You MUST Step Out of Your Comfort Zone in Order to GROW! -- My (not-so-short) story: From unhappy highschool math teacher, to ecstatic creator of my dreams!

Hello beautiful being of light! Yes, that's YOU!

I hope this post find you in a wonderful mood, but if not, I hope that it will help bring a little more positivity and inspiration to your day.

I'm still new to this Steemit platform, and am learning and growing more and more every day because of it. Before starting out, I was convinced that I was not a talented writer. And although I have a lot to say and share, I thought it would be hard to find my voice on here and I was intimidated to start typing out my thoughts. But as soon as I made my first post, my brain has been flooded with more and more ideas and things that I feel so compelled to share, and I am having so much FUN writing them. I am so grateful for this platform, and so eager to see where it takes me.

Now that I have a little bit larger audience, I thought I would take the time to share my story with you all.

The story of how I came to be living in Thailand, living my dreams, actively creating happiness and abundance, and feeling more filled with love than ever before.

Because it wasn't always this way. While I was quite happy for most of my life, I was never truly content, and never really satisfied, and I never knew how good life could actually be.

So without further ado, here is the story of how I went from being a very stressed out, unhappy high school math teacher, to a healthy, happy, vibrant creator of my own reality!

_{Me, dancing with bubbles at Shambhala in Your Heart Festival in Northern Thailand}

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I grew up in the suburbs of Southeast Michigan. The youngest sibling in my little family of four - mom, dad, older brother. I lived a lovely, pretty normal life and childhood. I enjoyed and excelled at school, had a healthy amount of friends and social activities and was blessed with overall happiness. Nothing too extraordinary to report here. But, starting from an early age, I had an intense desire to get out of Michigan. To see and explore the world and experience a life very different from my own.

I dreamed of living the easy life on a warm, palm-tree lined beach, or the busy hussle-and-bussle life of a big city in a sky-rise apartment, or maybe even a relaxed and quiet life in the mountains, or on a farm or large piece of land. I was open to all the options, but knew I needed to get outside of my bubble and create a new reality and a new life plan, other than the basic “get-a-job-get-married-buy-a-house-get-a-dog-work-work-work-stress-stress-stress-take-a-vacation-once-a-year” kind of life that so many people I knew had followed. I realized that that life, the one I was heading towards, was ONE template for life. But it’s not THE template.

_{Photo Credit}
Shortly after college, my best friend and I were beyond ready to make a big shift to begin new lives, so we made the decision to move across the country to Austin, Texas. Neither of us had ever stepped foot inside of Texas, and I had actually never even heard of Austin. But Google had an endless supply of articles and pictures of waterfalls, hiking trails, freshwater swimming holes, fields of bluebonnet flowers, concerts, festivals, and countless other reasons why Austin was the best place for two young, energetic, nature-loving girls to start their new lives -- so we took a leap of faith.

With just the trust in following our gut and intuition, we quit our jobs, found an apartment online that looked great, and began packing up to move across the country. And just a few months later we found ourselves behind the wheels of our (separate) cars, stuffed with our most prized possessions, driving 1,400 miles from Detroit to Austin, relying on redbull, coffee, and guilty pleasure tunes to keep us alert and alive.

And in just two (very long, very tiring) days, our lives were positively changed forever.

I find that trying new things - moving across the country for example - very often act as catalysts to creating big, permanent lifestyle changes. When you shake up your surroundings and let go of everything you find comfortable, you force yourself to find new paths to happiness and comfort.

Austin allowed me to rediscover and re-create myself. It is such an inspiring, artistic city, and I was able, for the first time in my life, to discover my creative side. You see, my whole life I had excelled academically, and took a strong interest in math and science because it came so easily to me. I even studied Mathematics throughout university and was working as a high school math teacher after graduation -- which was my lifelong dream. But moving across the country shook my world up so much that it allowed me to put aside my right-side, mathematical, problem-solving brain and discover my artistic, creative, imaginative side.

