Discovering Your Life’s Purpose: On How to Align Your Goals with Your True Self

I was honoured to be featured by Authority Magazine in a conversation about purpose, transformation, and the journeys that quietly change us.

This blog post was created alongside the interview published on 29 May 2025 and continues the reflections we explored there; how intentional travel, nature, and moments of pause can help us reconnect with ourselves and create lives that feel more aligned from within.

At The Journey Studio, I believe the most meaningful journeys are rarely only about the destination. They are about returning to your own direction, values, and way of being.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I come from Finland, the world’s happiest country for 8 years running, where I have always returned for its grounding calm after studying and working in the USA, Europe, and Asia.

After a successful leadership career in marketing and tourism, I experienced burnout. I needed a pause, distance from everything I had been responsible for.

When I applied for a sabbatical, I began to see light at the end of the tunnel and started preparing for my first solo adventure. I am a mother of two adult sons and had already been separated from their father for several years. During my six-month intentional reset, I combined some family travel with my sons and parents across Iceland, Peru, the USA, Spain, Belgium, the UAE, Thailand and Finland, naturally. For the first time, I felt a clear calling to also travel solo, returning to meaningful places and people along the way.

I did not fully understand the transformative journey I had embarked on until I found myself paused at Machu Picchu. Walking through the ancient ruins, with a butterfly suddenly appearing beside me in the Andes, I felt more alive than I had in years. As I exited through the gate, I knew I was heading in an entirely new direction.

Later, I drove across Spain in a manual Fiat and visited the Alhambra, where I had once been young and in love with my fiancé. This time, walking alone among the autumn colors, I stepped forward with a sense of peace and understood that I was truly okay on my own.

One realization led to another. My connection to myself led me to The Travel Coach Network, where I became engaged. While studying transformation, I returned to my home woods, where I finally began to hear myself and understand the simplicity of it all. Within the following year, I became a certified transformative travel coach (ICF/CCE), created my Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® nature-based methology, left my career, finalized my divorce, and founded The Journey Studio.

Today, I am grateful to have found myself again, leaving behind what no longer serves me and building a life around authentic connection, while helping others pause and reconnect with themselves.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person that you are grateful for, who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

The person I am most grateful for is my father, whose encouragement and example have given me the courage to explore and grow.

Simply put, growing up as his daughter, I never felt limited by being a girl. I didn’t realize there were expectations about how one should or should not be because of gender. He was always present, engaging with me, with my horse, and later allowing me to grow by working in his business as a teenager.

I admired his way of working: leading by example, understanding the trade from the ground up, and being available to his customers, even on weekends if they needed him.

There were no limitations placed on my vision, and no expectations for me to take over his business. Instead, he encouraged me to study for a business degree, believing I could do anything.

As I later moved from West to East during my studies and career, I came to understand what a privilege this upbringing was. It has shaped my path, and I have found deep meaning in empowering women and girls first through lecturing at university, and now through my coaching work.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I come from a country of sisu: the Finnish concept of quiet persistence and inner strength that carries you through even the hardest moments.

We all face times when we are alone on our path, encountering changing conditions, much like the weather in Finland or the unpredictability of business. There are obstacles, uncertainty, and situations where things do not go as planned. While challenges can be solved together, you must also learn to manage yourself. In those moments, you draw on something deeper.

Sisu is not aggression, nor is it simply endurance. It is the quiet decision to continue with responsibility when conditions are not ideal. It is also the wisdom to step aside when needed. It is a form of self-leadership, and it has been the most important characteristic in my journey.

When I was building Star Cineplex, Bangladesh’s first multiplex cinema, the early years were difficult. We were introducing an entirely new concept, educating audiences, and creating a safe, welcoming environment for families. There were many challenges, but I stayed committed as Managing Director, building connections, leading the team from ticket counters to management, and continuing the work step by step until it began to succeed. Today, Star Cineplex is the largest cinema chain in the country.

Secondly, courage has guided me throughout my life. It has taken me to new countries, new roles, and opportunities I did not hesitate to embrace. I have learned by doing, and I have also learned to listen to trust the expertise of others when needed. Courage grows through action, and even through uncertainty.

