Weird. Quirky. Wonderful. I want to know you…

I’ve often said, “Weird is a side effect of awesome”, to anyone, especially clients, who are trying to fix or change their weirdness. I really believe this AND it has taken me quite a while to embrace my own weirdness and truly embody it, know it, and love it.

Like the fact that I count steps when I walk. It’s not a conscious thing. Yet, as I am walking, I suddenly hear myself counting in my head. When walking and talking with someone else, the conversation takes precedence, but when I’m alone there is a voice counting in my head. Weird. Quirky. This is me.

I also love puzzles. The word kind, the jigsaw kind, and the life kind. There are things that I look at as puzzles to be solved and that excites me. For example, I like to travel light and will pack a 10-day trip into a small carry-on and a backpack. The backpack holds my laptop, wallet, journal, a book, and some pens and markers…maybe a snack too. Everything else goes into the carry-on. Fitting everything I need into that small suitcase is like making a puzzle. I find it challenging, fun, and rewarding.

As I started planning my next RV adventure, a three-week trek in October, I realized I approach this as a puzzle too. First, location. This is like making the frame of a jigsaw puzzle. Then, places to park my RV that are available in that timeframe and fit them together. I then choose the route I’ll travel and where I might stop overnight along the way. As each piece comes together and I see it taking shape, I get more excited about the journey and sharing it with you.

Now, this might be really weird to say, but working with clients is a puzzle. One that truly lights me up!

I want to know each client, you, as you are. Right now. Not if, or when. Most clients come to me wanting to dull their sharp edges or otherwise fit themselves into a frame of success or life, or how they think they ‘should’ be, that isn’t who they truly are. Their weirdness, quirks, and wonderfulness simply don’t fit into the frame they are working with. They’re making someone else’s puzzle…and it results in frustration, suffering, and shame.

The puzzler I am helps them approve of themselves – quirks and all – and gives them permission to create their own framework for living life in a way that feels natural and fitting for them. Puzzling, for me, is a gift I am being in the world.

Be weird. Fly your freak flag. This is what makes you, you…and there can never be another you. The world is better for your presence in it. No more hiding. Okay?

Got quirks? Me too. I love that about you!