In today’s post, I’ll share some tips to help you start creating a life that feels authentic and fulfilling if you’re feeling unfulfilled and like you aren’t on track to live the meaningful life you really want. If you know something is missing and has to change but don’t know where to start, I’ll be sharing some tips to help. (Click to watch the video, or scroll down if you’d prefer to read.)

(Click here to watch if you can’t see the video above)

Take stock & get clear on what you want

When things feel unfulfilling – or when you feel something important is missing – it can feel like you need big changes for things to feel more aligned. Unsurprisingly, this can make the idea of moving forwards feel stressful and overwhelming. It can also keep you stuck.

Rather than making changes right away, I believe taking stock and getting clear on what you really want, are key first steps to moving towards a life you love.

Having clarity on what you really want helps guide you and makes moving forwards feel much easier – and what felt overwhelming can feel more achievable.

Figure things out one step at a time 

There’s a lot of buzz around finding your passion or purpose, which can create pressure if you feel like you haven’t found yours. But I believe fulfilment doesn’t have to be tied to a big revelation like finding your passion – and it certainly doesn’t have to be in one step.

Instead, you can figure things out and change things one step at a time, and it can be more of a gradual and organic journey, with the path emerging as you start moving forwards. That path will shift and change as you do too.

Your journey, your pace, your path

I don’t think there’s a single, ultimate answer to what makes us feel fulfilled. Instead, I believe you can add and weave fulfilment into your life piece by piece – step by step – figuring things out as you go, at the pace that works for you.

Maybe you ultimately will decide to make big changes, but it doesn’t have to be that way – and in the end, you get to decide what to change or not – and when. There are no right or wrong answers.

I see this when I work with people as a coach – everyone has their unique path forwards, based on their circumstances and what works best for them.

So, I encourage you to embrace your journey to fulfilment as one that starts with taking stock and getting clear on what you want – with an emerging path that will evolve with you.

An exercise to help you get started

For your first step forwards, I encourage you to take a moment to start taking stock of how things are for you in different areas of your life right now.

• What feels like it’s working well?
• On the other side, where do you feel unfulfilled and like something is missing?

I encourage you to put some time aside to think about this in detail.

To sum up

I believe we can all create a life that feels more fulfilling. When it comes to making changes, there’s no wrong or right when it comes to the shape or pace of that, and I believe your path forwards will emerge and evolve with you as you start moving forwards.

If you’re feeling stuck with how to get started, for your first steps forwards, I encourage you to start taking stock and thinking about what you really want.

If what I talked about today resonated, I’d love to hear your comments and what your takeaway is!

Today’s post is about my own journey towards fulfilment, and why I’m passionate about helping people who feel unfulfilled and disconnected. I also share a simple first step to help you take your first step forwards if you want to start creating a more fulfilling life but aren’t sure where to start. (Click to watch the video, or scroll down if you’d prefer to read.)

(Click here to watch if you can’t see the video above)

My journey

I fully believe we can all create a life that feels authentic and fulfilling to us. I’m passionate about supporting women who feel disconnected, unfulfilled, and like they’re not on track to live the meaningful life they really want because I’ve been there myself.

My own journey to finding a path that feels fulfilling and right for me included twists and turns. From initially studying history, to working in academic publishing, and then teaching in Japan, I went on to retrain and work as a graphic designer.

But with each change, a part of me felt lost and like something important was missing – but I didn’t know how to change that.

Have you ever felt that way? That despite everything you’ve experienced and achieved that something important feels like it’s missing? That sense that there’s a mismatch between where you are and where your heart really wants to be? If this resonates with you, I completely understand.

If I could find my path so can you

In the end, my journey to clarity and getting in tune with what I really wanted took a lot of soul-searching, but I finally found my way to becoming a transformational coach and a life I love where I feel I’m being authentically me.

If you’re feeling similarly lost or uncertain, I want to tell you there’s a way forwards – and if I could find my path so can you. As a coach, that’s why I’m now passionate about helping other women get clear on what they really want, and move past their doubts and fears, so they can feel confident about their next steps and create a life that makes their heart sing – which feels authentic, fulfilling, and aligned to what they want.

How to get started if you’re feeling stuck

If you’re feeling unfulfilled, and want to make changes so things feel more aligned and fulfilling to you, I believe a solid first step towards that is to take stock – especially if you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed about where to start.

As a starting point, taking one step at a time can also make things feel much more manageable than trying to figure out or take a big leap at once.

An exercise to help you start taking stock

For a simple first step to get you started with taking stock, do this simple exercise:

To sum up

If you feel unfulfilled, disconnected and like you aren’t on track to live the life you really want, you aren’t alone in those feelings. I really believe we can all create a life that makes our heart sing, which feels meaningful and aligned to what we want.