Recently, courage meant stepping away from a well-established director role and beginning again as an entrepreneur. During my burnout, I felt I had lost that courage. I went searching for it during my sabbatical travels. Relearning to drive a manual car and navigating my way across Spain became unexpectedly empowering. Alongside meaningful conversations with a coach, I began to reconnect with myself. At 54, I realized that courage had not disappeared, but it had simply changed form. My experience and wisdom now carry me forward, and courage continues to grow step by step.

Thirdly, my connection to nature and my inner senses has been a guiding force throughout my life. Growing up close to nature gave me a strong sense of awareness of seasons, emotions, and intuition. I developed an inner knowing of what feels right or not, often without needing to analyze it.

This connection has helped me meet the right people, be in the right places, and sense when to move forward or step back. However, during the most intense years of my career, I lost that connection. I became overwhelmed, disconnected from myself, and no longer listened to my inner voice.

Looking back, I feel compassion for that version of myself, constantly moving, holding everything together, yet no longer present or enjoying life. My body eventually responded, as it often does, forcing me to stop.

During my sabbatical, that connection began to return, step by step. I found my way back home within myself.

Today, I do not regret the journey. I may have let go of certain roles, possessions, and even relationships along the way, but I have regained something far more valuable; myself, and a renewed connection to my inner sense and direction.

Ok, fantastic. Let’s now turn to the crux of our interview. Was there a defining moment or experience in your life when you felt a clear sense of your purpose? How did it influence the goals you set from that point forward?

In January 2025, I profoundly knew that my life was changing. My sabbatical was nearing its end, and the return to the office and to my old ways was approaching.

All the inner understanding I had gathered during my travels had been building up. I had enrolled in the Travel Coaching program, and suddenly, I began to see again.

When I returned to Finland and wandered in the forests, I understood what nature had given me all these years: the silent support, never leaving me alone, awakening my senses. My recovery, returning to my senses, came through reconnecting with nature, and with my own nature.

This is now the root of my coaching method, and to me, it is also the root of Finnish happiness.

Walking along the nature trail at my Lake Saimaa villa, I remember breathing in with a clear sense of purpose. That was where I began building my Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® method. Luontopolku means nature trail in my native language.

Not only did I see, but I felt it. It was as if the ground beneath my feet was shifting as I stepped onto a new path, letting go of the old and moving forward in my relationships, work, and life.

I was still scared, but also triumphant, relieved to be moving on, almost as if walking a few feet above the ground. I felt free again, yet deeply conscious of my choices.

From that point, I began to map out my actions for the year ahead. I created space and processes to begin something new, while ensuring that my previous responsibilities were handled with care and continuity.

I was able to let go, no longer needing to feed my ego or maintain a certain image. Life became simpler. I began to enjoy connection, conversation, presence, and being back in nature, in tune with my own nature. My curiosity and creativity returned.

I found myself doing what I love again: creating, exploring, and pushing boundaries. I became deeply interested in what nature does to us and the inner connection it can awaken.

At the same time, I made a quiet but firm decision: I would no longer stay in situations that do not serve me or live out of alignment with who I truly am.

I chose to focus on what is meaningful. To do less, but with more intention. To help others while also living in peace myself.

And in that moment, I realized something simple yet profound:

I no longer needed to escape my life or travel far to find myself.

I was already home.

What practical steps can someone take to begin uncovering their life’s purpose if they feel lost or unsure about their direction?

It is okay to feel lost at times. It happens to all of us. But in truth, we are never completely lost, the inner knowing is still there.

I believe that much of the busyness we have created for ourselves, this constant doing and performing based on what we think we are supposed to do, can lead us away from our true path. By losing our connection with nature, we often lose connection with ourselves. Yet I also believe we can always find our way back home.

The Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® method I developed during my Travel Coach studies does not require you to travel far. It requires listening.

In Finland, we say:

“The forest answers what you shout into it.”

Research in Finland shows that even 10 minutes in nature can calm the heartbeat, while time spent walking in nature lowers cortisol levels, supports burnout recovery, helps prevent depression, and enhances mindfulness.

In simple terms: go out for a walk in nature on your own and listen. Feel the wind, touch what draws your attention, and allow yourself to wander. Notice the small things that catch your awareness as these are often cues guiding you forward.

