Closing your laptop at the end of the day but still feeling emotionally tied to a life that no longer fits. Looking around at everything you’ve built and quietly thinking, “Why doesn’t this feel right anymore?”

There’s grief in outgrowing a version of yourself that once made sense. Grief in realizing the career, identity, or path you worked so hard for might not be the one you want to carry into your next season of life.

This episode explores what it looks like to reinvent yourself without losing yourself in the process.

Dr. Diane Van Staden shares her experience of leaving behind a successful academic career after immigrating from South Africa to Canada and the identity shift that came with starting over professionally. The conversation moves through the fear of uncertainty, the pressure of other people’s expectations, comparison, purpose, self trust, and the emotional process of letting go of who you used to be.

There’s also a powerful conversation around grieving identities that no longer fit and learning how to build a life that feels aligned instead of simply impressive.

This one is for the woman who knows she’s changing but keeps wondering if she’s allowed to want something different now.

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Dr. Diane on IG: drdianevanstaden

Dr. Diane's podcast: Life beyond clinicalpractice

Episode 186: How to Grieve The Life You Expected

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Welcome to Beyond Awareness. This is the podcast where we close the gap from knowing what to do and actually doing it and feeling good about it. Today, we are talking about living authentically and the identity shifts that come with reinventing ourselves and that professional reinvention as well. I have Dr. Diane with us today. Welcome to the show, Diane.

and feeling good about it. Today we are talking about living objectively in the identity shifts that come with reinventing ourselves in a professional...

today and welcome to the show,

Thank you so much, Samantha. It's such a pleasure and a privilege to be on your show. I'm looking forward to this conversation.

Me too. I'm so excited. Just the notes that I have. I'm excited to learn from you and I know that my audience is as well. And your story, I know like a glimpse about your story just from what you've already shared with me and it's so powerful. I'm curious if we could just start there. Can you share what reinvention looked like for you and what it means to you?

absolutely. This is the season of reinvention in my personal life and what I talk about on my podcast, Life Beyond Clinical Practice. So just in terms of my background for the audience's context, I grew up and spent most of my life in South Africa. ⁓ I trained as an optometrist, actually, an optometrist early in my career and then went on...

But what I didn't really realize at the time was the cost that immigration would have to my professional trajectory because I was really on an accelerated ⁓ growth path in the university prior to coming here. so moving here initially just stunted that and got me questioning what my value is, what my identity is. Like I'm a university professor, but in Canada, nobody knows me.

even really cared about my background. Nobody understood my value and how do I articulate that? And, you know, it was such, I think the first year or two was such a shift internally. It's just processing what I gave up, both personally, but particularly professionally, because that was such a big part of my life and my identity and recognizing that I couldn't continue on the same path.

in this new country and needed to figure out a way to still bring my value to contribute to the world in ways that were meaningful to me, but also added value to others. And I saw immigration really as a reset because much as I was on a sort of a successful professional trajectory and I knew my next steps and I could see my path, there were also elements of that life and that world that

I didn't really want for the next 10, 15 or 20 years. so immigration became the opportunity to stop, reflect and then reset around what mattered to me, what my values are, what I want my life to look like in this season. And that's really when this whole concept of professional reinvention, initially it was about pivoting.

You know, how do I pivot my career? was a university professor. I've got all this experience in healthcare. What can I do with it in North America? But beyond that, I realize it's not just about finding another job and sort of being back in that rat race. How do I reinvent myself professionally in a way that feels authentic and still adds value to the world? And that for me is what the reinvention journey is all about. So looking forward to unpacking that a little bit more in our conversation.

Yeah, there's so much there, so many elements. And the first thing that came to me is how I talked to so many women and even my clients that want something different for their lives. And they have a glimpse of it. Maybe they know what they want and sometimes they don't, but their biggest fear is literally what you did. It's giving up what they're currently doing. You know, I was talking to a successful business owner last night.

Thanks.

