I DARE You: Four Steps to Creating a Life You Truly Love After College
- Meg Anderson
- Nov 6
- 8 min read
Facing Post-Grad Dread
At the end of Day 1 of my first job out of college, I came home from the office- a towering skyscraper overlooking the Hudson River in NYC- shut the door of my shoebox apartment, kicked off my heels, called my parents...and cried.
Not just because I was overwhelmed, but because of a terrifying realization: this wasn’t just the start of another school year that would inevitably come to an end come spring. It was the first day of the rest of my life.
And deep down, I wasn’t sure it was a life I wanted.
When the Plan Falls Apart
For most of my life, I thought I had the "formula to success" down to a science. I obsessed over spreadsheets, color-coded calendars, and endless to-do lists. I mapped out all four years my college courses before I even moved into my freshman dorm. I was always looking ahead, making a plan to achieve my goal, checking every box, then moving on to my next escapade (I'm sure my fellow Type-A high achievers can relate).
And for a long time, that formula worked. By senior year at Pitt, I had the Finance major's “dream job” lined up at BlackRock in New York City, and I was thrilled. Everyone told me, “Meg, you have such a bright future!” And I thought so too.
But the problem with a formulaic approach to life is that it fails to account for how you actually feel. Once I got to the goal I had spent so much of my life chasing, I realized I hadn't ever bothered to question if it was what I even wanted. I thought majoring in Finance and getting the big-time job in a shiny city was "what you were supposed to do" to live a happy, successful life.
But I wasn't happy living in NYC, finding mice in my shower, getting lost on the subway, feeling stuck in a "concrete jungle" far removed from nature, and deeply missing my friends and family back home. And even more importantly, I wasn't happy in my job. I’m a deeply creative and independent person (and admittedly obsessed with health and wellness), which clashed with the bureaucratic, "grindset" culture of corporate America.
I hit a low point when my first performance review was a less than pleasant experience, and I realized with a pit in my stomach there was no "next step" to plan for. No internship application to fill out, no exam to prep for, nothing to set my sights on to get me out of the mess I was in.
When the structure I’d always relied on fell apart, I had to face something deeper: my identity had been built around achievement.
Falling in Love (with fitness)
Without a next step to plan for, I felt lost. So instead of asking, What goal should I achieve next?, I began asking, What do I actually enjoy doing?
That led me to fitness.
At first, fitness was just an outlet, my way to cope with stress and find control when everything else felt uncertain. But over time I fell in love with not just the gym, but learning about hormonal health, yoga, meditation, journaling, and discovering a whole new way of living that was all about self-discovery and living authentically. I felt a deep calling to help other women also experience the mind, body, and soul transformation I had experienced.
So I got certified as a personal trainer and started coaching my first client online in the evenings after work, helping her build strength and confidence both physically and mentally. That spark became the seed for Pink & Powerful: a women’s community built around fitness, mindset, and encouraging women to chase their dreams. What began as a side project on Instagram ultimately became my now full-time business- you can check out my 1:1 and group coaching programs here!
The Leap
After 2 years at BlackRock in NYC, I ultimately received a job offer back home in Pittsburgh, and had six weeks off between jobs. For the first time, I didn’t plan every detail. Instead, I gave myself one simple challenge: take one aligned action step towards my big dreams every day.
Some days that meant creating fitness content. Others it was planning Pink & Powerful events. And some days, I went on crazy adventures like surfing in Portgual!
Those six weeks changed my life.Out of that season (on a beach in Portgual to be precise) came the idea for 77 Aligned, my group coaching program built on the same principle: enouraging women to take one aligned step at a time towars their biggest dreams.
But when the summer ended, and I started the new corporate job in Pittsburgh... I immediately felt the contrast. I knew in my gut I wasn’t meant to be there anymore.
So six weeks in, I made the scariest and most freeing decision of my life:I quit to pursue Pink & Powerful full-time.
It wasn’t impulsive. I had proof of concept, paying clients, and a clear mission. But more importantly, I had alignment. I’d finally stopped chasing the next milestone and started my dreams.
I D.A.R.E you.
As I reflected on my journey, I realized it followed a pattern that could help others too.
I call it DARE: Discover. Act. Reflect. Evolve.
DARE isn’t a plan. It’s a practice. A cycle that helps you align your life with who you truly are, over and over again.
D - Discover
Discovery is about turning inward - away from the noise of who you’re “supposed” to be - and reconnecting with who you are at your core.
