The freedom of unlocking your authentic self
In August 2024, I took my 8-year old craft/rainbow mad daughter to a mosaic making workshop. She was absolutely bursting to get started when she saw the treasure trove of colourful tiles. Within 20 minutes, she was cutting tiles, glue flying everywhere and racing to collect more tiles.
While she was gone, I glanced over at the next table. A group of "grown ups" had met for a fun afternoon of mosaic making…. except, there was no excitement or tile cutting at their table. We got talking, and one woman shared, she was making a number plate for her house, and she just could not put down the first tile.... what if it was the wrong colour, the wrong shape, what if it didn't work out. The adult table was frozen in fear…..
….meanwhile, my glue covered 8 year old had created 3 very eclectic mosaic designs with no plan, no fear and she was delighted with her work. On the car trip home, she asked me if the other table didn't have tile cutters that worked because they hadn’t made anything…….
This contrast will stick with me for a long time. When did we lose the ability to enjoy the moment, trust ourselves and take it all less seriously?
To me, this is not a sad story, there is hope. It starts with awareness. This child still lives within us all, we need to practice letting it out to play, trusting our gut and going with the flow. Coaching is an ideal support to unlock your authentic self.
…..and so, The Big Life Project was born.
Qualifying as a coach was exciting and daunting ....What now? In reality, I have been trained to coach anyone, through anything, so where do I start? There were so many people telling me what I should do, where the money can be made, and that it is likely it won't be a viable business..... Well none of that aligned with my beliefs. This is my chance to start a business and I am committed to enjoying the experience, failures and all.... so I respectfully ignored all the noise.
I decided to trust my experience and give myself space to observe and find my way. The first thing I noticed was the common thread between people who came to me for coaching. They were ready to go bigger in their life somewhere, and couldn’t figure out how, when, why or/and where. A mixture of curiosity, overwhelm and impatience showed up and created the perfect space for change.
They were ready for change and ready to embrace what “could” be possible. I learned that when we created a trusting partnership, they were willing to explore more playfully, practice quietening the pesky critic voices, think bigger, challenge “what ifs”, explore new perspectives.
The results were incredible - people were surprising themselves expressing goals and passions buried so deeply inside, they didn't even know they were there.
As adults, we have learned to “fit in”, suppress so much of our authentic selves and play it safe. The freedom of unlocking your authentic self is palpable. The Big Life Project is here to support every person who is ready to go bigger to move towards their biggest life, even just one baby step is incredible. I am here to cheer you on.
Do you feel ready to live more authentically? You can get started right away. The next time you find yourself using “Can’t” or “Should”....Pause, channel your inner rainbow child and try “Why not” or “Could”. I'd love to hear how it goes for you :)
Change your language and notice the shift in perspective. Instead of should, try could.
