Read how this single trip to belize changed my life forever
Chasing Stormi LLC originally started as a blog that was meant to help hold me accountable while I worked to break my people pleasing addiction. However, shortly after I started I realized it was going to be something so much more….
I started by getting some coupons off of Groupon to try new things without committing to year long contracts I knew I wouldn’t complete. I wrote about my success and failures as I learned what I liked and didn’t like. I also found a few things that I was better at than expecting, and certain things that should never be done again. One thing I did was a yoga class. The instructor, Sue, said she was going to Belize, and I needed to come with her to write for the blog. After three days of it weighing heavily on my heart and mind, I decided to jump. I planned nothing. I threw caution to the wind for the first time, and I packed my new knapsack and got on a plane to go to a country I had never visited, with a group of people I didn’t know. Only, she left out one tiny detail….it was a couple’s trip.
Yep. I was the only person not in a relationship, in a country I knew nothing about, with 15 strangers, alone. So I had a choice…I could try to figure out how to crawl back to the safety of the USA or I could take advantage, and REALLY hold myself accountable about breaking my people pleasing habit and facing my fears. I had World War III within me as I fought the “Flight” of “Fight or Flight” and had to remove myself to stop hyperventilating. I dug deep, told myself that I was drawn to this experience for a reason, and it was time to find out what that reason was.
I was proud of myself for seeing what happened, because those 15 strangers became a second family. Sue had told everyone about my blog and purpose, which led to me hearing, “Stormi! You’ve got to try this for your blog! I’ll take your picture!” Before I knew it I had bear crawled and butt scooted down the tallest Mayan temple, faced my fear of water by going snorkeling, and even ate a termite in the middle of the jungle. (It tastes like a peppermint breath mint if you were wondering…)
When I went snorkeling, I actually had a full one panic attack that included hysterical, ugly crying, and hyperventilating. It was the girl that told me that it was my writing and my bravery that was keeping her going while she, too, stepped outside of her comfort zone during that trip that reminded me of my purpose and why I had to push through. It’s the trip that changed my life personally and professionally, and was the inspiration to share my abusive relationship with my ex-husband in my book, that came out later that year called Surviving the Storm.
But if I hadn’t made the choice to take the leap, Chasing Stormi LLC wouldn’t be what it is today…an inspiration to help women leave their toxic relationships for good. There also wouldn’t have ever been the original spark for Camp Storm Stompers Inc. to help our youth stomp out bullying. So sometimes we have to have a leap of faith that the Universal Intelligence (UI) has our back and knows what’s best for us. And if you’re needing help to take your first leap, then simply check out chasingstormi.rocks today!
Leave a Reply