For me, discovery started with noticing the themes that had always been there. Like how when I was a little girl, loved wearing a bedazzled pink princess dress and crown (even when it wasn't Halloween) and pretending I had Unicorns for pets and that magic creatures were living in my parent's backyard. Looking back, that memory reminded me how deeply I’ve always been drawn to magic, femininity, and boldy expressing myself. The same energy, and color scheme, that later became the perfect foundation of my business Pink & Powerful- because it’s authentic to me.
Discovery isn’t about what you do, it’s about who you are. It requires you to slow down, spend time alone (off your phone), and learn to listen to the quiet voice within you over the noise of the world.
Your Turn! Journal or reflect on questions like:
What was I like as a child?
When in my life have I felt happiest or most at peace?
What activities make me lose track of time?
A - Act
Many people get two big things wrong about action:
They think you should wait until you have it all planned out
You need to feel confident and fearless before you start
In reality, you have to act first, and act while you’re still scared. Action creates clarity and it builds confidence.
When I started Pink & Powerful, it wasn’t a business plan or a grand strategy. It was an Instagram page and a pink Canva logo. But that tiny step gave me momentum.
Action reminded me that I was capable of creating something, even if it was tiny at first.
And believe me, not everything you try will work. I’ve hosted events with zero sign-ups.I’ve launched coaching offers that got zero interest.
But I learned to reframe those moments not as failure, but as information. Each “no” gave me data about what resonated, what didn’t, and how to make the next step even more aligned. And now, I'm hosting multiple events monthly that sell out! You can check them out here!
That’s what action does. It teaches you through experience what no amount of planning ever could.
Your Turn!
Commit to taking just one small aligned action step a day, like I did in Summer 2024, towards any big dream you have. Starting today.
And I encourage you to write down that you're committing to do this. Writing our goals down makes them 42% more likely we'll actually do them. And having someone to hold you accountable via check-ins or meetings increases the success rate to 95%! That's exactly why I launched 77 Aligned- to help women's chances of achieving their biggest dreams a reality skyrocket.
R - Reflect
Reflection should always come after action.It’s about noticing how something made you feel once you’ve done it, and using that feedback to course-correct.
For me, this looked like paying attention to how I felt after different parts of my day. After spending hours in the office, I felt drained. After training a client, I felt energized and alive.
Both were “work,” both required effort, and I got paid to do both. But one filled me up, while the other depleted me.That awareness was powerful because it showed me, in real time, what was aligned and what wasn’t.
Reflection turns experience into insight.
Your Turn! Ask yourself:
Did I leave that situation feeling inspired or exhausted?
Did that conversation with my friend light me up or weigh me down?
When this week did I feel my most energized, and what did I do to feel that way?
What were my highlights in the past year of my life?
E - Evolve
This is where the big transformations happen- things like quitting your job to pursue your own business full time.
Evolution means letting go of what no longer fits, even when it once did. It’s choosing growth over comfort and self-trust over the approval of others.
When I left my corporate job, it wasn’t because I had everything figured out or felt totally ready. It was because deep down, I knew that if I wanted to give my dream a real chance, I needed the space and time to give it my all.
And this won’t be the last time I evolve. I may one day feel drawn back to corporate life, or to completely change my business model, or to move across the world.
The beauty of evolving is that you don’t need to know the forever plan, just what feels right for you right now.
Evolution asks you to surrender the need for certainty and replace it with self-trust.You’ve figured it out before. You can do it again.
Your Turn!
What's 1 area of your life that's been calling you to evolve? Start small. Start with just one small risk that forces you out of your comfort zone, and you'll be forever grateful that you did.
The DARE Way of Living
DARE isn’t a checklist, it's a way of life that calls you to make room for all 4 of these phases and to continue cycling through them.
Discover who you are. Act on everything that excites you. Reflect on how it feels. Evolve when life calls for it, and begin again.
That’s how the life of your dreams is built. Not through 5 year plans, or constantly chasing achievement so others "approve" of you.
So if you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about what’s next, here’s my challenge to you:
Take one aligned action step towards your dreams every day, starting today.
It doesn’t have to be big, just something that feels good to you right now. Because one small step can create a ripple effect that changes everything.
In other words- you'll experience the Butterfly Effect in your own life.
Ready to DARE and transform your life?
I encourage you to try this on your own, but if you're looking for community, deeper support, and accountability, I invite you to join 77 Aligned- my 11-week group coaching program where women Discover, Act, Reflect, and Evolve together. One step at a time.
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