Prioritise Me…

It’s the classic cliche… start with yourself, by looking in the mirror are you happy with what you see? I can honestly say before I started my journey as an Ollie Coach, life was and always had been so busy and I was happy with that. I literally didn’t stop; the diary was always full and there was always something to do. I can honestly say I had never stopped to think and really look in the mirror properly at myself and question or indeed be questioned by my fellow Ollie Coaches about what I saw and why I saw it and felt this way.

Maybe it was because I turned 40 this year on the day of lockdown – which was a soul-destroying moment for me, as I was supposed to be in New York City living my best life, which had been a dream since my teens. Maybe it was because it’s that time in life (a milestone) when you should look at yourself and self-evaluate or maybe it was because I was, for the first time in my life being asked questioned about myself, my time to really look in the mirror and had to answer questions I flippantly thought I knew the answer to but really I didn’t. 

This scared me a bit…I must admit. The way these virtual strangers were able to get into my head in such a way that friends, family and partners in the past hadn’t managed to before. 

I really started to question what I was doing day to day and after a few weeks it was clear that everything I did was for the benefit of others. Yes, I got paid to work but I was working more hours than ever and some may say ‘caring too much’ or not being capable of ’saying no’. This balance towards work was having a detrimental effect on my relationship with my fiancé, as I was working late into the night and then so exhausted, I would turn the cartoons on for my son instead of actively playing with him. This was not what I thought my life really looked like yet exactly what it did look like!!!

Others would praise me for managing the ‘juggle’ but I totally felt like it was all a little out of my control and the classic cliche slapped me hard in the face – look in the mirror, start with yourself. I wanted to get the balance of life back, by that I mean prioritising me first and my relationships with family and friends. Some of the techniques I was learning to become an Ollie coach were ways I can start to help myself to find the space to prioritise me daily. Each day is a challenge, I have by no means made myself a priority overnight, it is very early days for me but I feel I am on the road to a better version of myself, instead of potentially driving myself into a situation where my own well-being was detriment to that of everyone and everything else around me. 

Ali Knowles and my Ollie School peers may not realise the impact they are having on me right now and having never even met them face to face I am surprised at what can be achieved by these techniques to empower individuals in the virtual world we are living in today. If you want to find out more about becoming an Ollie Coach contact Ali and her fabulous team.

Emma Sedgwick, Ollie Coach trainee

Emma is a self-employed trainer and performance coach working mostly aligned to corporate sales teams. Mother of a 3-year-old, who is the main reason she looked into becoming an Ollie Coach; as a way to help her steer not only his well-being but her own as a mother. Someone who totally thought she had it together when starting her journey as an Ollie Coach.

To get in contact with Emma, email info@ollieandhissuperpowers.com

To find out more about Ollie and his Super Powers and how to become an Ollie Coach go to https://www.ollieandhissuperpowers.com/pages/about-us