“It felt right…”

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Shared by Kristina Smedley

In the moment, it’s hard to know if you’re making the right decision.
Then, over time, you gain perspective.
You understand the effects of your decisions.

That’s why we say: “hindsight is 20/20”… looking back, we can see more clearly.

4.5 years ago, Sennad and I packed up our bags and moved to Southern California.

We honestly didn’t contemplate this decision at all… it felt right and we went for it.

I don’t remember making a pros/cons list or even researching anything more than the stops we wanted to make on our drive down.

I think most of our friends and colleagues respected the idea that we wanted to go on an adventure together.

But, we also got:
“Why are you moving down there? There’s such little opportunity.”
“The business here is growing; why would you leave now.”
“You’ll never go into management down there; no one ever moves around.”

We pulled out of Seattle on July 25th and took a weeklong drive down the absolutely stunning Oregon coast, through the redwoods, and along the Northern California coast (highway 1 is scary, btw!).

We spent a couple days in San Francisco and then took the freeway straight to Huntington Beach.

Arriving on a perfect day (like always) right in the middle of the US Open of Surfing.

WOW! This was our new home.
Now, to see if our careers and new friends would be equally amazing…

I was surrounded by entrepreneurial and innovative colleagues, who experimented with new ideas in order to improve their business and to stay in business.

We were welcomed into a work-family like nothing we had experienced before.

We made great friends, reconnected with old friends, and built a strong network of colleagues and mentors.

During this four-year adventure, we bought and remodeled a townhouse (thanks, Dad!), got engaged, and got married.

I realized my passions around leadership development, became a manager, and had the opportunity to lead some amazing organizational development initiatives while starting and finishing my Masters in Organizational Leadership.

Looking back now, our adventure to SoCal was everything we hoped it would be and more!
I’m reminded of this today, as I ate lunch with Jim – one of my greatest mentors.

It’s true that we can’t know the outcomes of our decisions before they happen.

But, I believe that many times we know deep inside what we need to do, in order to become the people we have the potential to be.

I try to listen to my body and intuition and find that when I do, hindsight later confirms that I made the right decision.
 
I challenge you to sometimes put away your pros and cons lists and instead listen to and trust your feelings. Trust your gut. You’ll be intrigued by what you start to hear.
 
#CourageouslyListening
#MindfullyEvolving
 

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