This is the first blog I’m writing from the comfort of our lovely new flat in Guildford. No more hustling on lunch breaks or paying for data - we finally got ourselves connected to the Internet after several miscommunications and mishaps (oh, the joys of moving).
And as lovely as it is to be back online (Netflix, how we’ve missed you) as I mentioned in a previous post, it was actually quite nice having an excuse to relax a little online…
I posted sporadically here and on social media, I even took a social media break over my birthday weekend, and just felt a lot more relaxed about things. I went to Spain with Dan for a quick break and spent an incredible day at Sas Petherick’s Write Yourself Home workshop.
All of this, as it turns out, was exactly what I needed.
Not only was the move pretty stressful, but things at work had begun to change.
For those of you who don’t know what I do besides hang out here, I work for a company that runs a network of online directories, where you can find mental health and wellness professionals - the best known website of theirs is Counselling Directory. Last year the company also launched Happiful, a monthly magazine devoted to mental health.
My role was ‘marketing communications team leader’. So basically I was heading up a small team to create website content, run their social media and contribute to Happiful. A pretty lovely job.
But, I was starting to get uncomfortable in my role towards the end of last year. I was getting so much pleasure from writing here and helping people, that I wanted to do more of that.
The idea of helping people in a more tangible way appealed to me and I wanted to see if what I was writing could translate into actual support for people. So I did some Googling and found a life coaching course that could teach me more. I also had a coaching session with Jen Carrington which just cemented everything I had going around in my head. I wanted to give this a go.
At work, the director sensed a shift in me and took me out for coffee. We had one of those really honest and lovely conversations when you’re not ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ but human to human, talking and sharing. I told her I was training to be a coach and that I wanted a new challenge.
I still wanted to write, and I still loved what the company was doing, so together we came up with some ideas of how I could nurture my own dreams and business alongside theirs.
After a couple of months figuring out logistics, job descriptions and what-not, I moved into my new role last week and am now a content producer focusing on self-care.
I will be responsible for spreading the message of self-care and how it can support mental health and wellness across all brands, including a regular section in Happiful magazine.
I’ll also be a bit more public facing (some of you may have seen I did an instagram live with Hope Virgo for Happiful during Eating Disorders Awareness Week) and will hopefully be looking to bring the message of self-care and self-love into the real world with events, talks and workshops down the line.
Alongside this, I’ll of course continue to write here and will be launching my coaching services soon! For this, my aim is to help people who struggle with self-belief, self-care and self-love.
If you want to be the first to find out about coaching with me and maybe even get a little free coaching (I need to practise guys!) Make sure you’re subscribed to my Blue Jay Monthly Musings.
In the future I see lots of bright and shiny things. Eventually I’ll make more space for coaching so it isn’t a weekend/evening only deal… I would love to launch a podcast… I have an idea for a creative book project… there’s a lot of things swimming around in my head.
But for now, I want to get settled in with my new role at work, get back into a blogging routine and start coaching some awesome humans. And I really hope that you guys will join me for the ride.
If there’s anything you want to chat to me about, whether it’s coaching, an article/event idea or something else self-care related, please drop me a line: [email protected].
And of course, now we have Internet and my head is feeling a little clearer, normal blogging service will resume! So expect new posts every Wednesday and Sunday, as usual.
OK, enough about me, what’s new in your life? Let me know in the comments what you’re currently working on or are excited about!
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