If you wish to explore this more deeply, you can use reflective walking resources or join a guided walk. Taking distance and immersing yourself in new surroundings can also bring clarity. When we travel intentionally, we often begin to see more clearly who we are, what we miss, and what we no longer need.

I believe that giving yourself time, being alone with intention, and following your calling in small steps will gradually lead you toward clarity, and toward your purpose.

How do you differentiate between external pressures—like societal expectations—and the inner calling that aligns with your true self?

I believe that we carry the answers within us, and by questioning ourselves intentionally, we begin to receive sensory affirmation on our path.

To better listen in, I recommend setting off solo, preferably on a nature trail, with a question or issue in the back of your mind that you need clarity on. As you walk, nature begins to show signs that only you can truly understand.

Starting to pay attention to what arises intuitively brings us closer to clarity. The more we tune into our sensory reflections, the more we learn to trust and believe in them. If something does not feel right, we feel it.

When walking and talking with friends or family, it is important to remember that the perspectives they share are reflections of their own experiences and expectations of us. If we feel that we do not wish to share something with someone, that is often a cue, an invitation to recognize that differentiation.

Can you share an example of a time when you adjusted or abandoned a goal because it no longer aligned with your deeper sense of purpose? What did you learn from that experience?

I spent years building the Lake Saimaa brand and destination in Finland. I stepped into a role I had been headhunted for with strong ambition, establishing connections and growing visibility in our target markets. I come from this region and have always felt a deep love for it, along with a desire to bring it to the world stage.

As the work progressed, I was given more teams, responsibilities, and overlapping boards and projects. I am a connector and a doer, someone who ensures everything is taken care of but along the way, I forgot to pause myself. I lost my creativity, which had once fueled my marketing work and authorship, and it was no longer present.

I have always valued bringing people together and enabling others to succeed. Yet over time, I found myself doing my own work last and gradually losing myself during those intense years. At the same time, global external factors were affecting the region’s performance and accessibility, adding further pressure.

At one point, in the midst of prolonged stress, I was no longer courageous. My thinking became blurred, my clarity and vision faded, and I lost connection to my own inner sense.

For a long time, I kept performing, operating in a haze, repeating what I knew, until I finally found the courage to stop and step aside. I took a sabbatical to distance myself from something I had once deeply loved.

I chose not to return to my role. Instead, I stepped into entrepreneurship, where I now continue to represent the Lake Saimaa region in a different, more aligned way.

What I learned is that working in a way that disconnects you from yourself is not worth it, for you or for the work you do. When we are no longer able to give what we truly can, something essential is lost.

Only working is not living, and too much of anything becomes too much. We need to remain in tune with ourselves, to pause early enough, and to maintain balance in our lives.

This is the main question of our interview. What are “5 Ways to Align Your Goals With Your True Self”? (please share stories or examples)

Thank you for this opportunity to share how I approach alignment.

Through my Luontopolku – Back to Your Senses® methodology, I use nature as a framework for reflection, allowing nature to guide us back to our own nature.

It is a nature-based transformational wellbeing and travel method designed to guide individuals back to clarity and inner balance. Rooted in mindful presence, sensory awareness, and reflective guidance, it creates a structured yet intuitive path for personal insight and purposeful change.

The approach integrates movement in nature, reflective exercises, intentional pauses, and meaning-centered travel coaching into a holistic experience.

It follows five stages: pause, sensory awareness, threshold recognition, integration, and forward direction.

1. Pause

Meaningful change begins when we slow down.

Take time alone. Step away from your roles and responsibilities. Just be.

Ask yourself: Is this the life I am meant to live? Who am I without these roles?

I meet many high performers who never allow themselves to pause. Yet even ten minutes alone in nature can shift perspective. One executive told me that sitting quietly on a fallen tree, time stopped, and they wondered why they had never allowed themselves that before.

2. Sensory Awareness

Once we pause, we begin to notice.

Walk intentionally in nature with a question in mind. What is missing? What needs to change?

Nature begins to offer subtle cues through what draws your attention, what feels calming, what creates a sense of ease or resistance. Some feel drawn to water, others to rock or forest. These are not random, they are signals.

Many people I work with discover a deep need to be near water. By simply honoring that, they begin to feel more at peace. Start by bringing your natural element into your life.

