I'm Natalieā€”
writer, coach,
and founderĀ of vim & zen.
Vim & Zen started as the work I needed. It became the work I do.
The only thing I was ever trying to build was myself. How could I work so hard at the relationships that mattered most to me, and still feel so much distance, frustration, and pain?
I always thought I was self-aware. Even as a little girl, I was fascinated by people and what made them tick, so a bachelor's in Human Development was a natural fit. I had grit, too. I'd learned how to push through and reach the things that mattered to me. So how could something this important, something I poured so much effort into, be the one thing I couldn't figure out?
The answer surprised me.
I was very other-aware. Self-aware? Not so much.
Connection with others was what I wanted most. But somewhere along the way, I'd lost connection with myself. It's been a process getting back in touchā€”reassessing what I think, believe, feel, want, and don't wantā€”because I can't truly connect with anyone else until I'm connected to myself first.
An Analogy
Have you ever plugged your phone in, walked away, and come back hours later expecting it to be fully charged...
...only to find the battery still dead?
The cord was in the phone but never in the wall.
You can spend all day making sure the cable is right and the connection is tight.
But without the power source, nothing charges.
It's easy to assume the problem is "out there."
But sometimes the missing connection is much closer than we think.