Hahaha

And she was saying that she leaves her client work until like the last part of the day. And I had asked her, do you enjoy the client work that you do? And she said, well, no, but it pays the bills. And in my head, I'm like, well, let's challenge that. Let's question that. But that's, think so many women are stuck there doing what they're doing because they fear if they give it up, then they're starting from ground zero. And literally you did, you, you.

for sure.

moved countries, continents. ⁓ So

Yeah.

how do you help women through that who have that fear of, have to completely start over?

that's such a big thing. And honestly, it's the thing that keeps people stuck. It's this fear of starting over, the fear of financial insecurity. You're leaving something that's certain that you know. It may not be everything you want, but it pays the bills. Like you said, like, you know, the business owner communicated to you last night. It pays the bills. It keeps us alive. Now, how do I sort of turn off the switch on that and start something new?

In my reinvention journey and really processing a lot of this, there's two things for me. One is we fear being vulnerable. As successful professional woman, we used to be in control, usually in positions of authority. We kind of know how to navigate the spaces we are in. And the moment you even think about moving away from that, where you have a relative level of control over your future and your life,

It's this fear of feeling vulnerable, not knowing what's next. And how I process that is I look back on my journey and I said to myself, well, I've navigated change. I immigration was probably the biggest change in my life, but at different points in my career, I pivoted sometimes significantly, sometimes leaving certainty for not even knowing what my next job would look like, but just knowing that the season of the last one was over.

And so I look back at my life and I thought, well, I've been bold enough to tackle change over the course of my life. So I need to learn to trust that what I have, if I've been able to build a successful life and career in a different space and time and season of life, that means I'm capable of doing that in a new time, space and season of life. So almost validating my ability to cope.

would change and navigate through uncertainty and come out on the other side of that stronger, more resilient, having built something successful in a different shape and form. So I think we often as women don't stop to reflect on that and pat ourselves on the back. And actually we did it. We had kids, we juggled all these things. You know, some people have faced phenomenal life challenges, losing loved ones, divorce, all while juggling.

really demanding professional careers and you got through it. So trust that you will be able to navigate your way through a relative short season of uncertainty to build something that will feel more you, more authentic for the next phase of your life. And so it's that bravery and boldness to say, I can do this. I did it before and I could do it again.

I just want

to repeat one of the things that you said and it was validating my ability to cope with change.

I think that that's so powerful because you're right, we don't do it, but there's so many opportunities in our lives when we have done that thing. You know, even just having kids or specific small moments throughout our days or our past careers or current career. So reflecting back on that to validate ourselves, not looking externally. And then the whole self-trust piece, trusting that it will work out. And that, I think, is such a huge, important piece.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yes.

that we could talk all day long about that is like the cornerstone. But what I would love to talk about instead, at least first, is the other very real potential roadblocks to women actually pivoting, to actually reinventing themselves. Like I'm feeling like so many women want to make that change, but they're not doing it. So we talked about that one fear of that uncertainty. But what about

⁓ yes.

other people's expectations or other people's perceptions of you when you reinvent yourselves. Like other people are looking at us. How do you deal with that? How do you help women with that?

That's a big one. Honestly, I still have, you know, very close friends in academia. And I think when I started on this whole journey, they were looking at me, not judgmentally, I must say, but looking at me and even students, former graduate students of mine wondering what am I doing in this season of life? You know, I'd accomplished so much and now I'm on a totally different path of life. And I think owning your

truth. It's something I've reflected quite deeply on, you know, late last year. This really concept of living your truth, owning your truth, speaking your truth has been stirring within me. It's like, what is my truth? You know, and shedding the expectations of others and being bold enough to say that, hey, that worked for me in the season that it worked for me. And I'm so happy for you that you're still doing your thing.

But I believe I'm a person of faith. So I believe that every season has a new assignment. And I think when you have that conviction that you outgrow certain seasons and certain assignments have, you know, an end date. And when you have that conviction and know that I'm now in a new season that demands a new assignment of me, I think you can confidently say to the people watching, expected you to follow a traditional path or certain.

you know, societal expectations that no, this is what I know. ⁓ I'm introspective, I feel the call, I know that I'm doing what I ought to be doing with my life, my skills, my gifts, my talents now. And so you can almost defend going against the grain because you have that conviction that there's a new assignment on your life in the season or that simply my interests have changed. You know, I don't subscribe to those metrics and those values anymore.

