At the end of last year, I started working with a client to support her with resolving challenges she was facing at work and how she was feeling about herself, life and her career in general. At the end of her 6-session programme she sent me this email. She has documented her experience in her own words. They are so powerful that I wanted to share it with you.

The power of reflection

“Dear Lucy,

I started the process feeling confused, unhappy, stressed, stuck in a rut that I didn’t know how to get out of. I also felt unhappy and frustrated with work. I knew that coaching was about helping me find clarity, answers and giving me a direction to move in. I remember thinking ‘that is just not possible, I don’t have the answers anywhere in my brain, my mind just doesn’t work like that and I’m not confident in my decision making – hopefully Lucy will just tell me what I should do’. My biggest fear at the start of the six sessions was getting to the end and feeling no clearer or happier.

What I realised over the first few sessions was that I always kept myself busy, I was always looking for the next thing- the grass is always greener, I didn’t ever having the feeling of being content and satisfied. I always had a ‘to do’ list which was often unrealistic and just made me stressed and when I didn’t tick everything off my list I always dwelled on what I hadn’t achieved. I learnt that this is down to my confidence, a feeling of not being good enough and comparing myself too much to others. Looking at the labels I gave myself was really powerful and emotional process, not until I saw them written down could I start to understand, re-write or process them. It took a while, at first reading the labels made me upset but now I have earnt to appreciate my strengths. I can also see some of my perceived weaknesses are also my strengths, and other labels are unfounded criticisms that I have put on myself. At the end of session three I felt in a much stronger place mentally, calmer, content, happy and relaxed in myself. I felt some key things had been unlocked and I understood myself better.

Session four felt like a new phase and made me wobble again, still not feeling happy about work and not knowing how to move forward with this but I was able to put this into perspective and acknowledge why I was feeling like this. For me the breakthrough was the “career timeline” exercise, I couldn’t see how looking back at jobs would help me move forward, but it did. It really gave me clarity of what I like, didn’t like, what was important and gave me satisfaction, it also highlighted what was currently missing. Saying the words “I’ve thought about being a midwife” out loud during this session was quite a big step, just hearing the reassurance from you made me cry (as I did a lot!) but also started me believing that anything is possible, it made me excited, positive and gave me hope. I wrote in my journal after that session ‘this session was a game changer’.

Session six, felt emotional, I didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t believe how far I had come, I have found it emotional and tough but have really enjoyed the self-reflection with the guidance and reassurance from you, always making me believe I could do something. As much as I didn’t want the sessions to end I did feel ready and strong enough to move on. 

There is still some way to go but I feel I understand myself and now have some tools to help me deal with things better. I cannot begin to thank you enough for what you have helped me achieve, it really is quite unbelievable, you have literally changed my life for the better.”

It was such a pleasure to work with her and facilitate her journey. I am incredibly proud of what she has achieved. I believe whole-heartedly that the person who has the challenge/problem also holds the answer and solutions.

How you can start your journey

My job is to help clients make sense of their thoughts and feelings. We work together to identify the steps to moving forward so they are no longer stuck. Instead, they are inspired and motivated. It is a journey and it can be life-changing.

If you would like to get in touch and chat about how we can work together to start your journey call me on 07810 205781 or email me lucy@lucytullochcoaching.co.uk