Life with Purpose January 2025 Newsletter

Hi,

Welcome to all my new and existing subscribers. Thank you for joining me.

2025 is well underway, the Christmas decorations are (probably) back in the loft, and I am feeling……like I’ve eaten too much and moved too little. In years gone past, I used to worry about the weight that would set up home around my midriff like a Christmas indulgence life belt, but now I know I can shift it if I really want to, so why worry about that third (fourth) mince pie.

Well, I worry because I, like many before me, have set resolutions to be more active, eat less sugar, etc etc. and I, like many, have fallen off the wagon. Sometimes a month or two in, sometimes a few weeks, mostly a few days. Why is that?

A recent Forbes survey states that New Year’s resolutions fail 90% of the time. Wow.

But its not just New Year’s Resolutions (love them or hate them).

How many times have you said you’re going to:

• get fit
• clear out that cupboard
• spend more time with the family
• stop smoking, drinking, eating crap
• learn a new language, Tibetan throat singing, how to paint
• start something and dropped out, or never even started something you said you wanted to do
• change your car, job, house, hairstyle, partner, life!

Identifying what you want to change can be (relatively) easy, but what about thinking about how you’re going to make it happen and what you’re willing to change to get there?

As humans, we are great at overestimating our ability to achieve goals and underestimate the obstacles in the road – grit, determination and willpower will only get you so far. When that runs out, what happens? Resolution fail!

Maybe you have a goal to live a more purposeful life in 2025. You’ve got the drive and the determination, but those obstacles are throwing you off course. Have you thought about bringing a coach on board? Someone to support you and help you navigate and blast through those obstacles?

If you’re ready to pursue a life of purpose in 2025, then why not book in for a free chat to talk through your goals for a purposeful life in 2025 and explore how you can get there.

This month I have mostly been....

...passing my coaching accreditation assessment with the International Authority for Professional Coaching and Mentoring. I am now a Practitioner Coach. I am chuffed!

Coaching isn’t a regulated industry, which means anyone can call themselves a coach without being accredited. There are some fantastic coaches out there, who haven’t gone through the accreditation process, so why did I put myself through it? Especially when assessments tap straight into my ‘am I good enough?’ baggage!

Rationally, I know I don’t need to be externally validated to know whether I am a good coach or not – my clients tell me I’m good at what I do. But what if you’re looking for a coach?

Accreditation tells you that I have been independently assessed by some of the best coaches in the industry and they have assessed me as meeting the grade. This includes my skills as a coach but also following professional standards and a code of conduct.

It’s important to me that existing and potential clients know that I am serious about coaching and that I provide the best possible support I can to anyone who wants to work with me. So that’s why I put myself through it :o)

Life with Purpose Podcast

In this month's podcast episode, Angeline Hennessy-Thompson is my wonderful guest. Angeline is a psychotherapist in the UK with a background in the NHS, hospices and counselling services.

She's also host of her own successful podcast - Happiness Health Relationships Podcast.

In this episode, we talk about Angeline's journey to purpose - from the candle factory to psychotherapy, via the chippy!

We explore her transformative journey, including the challenges she’s faced and how adopting the Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine - stress reduction, exercise, nutrition, sleep, reducing addictive substances, and fostering healthy relationships - helped her reclaim her health and happiness. Angeline provides practical tips on taking small, manageable steps toward a more balanced and purposeful life.

The Book Club

Every month I share a book recommendation, loosely based on helping you to find life with purpose. I say loosely, because sometimes I'll chuck in something that is just a darn good read!

Got a book recommendation for The Book Club?

Click Contact below and let me know.

I’ve chosen this month’s book because it’s one of those books I think anyone who seriously cares about their health should read.

And it ties in nicely with the 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine that I discussed with Angeline on this month's podcast.

Gabor Maté’s ‘When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress’ brings together his extensive clinical experience in medicine and palliative care and independent, scientific research to show that each of our bodies is telling us when enough is enough. And if we don’t listen to the first whispers that stress induces in our bodies, the message gets louder and louder until the body screams ‘no’ and makes us stop. If the body has got to the stage where it needs to scream at us to make us listen, it’s usually in the form of a serious disease.

Through compassion, warmth and empathy, Gabor Maté? explains the link between mind and body and the role stress and our emotions play in our health. He presents ways we can listen to our bodies and intervene, through the 'Seven A's of Healing' so that it doesn’t get to the severe illness stage, avoiding all the unpleasantness of ill health and disease to live happier and healthier lives. Hurrah!

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