This is what matters to me now. But you have to believe that. I think when you haven't made peace with that and settled it in your heart, you waver in your conviction to be able to speak that truth and defend your decisions. And you wonder, should I still go back to that life or should I be doing this? But when you come to that place of peace and accepted an absolute clarity and conviction, it's very easy to then look at people and say.

That's wonderful, but I'm charting my own course and I know where I'm headed.

Yeah, I can imagine that in the beginning it's like you've got one foot in the reality that you want to create, but then the other one is still in your current reality. And so if there's someone that's there, how do you

Yes. ⁓

know what your truth is so that you can build that conviction? Because I think some people are still stuck in that mundane reality where they think that they have to be just more disciplined and get more done and continue the grind. And then they'll be able to break free. Then they'll have more time. So how do you break free of that in order to have the time and space to know what your truth is and to know what you want?

Good question. I actually had this conversation with somebody last week about exactly that. And I would say this, I think I was fortunate when I moved to Canada that I had the space. Initially I came on a one year sort of research fellowship really, which was flexible. It allowed me time to see a different way of life. I think one that I didn't realize I was really craving is just more space for me, for my family, more balance, more peace, more...

more time to do the things that I loved doing. And so I guess I had the luxury of having the time to be exposed to that, to almost say, yes, I'm prepared to now move in a different direction. And I understandably, not everybody has the luxury to do that. But I would say if you can break away from that, for lack of a better term, I'll rat race. The rat race of just work and responsibilities and all.

Yeah.

We become so clouded in those things that you do need time away. Whether it's one week's leave or on the weekend, going on a hike or retreat or camping, somewhere just disconnected from your day-to-day reality. It doesn't have to be three weeks or three months or a whole year like it was for me, but you have to disconnect. Somehow just interrupt that cycle, break away, make time for reflection.

Think really deeply. What matters to me now? You may not have all of the answers, but if you listen to your intuition, I feel very strongly about that, that our body speaks to us. You you can walk into a room and apart from nervousness about maybe meeting your people or giving a speech or whatever, you can have positive nervousness and then you can have just anxious feelings inside.

So listening to what your internal signals are telling you, listening to what your health is telling you, know, all of these are cues and signals and that maybe it's time for a shift. But I think some degree of breakaway or interruption of the daily demands to just reflect and then think about what matters to you and what do you want the next phase of your life to look like.

Okay. you

And if it's not the picture you're currently living in, then something

needs to change. Then there's reinvention work to be done. And it's work, it's a journey, it's not a light switch. But at least acknowledging that can get you started on the path of change. And it may take time, it may take, okay, in six months I want my reality to be different. So how do I work towards that? What are the things I need to do? But you have to come to that place of, okay.

This is not working for me anymore. And you can only get that clarity when you really do have some reflection time, I would say.

I like that. I keep thinking you have to disconnect to connect, right, to tune back in and hear your intuition. And I think that it's both pieces, like you just said, of that internal work and pausing and hearing yourself and your intuition. And it is the tangible strategy work, like you said, like in six months, okay, these are the things. And I think that so many successful women, go-getters and goal-setters, like we

Yes, correct.

projects.

jump to the to-do list without first asking ourselves what is it that we want. And that's when we risk pivoting in the wrong direction because we think that we just have to be so productive all the time. And there is discomfort in disconnecting, in slowing down.

Yes. Yes.

for sure.

Yes, 100 % and but that's such a crucial piece. You cannot authentically reinvent your life or sustainably reinvent your life if you don't do that inner work. So again, making peace with the fact that it's okay, I don't have to feel guilty about taking a week off. you know, if you have a partner saying to them, I need time out this weekend, I'm going to be away on going around my own or whatever it is, being unapologetically clear that

I need to do this for me and for those around me. And so this is a critical part of me defining what I want my next chapter to look like. And then doing the work. It may be a transitional phase until you eventually get to the place where it feels like, can breathe. This feels like what I want in this season and I want to do more of this. And I think on that is also, so many high functioning women, successful women, be so used to, as you say, go, go, go, go, go.

Hmm.

