My best post ever

On going for your dreams and making a difference

(Thoughts on my 31st birthday)

A few weeks before turning 31 I decided to go for my dreams. I  finally made the big move I had yearned for for years.

Sometimes between july and august this year I decided to pack up my life in Europe, quit my job, renounce to a gem of an apartment in downtown Geneva, get the required vaccinations and settle in Ecuador with 3 suitcases, a lot of hope and the usual private stash of chocolate.

To tell you the truth it still feels unreal on most days.

I often wake up a little confused as to where I am and keep referring to Ecuador as Switzerland and my new hometown of Milagro as Geneva. I guess my neurones are going to need a bit more time than my heart to cross the ocean.

And yet, in a strange way, I feel so very awake and alive. I recurrently experience intense drunk-like joy and a sense of being exactly where I’m meant to be. Other times I feel that same aliveness by being seized by fear and put face to face with my nastiest inner bugs.

This just feels so real.

In the midst of all this one thing never ceases to be true: this is the best decision I have ever made.

I mean, it makes so much sense. I have been dreaming of it for way too long. I had to eventually go for it. To take the chance to follow my heart even though my head was still confused.

After all I am a trained life-coach and bound to support my own advice. How can I encourage others to do what fulfills them if I don’t do myself the same favour?

Oh, and also I deserve to be happy! I’ve worked hard and invested in numerous soul-searching techniques to get to where I am. I’ve lived for too long in a place where I felt like a fish outside of water. I need to get my chance at bliss to!

Plus I have so much to offer to the people here. There is still so much  to build in this country. I have an European education and international work experience and could use my skills in great ways. And let’s not forget that I speak 5 languages. Fluently.

Except that there is something more important than great timing, my personal fulfillment or even my Good Samaritan attitude.

There’s a key ingredient here that makes me appreciate the hardest parts of the journey. You know what I’m referring to: the occasional cold showers and heart-wrenching moments. The deep longing for the familiar hug, the not quite knowing where you are as you wake up each day.

In case you didn’t know yet, going for your dreams has its price. Especially if you want to make a difference. The thing is your deepest calling is connected with your unique contribution to the world. Dreams are magnified when they allow us to make a difference in somebody else’s life.

But you will have to sacrifice. And that’s the most valuable part of it. Because you cannot make a difference unless you give of yourself.

So let these be my final words :