This line has stayed with me the last few weeks. It’s been in my thoughts every morning as I wake up and every night as I go to sleep. The truth in it is so powerful that it has become my mantra for everything I do.
A Season of Change
Right now marks a season of change in my life. In fact, the entirety of 2025 has been one long season of transformation — a time of reflection, of facing truths, and of unforgiving growth.
When I look back at who I was a year ago, I hardly recognise that version of myself. The things I thought mattered don’t anymore. The foundation I was standing on has shifted beneath my feet, and it still hasn’t fully settled.
But for the first time in my life — I’m okay with that.
There’s something liberating about not having all the answers. About allowing the ground to move and trusting that I’ll find my balance again.
Facing the Truth I’d Been Avoiding
Earlier this year, I had to face a truth I’d been avoiding for far too long: my life was not leading me where I wanted to go. Where I needed to go.
I had built a life that looked fine from the outside but left me feeling small, unsure and hollow on the inside. I was doing all the things I thought I “should,” yet it wasn’t the life I truly wanted.
So I stopped.
When I did, I realised I had to take accountability for where I was — and if I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes, I needed to change.
Untangling Who I Am from Who I’ve Been Conditioned to Be
When you start to untangle who you truly are from who you’ve been conditioned to be, it’s messy. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s also deeply freeing.
Through this process, I did a deep dive into my own future — not the one that felt “realistic,” but the one that felt expansive, true, and alive.
It meant asking the hard questions:
Who have I always been at my core?
What fears have been keeping me small?
What excuses have I been clinging to?
It meant dreaming again — and not the cautious kind of dreaming that fits neatly into a to-do list. Big, audacious, heart-stirring dreams that scare you just enough to know they matter.
From Playing Small to Living in Abundance
I started mapping out what my next five years could look like if I stopped playing small. What could I create if I stopped settling for “enough” and started living for abundance?
Slowly, a vision took shape. I could see the life I wanted to live and the person I was becoming. And with that clarity came a spark — the kind that lights up everything it touches.
I shifted my mindset from “This is what I can do with what I have” to “This is what I’m capable of if I fully show up.”
That shift changed everything. Suddenly, the world opened up. I could see my light again — the parts of me that had dimmed over time. I could see how I might build a legacy worth being proud of.
Returning to One Step at a Time
That clarity brought me back to my book — One Step at a Time.
It’s hard to believe it’s been fifteen years since I first published it. When I look back now, I see that I was so eager to move on from my adventure on Te Araroa that I didn’t give the book — or myself — the care it deserved.
I skipped editing. I skipped proper formatting. I barely spell-checked. At the time, I convinced myself it didn’t matter — that I was just documenting my walk for my own sake, that I didn’t care if anyone read it.
But the truth? I did care.
When readers pointed out the roughness — the lack of polish — it stung. Their words mattered because deep down, I knew they were right. The version of the book I put into the world didn’t reflect the woman who had walked 3,000 kilometres across New Zealand. It didn’t capture the growth, grit, or transformation. It wasn’t my best work — and I knew I was capable of more.
Coming Full Circle
I buried those thoughts for years. I moved on with life — immigration, jobs, friends, house moves, business ventures, falling in love. I convinced myself that I had closed the chapter on who I was while walking Te Araroa.
And then, as I stepped into 2025, everything came full circle.
Somewhere between the chaos and clarity, I remembered who I really was — a writer. Not just someone who wrote one book, but someone who has always been meant to write many.
Before I could claim everything I envisioned for my future, I had to revisit One Step at a Time. I had to face the version of myself who rushed the process. I had to honour my story for what it was when I walked Te Araroa — and rewrite it with the wisdom I carry now.
The Power of Letting Go
So here we are — at the end of 2025 — and I’m on the cusp of releasing the second edition of One Step at a Time.
The same adventure, but finally told the way it was always meant to be. The words now reflect the 3,000 kilometres with the raw honesty it deserves — balanced with the clarity that only comes through hindsight.
Editing it became more than just a publishing process. It healed something deep inside me.
With every paragraph I refined, I let go of a little more of the woman who believed she needed to be small to be seen as “enough.” With every sentence I refined, I shed the idea that I could only play with the cards I’d been dealt.
Because life doesn’t hand you one deck — it hands you an infinite stack, and it’s up to you to choose which cards you want to hold.
If you want a new one, it means letting go of the ones you’ve been clutching for far too long.
Becoming Who You Were Always Meant to Be
You have to let go of who you are to become who you were always meant to be.
I still have moments where I forget this. Days when I slip back into old patterns or catch myself replaying limiting thoughts. Growth isn’t linear — it’s a series of steps, stumbles, pauses, and leaps.
But every step forward reminds me I’m closer to the life I was meant to live. The woman I see in the mirror today carries a confidence and peace that the woman from last year could only dream of.
Now, I’m no longer walking away from something — I’m moving towards the life I was always meant to have.
A life built on abundance, authenticity, and alignment.
A life that feels fully, unapologetically mine.
Step Into the Life You’re Meant to Live
As we head into 2026, I hope you take a moment to reflect on who you’ve been — and who you’re becoming. Don’t be afraid to shed the layers that no longer fit. Don’t be afraid to let go of what once defined you.
On the other side of letting go is the life you were always meant to live.
