When Crisis Cracks Us Open

I’ve noticed a pattern running through so many of the conversations I’ve had on Finding ME: real change—the kind that shifts the trajectory of a life—often begins with a “bathroom floor moment.” A breaking point. A crisis. Something that cracks us open and demands we pay attention to what’s really going on beneath the surface.

For Laura, that moment came during the pandemic. As the world unraveled, she turned inward. What began as a desire to better support her highly sensitive daughter evolved into something much deeper: inner child work and a spiritual awakening that led her to shift careers and transition into energy work or ‘light work’ as she calls it.

Her story mirrors something I’ve experienced too. It was only through personal struggle in my career that I stopped to ask my heart what it really wanted. And it makes me wonder: Why does it take a crisis? Why can’t we align our head and our heart all along?

So many people feel stuck, misaligned, disconnected. The answers they’re searching for are often right in front of them—or, more accurately, inside them. But they can’t access them. Why?

I think it’s because we’re trained to look outward. We’re taught to measure success by external standards—grades, performance, social media, and even self-help. These are often externally driven frameworks that teach us to override our internal knowing.

And then there’s the heart. The heart is often dismissed as woo. Too soft. Too subjective. If it can’t be measured, it must not matter.

What if we’ve had it backwards?

What if the real work of becoming unstuck isn’t about adding more input—but learning to tune in? What if the discomfort we feel isn’t a sign of failure, but an invitation to listen more closely to the parts of ourselves we’ve ignored?

Laura reminded me that sitting with hard emotions—guilt, shame, confusion—isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Without that self-awareness, we can’t begin to understand, let alone respect, that everyone’s truth will look different. And without that respect, how can we ever find common ground?

So what can we do?

We start by getting curious.
By honoring the heart as a valid source of wisdom.
By noticing the moments of discomfort not as threats, but as messages.
By making space for silence, reflection, and the unspoken truth beneath the noise.

Maybe we can’t avoid the chaos. Maybe the crisis is part of the path.
But what we can do is meet it differently—with open hearts, grounded minds, and a willingness to ask: What is this moment here to teach me?

Because from the chaos, just maybe, comes the most beautiful outcome we could ever imagine.

🎧 Listen to my full conversation with Laura to hear how she turned a moment of uncertainty into a powerful awakening—and what it means to raise sensitive children, do deep inner work, and trust your own truth even when the world feels unsteady.