A pattern I know well
I arrive somewhere new, completely absorbed in exploring—until suddenly it’s too much, and my system needs to shut down.
For years, I thought there was something wrong with me.
Since I was a child, I’ve longed for faraway places. My mother taught me a few words of French, and Paris was already pulling me in like a magnet.
At the same time, I’ve always been easily overwhelmed by things like too much noise, too many people, and too much happening all at once.
I’m driven to experience life fully - and - I process life deeply.
That drive has shaped the way I’ve lived: moving to Paris at 19 to learn French and staying in Europe for two years. Visiting Poland - still behind the Iron Curtain - to see my friend Marek, whom I'd met in London when I first arrived. Later, moving to Sumatra to teach English and traveling through Asia for a year.
I’ve chased my curiosity across every continent, always drawn to what lies just beyond the next border - until it's too much, and I need to pull back, find quiet, and have time to take it all in.
At one point, my path led me to Argentina, to present at a professional conference. I’d always loved partner dance—swing, salsa, ballroom—but Argentine tango both intrigued and intimidated me. And there I was, face to face with the one I’d never quite dared to dance.
So I stayed in Buenos Aires for a few months and stepped into tango. I fell in love—with both tango and Argentina. When the intensity became too much, I returned to San Francisco. I needed time and space to come home to myself. But I left my heart in Buenos Aires and soon went back.
Over time, I began to see the same patterns playing out—not just in my own life, but in the people I worked with.
For 40 years as a Transformation Coach, I’ve helped people understand themselves in ways that bring clarity — and often a deep sense of relief.
This push-pull doesn’t go away
— it’s part of your nature: wanting more, which can easily become too much.
As you begin to understand this dynamic, you can learn to dance with it — so you’re not constantly swinging between excitement and overwhelm.
