It’s the beginning of spring- from now on the days get longer; we have more energy and this is a great time to commit to growth and enriching our lives.
When I ask my clients to complete the wheel of life, the most challenging area is often personal development. Often when we have children this goes out the window. We may keep up to date with development at work or jump through some hoops to get through our annual appraisal but in terms of our own personal growth often we do very little.
I was a total GEEK at school.
I loved learning and I loved reading.
I worked hard because I had two VERY clever brothers hot on my heels.
At uni studying for my English degree I devoured books like there was no tomorrow.
I went into teaching because I loved learning and I love helping others learn.
As a teacher, I always chose to learn. When I was first appointed I was asked to teach Media Studies to A level so had to work hard to acquire new knowledge and took a course at the local college. Throughout my career, I committed to learning: both subject knowledge and new pedagogy and this was an real source of joy for me- education has changed rapidly over the years and I have adapted to change with it.
In my 20s I took a teaching job in the south of Italy. I enrolled in the university and spent the mornings learning Italian, and the afternoons and evenings teaching English. I had the time of my life.
But when I returned from maternity leave with my 3rd child my learning stalled. Due to my part time status, I was no longer allowed to teach GCSE or A level. I still loved teaching but my need for learning and growth weren’t being met. I’d had a pregnancy, not a lobotomy and I felt my brain was going to implode.
Fortunately, I found coaching and this has opened up a whole new world of personal development, psychology and neuroscience. I’m devouring new learning in the way I did as a child.
Last year I joined the Toastmasters organisation, in order to develop my skills and confidence in public speaking. The Toastmasters curriculum is very structured; you are evaluated on every role you take- from grammarian, to speaker, to evaluator but the level of detail and quality of the feedback is far better than any appraisal I have ever received at work. Not only have I met a wonderful new group of people who have a similar level of commitment to personal development, I have learned a lot from the content and the delivery of their speeches and found a new world of learning there.
Over the last few years I have attended talks and seminars from others in the personal development and business worlds. Last year I attended Tony Robbins’ immersive four day seminar Unleash the Power Within– which was an incredible learning experience.
Throughout the last few years I have worked with coaches to help me grow in self- awareness and to help me grow my business. I also have coaching supervision, with a group of other coaches who support me in reflecting on my learning, as well as challenging me to grow and develop.
We are living at an incredibly exciting time when learning is freely available to us- from almost instant access to books, podcasts and You Tube videos for almost anything you can think of. I still read physical books but I’m incredibly grateful for Audible- when on the school run, folding laundry, preparing meals- I’m learning all the time.
When my clients come to me, they are ready to make a change. This change requires personal development: mindset work; learning about confidence, resilience or how to find a better work/life balance. Often this also involves a career change, starting a new business or stepping up to the next level at work. This is always about learning and development.
When we start to focus on what we want instead of what we don’t want, this is really powerful. When we learn, we grow. This builds confidence and motivation and is incredibly inspiring.
What learning are you ready to commit? What support will you need to make this happen?
If you have been feeling stuck and are ready to start making changes, book a free discovery call with me and I will help you work out what you really want and support you in taking action to get started.
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