Well…what a year!
I don’t know about you, but this year feels like it has flown by now that we’re in December, although there were certain points (like the 3 months from March to June) that felt like a lifetime in every week. And it’s definitely been interesting for all of us.
On the upside, I can see some lovely examples of how 2020 has brought people and communities together, supporting each other and celebrating different parts of the year. In my street, we celebrated VE day by having a few drinks on our driveways and I got to talk to some people that I hadn’t really noticed before.
The downsides have been many and as well as a disease spreading around the world affecting millions of people, it’s clear that mental health and racial inequality has been high on list of things that have been in the spotlight. In a way though, I’m glad these things have come up because they are being talked about in more detail now and clearly still need a lot of work.
Personally speaking, it’s been a year of massive ups and downs, both in my business and personal life. I managed to get a bit of dating in but have also struggled to deal with anxiety and depression sometimes. I finally went to speak to my GP at the end of last year about my binge eating and was referred to the Eating Disorders service so that has been an interesting exploration this year.
I finally started the talking therapy side of it in October - due to the chronic underfunding of the NHS (in particular mental health services) and increased waiting lists due to COVID-19, it has taken a while. It’s really interesting and I’ve had a few light-bulb moments so far. My eating habits have already changed but, at the age of 44, there are clearly some ingrained ideas and coping mechanisms that will take a while to change.
I also worked with a lovely coach this year and discovered the joy of working in my own way, at my own pace. It often feels much slower than I would like it to but taking the perceived outside pressure off myself means that I enjoy the process a little more.
Business wise, I started my first Confidence Workshop and it exceeded all my expectations but I have struggled to stay motivated when things have been difficult. There have been a couple of times where I’ve wondered if I can keep the business going but I know now that the joy I find in coaching and helping the lovely women I coach won’t go away in a hurry and I would truly regret giving it up.
So now we’re coming up to the turn of the year and, much like a lot of other people, I start to think about what I want my future to look like. I’ve realised that there’s no way I’m letting go of the coaching business and I’m also excited about how I want to branch out in the future.
There will be another round of the Confidence workshop coming soon and I’m going to offer some sessions for people to work on their goal setting in January (I’m really excited for both of these 😄).
Being able to look back and reflect on how this year has been is really important because no matter how hard and horrible it has been, it’s interesting to see the good that has come out of it. No doubt it will stick in people’s minds as a mostly terrible year, but hopefully there are some gems in there for you too.
For now, I hope that you find some joy in Christmas and New Year, even if it isn’t what you expected or wanted. I’ll be back in the New Year with some more regular blogs so if you want to know when they arrive, sign up for updates, but for now, take care of yourself 🎉💖