In July 2021, something I’d never experienced started happening to me and rocked my world.

To understand the magnitude of this change, you need to know that decisions have never been an issue for me. Somehow without knowing the full facts on anything, I have always made ‘gut instinct’ choices. Such as aged 15, knocking on the door of the fine dining restaurant in my village to ask for a job with no prior serving experience. Or applying to study at the University of Brighton because I was drawn to the sea. And maybe my most monumental decision was emigrating to Canada, having only spent five days in Vancouver on vacation. The list could go on, and it was always the same. I knew instinctively what I wanted and needed, set the course and went for it.

But the pandemic hit, and nothing in my beloved business events industry, which was usually full of knowledge, learning, travel, and growth, was happening. That sudden ‘halt’ caused an internal meltdown. I felt something big needed to change, but I couldn’t decide what, how or when.

Nothing felt right anymore, and the harder I tried – (because I have always been taught hard work fixes everything), the more wheel spinning I seemed to do.

I was powerless, I couldn’t make a move in a forward direction, and it was scary. The horizon in my world had always been crystal clear. And now, I was in a white-out fog, not knowing which was up or down – let alone forward.

So, I did something I’d never felt the need to do, for once in my life took my eyes off the future and for one month, I looked inwards.

Not an easy task, nicknamed the ‘butterfly’ by my parents from an early age, I’ve always looked forward, moved quickly and not stuck around too long anywhere that wasn’t providing me with growth.

This was an unfamiliar place for an overachiever like me, who survives on speed, checklists and outside stimulation. But my butterfly wings were clipped, and I had no choice but to understand why I’d lost the innate ability to make a gut decision. I needed to re-learn about myself and what made me tick by taking the terrifying journey to look under the hood.

And so, it began the ‘great re-learning’.

Once on my quest for self-understanding, it was like an unquenchable thrust; the more I drank, the more I wanted. I read more books, listened to more audio recordings, and tuned into more podcasts than any other time in my life. And then came some light; a bonus Squiggly Career story with David Pearl caught my attention.

The Squiggly Career girls Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis out of the UK came onto my radar a year ago. I immediately loved their passion for a less linear career progression approach through learning and ‘squiggling’ rather than blindly climbing the corporate ladder. On this episode of their fantastic podcast, David Pearl took Sarah on a ‘WalkShop’ around London to demonstrate the power of ‘Street Wisdom’. Street Wisdom was founded around taking your life or work questions to the street, tuning your senses in a new way, and listening to what your gut tells you as you move.

BINGO! The perfect suggestion for a butterfly like me with a meaningful life question looming.

Shortly after listening to that episode, I bought David’s wonderful book, Wanderful and devoured it on our family road trip to Sun Peaks. Page after page of David’s memoirs on launching this movement in Covent Garden, London, and his fascinating journey transitioning to 42 countries and counting got me hooked. The book was a page-turner for me, introducing me to different characters; David has met along the way who all support this way of making decisions.

Established as a not-for-profit, the open-source community is available to anyone interested in participating in the movement. I needed no further invitation and hosted my first WalkShop in Edmonton on August 6th.

David has the correct name because I picked up so many ‘pearls’ of wisdom from this book, but the biggest by far is……..

DON’T THINK, MOVE

People are always saying to me “we need to sit down and sort this out.” We don’t. Because if we do, we won’t. Sitting is not thinking. Witness the endless political deadlocks that are daily enacted by immobile folks staring at each other across a table. We are all three-dimensional. To think, we need to move. ‘My mind works only with my legs.’ The philosopher Rousseau said it. I just didn’t listen until recently.

I’m refreshed, rejuvenated and back to making gut instinct decisions. I’ve left my corporate job, started my own consulting business, and pledged to myself it’s time to share my insights on the business events industry and other subjects with anyone who will find them helpful and inspiring.

And that’s where you pick up this journey with me. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.