Listen to those cues, even when you're doing the work, when you're doing the things, what do want more of? What do want less of? What doesn't serve you? And start letting go of the things that are not serving you, the things that don't feel good. How can you move your life and career in the direction of things that light you up, things that really feel energizing and like you're in the zone, you're utilizing the best of yourself. I've been in roles where I felt like

This is just such a misfit. Yes, I'm performing. I'm doing the work, but it's a performance. Doesn't feel authentically me. I know I'm gifted in other areas. I know I'm a light up when I do different kinds of work. And so being true to that, owning that even when it goes against the grain in your industry, in your professional spaces. And I think once again, when you understand yourself and you're prepared to own

Mm.

your truth. You can then defend your decisions as unconventional as they may be to the people around you because they just feel right for you and you value yourself and when you value yourself you'll advocate for yourself.

Yeah, it feels empowering. Like, I would be in the position to... ⁓

stand up for myself and to defend what it is that I want to do. However, the next piece of it is that internal comparison. So like from the outside of other people looking and questioning, solid there. But then what about when we then look to the other side and we see other people our age and maybe it's our peers, maybe it's our colleagues, maybe it's just family and friends where they are taking the quote unquote typical path.

Thank

or whatever path they are, and they are getting the promotions. They are ranking up, and they might be loving it. They might not be loving it, but they're moving up. And inside, we feel that comparison. And maybe even like we should be there in life, and now we're starting over. Or now maybe not completely starting over, but we're lower on the totem pole is how we feel. So how do we deal with that internal comparison?

question.

⁓ that is deep and it's heavy because it's very real. It's something that I still experience. Much as I know I'm on the right path, much as I love this journey that I'm taking, I can't help but reflect on exactly as you said, people who were in my space, in my corner, peers, they're still thriving in their parts. And there's a voice inside of you that says, if I had stayed, I could be here or I could achieve this.

When I have those moments, I ask myself, is that what I believe as much as I know I could have done it? And there's parts of me that would have loved that sense of achievement. I think as an ambitious woman, yes, I beat another milestone. Yes, I broke another ceiling. But is that really what I was meant to do? Is that really part of the legacy that I want to leave? Is that really part of the work that feels

that I feel I want to be doing in the season and it feels authentic to me. And so if I reflect on that, yes, absolutely, I would have succeeded in my academic career. I would have climbed the next rung of the ladder. I would have done the things. But I believe that by disconnecting and reinventing, that it's just opened up a whole new space for me to impact people's lives in a completely different way. I never imagined that I would do.

in this season of life. And so I have to remind myself of my assignment in this phase of life, that that had its season. Academia had its season for me. I did the work. I invested in people. I still sort of see the fruit of what I did in that phase of my life. But this is now calling me higher, calling me deeper. And I have to trust the process. The rewards may not immediately be there. They may not rank on the same level as

You're sort of looking at what others are achieving because each of us has our own assignments in life, I believe. My colleagues that are thriving in academia, that's their space and place. Mine, yes, it was there for a season, but now it's to do it in a different way, shape and form. And so I have to bring myself back to that. What is my purpose in the season? I served my purpose in academia well, but now I'm...

God is calling me to a new assignment. That's what I believe in. That's what keeps me going, is how can I use my voice, my value, my skills, my insights, my expertise to pick others up and who are walking the same journey, to impart what I've learned, to invest in the next generation. And that's now my assignment. So coming back to, I think it's not just about getting away from the rat racer.

I say, you know, on my own podcast, that when you're pivoting or you're changing your career and want to make a change, it's not necessarily about running away from something, or it shouldn't be, but it should really be about running towards what you feel called to. Yes, there's elements of our season, our past seasons that we want to leave behind, but you must have some conviction that you're moving towards something that's just bigger.

I won't even use the term better, but bigger and more aligned with what resonates with you in this phase of life.

I love that and I love

your recommendation too of honoring that you could have. Because I think you hit the nail on the head with the thought that we all have already or would if we were in this situation of if I stayed, if I did this, right? The if, then. And I think that that's where we get stuck. We play out that scenario. And so going to that next level of asking, like, but

Mm-hmm. Yep.

