A Career & Confidence Coach Shares Tips on Finding Balance and Purpose
After a year into the pandemic, I can truly say I’m feeling EXHAUSTED - physically, mentally and emotionally. I have been having a hard time navigating work, my wedding - and let’s be honest - life in general.
In searching for some support, I found Kate, a Career and Confidence coach. She shares tips for finding balance, confidence and purpose. Read on for more!
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Recreative Coaching?
Yes, I’d love to! I’m Kate. I’m a British Career & Confidence Coach. I live in Manchester, in the North West of the UK with my husband Mike, our two boys Leo (3), Lenny (6 months) & not forgetting the gorgeous Dotty our Cockapoo! I have two passions in life; people & positivity & I know I was put on this earth to bring the two together. After over 10 years & a successful career in Sales & Account Management, I went in the pursuit of a more fulfilling life & thus Recreative Coaching was born. I know it sounds cliché but to me this is not a career but a calling. I believe every person has a right to confidence & to choose a career that they will thrive in & that will make them feel alive. At Recreative Coaching my Purpose is to empower YOU to Recreate your life your way.
2. How do you find balance during this time?
This is such a great question & something that lets be honest ALL of us have struggled with since the pandemic started. Personally for me I have felt so grateful to have had my boys & my business (two things I love & feel so very passionately about) but the two do come with some conflict at times. This is also one of the most common topics I get from my clients. A great exercise you can do to help regain balance when life feels a bit out of sync is to check in on your values & score how much in life you feel they are being honoured. Values are who we are at our core (not who we think we should be). Often if a value is being neglected, life can feel really out of sync. There are lots of great quizzes you can do online to establish what your values are ((https://personalvalu.es/ is a good one) or of course you could hire a coach to work with you on it! Once you know the value which is being compromised you can work to lean into it… a good example would be if you have a value around independence & that is being compromised you could journal around what independence means to you & then set 3 things you can do in the next week to honour “Independence" in your life
3. What are a few tips you would tell someone who is feeling burnt out and looking to define their purpose?
Some people go through their whole lives unaware of their purpose but we know when we are living on purpose we are being who we are when we are reaching our full potential. So its understandable that when we are not living on purpose life becomes a bit sticky & we can slip into feelings of burnout or overwhelm. Think of your Purpose as the North Star guiding you home to a rich & fulfilled life.
A journal prompt to start you off on the journey to discovering your purpose is: Imagine it is your 100th birthday. People are coming from far & wide to celebrate you… what is the impact you have had on all these people?
4. How can we reframe our minds and ditch the negative self talk?
This is a personal fave of mine… I just adore watching this shift happen in my clients! I mean life is tough enough at the moment without making it worse by being hard on ourselves. A lot of the time negative self-talk comes from the belief system we have created over the years & like our beliefs it sometimes needs a spotlight shining on it & challenging. I start by working with my clients on awareness of the language they use. I encourage them to practice speaking to themselves as if they are speaking to their inner child… A good example of this is the words better & best. If a child told you they needed to be “better” at something you would jump in with words of encouragement & tell them as long as they are doing their best then that is enough! Yet so often as adults we run the narrative of "I need to be a better Mum/boss/friend/cook"… The list goes on! If you are striving to be better then you are constantly trying to hit a moving target & that is very exhausting. If your goal is to be your best it’s a lot easier to get there & sit back & enjoy the good stuff! If you find this hard to do, dig out an old photo of you as a child & practice talking to her!
5. How would you encourage someone to navigate through this year's obstacles and find the happiness they deserve?
Honestly, this really is the most unusual, unchartered territory any of us have ever been through so its important to remember we are all feeling our way through the uncertainty & grieving the losses we have all experienced in the last year, so go easy on yourself. I have found my top tips to shift surviving into thriving are:
1) Put yourself first - I make time for myself every single day whether its a morning meditation, a long soak in the bath or taking Dotty for a quick spin on my own. I know putting myself first makes me show up as the best version of me with the people I love! I have a client that calls it being positively selfish & I love that!
2) Set boundaries- I have recently done a post on this over at @therecreativecoch but the 1st step is to become aware of your limitations. So many people that I work with are accepting of the burdens life throws at them. They don’t take the time to stop & look inwards at what their limitations are. Once you are aware of your limitations the boundaries will follow more easily!
3) Be Kind- Remember we are in a pandemic. If you feel you’re not meeting the expectations you have set on yourself or find yourself getting sucked down a comparison sink hole then take a step back, build in some time to meditate, move or rest (whatever works for you) & remember its ok to just make it through the day at the moment.
6. Is there anything else you want to share for those who need some inspiration during this time?
I have set up a the Recreative Community for like-minded women to come together, cheer each other on & just share stories about the trials & tribulations life is throwing at us! We have lots of uplifting discussion & I offer a monthly group coaching call to tackle different challenges we face… next month is all about Setting Boundaries! These calls are great if you are curious about coaching but not quite ready to take the plunge on a 1:1 basis. The group can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/869310160305257/
7. Anything you want my followers to know about you and Recreative Coaching?
Hopefully, I’ll see your followers over at @therecreativecoach for more life coaching tips & tricks but if anyone is curious about 1:1 coaching with me I offer a free 1 hour taster session. This allows you to experience my coaching first hand & discover more about what it would be like to work with me. If you are interested you can book at www.recreativecoaching.com