3. Threshold Recognition

As awareness grows, moments of clarity emerge.

These often happen in open spaces; a viewpoint, a shoreline, a place that invites perspective. Something shifts.

You may suddenly realize what you have been holding onto, and why.

For me, this meant understanding that my long-held goal of staying married was no longer aligned with the reality of our lives living in separate countries.

These are threshold moments, the point where truth becomes visible.

4. Integration

Clarity alone is not enough; we need to integrate it into our lives.

This is where reflection and conversation become important. Speaking your thoughts out loud, often with a coach, helps you understand what you are ready to change.

Walking side by side, without pressure, allows thoughts to unfold naturally.

This is often when I hear: “This is what I am going to do.”

5. Forward Direction

With clarity comes movement.

Instead of pushing your dreams aside, you begin to move toward them. Courage grows step by step.

It is no longer about imagining a different life; it is about choosing it, one step at a time. Even small shifts create momentum.

Recently, in a conversation with a coach colleague, I saw this moment clearly, when she turned from responding to an opportunity that wasn’t truly hers, and instead chose to move toward something she deeply desired.

Alignment is not about one big decision.

It is about pausing, listening, and moving forward, again and again, in tune with yourself.

What advice would you give to people trying to pursue their purpose while managing the demands of day-to-day life, such as work, family, and other responsibilities?

Stay true to yourself while also honoring the people you share your life and work with.

Once you begin to understand your purpose and your needs, the next step is to integrate them into your existing life. This may require adjustments, small sacrifices, and finding balance by focusing on what truly matters to you.

Communicate openly: your feelings, your needs, your requirements for space or time. Have these conversations regularly, set your boundaries, and respect those of others.

In the end, you are the most important person in your life. When you are well and aligned, the people around you thrive as well.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can connect with me through The Journey Studio, my company website at www.thejourneystudio.co, where you can explore ongoing programs, subscribe to my newsletter, or book a discovery call with me.

I’m always open and happy to connect.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Read on if you feel called to explore your own New Beginning.

Walk the walk, talk the talk

Coming from Finland, I know that talking is not always easy. We may find ways to explain things to others, but being honest with ourselves can be the hardest part.

When I guide reflective walks, there is no pressure to share anything. We simply walk. The trail invites us forward.

And yet, something interesting happens.

After a gentle opening and a moment to set a personal intention, I often suggest a short silence. It doesn’t take long before something begins to surface. A small observation along the path. A thought that follows. A quiet question that leads to another.

As we pause to take in a view or stand in a clearing, we breathe for a moment. Then we continue. One and a half hours passes quickly in nature when the mind is calm and gently engaged. And often, people feel drawn to return again.

Walking opens space

We are naturally drawn to others with whom we share something, even if we cannot immediately name it. There is often a thread somewhere in the fabric of our lives.

I hear often how easy it feels to talk while walking. And how easy it is simply to be.

This is not a formal setting where something is expected of you. There is no performance. Just a gentle walk, following a path at your own pace. You choose what to share. You look ahead, touch what surrounds you, pause when needed.

Walking and talking, like you would with a friend, is a natural and non-confrontational way to explore what is on your mind. Slowly, step by step, clarity begins to form when you set out with an intention.

Nature brings clarity

There is research on what nature, especially forests, and walking outdoors can do for us. It calms the mind, slows the heartbeat, fills the lungs, and clears the head.

There is an American saying, talk the talk and walk the walk, often referring to responsibility. On my walks, there is also a quiet responsibility: to guide your thinking toward greater gentleness with yourself. Many of us carry expectations placed on us by others, or by ourselves.

In Bangladesh, I learned a beautiful expression: eat some wind. A simple way of saying, step outside and refresh your thinking.

In Finland, we have long returned to the forest for calm and wisdom. Sitting on a tree stump, facing nature, and ourselves. Trees share with each other. And when we join them, they share with us too.

Returning to your own nature

I have traveled far and started over many times, yet I always return to my roots, to my own nature. It continues to teach me what becomes clearer with time.

I am happy to invite you to take an intentional walk as well.

You can walk on your own using my reflective guide through The Journey Studio. You can book an online session and take me with you on your walk. Or we can meet in person.

