Personal
When I was young, I wanted to be a journalist. At one point in my life I became curious as why that was. It seemed a very lofty goal for a shy, introverted little girl. Today I know that what interested about that career was the opportunity to write and to learn about new things. Knowing more about myself today, a part of me also knows it was about being “seen” and valued. My inner critic has told me stories about myself that are completely untrue but I believed them for most of my life. What stories are you telling yourself? And how true are they, really?
Writing and learning have continued to always be big themes in my life. Writing is my “go to”, but I love swapping ideas with people, collaborating, and coming up with new ways to do things. It’s not only that I love learning, but also that I love to help others learn. It makes sense that for the past 15 years I have worked in the area of learning and development. First, in the corporate world as a Learning and Development Manager. And then in education, working with faculty as an Educational Developer. Now I am a coach too. It has blown my world open.
Not just in how I see myself, but also in all the tools and skills I have learned in being a coach and what I have seen those same tools and skills do for others.
My love of learning and growing extends to my role as a mother. I have two children, a son (age 10) and a daughter (age 8). I truly believe that some of my best learnings have come through my children. I find it interesting too that I chose one of the strongest and most confident people to be my partner in life. My relationship with my partner of 11 years has taught me about standing up for myself and my needs, the importance of communication, and the challenges of our ego. In many ways I have become more confidence and self-assured because of my partner.
As I learn more and watch others in their learning what I’ve come to believe is that the greatest gift we can give ourselves is the gift of awareness – being aware of ourselves, our thoughts, emotions and the resulting actions. We all have the ability to understand more about ourselves and what is important to us.
But sometimes we don’t have the time, or know how, to become more aware. As a result, we continue to fall into old habits, behaviours, and norms that are limiting us from being our best selves. We are disconnected from who we are. And by virtue of this we can be less connected to others.
If you would like to open up that gift of awareness, and you want to move forward towards your goals and who you really are, then it would be a privilege to be your partner in that learning process.