Upheaval Overload: the female fight for clarity and focus

Juliette was one woman facing this battle, she found me via a networking group. We connected via text message and started off with an easy-going discovery call.

The term Discovery call is bounded about a lot, but what are they, and why are they so important?

From our 20 minute chat I was able to get an idea of what Juliette needed to focus on currently and foremost that It felt like we were a good fit for each other, as we spoke to each other naturally and openly.  As coach and coachee we both knew that this could be journey we would take on together. I would be supporting her fully and helping her stay accountable in all that she set her goals – finding her way to success.

Juliette works in the city and is married and pregnant with her first child – a successful woman trying to find a new direction in her changing world.

With her husband relocating to another town, their whole life was facing upheaval, not just physically but mentally.

Juliette has always worked full time. She has always worked hard, partied hard and always made efforts to look her best in clothes.  About to embark on a new journey of motherhood and she wants to keep a sense of herself, keep her body healthy and a work life that she could possibly get back into again once the baby is old enough.

She’s really worried and concerned about life and being just a mum and a wife and, not knowing anybody in her new environment. She suffers with stress and anxiety and the thought of moving is making every thought in her mind seem like a jumble of worries she has lost sight of prioritising – something she is not accustomed to!

Juliette came to me during the time that she was in her early stages of pregnancy. It was a big surprise to her to find out that she had fallen pregnant. She’s been married for three years, and both, herself, and her partner work in very demanding positions of work in the city. Her husband being relocated to another town would mean that her career and her job would be for the time being be put on the back-burner.

This is something she needed to get her head around. She’s packing up the house, but stressing about everything. She’s unable get a perspective of her new life ahead of her looks. Instead, it’s negative thinking, which is turning into anxiety. She knows that this is detrimental to her health and her baby’s health, and she can’t think straight about what she needs to do to get organised and plan the all-important move and keep a good mind-set about her new life to be.

The move will be a huge lifestyle change for Juliette  – A new house to make a home, a new location, a new baby but she will have no work, it will be just her and the baby. All on top of having to try and find new friends.

It’s not unusual to feel lost and alone during such times, making coaching all the more important.  She had to find the skills to adapt, to this new way of living. The be resilient, to make new friends and, also be a mother to her newborn baby.

Where to begin? Breaking down massive change…

As with all my coaches we started looking at all the areas in Juliette’s life. Not just the career aspect, but we looked at her environment, her family connections, and any support she could draw on and also, her relationship with her husband.

Before JJ and I met. I asked her to complete a welcome pack. Where she was able to express how she preferred to be coached.  A bit about her background, her current lifestyle, and where she may want to put her focus in her coaching.

Let’s begin… Starting our first sessions together

We commenced with exploring Juliette’s life and what was right in front of her.  We used a wheel of life (pictured) to identify the balances and imbalances in her life by marking on a scale of 1 to 10 her level of satisfaction in each area.

This enabled us to see we needed to bring our focus to.  What were the things that really worried her, that are important and which worries weren’t quite as pressing.  This helped us put things in order of priority in her mind, enabling us to hone in on where she wanted to bring focus to in her coaching.  The result? Her goals were then clearer on what she wanted to achieve and how she wanted to live her life.

From empowered, creative woman to the role of being a supportive wife and mother, while putting her career on hold – whether this was until further notice or until she felt it was the right time to go back to work. Along with the move this was causing Juliette a huge amount of stress and anxiety.  We identified, during the earlier sessions, how she could be more supported during her transition she desperately needed the guidance of coaching to maintain her mental health and enjoy her time being pregnant, all whilst making the transition as smooth as possible.

We looked at ways and techniques to keep her on top of negative thoughts. Using tools such as affirmations and breathing techniques specific to calming the mind. Some meditation techniques were also offered, and she was starting to look into starting hypnobirthing. Classes before she moves.

Juliette was then inspired to try yoga with me. The following week we began with very light stretching, lots of breathing techniques and mindfulness. A toolkit she can keep with her to help her become more focused and present. We drew in a lot on gratitude, about letting things go, helping her be in a position of moving on. This led to a sense of loss, a loss of her old life helping with the period of change and moving on, this meant there could be a period of grieving when she arrived in her new home.  I wanted to empower her and strengthen her mindset to positive thinking so it would help her feel capable and resilient to take on this new chapter.

Focus brings clarity

After a few yoga and coaching sessions Juliette started to feel more focused from the breath and balance poses and overall starting to feel more in control. The yoga alongside coaching made the transitions, easier to understand and move through and gave her the mindfulness to take a step back, breathe and realise what was important to worry about and what was not.  This helped Juliette feel ready to start putting some goals into place.

We worked on these goals and strategies, on how she could make this transition easier.  What support she needed and could find around her.

Juliette continues her journey, finding peace in her upheaval while taking control of her goals and new life.

Coaching is a multifaceted journey.  From finding the right coach that gets you, to breaking down barriers, accountability to make those changes and seeing success – all while being supported and cheered on by someone like me!

Is coaching right for you?  I believe everyone can benefit from coaching, there are so many types from mental health, wellness and business coaching to fitness and everything in between.

But, at it’s core all coaching follows these basic structure:

• Identified personal strengths. Unlocked self-limiting beliefs
• Built confidence to start up a support network in her new environment
• Implementing self- care rituals and yoga to support her body and mind
• Successes attained from small goals to bigger life changing adjustments

My female-focused coaching is a trusted and supported way of goal setting, planning, prioritising, and tweaking behaviours. I can help you accomplish this through creating a well life vision/plan along with continual encouragement and accountability – all these steps will lead you to the things that are truly important in your life.

Depending on your goals, I offer individual, 6 or 12 sessions and I offer three wellness programmes covering;

• Stress & Anxiety Management
• Body Weight/Balance
• Post-natal, Menopausal and life change adjustments

If you’d like to find out more or if you’d like a chat, schedule yourself for a FREE discovery call.