• Winter & Spring: Montgó and Benissa Ruta Ecológica, Spain

• Summer & Autumn: Lappeenranta, Lake Saimaa, Finland

You can also join a slow travel retreat and immerse yourself in Lakeland life at Blueberry Villa, where time softens and you can simply be as you are.

Take a walk

Sometimes that is where it begins.

Get your Reflective Walk Guide or book Your Reflective Walk in Spain or in Finland.

The Circle Closes

This January 2026, I am returning to Helsinki Matka Nordic Travel Fair an altogether different role: as a fellow traveler.

Once a travel executive and promoter of the Lake Saimaa region, I now stand here to tell how travel can take us to places, but more importantly, how it can bring us back home, within. When we travel intentionally, paying attention to ourselves and our surroundings, connecting with people and places, we also journey deeper into ourselves. Travel shows us how else life could be. It takes us off autopilot, sometimes even out of our comfort zones. In doing so, it resets us, supports our wellbeing, and invites reflection: are these new experiences something we want more of in our lives?

Travel as a Counterbalance

While the world speeds ahead and constantly pushes our boundaries with its demands, travel becomes a counterbalance, a resetting force that allows us to slow down and return to something that calls us. A feeling. A place. A moment where we see ourselves glowing again. As travelers, we are free, at our purest. When nobody knows us, we can shed our masks. We no longer need to play roles. We can simply be.

And we do not need to travel far. Or for long. We only need to turn our ear inward and allow ourselves the moments we truly need.

Nature as the Way Back

For me, nature has always been that place of return. It has echoed my answers back to me, allowed me to be alone in safety, and reminded me of who I am. Solo moments in nature; walking trails, slow rituals, quiet reflection, inner conversations bring us back to our own path. The more often we return to nature with a question in our hearts, seeking clarity, the clearer the picture becomes. Our breath softens. Our direction sharpens.

I believe it can be that simple.
Our nature is calling us all.

Listening Instead of Performing

We do not need yoga or breathing techniques, although I know they are wonderful and do much good. We can simply begin by giving ourselves time. By walking. By listening. By allowing what moves us to guide our choices and, in time, our travels.

A Year of Transformation

Last year marked a profound turning point for me as I founded my own business as a transformative travel coach. It has been a year of change, of reconnecting with wonderful people, both familiar and new, and of building wellbeing-focused travel experiences in Finland and abroad.

Returning to Helsinki Matka Nordic Travel Fair

At Helsinki Travel Mart this year, I am speaking as the founder of The Journey Studio, sharing my story and my Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® method. I am also honored to represent my dear partner Aktiv-Resor, speaking about how travel can bring wellbeing into our lives through experiences such as our “Appelsiinipuut kukkivat jo Valenciassa” retreat.

I will be available to meet from Friday 16 January to Sunday 18 January, and on Saturday 17 January from 13:00 to 14:30 you are warmly invited to join us at the Aktiv-Resor stand 7p128 for a connecting hour with my inspiring friend Saimi Hoyer.

Back Where I Belong

Travel and taking time for myself brought me back to where I belong: happy, present, and on a journey I now build consciously, day by day.

I look forward to meeting you at the fair, later this year, or wherever your path may take you. I would be honored to walk alongside your journey.

Happy travels,
Mirka

Read more about:

Appelsiinipuut kukkivat jo Valenciassa retreat.

Plan your own journey.

Pohdi omaa matkaasi kanssani.

Live for Yourself While Being There for Others

I had a meaningful encounter this week while called to a particular trail. Walking along the hilly Montgó side street, I stopped under a tall eucalyptus whose scent filled the air. As I admired its wide, textured trunk, an elderly lady appeared as if invited to the same spot.

In the golden setting sun, we began to talk, a blend of English, Spanish, and German unfolding between us. I learned that she had recently lost her husband of decades and was now alone in his country, far from her own circle. I listened, feeling that my role was simply to be there, assuring her that community and connection would return if she reached out.

Before parting ways, we hugged, she with her little dog, patiently waiting. Two strangers meeting under an old tree, both reminded that we are never truly alone.

Choosing Ourselves, Too

We are fortunate when life grants us long partnerships that shape who we are. Yet while we choose our partners every day, we must also remember to choose ourselves: to nurture our own paths, friendships, and independence.

