GUEST POST: I'm excited to feature a piece from my good friend and fellow Coach, Mandy Wong. For her full bio, scroll to the bottom.

I once compared my life to the Truman Show before he realized he was on simulated television. For those who haven’t seen it, the movie follows Truman – a man who was adopted as a baby and raised by a corporation inside a television show. He was unaware that everyone he met was either acting out a script or repeating lines fed to them by the show’s creator.

Every day his life was on repeat – just like mine. 

It was mundane, comfortable, and incredibly predictable. I would wake up; Take the train to work; Work for 7.5 hours; Come home; Eat dinner; Watch TV for an hour; Go to bed, and have it happen all over again. My life was on auto-pilot. Just like Truman, we are often so unaware and unconscious of our day-to-day. We live our story based on what we’ve learned from the past, our surroundings, and the expectations of what others have of us.

Last November, my sister-in-law sent me an email about enrolling herself in a life coaching program. She asked me to come with her as a guest to her three-day coaching module. I reluctantly agreed because deep down, I knew how much my life was going to change (and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it).

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of changing the world. I wanted to make a difference. And now, I was being given the opportunity to learn how to help and coach other people, but I had a million reasons in my head telling me why I shouldn’t or couldn’t do it. Because up until that point, I had my life figured out. My five-year plan included (hopefully) a maternity leave and a promotion at work – a job that I had dedicated six years of my life cultivating my expertise, and one that gave me a lot of stability and financial freedom.

Even though I was secretly excited to go to the three-day coaching module, I pretended to dread it in front of my friends and colleagues. I thought that if I resisted, I could trick myself into believing that this wasn’t for me. Deep down, I was scared about how much I was going to like it. And of course, I didn’t just like it – I loved it. It was life-changing, and it severely disrupted my fool-proof (and safe) five-year agenda. I was more confused than ever, because what that weekend taught me was that I had options. Life could be more than just fine. Instead of being on auto-pilot, I could be the author of my own epic story.

Yes, dreaming big means increasing the possibility of failure. Yes, it also means opening ourselves up to criticism. But more importantly, following our passion also means embracing our vulnerability, being courageous, and daring greatly. It’s been exactly a year since I stepped into that three-day coaching module, and today, I am a Certified Professional Life Coach helping women transform the relationship they have with themselves and creating a story that lights them up from the inside out.

Today, life is more than just fine. Each day, I live with intention and goals that stretch me and challenge me in ways that I’ve never experienced before. It’s a combination of a whirlwind of emotions. It’s scary, it’s vulnerable, and sometimes, it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also wonderful, it’s brave, it’s passionate, and it’s incredibly joyful.

Mandy Wong is a Life & Relationship coach who empowers women to love their story. Her mission is to help women change their narrative from “not good enough” to falling in love with who they are, and being unapologetic as they create personal freedom in their lives and relationships.

Today, she supports her clients by establishing a safe space for them to explore confidence, build healthy boundaries, and develop a newfound trust in themselves through her private coaching practice. To find out how to work with Mandy, visit her website.