was on the road to what she always wanted.

Top program. Challenging work. The kind of opportunity people might search for years to find.

On paper, everything made sense.

In reality, something felt… off.

We talked through Annette’s origin story:

“It all started when I was chugging along in Arizona, collecting experiences and asking, ‘What kind of dietitian do I want to be?’

My utility belt filled quickly: culinary nutrition, working with undocumented immigrants, caring for dementia patients, counseling students at a community college gym. Then came what felt like my dream opportunity: a graduate research role at the Phoenix VA. I stepped into a shining new world of grant writing, review boards, with “publish or perish” looming over me.

And then… midway through a literature review… lightning struck.

I realized: I hated research. I was a square peg in a round hole.

As I sat with that realization, questions started firing:
Could I become something different? Did I have to stay on this path?

I thought of mentors who had built dynamic careers, but these mentors wished they had paired nutrition with business. That idea stuck with me.

Then came a second lightning strike.

I found a new path, blending nutrition with business… and for the first time, it felt like it actually fit.

This path didn’t magically appear, but suddenly my view became clear enough.

All that was left was to walk it.”

Annette realized that she didn’t have to stay on the path she was on, that she had already invested so much into. She could build a brand new one.

So she stepped away from where she was stuck, out of her comfort zone and toward something that felt true.

Come back on Friday to see how we can translate this into a story we  can build on.

Your challenges are the beginning of your origin story.

You Own Your Origin Story (YOYOS) helps you turn your experiences into assets.

You own your origin story. If you’re ready to claim it, message me.

#TuesdayTales #OriginStory #Leadership #SelfDiscovery