I´ve been into leadership and people management my whole life. I was always so busy trying to make everyone else be their best. I wanted everyone to be pleased…with me and with themselves. Then I became single and it was time to look at me. Life has thrown some difficult situations at me over the last five years and I´ve had a chance to challenge the lessons and beliefs  I thought were best for others. Now, I´m forced to think through things alone sometimes. I don´t mind it, at all. Ya know, I´ve learned that control is an illusion. It´s ok to have emotions and it´s ok to not agree with everyone. I am a better leader when I try not to think for other people. I am a better listener now that I don´t have all the answers. I am a better friend when I´m not so sure how to help. I am a better parent now that I don´t solve all the problems. This new perspective that life has offered me has made my world so much bigger and brighter. The old me thought I was doing everything right. Now that I have failed and recovered I am stronger and braver. I was ejected from my comfort zone and I am glad. I have friends all over the world, and I have learned that making me better is the best way to help others be better. For me, I never really agreed with the ¨believe in yourself first¨ theory, that is, until I was forced to believe in myself first.

You know how everyone talks about ¨thinking out of the box¨ or ¨getting out of your comfort zone¨? Yeah, those kinds of phrases always bugged me, too. However, as a teacher and a leader and people manager, I was always encouraging people to think differently. That was my routine for everyone, but rarely for me. Then, five years ago my life changed…drastically. I no longer had a ¨box¨or a ¨comfort  zone¨.  Everything was new and I had to participate directly from me. I´ve grown so much in the last five years, I don´t recognize that person anymore. Now, I welcome each new experience with wonder and curiosity rather than with a strictly pragmatic  approach. I truly am a lifelong learner now. Because of that change in perspective, I have worked in exotic places, visited 5 continents, and met people from all over the world. If you want to be a participant in this emerging global society, and I strongly suggest you do, you have to take action. I haven´t encountered a culture that didn´t welcome me and enrich me. I am so grateful. Make the world your box, and see that your comfort zone is wherever your feet are touching Earth.