Yes.

then what? And living out the rest of it and realizing, that's why I left. That's why I wanted to leave. And realizing like, yes, I could have, and this is way more fulfilling while I'm building whatever it is that I'm building. And we've got that new conviction now. And we can defend ourselves to others and also that internal validation while waiting to receive potentially external validation.

you

Correct.

for sure. And you know, even when I was in my phase in academia and I was sort of just on this path that I knew that doors would open for me as and when I wanted them to open. But there was something inside of me that knew that this is not the end all and be all of my professional career. That I don't want to end up retiring at the university. I didn't even know at the time, I had no

inkling, I had no plans to immigrate at the time, you know, but I just knew within myself that this is, there's a time limit to this and there's something else that I have to do on the other side of this. And I think so many times we silence those voices, we know when we end this on this sort of treadmill of life and things are working out for us, there may be a little voice that's telling you, this is not all there is to it.

Mm hmm.

or there's something else you're meant to do, whatever that voice is telling you. We're good at silencing it because we want to live to serve the external metrics, right? Prove to people we

Okay.

can do this or we succeeding by external standards. But, you know, this month, I think of January, it's like, what are your internal metrics? And are you bold enough to live to those metrics, metrics that feel right for you?

not metrics that society has built or people have placed expectations on you, but really live to what matters to you. So yeah, it's a journey as you can hear. I'm still on that journey and working through all of this, but I think it's important to acknowledge and be able to just defy societal standards if that doesn't work for you and define success on your own terms.

So once you do that,

I feel like you can get really excited about the next step and have significantly less fear. And then it comes down to giving yourself permission to make the move, to do the thing, to turn left or to turn right, whatever the phrase is. So what was it for you that helped you give yourself that permission? Was it that internal knowing for you or was there something else that specifically helped you know or make that move of, this is what I'm doing?

Yes.

Yes.

I'm moving or it seems like you've reinvented and pivoted a few different times. So how did you give yourself permission to do that, to walk away?

So I think life helped me there. You know, honestly. So again, coming down to my own personal philosophies of life, I believe that if a season is over, the doors will close. And when I moved to Canada, it was still my intention to pursue an academic career. As much as I...

You know, I knew that things I wouldn't be on the same level that, you know, I would have to start from the bottom. I really wanted to get back into academic life and get back into the university because I love universities. I love leading. I love the research aspect.

But the more I tried to push and initially there were a few opportunities that came my way, but increasingly I felt more distant and like the doors were just closing around me for ⁓ no specific reason. And I just felt I saw that as a sign. Sign that that season perhaps, and I still have academic portfolios. I still hold honorary appointments at a university in South Africa as well as here in British Columbia.

Mm.

So I still have that hat, but it's not the dominant hat in my life. I knew, I accepted then that I would not have a full-time academic career in Canada and that I almost started to, I had to shed the identity of professor, acknowledge that I'm not gonna be a university professor. I can't call myself a university professor in terms of my day job. And so I had to shed that identity.

In a sense, mourn the loss of that phase of my career and that part of my life, as much as there's still a fraction of it that I still keep. But I knew that that season was over. Life had shown me that it's making way for something new. And I needed to look, listen and respond. And so that's how I processed it. My intentions were still to find a way to get back on this treadmill and make it work for me.

And when I saw that that's not going to happen, I took it as a cue that life is pointing me in a different direction. And then how can I continue to use my expertise, my professional qualifications, credentials, insights, experiences? So it was not wasted. I was not starting new, much as I'm saying reinventing, but I'm building, but just building in a different way, in a different direction that's totally unconventional and that feels right for me. That's uniquely me.

Yeah.

I wrote that down in a three-step process over here in my notes. I wrote, accept the identity change, mourn, and then build. And I think that that mourning, that grief, is a big one.

Mm-hmm.

There's so much grief in life that is obvious, like the loss of a loved one or a pet, or even if you get fired, grieving that. But grieving an identity change is something that I don't think it's talked about enough, and we hold on so tightly to that version of us. And so I love, love, love that that is part of what you did.

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

show.

was accepting that you can be something else, something different, and that no longer is your only title, let's say, and then allowing yourself to grieve through that. And then so much opens up for you once you grieve through that. Do you have any tips on how you grieved through that? Did you just accept all the emotions, or did you journal through it, or what was that process like for you?

