On the 29th of July 2015, I found myself lying in an ambulance, bleeding heavily, on my way to the nearest hospital.
Even though I knew that that 1 in 6 pregnancies end-up in miscarriage within the first 12 weeks, I honestly never thought it would happen to me.
I'm young, I'm healthy, and I eat organic!
Everything went so smoothly with my first pregnancy that it never even crossed my mind that I'd have any problems the second time around.
Well, I did. And I lost my unborn baby at about 11-weeks.
As a former Biological Engineer, I tried to rationalise it as much as possible. Miscarriages in early pregnancy are extremely common and typically attributed to chromosomal problems.
From that perspective, if something was wrong with the baby, then I guess it was for the best.
But even though I understand the scientific side of things, the miscarriage took a toll on me. And that's why I've been away from the blog for the past couple of months. I decided to take some time to rest, recharge and reflect.
I'm very good at giving a positive spin to things, I think.
I believe that everything in our lives happens for a reason. We may not understand it immediately, but every challenge we go through offers us a chance to grow.
I believe that we have the power to turn every blow in life into a blessing -- if only we replace the feeling of failure with our openness to learn.
When something upsetting happens in your life, just ask yourself: What's the lesson for me here? Just sit with this question.
In the weeks following my miscarriage, I thought a lot about the meaning of it all. And even though I never got to meet my unborn baby, she's taught me several things. I would like to share some of them with you.
1. Life truly is an amazing gift
Being confronted with the messy-ness of a miscarriage reminded me of what a miracle life really is.
We're so used to women popping-out babies that it's easy to forget what an incredible process this is.
We ought to be in awe and appreciate it!
When I look at my gorgeous, happy, healthy daughter now, I truly value the miracle that she is. And I admire my body even more for creating her. (With my husband's help, of course!)
Don't forget to treasure yourself and cherish your loved ones.
2. Prioritise your pleasure
I've always worked very hard -- at school, at uni, and then in the corporate world.
When I decided to start my own business as a coach, I thought I'd have more time for fun. But even though I enjoy greater flexibility as an entrepreneur, the truth is that I didn't completely part with my workaholic habits and I hardly took a break for the first 10 months of my business.
Taking time off from work over the past couple of months gave me space to reconnect with who I truly am and rediscover what I most enjoy in life.
And guess what... The world didn't come to an end and my business didn't crumble.
Don't forget to prioritise pleasure in your life!
3. Find & follow your why
I left my corporate career behind because I wanted to create a career more in-line with my purpose, my passions and my personal life.
I wanted to make money doing what I truly love, spend more time with my family, and set an empowering example for my kids that it's possible to create the career and life of your dreams.
This is the message I wish to pass-on to my daughter and to all the women in my community.
I can help people with many areas of their lives. Over the last year, I've coached women on relationships, career, business and time management.
But what I'm really passionate about is this notion that we can always reinvent ourselves, be anything we want to be, and create the career and life of our dreams.
These were some of the positive takeaways from my miscarriage, because I fully subscribe to these words from the movie My Greatest Teacher hosted by the late Dr. Wayne Dyer:
"The idea of looking at the most damaging things in your life, things that have caused you the most pain, the most suffering, and figuring-out a way to turn those into your greatest teachers. This is what we're supposed to do for the world around us, and for ourselves."
Now I invite you to look at any challenge you may be going through in your life.
What can you learn from it? How can you turn it into a constructive experience?
Share your insights in the comments below. I read every response.