PATRICIA EZECHIE 
Coaching & Consultancy

We spend a surprising amount of our lives becoming who we think we need to be. Sometimes the gap between who we are and who we've been performing becomes so great that we begin to wonder where we've gone. This article explores why that happens and why recognising yourself again may be the beginning of everything that comes next.

We spend much of our lives adapting to the environments around us. Most of the time that adaptation is intelligent, necessary and often invisible. The challenge comes when we become so used to fitting in that we lose sight of who we are underneath it. This article explores the hidden cost of adaptation, belonging and the gradual distance that can develop between who we are and how we show up in the world.

The stories we hear about change are built around action. You have a realisation, make a decision, take a leap, and life changes. Those stories are compelling because they are tidy. They create a sense of momentum and resolution. But real life is often less straightforward. For many people, there is a gap between awareness and action.

Repeating the same action without reflection eventually becomes draining. But commitment with awareness is different. It involves learning, adjusting, refining, and continuing with more information than you had before.