My story
I am a sucker for a self-help book and I love a good podcast, especially when I'm out running. I’ve discovered you’re never too old to learn and improve! However, I was one of those people that feared change, didn't take risks or rock the boat even if it was something I really wanted to do. That was until my life took an unexpected turn.
My journey of self-discovery began after an unexpected divorce, nothing makes you look inward more so than someone telling you they don’t love you anymore.
I'd recently started working as a Teaching Assistant which was the first job I'd truly enjoyed doing, before that work was just something that paid the bills. I spent several years after the divorce keeping busy with work, the kids and studying to support my role in school.
Eventually, I reached the point where I couldn’t progress further without a degree.
As the kind of person that likes a challenge, I decided (after much deliberation and then a bit more for good measure) to get a degree, whilst working, so I could train to be a teacher. I was very aware how challenging teaching was, I’d seen the strain they were under on a daily basis and how drained I felt at the end of a half term but it was an itch I just needed to scratch. It took me 5 years to complete the degree another year for teacher training and then a further 2 years as an Early Career Teacher (ECT). I was finally a qualified teacher … and then I left teaching.
Looking back now, I can see that it wasn’t about becoming a teacher, it was about giving myself permission to do something that challenged me and was about me and no one else. I’d spent my adult life being a wife and mother, I didn’t think I was allowed to have my own hopes and ambitions.
When I started to realise I wanted to leave teaching I was scared of what people would think. It took me a while to acknowledge this wasn’t about anyone else, it was about what was best for me and my family.
After my divorce, I needed to learn how to be me and discover what my needs and wants were. I spent the next few years looking inwards trying to discover who I was and what my values were. With the help of a counsellor, I learnt to understand myself and others better and that unexpected change can be a catalyst for great things. This journey eventually led me to complete my Life Coaching qualification so I can support others who want to make a change but don’t necessarily know where to start.