Over the years I’ve written this column, I’ve shared tools, resources, and ideas that have helped me.

I don’t believe there is one way to go through life and its ups and downs. I believe there are as many ways as there are people on the planet.

I wish I had understood sooner that my way, process, and path don’t need to be the same as anyone else’s and likely won’t be.

I wish I had trusted myself to intuitively know what was for me and what wasn’t instead of looking to others’ opinions or experiences to decide for me.

I spent much of my adult life seeking answers and ways to improve my well-being, to heal, and to grow. Along the way, I discounted myself, deferred to others and stifled my opinions that I thought would lead to conflict.

This is part of why I felt called to coaching — it was the first time I encountered a process that respected another person’s agency and wisdom. The coaching courses I took built upon the idea that our answers lie within us instead of outside of us. We might need another person to ask us the right questions to get to our answers, but the answers are already there waiting to be found.

I keep unraveling this habit of ignoring what I know to be true and allowing others to have too much say in my life.

While it’s challenging to make rifts by saying no to the bullies in your life, not standing up to people who cause harm, is worse. Holding back your truth harms you.

Speaking up may not be pretty. If you’re like me, it might be the opposite of smooth. But that doesn’t make it any less important. It doesn’t have to look or sound a certain way — it just needs to be true.

A tool that can help you gain perspective on what’s important to you is to ask yourself how you would spend your time if you were to die tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. What would you regret not saying or doing?

Our time is limited. We don’t know what tomorrow or next week will bring. What actions do you want to take while you can?

I want my actions centered around speaking the truth and standing up for what I believe in whether it’s popular or not. I want to cherish those I love and give them my time and attention.

I’ll leave you with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver’s final lines of her poem “The Summer Day.”

“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Joanna Zaremba is a writer, yoga teacher, and movement and mindset coach. She helps her clients to trust themselves and their bodies. Joanna has lived in the Pikes Peak Region since 2011 and can be reached at joannazaremba@gmail.com.