From stuck to thriving
Are you looking at your life and asking, “Is this it?” Are you ready to ask, “What’s next and how do I get there?” This is how many of my clients feel when they come to work with me and it’s exactly how I’ve felt in the past.
I had everything I’d wished and worked for – my own home, my ideal job, my independence and yet nothing felt right. I felt wrong, so wrong. Why couldn’t I just be happy, be content or I’d even settle for not care? I remember the exact moment I asked “What do I do? How do I fix this?” and the answer was immediate, “Resign - leave your job.” But it was a moment of absolute clarity without courage.
How would I pay the mortgage? Even worse than the possibility of homelessness, what would people think?! How could I admit that I’d got this so wrong to the people who loved me, cared about me and my happiness?
Just resigning and leaving may have felt like the right thing to do, but I ruled it out as “wishful thinking” or looking for the “easy” way out, irresponsible. We are after all the generation who’ve never been guaranteed a job for life, permanent most definitely does not mean permanent! The fear of those consequences can keep us in choices that don’t work for us. They keep us playing small.
If I’d trusted the answer my inner wisdom had provided, giving it the consideration it deserved the misery could have ended months before it did. I could have chosen what happened next instead of playing small and having my next step decided for me by someone else. I wouldn’t have had to spend months putting myself, my confidence and my life back together again.
But it was in this crisis that I listened to my inner wisdom telling me to sign up for a course. I saw it as a way to escape from my current reality, to distract me from how dreadful and out of control everything felt, but it turned out to be one of the most disruptive and best decisions I've ever made. That course led me to be open and honest with myself, and look at my life, society, and my place in the world in a way I had never done before by introducing me to a spirituality that asked me to see, to discern and to act. Three little words that led me to living a life with more intention than I ever thought possible.
I was introduced to the teachings of a sixteenth century Spanish saint, Ignatius of Loyola. His teachings, as lived out and developed down the centuries in the Ignatian tradition taught me how, through using the Cycle of Discernment, really looking at what is going on, discerning what is needed, and taking appropriate action, I can make my life, and the lives of those around me, better and more meaningful.
It broke the cycle of failure to trust myself and I blossomed, This became a major part of my successful entry into my work today - a full life lived on my terms, with my values at the heart.
That Cycle of Discernment has become part of who I am, a constant practice that saw me flourish instead of flounder when six years ago I faced redundancy from my dream job. Instead of weeks of uncertainty and worry about what to do next I came to a decision that felt right and worked out my first steps within just two days.
Using the method of discernment I now teach my clients, I had the ability to listen to, and trust, my inner wisdom, and this gave me the clarity and courage to follow a new path and create a bigger life for myself - one where I was in control of my destiny.
In my coaching programme I combine the power of coaching with the pragmatism of the Cycle of Discernment enabling you too, to listen to your inner wisdom and make good decisions. Decisions made with your head and your heart, aligned with your values, that move your life forward, creating a life that is rich and fulfilling whatever that looks like for you. A life that is lived on your terms now, not at some never arriving future date! And isn't that what we all want - a life lived on our own terms? The life we feel drawn to, a life that makes our heart sing! Click here for more information about my coaching programme and feel free to book a free call to find out more.