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yes.

I yeah, probably a multi-step process. I did journal, I think lots of internal processing, lots of reflecting on what I had, what I had built as part of the morning process. Like, what did I accomplish? What, you know, I did so well and now that's all coming to an end. I guess much like grieving in general, right? Looking at what was and what will no longer be.

Yeah.

But then also, as I said earlier in the interview, saying, if I could do this in that context, under the umbrella of higher education and universities, I can take my same innovative ideas, passion for creating, passion for investing in people, all of these things that mattered to me, that energized me in that portfolio. How can I use those things in a different way? Because they worked, they produced results. So moving past that,

Yeah.

this is the end of an era and that will never be. But how can I carry some of that into this next phase? So yes, mourning because in that it's not going to look the same. The package is not going to look the same anymore. The titles are not going to be the same, but the impact. So then when the focus shifts to, as I said, external metrics to what impact can I have in a different space using these same things that allowed me to be so successful?

in a different season of my life. So then, as you said, so much opens up. You become excited about what's beyond this. That's not the depth of me. It's not the end of my life. And now I have to just do gardening and whatever, pick my kids up from school. You know, that there

Yeah.

is something else that I can add value. And yes, it's going to take time to build, but I'm going to build it authentically because that matters to me, you know.

Yeah.

And I'm not doing it for anyone else to validate me. I'm doing this because I feel that it's meaningful and I can

.

make a meaningful contribution to the world. yeah, and then of course, talking to colleagues, talking to other peers and friends who had journeyed similar journeys of professional loss for whether it was due to immigration or whatever, as you say, lost a job, needed to figure out how they're to use their credentials and experience in different ways. So just

I think the verbal processing. So coming into community, no matter how small, but finding, you know, like minds that you can verbally process this talk about, you know, how you feel, the fears, the whatever, the sadness, uncertainty, the vulnerability, like I mentioned, but all that is part of your healing journey. And you have to go through it to embrace the new, because if you don't fully process the grief,

Yeah. you

You'll always have one foot on the other side wondering what would have been, what could have been, maybe, should have I, all those things. But you've got to sort of come to place of closure and acceptance so that you can really move forward.

Yeah, this is reminding me, I have a podcast episode, I'll find the exact one and I'll put it in the show notes, but it's called, Grieving the Life That You Expected. And it was kind of left field at the time, I was like, I don't know, it's just like on my heart and it would.

powerful.

was one of the best performing ones. ⁓ Yeah, that really resonated. But I love, yes, yes, it's so, I think, again, people are feeling that there is something that needs to be mourned and then nobody's really talking about how to do it or that feeling is there. So yeah, I'll share that link to that. But I wanna end with what I think is what maybe people started listening to this episode for, which is.

Wow.

That's powerful.

Mm-hmm.

Once you do say, right, I'm here, I know my truth, I'm ready to advocate for myself, I'm ready to reinvent, let's do this, but how do I, like what do I create? How do I find my purpose? How do I know what to create in a way that lights me up? I'm not just moving on to the next thing. So what is your, you mentioned a couple little nuggets throughout, but how do you center your new work around

Mm-hmm.

this season of your life and the impact that you want to make.

Yeah, so important. So two things for me, the work must be meaningful. So let's start with basics. What have people always come to you for or complimented you on? For me, it was always, even earlier in my career, could impromptu stand up in a room of senior executives and just speak off the cuff and speak something inspirational and add value. And I was like, where did that come from?

You

You know, it was just like, it was just a natural gift. my colleagues would say, how

do you do it? You're not even prepared. Or we have a workshop and maybe I didn't have time to really spend weeks preparing and I'll just somehow come in. It's just, and I'm not patting myself on the back, but just sort of brilliantly executed. You know, and so I started to recognize my natural gifts and strengths.

Pat yourself, we like that here.

