Overcoming Relationship and Career Breakdown and Thriving: My Journey of Resilience and Growth

Introduction

A few years ago, if anyone had predicted that I would face the most trying times of my life at the age of 52, I would have laughed it off as a wild impossibility. I was always an ardent pursuer of growth in all facets of life — personal, spiritual, and professional. I banked on experiences to garner wisdom, honed qualifications to bolster resilience, and grew from being a self-made woman who arose from a tumultuous household to surmounting life’s many obstacles. The trials I overcame ranged from personal hardships like miscarriage and divorce to professional setbacks like career burnout.

However, more recent events, including the loss of my business due to Covid, the passing of both my parents, and the end of a 10-year relationship with my ex-life and business partner, left me feeling lost and overwhelmed. Despite having a support network and numerous tools at my disposal, the prospect of starting over at 52 seemed daunting. This time, I wanted to approach my restart with intention and consciousness, taking dedicated time to navigate the emotional toll and discover a path towards thriving.

Week One: Self-Reflection and Reconnection

1. Unplugging: I disconnected from the outside world, limiting work and social interactions while refraining from watching TV. This allowed me to delve deep within myself, reconnecting with my inner self before reentering the world with a renewed sense of hope, optimism, courage, confidence, and clarity.

2. Inner Work: I embraced silence and spent weeks processing my thoughts and emotions surrounding the painful breakup and recent years. Writing is my outlet for self-expression and a means of releasing emotional energy, as I penned numerous letters and emails to my ex, only to delete them afterwards.

3. Meditation & Journaling: Through meditation, I consciously severed toxic energetic ties with certain individuals, choosing to foster love and positivity instead. I utilised meditation to envision the highest version of myself in various aspects of life and documented my experiences through journaling.

4. Self-Care: Long walks in nature and prioritising self-care became essential. I paid extra attention to the quality of everything, gave my living space a thorough clean, and took extra care with my appearance. I also created personal ceremonies to release the past and embark on a fresh start, leading to a noticeable improvement in my well-being.

5. Overcoming Limiting Beliefs: I confronted my limiting beliefs by writing them down and symbolically burning each one, replacing them with empowering beliefs. I practised meditation on these new beliefs, developed affirmations, and embraced gratitude by blessing things through acts like blowing kisses.

6. Constant Connection: I established a practice of openly communicating with my higher self and the universe, expressing my thoughts, feelings, and gratitude aloud. I transformed my passwords into empowering reminders and incorporated singing and dancing into my daily routine. Affirmations such as “My highest vision is aligning, and I feel grateful and joyous” became anchors for positivity.

7. Refinding My North Star: Engaging in meditation, I aligned my heart and mind, exploring my best self in different scenarios. Based on my reflections and synchronicities from the universe, I made a significant investment in my career by reestablishing my sense of direction and purpose.

8. Decisions: Achieving clarity, I decided not to relocate but to focus on the inner work and implementing changes in my immediate surroundings.

Week Two: Taking Action and Seeking Support

1. Outer Work: I set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and reflected on what was required to achieve them, taking inventory of available resources and identifying potential sources of support.

2. Therapy: Recognizing the need for professional guidance, I engaged a therapist through BetterHelp to navigate the emotional aftermath of the breakup. The therapeutic sessions provided a safe space to express myself and access valuable resources while untangling my complex emotions.

3. Persistence: I continued the practices established in the first week. 

Week Three: Continued Growth and Transformation

1. Sustaining the Journey: I remained committed to therapy, meditation, affirmations, and journaling, continuously progressing toward my goals. I became more conscious of time management, avoiding television, and expressing gratitude for the people and opportunities that came my way.

2. Seeking Coaching: To further accelerate my progress, I enlisted the help of a coach to refine my business infrastructure, coaching program, and book publishing. Embracing this empowerment, I devoted myself fully to this new project, finding a sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.

3. Embracing the Unfamiliar: Stepping outside my comfort zone, I embarked on tantric massage sessions with a professional Daka, a male tantric massage practitioner. This experience proved to be sacred, sensual, and healing, assisting me in overcoming self-image and confidence issues and leaving me feeling empowered.

Conclusion

Life is a journey filled with challenges and opportunities for growth. Overcoming the emotional toll of a relationship breakdown requires dedicated self-reflection, inner work, and seeking support. My journey, though unique, shares common threads with the experience of countless others. By disconnecting, processing emotions, practising self-care, transforming limiting beliefs, and aligning my heart and mind, I rediscovered my sense of purpose. Taking action, setting goals, and seeking therapy and coaching further propelled me. Each step brought me closer to a thriving state, where I continue to embrace transformation, gratitude, and self-empowerment while remaining open to the joys and complexities of life and sharing my experience, tools, techniques, and practices with other women who need to restart in life after a relationship or career breakdown for rapid progress and long-lasting transformation. Remember, life does not end at a breakdown; in fact, it may very well be the beginning of the most enriching journey you’ll ever undertake.

About the Author

Karen Floyd is a Transformational Coach helping female executives worldwide turn personal and professional breakdowns into breakthroughs with the Inner Compass Program. Available one-to-one and in groups, the 8-week program combines coaching, exercises, techniques, tools, and ancient spiritual practices for long-lasting transformation and a strong inner compass and intuition so that you can always find your north star. She brings 25 years of global leadership experience, 25 years of personal and spiritual development, and 50+ years of her own personal and professional reinventions to the Inner Compass Program. Karen is an international best-belling Author, an ICF Certified coach with a diploma in Integrative Coaching, a Certified Peernovation Coach for high-performing teams, a Chartered Public Relations Professional, a Certified Teacher of Active Dreaming, and a Certified Shamanic Practitioner. For more information visit https://coachkarenfloyd.com/.