Thoughts on becoming a Life Coach and why I wish I had worked with one – many times in my life!

As a newly-trained Life Coach, my dearest wish is to help women to step into their full and unapologetic Truth & Integrity and live from this place as often and as much as possible. 
 
(Why women? Because I have had more than my fair share of troubles that were specifically because I am female i.e. a daughter, sister, mother, wife, ex-wife, ex-partner, and co-parent. I feel that I am best placed to help women through all these life situations as I have been there, got the T-shirt and the gold star – for surviving it all!!)
 
I intend to put to good use all my study and training in Yoga, Meditation and Yoga Nidra, Chakras and Sound Healing, as well as the extensive and powerful Transformation Coaching Academy training with Dr Eve Agee.

I feel that I can weave my life experience of my whirlwind 55 years on this beautiful Planet Earth, to help women to navigate the choppy waters of life.

So, I was meditating on how I want to help, serve, and inspire others in my new role as a Life Coach, and the word TRANSITIONS came to me.
 
So, I thought about it and realised - OMG Yes!!
 
The big stuff really does happen in the Transitions, in the spaces in-between. You can look back on the transition times of your life and thank yourself for the choices, action steps and new beginnings that you made possible in those Transition times.

A Life Coach can help you chart these choppy seas of Transition with more ease and effortless joy, more self-awareness, love and compassion, to live in freedom with both feet firmly in their deepest truth. I promise, this is possible!!
 
Think of being the author of your own unique Book – ‘The Book of My Life’ with each chapter recording each phase of your life, from the innocence of the Child to the wisdom of the Elder, and each chapter having a beginning, middle and end. But what about the bits in-between – what about the Transitions?
 
When you are in the middle of a chapter, riding the crest of a wave, coasting along and all the lights are on green, you don’t need a Life Coach to tell you to enjoy the ride! You know when you have hit a sweet spot!
 
The times that are tough, confusing and exhausting are the Transitions in-between the good times. So many choices, influences, considerations and possible outcomes, it can feel like your head is in a washing machine on spin cycle and when you turn to family and friends, they want to help you by fixing it for you or telling you what you should do. But that doesn’t work. There’s something else under the surface that you can’t figure out on your own and it triggers an uneasy anxiety, and it starts to show up physically, mentally and emotionally.

This is often when people look for solutions by starting yoga classes, going for a complementary therapy or energy healing, or even to the doctor as they know – “Something is not right.” You know that feeling. Unless you have lived a charmed life, you will recognise that inner voice.  

It is the Transitions that take you to the next chapter of your magnificent Book of Life, the ending of one chapter, the blank page in-between and the opening lines of the next chapter. It really is the icky, sticky wicket; the space where the decisions you are avoiding, lurk. You can feel the push and pull between needing to grow and wanting to stay safe playing havoc with your mind, your self-worth and your sleep. 

I’ll give you an example. 
 
In May 2016 I had to close my jewellery business employing 10 people. It was a heart-breaking day and one of the hardest things I have ever done. But the story doesn’t start on the day we closed the doors. The story starts two years previously when I had the first fluttering feeling deep in my belly that something was going wrong. But, of course, like a good boss to my amazing and dedicated staff, I buried that intuitive hit, explained it away, soldiered on, and tried even harder to make the business viable. 
 
Two years on we were in an even worse position after several disastrous out-of-our-control events had spun us into financial dire straits. I called my Accountant, he instructed an Insolvency Practitioner and we set the wheels in motion to close in the best way possible for everyone concerned. I walked away knowing that I had tried everything I could but I had sacrificed a lot of me in the process. 

I then had the summer to re-group and my next steps fell into place. I had a lightbulb moment, turned my house upside down so that I could turn my lounge into a yoga studio, and started teaching yoga full time ….
Which is WHAT I HAD REALLY WANTED ALL ALONG!! 

Just think… I could have saved myself two years of stress, financial disaster and denial, if I had employed a Coach! If someone had asked me the right questions at the right time in the right way, I would have been able to excavate that deep desire in my soul. I just could not do that on my own, because the pressure to save jobs, face, position and keep the status quo were overwhelmingly convincing… but I KNEW… DEEP DOWN I KNEW! 
 
I buried the knowing because it felt selfish, destructive, huge and insurmountable. 
 
But guess what? The Universe made it happen anyway – the out-of-our-control disasters happened to force me to STOP RUNNING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!! And finally, I gave in and followed my inner knowing and my heart.
 
The TRANSITION between running the jewellery business and becoming a full-time yoga teacher was the HARDEST PART. When the jewellery business was thriving it was great, so rewarding and fun! – when I started teaching yoga – amazing and life-affirming.... but the bit in-between – blooming awful!!
 
I have also done this in relationships – felt my belly drop with the ‘Oh No… this is not going to work…” feeling, but carried on trying to mask the feeling, justify staying, trying to find common ground, trying to fix and people-please.

Let me tell you, that strategy has failed me. EVERY TIME!!

The bigger the risk, break up, ending, the harder it is to listen to your gut and heart and the harder it is to do something about it. 
For example, I have had other “Oh No” feelings and acted on them straight away. I tried a new venue for my yoga classes last summer. Three classes in, “Nope! This is not going to work.” Called the guy, gave back the key. Easy Peasy!
 
I was invited to a birthday party and walked in on my own, to find lots of my ex-friends there – you know, the friends who sided with the ex-husband and pushed the ex-wife (me) out of the friendship group. Had one drink and slipped out the back door. I knew – Get the hell out of here!!
 
Sometimes the decision to jump ship is so strong that you have to act. No question. Sometimes it’s so impersonal that it doesn’t really matter, nobody is going to mind.
 
It’s those deep-heart-string-tugging-knowings and gut feelings that you know are going to hurt (you / other / others) that are the hardest to act upon. And if you discuss with close friends, they will tell you the same … “He’s not going to like that!” “But we will miss you!” “You are taking a big risk there!” 
Yep, not helpful. Not supporting your highest good. More supporting the status quo and not rocking the boat. 

WARNING!!
If you would like to make some big decisions, change direction, write your own amazing Book of Life, then know this…
You are going to have to rock the damn boat and sail into the unknown!
You will have to learn to say YES! sometimes and absolutely NO! at other times.
You will learn to start listening to that wise inner you and paying attention.
Don’t underestimate how important the transitions of your life are.
And know this also, the only way to live a life of permanent sweet spots is to take the time to dig deep into what you really want, who you really are and what really is your truth.
Your whole truth and nothing but the truth.
 
A Life Coach can help you to navigate all of the times in your life when you feel stuck, lost and overwhelmed.
He or She is the non-judgmental person you have been looking for, who will listen with no personal agenda, hold space with no attachment to the outcome, and hold no preference as to what you decide to do.
 
They will listen closely to your words and language, check and clarify, ask open questions and use effective processes to help you to get un-stuck, to reveal your inner unconscious drivers and help you to see how you are going to get where you want to go.
 
The best and most valuable investment you can ever make is in finding your highest TRUTH, speaking your deepest Truth and living your whole and complete TRUTH.
 
I know this because I am here doing just that, and it has taken me 24 years to get here! With a coach you can take the short-cuts and the quickest path to your deepest truths and brightest future. I wish you well on your journey!

Book a Discovery Session with me today!