And just like that, It's nearly Christmas!
So, Dear Reader, you may have noticed a distinct lack of blog posts this year... sorry about that. 2024 has been a big year for a lot of reasons.
I have completed One of many's Coaching Certification, I have run the London Marathon, I have helped to completed separate go lives across 10 different sites in 6 countries on a mammoth project, I have left my job, I have got married, I have completed One of many's Trainer's Certification and I'm now working my way thorough other personal development courses while attempting to set up a business.
It's all been a bit full on since January so I made a conscious choice to let things hibernate if they weren't critically important. Blog posts was one of those things. Towards the end of 2023 I had started to find them more of a chore than an enjoyable outlet. I had given myself arbitrary targets to meet which served no purpose other than to beat myself up with if I didn't achieve them. So, I chose to let them go until such a time as I wanted to take them up again.
Now, almost exactly 12 months later after a very full on year which has made me feel like a proper grown-up, feels like a good time to restart these posts with reflections on how 2024 has been.
From January through to April, I was juggling coaching and training for my first marathon (and last, but more on that later) with a full time job that required me to travel around Europe. I was stressed with work, I was tired from running and I was desperately trying to keep it all together for my coaching clients so that they could get a good outcome and I could pass my exams. At the end of April, I had finished my coaching and passed all my exams to get certified, completed the first go live of our major project at work and run the London Marathon. I was tired, but not totally exhausted. The marathon felt like the closing of a chapter of busyness which had been sustainable only because I had planned it to be short term. When I reached the finish line I was elated to have finished and knew absolutely that I had zero intention to ever run a marathon again. My family joked with me that I would change my mind, but no. No part of me from that time to now has had any intention of running a marathon again, that chapter is firmly closed.
Having finished the marathon, Coach Cert and the first project go-live, I took a break. I went on holiday and spent a blissful week wandering around Brussels, eating frites and ice cream and looking forward to the rest of the year. The hard part was over. Or so I thought.
April to June was taken up exclusively with work, more go lives, more changes, more travel and while I no longer had to juggle a full time job with coaching and running, it was still intense. I managed my energy as best I could and listened to colleagues who were also struggling under the pressure of the project. We pulled together and kept each other going, but I was feeling a familiar sense of frustration and disconnect. "This isn't what I'm meant to be doing with my life".
In June the ringing in my ears got ever louder, it was shouting at my to sign up for the next certification after coach cert. Starting in September, Trainer's Certification seemed not only like the logical next step, but something I could really sink my teeth into to create the next stage of my career. I wanted to stop doing the doing and start helping other people get out of their ruts, take bold action and have the courage to try something new. So I signed up, and a couple of weeks later, I handed in my notice at work.
This was the first time in my life that I had ever resigned from a job without having something lined up to go to and yet it felt like the exact right thing to do at that point in time. I had worked for years to build myself to a point of stopping and reflecting.
July to October were taken up with more go lives and the project winding down and changing focus. Now that the sites were live, it was time to create improvements. With Trainer's Cert calls starting in September, I had something to keep me focused in my final few weeks before leaving the project and my job. I was enjoying the feeling of being at virtual drama school and was excited for what was next. At the end of September I said a cheerful goodbye to my colleagues and left on my sabbatical.
I'm calling it a sabbatical, I am wilfully unemployed presently, paying myself from my savings each month, to me it's my sabbatical. The start of October was spent finalising coursework before I went away.
Oh yeah, you know I causally dropped in at the beginning of this post that I got married this year? Well, back in May we finally booked flights to visit my sister in New Zealand in October. We also decided to elope while we were there. We had the best wedding ever, just the two of us, my sister and her partner as our witnesses and the celebrant. We were married in the space of half an hour, took loads of pictures, had lots of hugs and then went to a near by beach for ice cream. Low key, simple and absolutely perfect. My favourite wedding I have ever been to and our families, who had been told that we were eloping before we went, were ecstatic for us. Getting married and honeymooning in New Zealand all for the cost of a relatively small family wedding, lovely.
When we got back in November, I had a week to get over the jet lag before the Trainer's Cert intensive started (coming back from 25 degrees Celsius and sunshine until 8:30pm to 5 degrees, raining and sunset at 4 pm was a shock to the system). The intensive was one of the most fun weeks I have ever had, extremely tough with so much to remember and practise but so much support, laughter, dancing and joy that all of us who attended the training created a wonderful bond where we all wanted each other to succeed. Truly a wonderful experience.
And as I write this now, having passed my practical exam and wating for my written exam result and signing the licence to become certified, I am struck by the amount that I have done this year and the excitement I have for what's next. I have had the honour and the privilege of working with brilliant people, travelling and experiencing amazing things and giving myself space to relax which I realise not everyone has the ability or resources to do.
2024 has been a fruitful year for me and I am excited about what 2025 has in store. I am going to dabble with self-employment, continue my personal growth and hope to hold space for others to grow too.
And as for you Dear Reader, I hope you join me for the ride. I wish you success, happiness and abundance. Until next time x