Originally posted 2 December 2016.
Gosh! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Feels good to be back…
So, the other day I had a Skype coaching session with Johanna Rossi. Johanna is a Holistic Health Coach and the creative force behind @raising_women. She had run a competition in collaboration with Jenny @mamazou85, that my lovely friend Sunita (@luckythingsblog) happened to enter me into, and, whaddayaknow? My stars aligned and I won! I bagged myself a load of Johanna’s lovely mama merch (that’s me modelling the tee up there) and a coaching session. And, boy! did it come at the right time for me.
I have basically been working flat-out for the past couple of weeks, trying not to be the world’s worst wife/mother and trying to keep up with Instagram (priorities, innit?) The blog has been neglected, although I do have a number of half-written posts sitting at ‘draft’ *sigh*, my skin has regressed to spotty teenager era and I look like I have taken an upper cut, hard, just below both eyes. I have felt like crap and my body is slowly shutting down – one joint at a time. I’ve been running on empty, plus a fair amount of sweet chilli flavour Walker’s Sensations, and haven’t had time to think, let alone think about me. I have been in need of a slap in the face and a firm shake, but The Photographer has not felt qualified to administer said treatment (probably best, eh?).
Anyway, I couldn’t quite believe that I was setting myself up in a quiet space and waiting for Johanna to Skype me. She did and it was wonderful.
“I believe that every woman deserves a chance to become the best version of herself and live the best version of life in her own unique way. My mission is to help mothers strike a healthy balance between raising babies and raising their woman within” – Johanna Rossi
During the session, Johanna referred to me as ‘creative’. I very nearly spat my tea out (but didn’t as Johanna could see me and that would be awkward). What the hell did she mean?! Excuse me, but I’m not a creative! I don’t shout ideas out in brainstorming sessions. I am more reflective. I need time. I don’t work in PR. I don’t run my own marketing agency out of my back room. I don’t make a living out of advising people on what to wear or how to decorate their homes. I’m just little, old me. A wannabe writer, with a billion ideas on what I want to do with my life; ideas that are constantly evolving and, yet, never quite good enough to execute. I’m just someone who often feels slightly overwhelmed, having so much going on in my head yet very rarely feeling like I have scratched the surface of any of it. I’m just someone who feels that I have so much that I need to do and so little time in which to do it. I’m just someone who is, at times, so passionate about an idea that I can run it through in my head to such an extent that it becomes real, before I’ve even told anyone else about it, let alone started working on it. Then I get bored/talk myself out of it and move onto the next idea. Gosh! This creative life can be a very frustrating existence!
So, now I’m a creative.
Johanna also intimated that I was organised. Yet another *choke* moment. Me? Organised? Me, who is either just about on time or late to everything? Me, who uses a diary, google calendar, a note pad, a wall calendar and my phone to store important dates, but doesn’t put all the dates in each place so often misses things even though I have made a note of them…somewhere? Nah! Was this a recording that I was watching, carefully timed to account for the space I would need to respond to questions that weren’t really being asked? Like those super annoying recorded message telephone calls you sometimes get for PPI or no-win-no-fee accident claims (“hello…I’m calling to talk to you about the PPI that you have yet to claim…you may have contacted us-“ *slams phone down*). But, I digress.
So, now I’m creative and organised! These are two adjectives that I would never have used to describe myself. I mean, I know that I can be creative and organised when I need to be, but that’s different to actually being creative and organised as a default position. This was some perspective-changing, mind-blowing shiznit!
What Johanna gave me was the virtual slap and shake that I needed. She made me think about what I really want for my life and allowed me the time and space to vocalise some of the things that I have been thinking to an objective and impartial ear. She had no axe to grind; nor did she owe me anything. To be fair, The Photographer has been brilliant at offering me an ear and advice, but there’s something about getting feedback from a loved one that makes you doubt it’s honesty and objectivity. The well-you-have-to-say-that shrug breaks in and attaches itself to your shoulders and, once that’s through the door, it holds it open for self-doubt and the dreaded “but”…
At this point, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking, “Cee, I’m totally happy for you and all that, and this is all well and good, but what’s in this for me?” Well, here are a couple of things that Johanna said that I really wanted to share with you all.
Accept where you are in order to build a bridge to where you want to be (or it’s all very well being aspirational, but what is your current reality?)
With clarity comes the confidence to move forward in doing what you want to do (or if you don’t know exactly what you want to do, you’ll never be able to get it. It’s kind of like walking into a supermarket without a shopping list. You always walk out without the one thing that you went in there for!)
It may seem a bit ‘no sh*t, Sherlock’, but these statements really resonated with me. I’m hoping they resonate with at least one other person reading this too.
One of the best things about the session was that Johanna didn’t come across as all-knowing, but as friendly, honest and real. She is a woman with a passion for empowering other women as well as being great at listening, asking questions and writing stuff down. She’s doing fantastic things for other women, yes indeed. But, she is also that mother dealing with a child who hasn’t slept through the night and that wife dealing with telephone calls from a husband who just needs to ask one more thing. For me, this made the experience even better.
We’ve all got stuff we’re dealing with, but the important thing is not to let that stuff consume us to the extent that we lose ourselves and forget how great we are.
What do you do to remind yourself how great you are? And how do you keep your eyes on your prize? I’d love to know.
Cee x
PS. Finally managed to get The Photographer to take some photos of me! Massive mwah for the gorgeous captures
#raisingwomen is a girl gang of like-minded women sharing their stories of navigating motherhood and solving the mystery of becoming their authentic selves. It’s a sisterhood based on connection, support and a hunger to fulfil their potential and live their fullest lives possible.
If you’re not already following Raising Women on Instagram, why not?. Johanna’s feed is not only incredibly calming, but so motivational. Check out her website too: http://raising-women.com/ where you can read the inspiring stories of some of the mamas she has worked with, including Natasha Bailie (The Milk Stand) and Steph Douglas (Don’t Buy Her Flowers), and also access her podcasts (which are totally the way forward, btw). While you’re there, you might want to have a look at some of the merch in her shop…soz #enabler
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