What lights you up?

This week we're continuing our summer tour of blogs from last summer. The weather can't actually make its mind up whether it's summer or not here in the north west of England. We have one day when it's 30 degrees and two days later I'm in a thick cardigan and thinking about putting the heating on! I'm going to resist the heating but I'm definitely going to put a pair of thick socks on as soon as I finish this!

Last July I wrote about visiting the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. I began by saying that I rarely miss it. This year of course it was unable to go ahead. Cancelled by the pandemic like so many other things. All the more reason to have a little revisit of this post.

Summer seems to have arrived - finally - and last weekend I was fortunate enough to visit the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London. I love this exhibition and rarely miss it. The thing I like about it so much, apart from the wide variety of art, is the fact that there's an open submission. Ordinary people can submit their art and, if they’re selected, have it displayed alongside professional and world-famous artists. The BBC do a great documentary every year following the process for three of these hopeful artists and I love hearing their stories.

The open submission appeals to me so much because I think that having a hobby or interest that lights us up, that we are passionate about is so important to a rich, full life. We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be world-class. We don’t have to earn any money from it. We just have to throw ourselves into it with enthusiasm and enjoy it!

For me it’s creative writing and choral singing. For someone else it might be learning to ride, painting, marathon running, cycling, climbing, drawing, playing in a band, baking, learning circus skills, ballroom dancing, tap dancing … the list is literally endless.

We encourage children to have hobbies, to join groups and societies. We expect their lives to be about more than just study and home, but as adults it’s too easy to fall into the trap of expecting our work and our home life to supply everything we need – to completely fulfil us.

That puts an awful lot of pressure on our relationships and our careers. It’s only natural that even in the best jobs or relationships there are ups and downs. Other interests make us more rounded, give us something else to think about when things go wrong, a relationship ends or we face redundancy or retirement. The loss still hurts and will take time to recover from but having something else in our lives that gives us joy and that provides a sense of satisfaction can help us be more resilient when times are hard.

When I work with a client we always look at her life holistically. Even if the main focus of the coaching ends up being her work or health, we ensure that all the parts that make up a rounded life have been looked at so that the client gains clarity about what she wants in each area and how she’s moving towards that. Taking a holistic look at life can show up what’s working and what isn’t and can stop the neglect of an area getting any worse.

Playing, having fun, being creative, pursuing a hobby just because you enjoy it is essential to a rich, fulfilling life. Seeing the wonderful works displayed at the Summer Exhibition inspired me to make more time for my creative writing – to prioritise it. What are you doing that lights you up, that inspires you? I’d love to hear.

This summer I think that having things in our life that we do just for fun is more important than ever. This week the women who are doing my course, Your Pathway to Confidence, Clarity and Courage are working on their individual projects/goals. I practise what I preach and so have set myself a goal for this last fortnight of the course too. I've decided, after years of telling myself that I'm rubbish at art, that I'm going to learn to draw.

I've committed to working through the learn to draw book I've bought and to draw every day for this fortnight. I've also promised to post something I draw in the group every day to keep me accountable.

I've owned the fact that I'm a beginner and so won't be very good at all but I know this will bring me joy. It will help me to switch off from work and relax. It will allow me to be creative which is so important to me.

If you're looking at your life right now and thinking that there has to be more to life than this I have space for one-to-one clients at the moment.

I specialise in helping women to create the lives that light them up. Or, as one client put it, get her sparkle back and feel like her again. I have space for just two more one-to-one clients this month.

If you're ready to:⠀

🌟 Find the time to do the things that are important to you

🌟 Create more balance in your life⠀

🌟 Increase your confidence, resilience, and sense of self-worth so you can make ANYTHING happen

then click here to book your FREE thirty minute pathway to possibilities call to explore what your version of a lit up life is and have a no obligation chat about whether we're a good fit to work together.

It's time to love the life you're living!⠀