Have you ever felt like you weren't happy with multiple aspects of your life?

Well...I certainly have.

Photography:
Kevin Huang (@kevinhuangphoto) from www.kevinhuangphoto.com

The Backstory:

It's been two years since I started this blogging journey and don't get me wrong - I feel as passionate towards blogging as I have when I first started. In fact, there are SO many more topics that I want to address on the blog and the journey doesn't end here! But, why did I feel so lost and empty, even while chasing my dream career? Shouldn't I be fueled by motivation and ambition on the daily by being able to do what I love for a living? You'd think so.

But on top of being a mid-20's entrepreneur, I'm just your average gal with her standard set of problems that other people may struggle with as well. Financial burdens, shaky friendships, a lack of motivation to work out or diet - all of these factors were eating away at me simultaneously and I felt that I was slowly losing myself. Losing the will to live life to the fullest, and losing the willpower to piece myself back together. When you struggle with one obstacle, it can be tough, but at least recoverable. But when you realize that you have SO much more baggage than you realize all at once, it starts to pile on...and well, weighs you down. And from the bottom, it's pretty damn hard to climb back to the top, especially when nobody can understand what you are truly feeling or going through. When you experience life at the "lowest" point, the stinging words of "just get over it" or "what's wrong with you" won't exactly help you recover.

To the outside person, you'd see me having the time of my life laughing with other bloggers at a media event, clinking glasses during brunch, taking photos for my friends, and much more. Why did I look so happy on the outside, when I was nothing close to feeling that way on the inside? I guess I never really faced or realized the seriousness of my problems...until I was alone. Thus, I convinced myself to stay out and socialize for as long as possible in hopes that my problems would evaporate into thin air. Better think twice, Michelle. When you run away from your problems, they stay at home waiting for you, like concerned parents waiting for their child to come home.

Anywho, that's the long and somewhat depressing backstory of how I've been feeling in life lately. But, I'm not here to complain about life, because that's what Twitter statuses are for (LOL). On Missmisschelle, I aim to connect with my audience by sharing personal stories and how I overcome certain obstacles in my life with a positive attitude and determined mindset. So in this blog post, I wanted to share with you guys how I started to recover from such a mentally troubling state. The solution? Coaching.

THE SOLUTION:

I realized that the pinnacle of my problems stemmed from the fact that I blamed external factors for why my life was going downhill. I claimed to friends that I had no control over certain things that happened and that inevitability over certain actions/situations was why my life sucked. But no, the blame game does not get you anywhere, nor does it help you become a better person. By blaming others or anything but myself, I wasn't moving anywhere in life because I refused to change. I played the blame game, I lacked a course of action, and I had no motivation to get out of where I currently was - sounds like a hopeless "game over" to me.

But that where's coaching came into play. One of my best friends, Wendy, knew what I was going through and listened to my problems intently, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why I was struggling with so many life issues at once. Eventually, she started to pursue coaching as a a potential career option and asked me if I could "play" the role of one of her clients. Turns out, we both played our roles pretty well.

After our first 45-minute webcam session, Wendy successfully pinpointed all of the problems I wasn't happy with in my life and drove me to figure out solutions for the each of them. Remember that my solution in the past was to come up with an excuse? Well, typical Michelle kept coming up with her lame ol' excuses, one after the other, but Wendy refused to let this happen. As a coach should be, Wendy urged Michelle to dig deeper as to why she was creating so many excuses to cover her tracks. So goodbye excuses, you're no longer needed.

By the end of our first session, Wendy continued to ask me questions to learn how I got stuck in this position and how to get myself out of this shithole I dug for myself. Eventually, we came up with a roll-out plan for me to apply to my life. Since then, I'll admit that it hasn't been 100% smooth sailing and I do find myself coming up with excuses for why I didn't finish a certain task, but we both noticed a huge improvement in my motivation to change and improve my entire lifestyle within a week. I was now taking action on each aspect of my life that I wanted to change for the better, seeking to improve and better myself as a person.

So here's a tip from me to you - if you are afraid to ask for help or think seeking help from others is for the weak, it is not. There's no shame in asking for help; in fact, it is a bold move that not everybody can do for themselves. Asking for help and admitting fault is one of the most courageous things you can do as a person, as a lot of people in life refuse to admit that they are wrong or that something is wrong in their life. I'm one of the few people in life who will willingly admit that I am wrong in certain situations, and I encourage more people to do act like this. To admit fault when deserved, to seek change when necessary, to desire a healthier lifestyle. If everybody were to admit they were right or perfect in this day and age, just imagine how many problems that would arise in relationships, friendships, and in life. Instead of finding excuses to dodge blame or claiming to be perfect, let's work on ourselves by analyzing what's wrong and what we can do better.

Now that it's been my third webcam session with Wendy and things have tremendously improved in my life, it's time for me to help others in need. If you feel like you're internally struggling with something and you don't feel comfortable sharing your problems with friends or family members, then seeking a counselor, therapist, or a life coach may be the route from you.

Be sure to book your first complimentary consultation with my best friend and aspiring life coach, Wendy Hsiao, and let's get you on the track to a better life! This is not a sponsored post or an obligatory post to a close friend, but just a post that I've been meaning to write for a while. Since Wendy's coaching tactics have positively impacted my life in such a short amount of time, I just knew that I had to share my backstory and recovery progress with all of you guys. Stay tuned for a blog post on the METHOD I use to keep my life organized and on track again - coming soon to Missmisschelle! ;)