19 years ago, I touched down in Melbourne as a new migrant on a September day.

It was 5 degrees outside, and having just come from hot and humid Singapore where it’s always at least 30 degrees, you could call it my first taste of winter.

In the years that followed, winter became the hardest season to bear: the wind chill, frozen fingers and toes, dragon’s breath in the mornings on the way to school. There were several winters it got so bad my podiatrist expressed mild concern about the chilblains on my toes, which had turned an unearthly dark grey-purple.

With time and acclimatization, I have found ways to enjoy winter more than I used to. One of my favourite ways is to pick something challenging to tackle in winter. 

My thinking is this: if I can do this (insert challenge) in winter when it’s cold and dreary and uncomfortable, what can I NOT do?

The first time I put this into practice was when I had just signed up to a life coaching course. I had the option of picking my start date, and I picked June.

The training venue was an hour from home by train and tram.

I remember standing alone on the tram platform rubbing my hands for warmth and thinking: If I can keep this up, I can do ANYTHING.

That course was to change the trajectory of my professional journey dramatically. From the very first session, I was entranced, mind, body, spirit. Finally! I had discovered a way to help others like me who were feeling stuck and seeking purpose and clarity in life.

Years later, on another winter’s day, I sat on the upper level of an Italian restaurant in Melbourne CBD.

I’d recently stumbled on the Meetup app, and had the crazy idea of starting my own Meetup community just for introverts.

I called it “Melbourne Introverts in Business”.

I didn’t know how many (if any) people would turn up, but I told the manager I needed a table for a large group, and they kindly gave me their largest table upstairs. A long wooden table.

14 people turned up. 

No one knew anyone. They had simply seen from the event description that it was a group for introverts, had clearly resonated with the description, and had been curious enough (and brave enough – it was really cold!) to show up.

The group ran for 3 years, hosting in-person lunchtime workshops at NAB Village with a career and business focus, until March 2020 when the first lockdown started, and I decided it was again time to pivot.

Which is how our 2 current groups: Introverts Around The World and Quiet Women Circle, started. 

Here’s what I learned: if we can show up for ourselves in times when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and almost illogical to do so, we send a powerful message to our higher selves:

I CAN DO HARD THINGS.
I AM STRONG AND BRAVE.
I AM TRUSTWORTHY AND KEEP MY WORD.

When was the last time you did something hard or uncomfortable? I would love to hear about it!