Hello,
Hi, I’m Vicky. A former primary school teacher and accountant turned self-discovery life coach. I began my coaching career in the NHS working with patients who were struggling with their emotional wellbeing and feeling unhappy with their lives. The role further sparked my passion of helping others to identify their true-life path and find inner happiness, something that began whilst I was a teacher. Finding what really makes us who we are or want to be can seem a challenging step to take, especially when our belief systems are formed by the way society expects us to act and be. We also live in a world where there are a vast range of life choices we can now make, giving us endless opportunities that can seem overwhelming. However, when we feel supported and heard, it can make the journey a little easier.
I don’t claim to be the complete picture of how life should be. For me, life is about continuously growing and overcoming the next challenge we face. I have learnt during my own journey, that this can become easier to achieve when you have that inner happiness inside you and know what makes you who you are. I am still on that journey and I believe that is what makes my sessions feel honest and authentic.
Coaching is about your personal journey and how your life can change by taking back control and working towards your goals at a pace set by you.
My past story...
We all have a past and for many of us we unconsciously carry that around for a long time without even realising how it may be impacting on us from day to day. I was one of these people, and it has taken many years and a lot of learning about patience, acceptance and letting go to be able to move myself forward to where I am now. As mentioned above, that journey will always be ongoing because I truly believe life is one continuous lesson, encouraging us to evolve and grow.
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Over the last 20 years, I have overcome anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), unprocessed grief from childhood bereavement trauma, depression, negative thinking, a lack of trust, low self-worth, breast cancer, divorce and an emotional breakdown which occurred as a result of supporting a now ex-partner with their mental health with no assistance for myself. The journey has not been easy. When I look back, although things might not have felt great at the time and seemed impossible to overcome, I now see that each event has made me a stronger, more resilient person. They have shaped who I am today.
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During that time I also had a few career changes and to others around me it looked like I was never settled. I started as an accountant because I was good at Maths. Therefore, the obvious path back then was to follow the normal type of business role that required those skills. I quickly got bored and eventually took a leap of faith and followed my childhood dream of becoming a primary school teacher. I loved teaching yet I did not stay in roles for long because they either did not feel right or they were not inspiring/challenging me anymore.
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There was one point when I questioned if there was something wrong with me and whether I would I ever find a job that truly made me happy and want to stay. However, after going through my own self-discovery journey, I can accept each move was a step in a different direction leading me towards my authentic self. I went from teacher, to senior leader and even became a part-time lecturer for a while training new teachers before starting up my own business. I now see how each role was a lesson, teaching me something for the next step in my career. Through changing jobs, I got to learn what I was good at, what I really did not like doing, what was holding me back and best of all, discovered my true life purpose and passion. I have not looked back since. I now accept that a career may not be for life and instead it can be a way of learning new skills for the next part of our employment/life journey.
My present story...
If anyone had told me 20 years ago, I would be where I am now, I probably would have laughed. Back then I was focused on planning and achieving ‘life's dream model'; the one I had been brought up to believe in and what society also encourages us to aim for. I thought by the time I was in my forties, I would still be happily married, have children, be in senior career role with a salary to match, have my forever home that I owned and be sharing any travelling I did with the ones I loved. My life could not be further from that now.
Life currently has me working with clients whilst, at the same time, I dip in and out of travelling solo. I am fulfilling one of my life goals (just not in the way I had always pictured) and experiencing many magical places around the world. These experiences are helping me become more open to what the world is about and gain a better understanding of different cultures, philosophies and beliefs; enabling me to bring a much broader knowledge and understanding to my coaching sessions. I have not given up on some of those original dreams I mentioned above, but I now accept they will come when the time is right rather than trying to force them to happen in the present moment.
My trips have also helped me to become more spiritually grounded. Deep down, I’ve always been spiritual, but like many people I have met, I never felt comfortable sharing that part of me. I believe that happiness really does come from within and that we all have a soul purpose we are here to fulfil. In fact, it is now my passion and life goal to help others find theirs. It can just take a bit of time to identify and a willingness to be open to the path we are being guided towards.
Just like I have, many of my clients are now finding that by listening to their hearts and being brave enough to go for what feels right, everything does work out even if it is not quite as planned. It is ok to make mistakes, to fail, to feel vulnerable, to sit with uncertainty, and to redirect goals and plans. The only thing holding us back is our own negative thoughts, fears and belief systems that were either inherited from others around us or created unconsciously by ourselves in childhood to keep us safe.
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For me, finding my own life coach and going through my training really helped me work out what I wanted from my life. Tools such as Time Line Therapy and Hypnotherapy cleared emotional blockages and having someone else’s impartial support has helped me transform my negative belief systems into positive ones. The change has not been instant but as I’ve grown in confidence, valued myself more and learnt to become more patient and accept the flow of life, my world has evolved to become a happier place.
We truly are continuously evolving human beings and sometimes we just need that helping hand along the way. Having experienced the change myself and seen it within my clients, I want to help you find the same self-love, inner happiness, peace, purpose in life and ultimately, that reason to get up each day and smile.
