Change of plan

What of your plans for 2020 have been changed, postponed or cancelled?

I don’t think any of us has made it through this year unscathed.  Whether it was something smaller like a family visit or bigger like a holiday or even a wedding, I think everyone I know has had their plans changed at some point this year.  You’ve spent days, weeks, months, maybe longer dreaming and creating an image of what was to come and then….gone.

For me, this week I should have been in Stratford-upon-Avon spending the week doing the One of Many Trainer’s Certification.  Deepening my existing knowledge, learning new skills on how to present the tools I use in my coaching from stage and, knowing what my time with the One of Many ladies is always like, having an utter blast doing it.  

Originally I had intended to spend this week sharing with you the insights and learnings I was getting from my training.  Now, clearly that wouldn’t be very interesting if the training isn’t actually happening!  But sitting down at the weekend to plan this week got me thinking.  What have I learnt from this process of having my plans changed this year?

1. You’ve got to let it go.  Not the dreams, hold on to them.  But the emotions, those you can let go of.  You might be upset or angry or frustrated or all at the same time.  It is absolutely ok to feel all of those things.  You can feel all of those things and allow them to move through you and pass.  This might involve putting on some loud music and having a stomp and a shout and a scream and a cry.  Or it could be going for a brisk walk.  Or finding a pebble on the beach and imagining pouring all the emotions into it then throwing it into the sea.  Whatever feels right to you.  Let it go.
2. Trust.  It can be challenging if an event has been part of your vision for the year or for life.  This training course has been part of my plans for me and for my business for some time so it is hard for it not to happen.  But one thing I’ve learned is that the vision I may have had in mind pretty much never works out precisely how I imagined it.  If this isn’t happening now, maybe my imaginings weren’t for now, they were for some time in the future.  Or maybe life has got an alternative version in store that is even better.  Having trust that life, the universe, God or whatever you might want to call it has got your back can make a huge difference.
3. What gives me some of the same?  In the Soulfire Conversation workshop last week, we did a visualisation of what joy looks like for us.  Imagining the ways in which we find joy and then looking for how to make that happen for us regularly.  Now at the moment, some of the things we want to do which we know will bring us joy can’t happen.  So if you can’t do that, what’s the alternative?  The question to keep asking yourself is, what was I going to get from this experience?  See if you can find the root of what you wanted.  So for example, if you’re missing out on a weekend away with friends.  What was I going to get from this?  Time away from work with my friends.  And what would I get from that?  Feeling connected to the people I love.  This is the root of what that holiday meant to you - connection.  So what can you do to give yourself that instead?  Zoom calls and socially distanced walks aren’t exactly the same as a weekend but connecting with people you love will still fill you up.
4. What else is possible?  So much.  So much is possible if we allow ourselves to be open to the opportunities.  This week being cancelled has pushed me to reconsider a lot of my plans for next year as well as just this week.  Having moved through steps 1 and 2, I can now move into that openness.  Instead of the training I had planned based on this course I’m considering different options, potential for collaboration and feeling that my plans may be different now but they can still feel exciting.  See the possibilities.  See the opportunities.  Ask yourself ‘what CAN I do?  What do I WANT?’  Then have some fun making it happen!

Working through all of this over the last couple of weeks is what led me to the Soulfire Experience.  This is my new group coaching programme starting next Tuesday 17th November.  It takes all the amazing tools and techniques that I was sharing in my Calm Amongst the Chaos programme earlier in the year and adds so much more.  More space.  More joy.  More me.  More you!

It will be 4 weeks to dive in to what is getting in the way of you living your life joyfully.  Finding calm amongst the chaos of life and also igniting your spark, finding more of what you want in every day.  Thriving not surviving, even through lockdown.

The investment is just ￡99 for the 4 weeks and the first 3 ladies to book will get a free Women’s Powertypes Profile and 45 minute debrief session with me included.  If you want to join me, message me for more details - DM via LinkedIn or email [email protected]