So I think that's an important part of acknowledging what comes naturally and what are you coupled with, what do you really enjoy doing? Right? So what have people always complimented you on? What have you done without having to prepare that you could just in the flow? So what's your in the flow moments and skills and expertise? And then what matters to you? What, so I talk about legacy careers. What legacy do you want to leave? So if you were, I know, ⁓

financial accountants, it doesn't have to necessarily be in the field of finance, know, but in this, at the end of your life, what do you want to be part of your professional legacy and contribution to the world beyond your financial accounting? You know, what impact do you want to leave in the spaces you work? You know, whether it is that you want to simplify financial education for previously marginalized communities or single moms or whatever that.

cause is, and that's why I talk about purpose-centered careers. Find a purpose, something you're passionate about that utilizes your skills, your interests, and integrates your values into the work. And then it doesn't feel like work because it just feels like something you would do even if people didn't pay you because you're that passionate about it. You love the way you can express your work, you can add value, and you know that you're adding value to something that's meaningful, that will have impacted people's lives.

And that becomes the fuel. So you purpose lead. It's no longer I'm trying to build this little business or, you know, start my own thing. It becomes about the purpose, the impact and the legacy you want to leave building on from everything you have and that you know, you're equipped to deliver to the world.

So good. And I'm just curious, when you do this part, from the times that you've reinvented yourself and you've gone through those questions of like, what is my natural, you know, excellence and what am I good at or what do I enjoy doing? What matters to me? How long does that take you or how long do you give yourself? Could this be like a

five-minute journaling session, is this a week? It took you like maybe a year when you were in Canada simply because you had that time. But when people hear this, they might be thinking, I don't have the time to process that. If you had to give them a time frame, what comes up for you? How long does it take to kind of like have that aha moment, light bulb moment of what they could build, what they could create?

Mm-hmm.

that's a tough one because it would be different for everyone. Honestly, I think that if you had and this is just a very loose sort of thumbs up time frame, if you had a week to be able to reflect and do some deep reflection work, it would probably come to you. I think we overcomplicate thinking about our next.

Different for everyone, I'm sure.

yet the signs and the signals have been there all along and we just have not had the time and space to recognize them. So taking, as we said, disconnect, taking time to, okay, what's the thread that's been in my financial career? Did I want to sit in executive board meetings, you know, or would I rather have been with the junior interns training them on whatever internal systems?

That's an indicator of where your heart is, where your value is, where your passions lie. So reflecting on sort of just the course of your life, maybe even outside of work, in your community, in your church, in the sports clubs, where did you naturally feel drawn towards? What did you gravitate towards? Those are signals. Stop and pay attention, see the pattern in those signals, and then that will start giving you an indication of

what your next chapter should be broadly about. You may not have it all figured out, but it is going to give you some cues as to, I need to be moving in this direction. I need to start centering that next chapter around this kind of work. And so, yeah, if you could just disconnect, I would say for a couple of days and really reflect on your life as a whole, personally and professionally, what are the things, the causes, the issues in the world that you've naturally felt

Hmm.

drawn to and contributed to and that made you feel valued and valuable. And let's see what's the common thread. Analyze those and then you'll see the common thread and it will come to you. And you'll at least have a broad idea as to which direction you should be moving in.

So good. ⁓ I loved this conversation. I feel like it was an arc of how do I start? What do I do? Let's go through the beliefs and the fears and all that to the ending of this is how to get started and what to create. And it was such a fresh perspective and a sustainable, like very real authentic way to go about it. Not like rah rah, you can do it motivation, you know?

.

Yeah.

Thank you,

thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your story and for your perspective and your wisdom. For those that want to connect with you or potentially work with you, where can they find you or follow you?

Wonderful. Thanks, Samantha. You can find me on Instagram at Dr. Diane Van Staden, as well as on LinkedIn under the same name, or email me info at life beyond clinical practice. And I work with mid-career female health professionals who want to reinvent their careers, ready to pivot into roles that feel more aligned. So happy to work with anyone who falls within that demographic.

Amazing. And I will put those links in the show notes as well. Thank you, Diane, again for being here. And if you are listening, stay tuned for Thursday because that is the day we have our strategic journaling episodes. And I am going to put together four journaling prompts to help you with this if you are interested in reinventing yourself, to help you identify of your blocks and your direction. So stay tuned. Thank you again, Diane, and we will see you soon.

Wonderful.

Thank you, Samantha. Appreciate being on the show.