If you are thinking about changing things, but aren’t sure where to start, I encourage you to take some time to take stock as a first step.

If what I talked about today resonated, I’d love to hear your comments and what your takeaway is!

I was flying out of London recently and saw this beautiful view from the plane as we were leaving the UK. I’ve never seen the coast from that angle – and the sea, rivers, and light looked absolutely gorgeous!

It made me think about perspective and how the same thing can look very different depending on how we see and look at it – and how seeing something in a new light can make all the difference.

A fresh perspective

Could a different perspective help?

If there’s a situation or a problem that you’ve been feeling stuck with, maybe taking a moment to pause, reflect, and consider it from a new angle could be the key to finding a breakthrough.

– What’s something in your life that a different perspective could help with today?

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I have a little Totoro figure on my desk, next to my laptop, which I catch glimpses of during the day as I work. He has his arms out as if he’s embracing life and whatever is in store for him today.

It always makes me smile when I notice him sitting with me on my desk – and it gives me a little boost of happiness and energy. The things in my space and around me have an impact on how I feel, so I try to be mindful of what I keep around me – and add some things that brighten up my day!

Little things can make a big difference

Having things around us that inspire and uplift us can make all the difference. Whether it’s in our workspace or more generally at home, what’s around us can influence our mood, motivation, and productivity. The things around us can drain our energy or help us feel more motivated; that’s why it’s important to be intentional about our environment and what we choose to keep around us.

What works best for you?

Even little things in our space can impact how we feel. I encourage you to take a moment now to reflect on your own space:

– What do you have around you every day that inspires or uplifts you?
– And what could you change or add to make your space feel more inspiring to you?

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I came across these beautiful hydrangeas on my way to the supermarket recently. I’ve been past the plant plenty of times before, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in bloom. (I hadn’t even realised that it was a hydrangea plant, and had no idea that it bloomed so beautifully in the summer.)

I always feel like it’s a treat when I discover something beautiful or surprising in the middle of a regular, day-to-day activity. There’s something about coming across something unexpectedly that makes it feel more special. Can you think of something you’ve discovered that way?

One of the best things about summer for me is seeing plants and flowers in full bloom, so stumbling on something beautiful always brightens up my day. Now that I know the hydrangea plant is there, I’ll know to look out for it again next summer!

– What’s something you love about summer that you’d like to appreciate today?
– And what would you like to make more time to enjoy this summer as we move towards August?

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I’ve always felt drawn to the power and beauty of the sea. There aren’t many things I love more than watching and listening to the movement and sound of the waves. When I have the chance, I love going to the beach in Hove, which is one of my favourite places in the UK.

Last month, I went back for the first time in a few years, and luckily it turned out to be a gorgeous, warm day with the sun shining brightly. I felt completely recharged after spending the afternoon in the sunshine next to the waves. This is a picture I took there that day:

Going to the sea is something I always want to do, but I feel like I don’t make as much time to go as I’d like to. Things can feel busy for all of us sometimes, but it can make all the difference to make time for the things we love that recharge us.

We all have simpler things that recharge us, which we can easily fit into everyday life, and other things that take a bit more planning.

What’s something you love that recharges you?
And what’s something that recharges you that you’d like to make more time for?

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I was visiting Strawberry Hill House recently, and the house is beautiful and quirky. When it was built in the 18th century, I feel like Horace Walpole unapologetically infused it with his personality.

It made me think about our willingness to be different and express ourselves – and how we all have times when we feel pulled to hide who we are in order to fit in, or be more of what we think we ‘should’ be.

We also all have areas and spaces where we feel more comfortable expressing ourselves authentically, and others where we find it harder to do that.

Which parts of your life do you feel you express yourself most authentically? And which areas in your life would you like to express and embody more of who you are / how you really feel?

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Today’s post is about my experience sorting through some old boxes I’ve had for years – and how it wasn’t quite what I’d expected. I also talk about how time and distance can change our perspective on things. (Click to watch the video, or scroll down if you’d prefer to read.)

(Click here to watch if you can’t see the video above. Please note: This video’s introduction has my previous coaching focus – this has now changed to helping women create a life which feels fulfilling and aligned to what they want.)

The puzzle of old boxes

Earlier this month, I cleared out some old boxes I’d been hanging onto for years. They were boxes I knew I had to sort through eventually in the back of my mind, but it’s something I’ve put off doing for a while. I was putting it off because I knew it would take a while and because I thought that they didn’t have anything I needed in them.

I’ve moved around quite a lot over the years, and at some point, I stopped boxing things up and instead, started sorting through things and giving them away if I didn’t need them. So the idea of going through these older boxes, from a time when my instinct was to keep things just in case, made me feel a bit nervous.

