Happy Anniversary
Hello and Happy Anniversary to Catching Light Wellness! A year ago to the day I left my teaching career as a Deputy Head Teacher.
I didn’t hop, skip or jump out of the school gates the minute the day was done - I waited until everyone had left.
But seriously I was so ready to make the move - every sinew in my body was telling me it was time to move on.
Imposter Syndrome? I don’t believe there is such a thing: quite simply, this round peg just didn’t fit the very tight square hole that educational politics has become.
What was I going to do…
Write - but I needed to boost my paltry pension.
Become a professional dog walker? Nope - while I love my dog, and a few others, I don’t like all dogs, not gonna lie.
The over worn refrain was:
‘Oh you can always do supply teaching’.
Dubious, really, because I consciously left a profession which was sucking the joy out of me. While the idea initially appealed, within a few short weeks, I was feeling less and less inclined to even consider going back into schools. I still love being with young people but cannot abide the political agenda that has cast a doom and gloom over too much of what teachers are trying so hard to achieve.
My salary plummeted, winter was around the corner and as each day passed, turning into weeks, months and now a year, I have become stronger, more determined and definitely more ME!
So when the name Catching Light Wellness came to me in one of my catching light moments, I engaged the support of my daughters and created my website. I quickly ran into all sorts of minor issues, not least that ‘Wellness’ is mostly associated with the fitness and nutrition industry, and while I consider myself physically well and nutritionally sound I have no interest in pummelling my body to try to prove (to whom exactly?) that I know how to look after myself.
I tried that during lockdown which resulted in a torn cartilage in my left knee and a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder. I’m nearer 60 years old than 20 or 30 years old, so why punish this amazing body of mine to be something it isn’t?
I can walk for miles, I regularly swim and do Pilates, but sprints, ‘Body Combat’ classes or fancy gadgets telling me how hard to push myself (apart from my very basic Fitbit) - no thank you.
So here is a wee reminder of the WHO definition of Wellness:
World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (illness).” WHO defines wellness as “the optimal state of health of individuals and groups,” and wellness is expressed as “a positive approach to living.”27 Jan 2021
Catching Light Wellness continues to engage, enlighten, support and challenge both me and my clients for the better. I am leaning into my 30+ years of educational training, learning, development and achievements to support teachers, senior leaders in education and graduates with life and career coaching for change. And most recently, I have been asked to support families, where one or more members have a neurological condition, and this is affecting relationships.
I now introduce myself as Life and Career coach and each time, I feel taller, more proud and infinitely more grounded than I have ever been.
So Happy Anniversary Catching Light Wellness: I am excited, motivated and optimistic for the next 12 months.
If you are still uncertain whether coaching is right for you, it probably is!
**Special offer** 3 for 2 sessions concludes on Sunday 31st October at 4pm, so get in touch:
Email: details on website.
DM through Twitter
Message via Instagram or Facebook.
Have a phenomenal weekend. Stay well, get outside and shake your tail feathers.
In loving memory of one of our brightest stars: Sam Parsons 29.10.1986 - 29.05.2016
Commentaires