One day we may stand alone, and if we’ve never practiced it, solitude can feel overwhelming. For me, learning to let others care for me has been just as important as learning to stand on my own. When we’re too used to someone else arranging things, it can take time to rediscover our own rhythm.

Solo hobbies, short trips, or longer adventures benefit both ourselves and our partners, offering space to reflect on who we are and what we seek in each other.

Redefining Our Roles

This week’s conversations reminded me how universal these transitions are; losing a partner, separating, or watching children move out. Each change reshapes our lives and redefines our roles.

That’s why it’s so vital to pause and ask:

Who am I beyond these familiar patterns? What still defines me?

Nature as a Way Back

For me, nature walks have always been my way back: sorting thoughts, reconnecting with myself, and grounding in the moment. Movement in nature unlocks emotions that words often hide.

Set out intentionally with a question to yourself. Walk in silence. Reach for a tree, feel the wind, notice the scent of the earth. When we engage our senses, emotional truths unfold, and sometimes they make us cry, sometimes laugh.

Have a wonderful weekend. Step out, even for a short while, and let the path remind you of yourself.

If you are interested in try the Luontopolku reflective walk guide.

To the Lovestories

Autumn means learning to let go after holding tightly to the lingering morning mists, marvelling at the gorgeous hues, and rising onto your toes as migrating birds glide overhead at the pier.

A New Chapter with The Journey Studio

This year, after finishing my work in Finland, I emptied my drawers, packed my bags, and took off myself. My year of transition reached its final turning point as I embarked on my full-time journey as an entrepreneur at The Journey Studio.

Upon returning to my newfound second home in Valencia, I was privileged to welcome a dear friend, a soulmate from my Lake Saimaa woods, along on a journey that has no end. I returned to a haven I had once discovered on a mountain hike through the surrounding valleys. Together with the gentle owners of Castell de la Solana, we hosted a partner team for an unforgettable, meaningful long weekend.

Stories Around the Long Table

As we gathered around the long table, I sensed it would hold the many stories that would unfold there during our first lunch. The heartfelt tales of finding a place, a purpose, each other, and courage all spoke of love — as did mine. Love for oneself, the courage to step out, move on, listen deeply, and embark on one’s own path. My divorce, fittingly, also became final that very day.

Transformation Through Travel

Travel is a beautiful, powerful tool, a path to wellbeing and connection when pursued with intention. The sense of belonging and embrace we felt among the olive groves during the Luontopolku reflective walk, in that valley where the storm gave way to radiant daylight, reflected transformation itself. In the days that followed, we shared our souls, roamed the nature trails with the wind in our hair and the sea whispering its greetings, turning the moments into a beautiful metamorphosis.

Who Are You, Beyond Your Title?

I often ask a simple question: If not defined by your position, who are you?

The intuitive answer is deeply revealing, one only needs to understand it within. I am a connector, now surrounded by dear friends who also know who they are, and that shared awareness brings assurance and clarity beyond the norms of this world.

Freedom, Connection, and the Home Within

I am humbled to have created the trust that allowed us to come together to experience something beautiful and carry meaning home. Wet with rain and tears, we hugged one another, carrying the knowing that this was only the beginning. There are journeys yet to unfold; journeys that take us beyond trips, to the home within restoring and healing us beyond wellbeing as we know it.

I have been told that I create a sense of freedom simply by being myself. Feeling free has always driven me: moving me from one country to another. Now, I no longer need to move to feel free. With my concept of life: traveling every day, I am free within myself.

As part of this transition after my divorce, I am now officially taking my author’s name, Bruun, as my registered name. My grandparents’ name carries deep meaning for me, a return to my roots and to the family pillars that have supported me throughout my life.

Would you like to embark on your own lovestory?

Drop me a note or read more at Life Chapter Reinvention or Travel Coaching in Finnish at Mukana matkallasi.

Courage is Everything

Taking the Leap

A year ago, on 31.7., I took a leap: a sabbatical that would change my life.

I grew up believing anything was possible; my father encouraging, my mother cautioning. I had moved abroad for studies and work, traveled across the world when I got married, and started my own business. Yet after living through a military takeover and a real estate collapse, courage felt far away.

For years, my children, my calm hometown, and my work in the municipal sector provided a safe haven. I embraced Finland fully and gave all the creativity I could to my employer.