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I discovered a love for crafting, jewelry-making, painting, and drawing. I rediscovered my love for nature, hiking, and swimming. I strengthened my love for yoga, dance, and my passion for food and music. I became healthier, happier, and more fulfilled. To this day I look back on my decision to move to Texas with so much gratitude and know it was one of the best decisions of my life.

Texas was a great creative outlet and allowed me the freedom to discover more and more of my passions. I spent two years growing, exploring, and expanding in the beautiful city of Austin. But after two years, I was still incredibly unsatisfied in my professional work life.

I was in my fourth year as a highschool math teacher, and my job took up about 70% of my day-to-day life. When you’re spending that much time doing something, you better LOVE it. But I did not. I felt so unfulfilled, so dissatisfied, and so trapped by the actual education system itself. I felt that my job was more about completing paperwork and keeping up appearances to look a certain way to the community and less about the actual students and the content of the lessons.

In this area of my life, I still felt confused, and anxious, and unhappy. I felt stressed, I felt worried about my finances, and I felt exhausted. Every part of my higher self was trying to communicate to me that my chosen career and me were not meant for one-another. We were not a match. I know now that when we feel uneasy and unhappy, day in and day out, we MUST make a change. We MUST listen. Thankfully, I did listen, and I decided it was time for the next big change.

… But this time, I had no idea where to turn. I knew I was going to quit my job at the end of the school year, but I hadn’t the slightest clue of what I would do, or where I would go next.

But thankfully, the Universe knew, and it sent me the message I needed to receive.

^{Photo Credit: http://humansarefree.com/2016/09/the-universal-consciousness.html}
One day, during the peak of my frustration with work and my confusion on what steps to take next, I stopped by a house-warming party to say a quick hello, and ended up having a conversation that would change the course of my entire life.

I met a woman named Michelle, who shared some of my pain and dissatisfaction caused by the education system. But she had some advice that I had never heard of before: Teaching Abroad. She had spent two years teaching in Southeast Asia and she spend the next few hours telling me her story. She spoke so fondly of her experience and explained how easy it is to get a job teaching in this part of the world--especially with teaching experience and a teaching degree!

I was filled with excitement after this conversation. I was re-energized and motivated and so eager about the future. I didn’t fully understand this concept back then --that when every part of you is filled with excitement and happiness at the thought of an idea… that’s the Universe speaking to you, through you;shouting to you that it’s an amazing idea and should absolutely be explored. Whatever sets your soul of fire, that is what you should be doing. That is what life is about!! But even though I hadn’t fully grasped this concept yet, thankfully this new flame of desire that had been ignited within me was so strong that I couldn’t help but listen to it.

I had travelled to Thailand two years prior to this encounter, and I had loved my experience there. One city had stood out in particular and I had only the fondest of memories -- Chiang Mai. It was beautiful, there was nature, it was incredibly affordable, there was nightlife, and overall, I just remembered enjoying myself there.. All the signs said yes, and all the excitement I could feel in my body was SCREAMING “YES!”

So from this one conversation, the path of my life was dramatically changed. The next few months flew by in a blur as I quit my job, packed up my house, sold my car and many of my possessions, researched some jobs in Chiangmai, purchased my flight, and paved the way for the next big move.

_{Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash}

As a primarily right-brained, systematic, organized person, I made myself a plan. My research gave me peace of mind knowing that, with my background and experience, I could easily find a job once I arrived, rather than trying to find one online beforehand. So the plan was that I would spend two years abroad in Southeast Asia, primarily in Thailand and Vietnam (Vietnam because I had heard it was easier and more profitable to teach there), working as an English teacher, saving money, and travelling. Then after two years, I would take all of my savings and stories and head back to the States, probably back to Austin, and settle down and really begin life…

But what was waiting for me in Chiangmai was beyond my wildest dreams.

