Do. Or do not. There is no try

May is always my busiest month of the year! This year, the first couple of weeks of May are going to be particularly special as my brother and his fiancée are coming home from Australia. Almost all our family birthdays and anniversaries fall in May and my parents celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary on the 4^th May (which is also Intergalactic Star Wars Day!) and my brother is celebrating his 30^th birthday on the 6^th May! So, to celebrate as a family, we will go away for a few days, spend some quality time together and really relax and enjoy our holiday, each other’s company, the good food and some walks on the beach!

And it is this holiday that also got me thinking about how busy this year has been so far! New Year does not seem like all that long ago, and yet it was actually four months ago! Springtime came and went and now Summer is just around the corner! And so, this passage of time got me wondering about whether I am happy with how 2015 is unfolding for me! The busy-ness that I have been experiencing has been both exciting and challenging and my battle with time management has taken on Darth Vader-like proportions!

But, as a coach, I am constantly looking at my values and assessing whether my goals are in alignment with them. It is an evolving process but so far, I feel that 2015 is ‘the making of me’. 2015 has been a light-saber year for me – giving me clarity in what I am doing and building on my skills and the confidence that I have developed since qualifying as a coach. 2015 has given me a clear focus and a determination to be my best self and I am winning a battle following a dark side of frustration, lack of confidence and feeling unfulfilled.

So, what Jedi mind tricks have helped me this year? Well, I continue to work on my positive affirmations, and I try to make time for meditation. I surround myself with positive people and I have developed a network of friends who are supportive and encouraging me to grow both personally and professionally. I have read some great books this year – The One Thing by Gary Keller particularly stands out, along with The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. Everything that I do supports me in my quest to be the best coach I can be and to serve my clients as best I can.

But stepping out of my comfort zone has been a huge challenge for me and I have worked hard to overcome this! In March, I delivered my first workshop called ‘Get out of Your Career Rut and Find the Job You Love’ and it was a huge success. Celebrating my success thus far has been important for me and so to build on this success, I delivered a second workshop in April and I was also the showcase business at the Network Ireland – Dublin Branch April event! This was hugely exciting and I enjoyed it very much – not least because of the other well-known speakers who were also speaking at the event! Presentation skills must be one of the biggest challenges for so many people, but I have discovered that I actually quite enjoy presenting! So much so, that I have joined the Professional Speakers Association, so that I can further develop and expand my network of supportive people and constant learning. But conquering my fears and developing strategies that honour my purpose have helped me develop and grow as a person and this ultimately helps me serve my clients better. As Yoda says, ‘Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering’. So, overcoming fears has been key for me in 2015 and now I can support my clients in doing the same, which helps them to move forward.

So for me, May is about taking stock, celebrating my successes and celebrating all that is important to me. It will be a time of recharging my batteries and looking forward to the second half of the year. It will be about meeting and working with more wonderful clients and it will be about preparing for upcoming speaking engagements and putting myself out there. For me, May is about growth, both personal and professional and it is about honouring my values. And for me, May will be about supporting my clients also. As Yoda says ‘Do. Or do not. There is no try’. So, may the force be with you! May the force be with all of us!

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