We’d just moved from Dubai to Portugal.
Boat to house.
Homeschool to bells and schedules.
Full-time mom and teacher to… I’m not sure who yet.
Nothing was wrong, exactly. It was just different—300% different. The old chapter had closed with a gentle click, and the next one stared back, blank and a little loud. I remember standing in my kitchen, coffee cooling, asking a question I’d avoided for months:
What now?
I didn’t need another list. I needed a jolt—something big enough to make me pay attention. So I picked a challenge that made my stomach flip:
IRONMAN 70.3 Cascais.
1.9 km ocean swim.
90 km on Sintra’s hills.
21.1 km around the coast.
Six months. No heroics, no hustle culture, no skipping. Just six steady sessions a week. Swim. Bike. Run. Repeat. Little promises, kept daily. The fog didn’t vanish; it thinned. With every early alarm, every quiet stretch of road, every length of cold water, I felt the compass inside me click a degree closer to true.
Race day was beautiful—the kind of blue sky that dares you to dream bigger. But the road there was better: new friends, new routes, a new respect for what consistency does to a human being. My identity shifted, not with fireworks, but with evidence. I became the woman who shows up.
If you’re at a crossroads, pick a goal that excites you—or scares you just enough to lift your chin. Then show up for it. Not perfectly. Consistently. Small promises kept. Bodies change, yes. Confidence rebuilds. Direction returns. That inner compass? It finds north again.
Say YES to Life Again.
— M
P.S. If you want that “compass click” and a clear next step, I’m here. No pitch—just direction.
Email: marielle@mindbreeze.ae | mindbreeze.ae
