One year blogiversary

This week marks the one year anniversary of my blog. When I pressed publish on my first blog twelve months ago on my brand new website I had an audience of two people and one of them was my mum!

So much has happened in the last twelve months. No one could have anticipated a pandemic and what that would mean for us. But I was just as caught off guard by how much I enjoy writing my blog. I started it because I was advised that it would be a good thing for my business and drive more traffic to my website but it’s become so much more than that to me.

I love writing my blog posts. Being able to share my thoughts and ideas. Being able to inspire thought and more importantly action in others.

I send my blog post out as a newsletter to everyone on my email list on a Friday morning. A couple of times there has been a delay in it going out and I’ve had emails asking me where it is. I have people reply to my emails to tell me how much what I’ve written has touched them. It’s a real blessing in my life rather than a chore.

So, I thought today as only about three people read my very first blog I would reshare that first post. It’s a message that’s important to me and worth repeating.

The stories we tell ourselves…

My young nephew is football mad. So much so that I am greeted with news of that day’s games rather than hello. We’re working on it! He can’t comprehend the fact that I while I love him more than words can express, I have zero interest in football. It’s utterly beyond his understanding that I could possibly mean it when I say I don’t like football.

He’s also at the age that he thinks he’s a brilliant football player. He could be right, I’m certainly no judge but this got me thinking about my experience of sport at school, or more specifically the dreaded “picking of teams”.

I’m pretty sure it’s a universal childhood experience, whether during a games lesson or on the playground two children selected to pick teams. I was always, without fail, the very last to be picked. Now, when I was the same age as my nephew this really hurt because like most children of that age, I thought I was good at sport, or at least as good as everyone else. I was wrong – very wrong and as I got older, I could see that.

By the time I was at high school I was under no illusion, I was useless at any sport that involved throwing, catching, hitting or running – so pretty much every team sport. Whilst the picking of teams was still torturous, I knew that even if my very best friend was picking I would be last because no one would wish my lack of sporting prowess on the rest of the team.

I learnt to laugh about it and took it with good grace. But, in that younger period when I thought I was at least as good as everyone else it hurt. It really hurt and as far as I was concerned it could only possibly be about not being popular enough.

As I coach I often hear the “I’m not enough” phrase. I’m not good enough, thin enough, popular enough, clever enough, old enough, young enough. When my clients and I begin to examine these beliefs, it’s amazing how often getting picked last for sports teams comes up. Our six, ten, twelve, fifteen-year-old self made a decision about what that meant in that moment and we’re still playing it out decades later.

What if our younger self was wrong? What if our younger self had made a different assumption? What if, as adults, we stopped and thought about the fact that we’re seeing the behaviour and decisions of other children as evidence of who we are and our worth as a grown women?

What stories do you tell yourself about your self-worth? When was the last time you actually questioned their truth? What may have had a basis of truth twenty years ago doesn’t necessarily have any bearing on the current truth – the capable woman with many achievements under her belt.

What if you decided I am going to believe that I am enough? What if we started and finished every day by telling and reminding ourselves that we are enough? Imagine a world full of women who know they are enough and believe in themselves. That’s the world I want to live in. That’s the world I want my nephew to grow up in.

If you have been reading my posts from the start – thank you. If you’re new here – welcome! I’m looking forward to the next twelve months. Continuing to share my thoughts and ideas and working with women to help you create the life that lights you up.
 
Here’s to the next twelve months. I can’t wait to see what the year has to hold for all of us.

My diary is still open for power hours to help you gain clarity as we navigate this new normal.
 
Becca booked a power hour with me as she was feeling completely overwhelmed by the stress of working through the pandemic and facing the fact that life isn't going to be "normal" for a long time yet.
 
Anna booked her hour with me as six months after starting her dream job she found out she was being made redundant because of the pandemic.
 
She says,
 
"My brain had gone to mush.  I didn’t know what do to as I've never been unemployed and I was scared and panicking.  My self-confidence had taken a huge knock. 
 
Clare helped me to gain clarity, calmness and take a step back to reflect on where I'd been, where I was and where I want to go.  Then most importantly, she helped me to focus on concrete ways to start to make that happen. 
 
Clare, through her confident and calming approach, enabled me to build up my self-confidence again and realise that I had so much to offer.  This meant that I was able to clear the mush and feel motivated again! 
 
I can't recommend Clare highly enough to any woman facing change in their life or wanting to make change in their life.  She'll take you on a journey of self-discovery and enable you to take those steps forward in life that you really can make!" 
 
I've spoken with so many women who say that they're feeling more uncertain and confused now than when we first went into lockdown. The dawning understanding that we're going to be living with a new normal for a long time to come.
 
I'm offering a power hour to help you move from confusion to clarity or as Anna put it from brain mush to motivation!
 
This hour is for you if:

• You want to cut through all that brain noise and get clarity about what is most important right now.

• You want to feel calmer and more in control.

• You want an action plan to move forward positively.

• You want to feel more like you again!

 
As I see so many of us struggling at the moment I'm opening up my diary for these clarity power hours. The cost is just £97 for an hour of powerful coaching. Give yourself the gift of an hour and send my an email at clare@clarewalshcoaching.com to book.