Getting Stuck vs. Moving Forward

It’s easy to get stuck in the rhythm of daily life, sucked into work, only thinking about the next weekend. Work trips and holidays were my windows to the world, my moments to explore and discover new paths.

As the kids grew up, the older I got, the scarier the thought of making any changes became.

Until staying put became the scariest thought of all.

I’m still scared every day. But that tingling on your skin when you’re alive? That’s worth everything.

What I Gained

My sabbatical came with a price, but I don’t count what I lost. I count what I gained: myself.

The most precious thing I own. And you can find that too.

Looking back, I hardly recognize the person I was: anxious, exhausted, a tired bureaucrat. Reading the cover of my novel All That is Yours still makes me shiver:

“Anna wanted to turn away from the path, even briefly. The independent Finn longed for a new kind of freedom before finding herself organizing already organized affairs in some central headquarters in Central Finland.”

It’s Okay to Be Scared

It’s okay to be scared. But don’t be afraid to listen to yourself.

Even a single intentional walk can spark clarity.

A short trip outside your usual circles can reconnect you to yourself.

A holiday should leave you empowered, not just until the flight home, but beyond into your everyday life.

How I Can Help

I guide people to reconnect with themselves, awaken their inner calling, and experience journeys that strengthen well-being. I’ve navigated many changes in life, and I’ve never felt more alive.

If you’re ready to explore what drives you:

• Fill out an Exploration Session Questionnaire

• Book a Discovery Session

• Join our Autumn Special, available until the end of the month

For Readers Curious About the Story

And if you’re curious about the story that inspired part of this journey, my novel All That is Yours is available as a paperback or eBook on Amazon.

Nature Trailing

A Journey Back to Your Senses

My childhood summers always began the same way—by kicking off my shoes in June.

I spent those days wandering Finnish forests, following winding trails, collecting natural treasures, and diving into cold lakes. Many of us recognize the exact same things.

I’ve always loved the promise of a nature trail: it might lead to a blooming meadow, a blueberry-covered hill, or a quiet peninsula. At my Finnish lakeside villa, I cherish the short walk down the nature path to the shore.
The trail, woven with pinecones, roots, and soft moss, holds immense transportive power.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve followed trails—always toward water.

Walking helps us process what words cannot.

During my sabbatical, I found myself on many more nature trails—from the physically demanding climb to Machu Picchu to gentle, reflective walks through paths I once knew in my youth in Spain. I joined a group at Caminito del Rey and revisited familiar Alhambra paths, processing life as I walked.

I remembered how walking had always helped me think—sometimes running, sometimes foraging for mushrooms. Mostly alone.
In movement, the answers often reveal themselves.

The trail that changed everything

While walking and driving across Spain, reconnecting with myself, I realized how much clarity I gained simply by moving. I stumbled upon a real estate agency in a historic old town—because they had a hillside home for sale that caught my eye. It wasn’t the one, but the agent kept talking about the nearby hiking trails.

Eventually, I visited the green belt of Dénia, at the foot of Montgó mountain.
And I stopped.
There, right in front of me, were trails leading into and around the mountain.

Since then, my journey has continued—up the Montgó, across surrounding valleys, and deeper into the beauty of presence.

A new path opened at Castell de la Solana

One trail in Alcalalí led me to Castell de la Solana, a boutique hotel run by a Finnish couple. The moment I stepped onto the property, I heard running water. The olive grove, the mountain backdrop, the peaceful paths—it all transported me.

In another twist along this virtual trail, I discovered the Travel Coach Network, a global community of professionals helping others use travel for wellbeing.

As travel becomes increasingly tech-driven, so grows the desire for meaning—destinations and connections that truly nourish us.

Luontopolku

A Life Reconnection Program by The Journey Studio

I believe in the power of following nature trails.
My journey has taken many unexpected turns, and now as a transformative travel coach, I want to empower others to take their own first curious steps.

When we walk with awareness, clarity follows—and soon after, the courage to move forward.

What is Luontopolku?

Luontopolku means nature trail in Finnish.
It’s also the name of my signature program at The Journey Studio—a moving, grounded journey that gently leads us back to ourselves.