I was not even able to imagine or comprehend the amount of magic waiting to be discovered in this city, because I had never experienced anything like it before.

After only one month, I had a good paying job, a nice, EXTREMELY affordable place to live ($150/month), and I owned my very own motorbike which I was already super comfortable riding. I had a wonderful group of friends who were all so unique, and genuine, and supportive of one another, and new friends were coming to me on a daily basis. I had no financial stresses, I had an abundance of delicious food around me everywhere I went, and the town was PACKED with amazing events -- dancing, meditations, yoga, kirtan, concerts, pool parties, house parties, open mic nights, jam nights, workshops of every kind…. The possibilities were astounding, and most of the events were FREE! And the people! The Thai people, all so friendly and welcoming and greeting me with a smile. And the foreigners -- entrepreneurs, musicians, hippies, artists, vegans, cyclists -- I felt that there was a place here for everyone.

I asked myself, “Why in the world would I have PLANS to LEAVE?! All of my problems have been solved. All of my stress and unhappiness has seemed to of vanished. I feel happier, healthier, and more supported than I ever have before. So why would I leave?”

I remember calling my mom around this time, after about only a month, and telling her that my plans had changed. I no longer planned to go to Vietnam, and I no longer planned to come home after 2 years. I had plans to visit home for some upcoming weddings, but I no longer had plans to move back home. I felt that I was home. Finally.

Since that phone call, I have grown and transformed into a person I did not even know could exist. I am no longer a stressed out high school math teacher full of fear and anxiety. I am a glowing, loving, free-spirited child of the Universe, constantly growing and changing and learning. I have the freedom to explore my curiosity and my desires, because I no longer stress about money and time in the ways that I used to in America.
I am a creator of sacred space and a facilitator of ceremony. I lead breathwork ceremonies and connective cacao ceremonies. I am a teacher and a student. I am a dancer and a dreamer, a healer and a singer. I am an artist and a craftswoman. I make jewelry and art and paint pictures. I meditate and exercise and eat healthy, nourishing, DELICIOUS foods. I go on adventures. I am more connected to the Earth than I ever have been before. I dance. I swim. I laugh. I go camping. I help plan music festivals. I am constantly learning and transforming. I’m even learning to become a computer programmer! I am supported by the most loving, creative group of people I have ever known, and am proud to be able to love and support each of them on their journeys to self as well.

I am finally FREE. FREE to be ME. Free to discover who I truly am.

^{Photos from some of the ceremonies I've led}

It has been two and a half years since I first left America for Chiang Mai. It has been an incredible ride, and I have learned so much about myself, and about the true power of the human spirit and mind and heart. But the ride continues. Because there is no “end”. No pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, there are countless pots of gold all along the way, hidden in each experience and each leap of faith.

I am not suggesting that everyone needs to move across the country or the world to fulfill their dreams (unless that IS your dream!) But I am saying that if you don't step out of your comfort zone; if you don't walk, head raised, into the unknown, then your life will continue to be...KNOWN.

You must make extreme leaps of faith and believe in your wildest dreams in order for them to become reality. And you CAN do it. You CAN create your reality. I am living proof, and am surrounded by others who are making their dreams a reality as well.

I hope this blog can serve as a platform for me to share these discoveries with you, and maybe even inspire you to get out there and follow your own dreams. To listen to the call of the Universe that is coming through you. Each of you. Yes, YOU.

If you've made it this far, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to listen to my story. More is on the way.
I'll be posting smaller, more bite-sized stories, lessons, videos, and inspiration as I come across them. You can expect to see more about meditation, pranayama, mindset work and how we can create our realities by choosing our thoughts, relationships, tantra, healthy living, and stories and inspiration as life continues to unfold.

From the highest part of me, I send out my love and light to each of you. I wish you all the happiness in the world. Because there is more than enough for us all!

I love you. Until next time.
🌈 Rachel

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