"Your Story 2026" The Joy of Taking a Deep Breath ~Overcoming 38 Winters, What Illuminated Me~

I am participating in the "Your Story 2026" Harumaga Campaign [26th Edition].

This is my third entry. A last-minute submission.

I will write on the theme of "Gratitude to family and friends." Thank you.

Submissions are accepted until today, Friday, January 30th, at 11:59 PM.

For 38 years, I lived within the cage of the word "normal."

Every morning, I would open the heavy door at a set time and sit at my office desk.

For some reason, it always felt like a "battlefield," and my lungs refused to take in air to their full capacity.

Until February 2024, my breathing was always shallow, and my body and mind remained tightly constricted, telling myself, "If I just endure for a few more years until retirement," while continuing to choke myself.

However, on the morning of March 1st.

The day after I retired.

On the first morning that I didn't have to go to work, I was able to take a truly deep breath for the first time.

It was proof that I could breathe easily and relax from the bottom of my heart.

Air naturally entered through my nose. I was able to take a deep breath without any effort.

"Ah, it's okay to inhale. It's okay to exhale."

That simple, ordinary act felt like a miracle, and tears overflowed.

That day, I realized for the first time just how tense my body had been every single day.

My body and mind had not been resting even on my days off.

This is what it truly means for the tension in your body to melt away.

Only then was I finally able to begin walking through my life with care.

I could truly feel from my heart that this decision was the right one.

Late bloomer.

I truly feel that this describes me perfectly.

As I began to walk this 'second life, like change from a purchase,' I realized it was the love of my family that had been quietly lighting my path all along.

My husband, a man of few words, would always drive me to and from the entrepreneurship seminars I attended in the city at night.

Even though he could have gone back home after dropping me off, he would wait patiently in the car in the parking lot for two whole hours.

The kindness of him silently subscribing to my YouTube channel and watching over me without saying a word.

When I was a corporate employee, I was 'insensitive' to that kind of love from my husband.

But now, by learning about CliftonStrengths and looking inward, I have finally become able to accept my husband's deep kindness.

Then, there was the trip to Disney Resort with my daughter.

The moment we entered our room at Hotel MiraCosta, seeing her profile as she couldn't hide her joy, I felt a trembling realization that 'this is true happiness.'

It was my greatest pride to be able to fulfill her wish not with a corporate salary, but with value I had created myself for the first time as a sole proprietor.

Furthermore, I am deeply grateful for the connections I have made with irreplaceable friends through these encounters, and my heart is full of gratitude.

My CliftonStrengths coach guided my hands, which were grasping at shadows in the anxiety of my early days as an entrepreneur, toward tangible confidence time and time again.

I cannot measure how much their advice strengthened my ability to believe in myself.

To the members of the community I lead.

At first, when I was struggling and wondering if I could really run a community, you encouraged me by saying it would be okay and moved forward with me.

The thrill of realizing that you can make best friends even after becoming an adult.

I am so happy that my heart trembles.

Furthermore, the presence of clients who expressed joy, saying they "became able to work without wavering" through the sessions I provided, transformed all the pain of my past 38 years into gratitude, proving that it was "not in vain."

Approaching my 60th birthday, I am now finally walking steadily toward my own future, as my true self, on my own two feet.

"It is okay to be my true self."

The reason I can give myself that permission and take a deep breath is that I, who thought I was fighting alone, was actually protected by so much love and trust.

From now on, I want to support someone else.

Because I have overcome a long winter of 38 years—no, a long life of 58 years—I believe that I can now teach someone who is in the darkness "how to take a deep breath."

With heartfelt gratitude to my family and friends who support me, and to myself for taking that courageous first step.

Thank you so much!!

#YourStory2026
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#SecondLife
#StrengthsFinder
#GratitudeToFamily
#GratitudeToBestFriends
#LivingAsMyself
#ChallengeFromMy50s
#SelfAcceptance