And it doesn’t need to happen in Finland.
Your trail is already there, wherever you are.
It’s simply waiting.

The program is for anyone ready to:

• Reclaim presence

• Navigate change
• Seek clarity
• Feel fully alive again

Whether it begins on a trail near home or at a retreat far away, I’ll walk beside you.

What you’ll walk away with:

• A deeper awareness of how your senses guide you
• Daily practices to root, soften, and grow
• A clearer connection to your direction and voice

Join us this October 9–12

I’m returning to Castell de la Solana to host our first Transformative Luontopolku Retreat in Alcalalí, Spain.

Together we’ll explore trails and villages filled with stories of reinvention, meet local entrepreneurs who have reshaped their lives, enjoy warm cultural experiences, and find peace in a deeply restorative setting.

The retreat blends nature, movement, stillness, and story—creating space to realign with what truly matters.

The nature trail is never a fixed route.

It begins the moment we take the first step.

If you’re curious about the retreat—or simply ready to begin your own intentional path—I’d love to tell you more.

Luontopolku Retreat Info -)

📩 Let’s connect: Contact The Journey Studio

From Alone to Aligned: How a Lakeside Cabin Taught Me to Listen

Not long ago, the thought of solo travel—or even a weekend cottage trip—made me pause. I was used to being surrounded: by people, work, responsibilities, the constant motion of a busy life. But before I even realized burnout was knocking, I sought space and solitude. Not just physical distance, but emotional space. Space to hear my own thoughts again.

I returned to something deeply familiar: the Finnish lakeside. A simple Blueberry Villa my father built in the 1990s. A silent forest—or so it seemed. I used to hate driving there alone, getting busy with the garden, treating the terraces and pier, or clearing the forest. We’re self-sufficient there: wood-burning oven, fireplace, and a lakeside sauna tucked into our own woods.

At first, I brought all my thoughts with me—the mental noise, the pressure to produce, the urge to fill the silence. But over time, the quiet worked its way in. While exhausting myself outdoors, I noticed the gentle fall of a pinecone, the texture of birch bark, the whisper of the lake, the humming of the tall pines on our land, a place we call the Pineman. The forest was not so silent after all.

I began to relax during my weekend getaways, becoming mindful of the path with its exposed roots leading from the villa to the lakeside, listening to the waves while sitting on the pier, simply enjoying the stillness. The traditional sauna ritual—throwing water on the hot stove, listening to the fire crackling beneath it, and dipping into the cold lake between steam baths—was profoundly calming. I swam in icy water, and something in me softened. I didn’t need to speak to belong. Nature welcomed me without needing me to be anything more than I was.

I realized I was alone, but I wasn’t lonely. I was part of nature—something bigger. I was beginning to feel again. I started journaling—not because I had to, but because my hands wanted to remember what my heart was trying to say.

Though the awakening during my sabbatical journey changed me, I realized I had already taken the first steps earlier. Transformation isn’t a single event; it’s a series of quiet, essential shifts. The times spent at our lakeside cottage reawakened my senses and kept me going. They gave me clarity—then and now. They reminded me of something vital: the journey back to ourselves often begins with the simplest acts of presence. Since I managed alone there, I could manage journeying anywhere. Everything beyond that only added to my contentment.

This experience became the foundation for my signature program at The Journey Studio: Back to Your Senses.

It’s a guided path to reconnect with what you may have lost touch with—your body, your emotions, your sense of wonder, and the clarity that comes from being truly present once you start to listen.

The program is built around five natural elements:

• Earth for grounding and physical awareness

• Water for emotional flow and softness

• Fire for courage and personal ignition

• Air for mental clarity and breath

• Space for stillness, intuition, and trust

You can begin with 1:1 coaching from anywhere in the world. Or, you can join me in Finland at a peaceful lakeside villa, embracing the roots of Finnish happiness—or in Spain, where we walk and reflect among mountain paths, citrus groves, and ancient watchtowers. Each experience is curated not just to inspire—but to help you listen.

Because when you start to listen, you start to return to yourself.

If you're navigating a life transition, healing from burnout, or simply feeling called to explore your next chapter more consciously, this program is for you.

Learn more about the Back to Your Senses Life Reconnection Signature Program or schedule a free clarity call at www.thejourneystudio.co