Boxes filled with the past

When I started sorting through the boxes, one of them had a big pile of university notes from when I studied history. I haven’t needed or touched those notes at all in years. I remember how when I boxed them away a couple of years after graduating, I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them yet. But I had no issue letting go of them now.

I had a box with some extra souvenirs from when I lived in Japan too, which I also hadn’t been able to let go of when I first came back to the UK. At the time, even though I didn’t really have any use for them, they went into a box. But when I looked at them now, they didn’t carry the same sentimental charge for me anymore, and I was able to keep the things I wanted and give away the rest.

How time and distance can shift things

It made me think about how our feelings towards things shift over time. Sometimes we just need a bit of time to be able to see things more objectively. And sometimes we need to take that step backwards and create some distance when things feel overwhelming or too charged for us.

Can you think of a time having some distance or time from something shifted how it felt for you?

Discovering some unexpected surprises

I also found some gems in the boxes. Although I was convinced that those boxes didn’t have anything I needed, as I went through them, I found hidden treasures I loved and was excited to rediscover.

For example, I found a small wooden cat I bought in my first flat as a student. I found some treasures from Japan that I’d  completely forgotten about collecting too – and so many other little things that are precious to me.

In the end, the process of going through the boxes was surprisingly fun – and moving too. It was interesting to see the difference in how I felt about some of the objects, and exciting and surprising to unexpectedly find a bunch of things I did want to keep. It felt cathartic too and special to have the chance to reminisce and sort through things I’d put away so long ago that I’d forgotten about them.

I felt relieved knowing I’d finally sorted through everything too. I feel lighter knowing I don’t have those boxes sitting there anymore and that they’ve been sorted through. Now I also have the chance to appreciate and use the hidden gems I rediscovered.

How our expectations can be 2-D

The experience of sorting through the boxes made me think about how we often have an expectation of how something will be in our minds. What we imagine can be quite two-dimensional though, and the reality of how something is tends to be more complex and nuanced.

With the boxes, initially, all I had in my head was the dread of going through them, but the actual experience when I did it was a lot more rich and complex.

What’s something you’d like to do?

I’d like to leave you with one final thought. Is there something you’ve been putting off doing, or sorting through, that you’d like to finally tackle too? If so, maybe there are some surprises in store for you as well.

If what I talked about today resonated, I’d love to hear your comments and what your takeaway is. 

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Can you think of something you’ve been wanting to do this year, that you’d like to make more time for, but haven’t gotten round to yet?

In today’s post, I share some simple steps you can follow to help you focus more time on things that are important to you, so you can be more intentional with your time – and finally start ticking some extra things off your to-do list. (Click to watch the video, or scroll down if you’d prefer to read.)

(Click here to watch if you can’t see the video above. Please note: This video’s introduction has my previous coaching focus – this has now changed to helping women create a life which feels fulfilling and aligned to what they want.)

What would you like to spend more time on?

We’re in the second half of the year now, and I was thinking about how it’s felt like this year has been flying by so far for me.

I was thinking about how it’s easy to drift from one day to the next without even realising it sometimes, and how it can be easy to find ourselves not doing some of the things that we’d like to get done or focus on. For example, one thing I’ve been wanting to spend more time on this year, but haven’t so far, is studying Italian. 

Can you think of something you’ve been wanting to do this year that you’d like to make more time for or that you haven’t gotten round to yet? 

Follow this simple exercise to get started

If you want to be more intentional with your time, I have a simplified version of an exercise I do with people I work with, which has some steps you can follow yourself to help you with this:

1. First, think about what it is you’d like to spend more time on, and what feels like a realistic and achievable amount to commit to, based on your current priorities.

2. Next, think about when it makes sense to fit time for that in based on your current schedule. Then, schedule in a time you’d like to commit to making a start on that. (I recommend initially starting with something small that feels easy to fit into your current schedule.)

3. After a few days or a week or so, set a time to review how things are going. Think about how you feel about how you’re getting on so far, and whether your system is working. Then make any adjustments you need. If carving out time for what you’ve chosen is important to you, keep revisiting this step until you’re happy with how much time you’re spending on it.

Also, if you find that you’re still not making time to do what you’ve chosen to do at all, think about what’s gotten in the way so far, and what you can try next time. You can also revisit whether the amount and time frame  you initially chose is manageable.

If you tend to do well with accountability, a bonus tip is that you can ask someone you know to help you with accountability.

Make a plan that works for you

The main thing is to brainstorm and flesh out a plan that feels achievable and realistic to you. You’re more likely to be able to get started with something that fits into the rhythm of your current routine. Also, when we get going with things, they eventually become a part of our routine and doing them starts to feel natural, as we create a habit.

To sum up, if there’s something you’d like to focus more of your time on, making a commitment to spend more time on it, and fleshing out a simple plan, is an easy way to get started with it.

If what I talked about today resonated, I’d love to hear your comments and what your takeaway is. 

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