What Are You Waiting For?
Your Pocket Coach Newsletter
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Dear curious mind,
For the past several years, my husband and I have been caught in a game of waiting and perseverance.
We slowly lost the desire (or perhaps the ability) to take risks. We were filled with fear, uncertainty, and instability. After nine years of waiting, facing rejection, and waiting again, we finally got what we needed to pursue our dreams and goals.
But dreaming is one thing. Taking action is another, especially if life has taken you on unexpected journeys and your resilience has been tested again and again.
It took months before we found the courage, energy, and trust to start searching for the opportunities we had long talked about. It took even longer to break free from the comfort created by years of trying to build safety within the chaos.
Eventually, we took the leap. We made the move. And now, by taking a small risk every day, we build our courage for the bigger things.
But one thing is still missing.
It’s the feeling of adventure—the sense of being part of something so big that you understand the irrelevance of your own life.
This came to me when I was looking at photos from our time in Africa. These moments happen when you are standing in nature, surrounded by the overwhelming beauty and magnitude of this world.
These are the moments that make me feel so small and yet so interconnected. These memories are the ones that help me rebuild my courage and stay resilient.
Let me explain this: Feeling small and irrelevant doesn’t mean you are not important. Instead, it allows you to understand how most things don’t matter in the way we believe they do.
The results of your actions don’t define who you are. It’s the actions themselves that do.
It’s wonderful when your actions bring great success. But if they don’t, you are not worth less. Instead, you prove your resilience and perseverance by continuing to take action.
Understanding how small you are gives you permission to fail and to play.
“Life isn’t serious. We make it serious.”
It doesn’t matter that the last nine years of our lives didn’t play out the way we hoped. What matters is whether we now live our lives based on what brings us fulfillment, a sense of belonging, and the ability to create impact.
And adventure.
Because… something feels missing without it.
I miss the adventure of Africa. The freedom of packing my life into a suitcase and starting fresh across continents. The lightness and freedom I felt in my twenties, when life didn’t feel so serious. Packing a car and driving without a plan, allowing the path to unfold: for me, that is the purest form of being present in the moment.
Somewhere along the way, seriousness became the default. Especially here in the U.S., where everything seems important all the time: status, career, material gain. There’s a kind of fake relevance that pervades Western culture, making us believe that every detail of our lives is urgent and defining.
This mindset distracts us. It distracts us from wonder, from joy, from risk-taking. It blinds us to the truth that our lives are incredibly small in comparison to the vastness of this planet, and that’s a beautiful thing. There’s freedom in that perspective.
So here’s my question again:
What are you truly waiting for?
What are you truly waiting for?
Is it the perfect time? A clearer sign? More savings? Less fear?
At some point, we all need to reflect on how much of our lives have been shaped by hesitation. I’ve come to realize that my focus on pursuing well-paid jobs and assignments wasn’t driven by ambition. It was about survival and fear. But somewhere along the way, I forgot that I am an expert in surviving. We humans are. We are the essence of resilience.
The antidote for fear is abundance: a mindset that begins with recognizing your unique value within. When you know yourself, meaning—your gifts, your strengths, your essence—you stop competing and start contributing.
Does that mean life stops being hard? No.
But it does mean we stop making it more complicated than it needs to be.
So I leave you with this thought:
✨ What would shift if you approached your life with more lightness, more trust, and more courage?
✨ What dreams are waiting for you on the other side of fear?
I’d love to hear back:
What’s one goal you chased that turned out to be a distraction?
What risk are you still waiting to take?
With love & lightness,
Dr. Kinga
Practical Team-Development Tools
Exercise 1: The “Adventure Mindset” Reframe
Goal: To build resilience through cognitive reframing
Life is full of uncertainty, but so is every great adventure. This exercise helps you reframe fear into curiosity and action.
Instructions:
Identify one area of your life where you’ve been stuck in hesitation (e.g., career, relationships, creativity).
Write down the top 3 fears you associate with taking action in this area.
Now, reframe each fear as an “adventure opportunity.”
Ask: If I approached this like a journey, not a test—what might I learn?
Example: “I’m afraid of failing” → “I get to discover how resilient I am and learn something new.”
Choose one small step you can take this week that aligns with this adventurous mindset.
Exercise 2: The Joy Anchor Journal
Goal: to build happiness through savoring and gratitude
This exercise helps anchor your day in positive emotions by intentionally noticing moments of lightness, awe, and joy.
Instructions:
At the end of each day this week, write down:
➡ One moment that made you smile or laugh.
➡ One moment when you felt connected to something bigger (nature, people, purpose).
➡ One thing you’re proud of doing—no matter how small.
➡ At the end of the week, look for themes.
➡ When and where do these feelings show up?
➡ How can you invite more of them into your daily life?
Reflection prompt: “What did these joyful moments teach me about what matters most?”
3. Additional Resources:
01
Podcast Suggestion
why listen?
“Emotional Agility” by Susan David – For practical strategies on navigating emotional setbacks and bouncing back.
02
03
Bi-Weekly Book Recommendation
The Courage To Be Disliked
Grow The Good Podcast: This podcast dives into the value of seeking novelty, adventure and spontaneity for building both resilience and fulfillment – offering evidence and stories that support the exact transformations described in your blog post.
Are you enjoying the newsletter? If so, I would love to hear from you what you think about it and what has been helpful so far.
Thanks for your support and ‘see you’ in two weeks!
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One Comment
Love the idea of the joy anchor journaL!