Alison felt she had lost her identity because she was no longer working due to ongoing ill-health, having previously held senior finance management roles, and her son was leaving home for university. This situation had also impacted her confidence, partly because she had not been to university herself, and because she wasn’t working, she didn’t know what to say when people asked what she did.
Alison says, “I didn’t feel I had much to offer to a conversation with others and I no longer knew who or what was ‘brand Ali’, which was also affecting my ability to make decisions and be true to myself.”
The initial breakthrough for Alison came as a result of the programme creating the time and opportunity to self-reflect, something that she had actively avoided before.
“The workshops were fun, thoughtful and thought-provoking. It felt a safe and non-judgemental space enabling me to speak openly with the other women on the workshops. As a result, I now find myself making time to stop and think.”
The programme helped Alison understand her values and what happens when you work with them or against them.
“It turned out that my driving values were in fact crippling the values I had aspired to! Now I no longer feel a failure for not going back to work full-time, and more importantly that this is okay. What I do work-wise doesn’t faze me anymore, it’s about what feels fulfilling.
Equally understanding my motivations and how we can fill our lives with things we don’t need have helped me declutter my head and my home. I find it much easier now to be able to talk to people, to be more genuine and not be fearful of being judged and introverted around new people.”
Identifying Alison’s values also supported the work we undertook on her inner critic, her procrastination and her ‘should’s and 'could’s to transform her confidence.
“The sessions have been like putting together the pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle – rebuilding the picture of myself – I continue to work on ‘brand Ali’, but I already have the inner confidence to not feel I have to explain myself to others, and I am making decisions that are in my best interest now. It’s great! I know this works because I’ve tried it. I know that I have changed and every day I am reminded when I interact with others. I feel it; it is a virtuous rewarding cycle.”
To find out more about how Lorna Thomas / Be The Best You In Business coaching and mentoring could support you to increase your confidence and grow your business with clarity, focus and control, book a call...
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