You Know What's Best For You

The other week, I hit a wall.

Looking back, it was a combination of many things that led to that moment. It was unrealistic goals at work, it was the start of the holiday season and already feeling like I was behind, it was family drama, and it was staying up too late and waking up too early. All things that I know contribute to my own burnout, but all things that I didn’t recognize were happening because I never gave myself a moment to stop. To pause and check-in with how I was feeling. To know that it was too much and that I needed to let some things go.

That moment didn’t come until I was sitting down with my midwife, complaining of a few “pregnancy symptoms”. But instead of tests or medicine or anything else, she prescribed a day off. She told me to go home, and while I had childcare, cancel my appointments, turn off my email, leave the laundry, and just rest.

Tears filled my eyes and I knew if I didn’t say something in that moment, I was going to completely break down. Which is fine, of course. If there was ever a space for tears, it was there. But I thanked her, 100% agreed with her, and went home and did just what she recommended.

I got something to eat. I spent a few minutes canceling the rest of the day’s appointments and responding to anything that was urgent, and then I slept. Later, when I felt more rested, I journaled because I was curious.

Being Curious

I was curious about why I needed someone to give me permission to do what I knew in my gut I needed. I was curious about why it was easier to explain to those closest to me that I needed a day of rest when I could justify it by saying that it was a professional’s recommendation.

Aren’t I the professional when it comes to me and what I need? Hadn’t I known deep down that I was anxious about these last couple months of pregnancy, that I was pushing myself to do more, that I was letting other people’s drama get to me and my mental health?

I knew all of those things, and yet, I needed someone else to shine a light on what I already knew. Someone else to validate my assumptions and to encourage me to do what I know how to do best - take care of me.

Many of my clients say the same thing about our work together. They say that deep down, they know much of what we work on. But they’ve gotten out of the habit of following their gut instinct, of listening to that inner voice, of trusting that they know what’s best for them.

For other clients, they’ve heard that inner voice and started listening to their gut that tells them they need to simplify their life, or to slow down, but they don’t know what that actually means or how to make that happen in their own day-to-day life.

That is the work that I do as a life coach.

If you’re unsure of what your gut is telling you, I help you shine a light on that inner voice. Through questions, writing prompts, and some guided exercises, you can learn to listen and trust that you know best for you. Only you know truly what you need in your life. I just help you see what that is.

And if you’ve got an inclination of what it is that you need, but you don’t know how to make that happen, I can provide you with tools, resources, ideas and tactics to experiment with until you find what works best for you. Life change is about experimentation - that part is up to you. But I can give you the experiments to try and eliminate some of the guesswork.

An Outside Perspective

With so much noise, and so much busyness happening in our lives, it’s hard to slow down and figure out what it is that you need. For many of you, myself included, you need an outside voice, an outside perspective to help you figure that out. To give you permission to do the work to change and improve your life. To help you create a plan for how you’re going to get there.

If you don’t have that person in your life, what are you waiting for? If you’re not giving yourself permission to do the work that you need to do to live a happier life, then find someone who can.

A Strategy Session

If you’d like to learn more about coaching, about how I can help you create a plan for the change that you need, I would love to talk with you. No pressure, no pitching. I like to call it a strategy call. You bring me one issue, one thing that’s been on your mind, one thing that you’d like to change, and we work through it. Simple as that.

Contact me at katelyn@themothernurture.com and let’s shine a light on that inner voice. I’m giving you permission to do what you need most right now.