It started with a conversation, just a conversation in-between breaks at a leadership development workshop which Alison was the facilitator and I was the coach. We shared our back stories and agreed how challenging and hectic life could be, me with my 4 children and Alison caring for her parents. We kept coming back to the same thought, that in spite of all life’s challenges we were learning new skills all the time. That our life lessons where actually really valuable and if we could find a way to share our thoughts and ideas with others perhaps we could equip others to thrive no matter what they had to face.
We couldn’t wait to catch up again. I was intrigued by Alison’s NLP and hypnotherapy work and how she was using it to help others at The Cancer Support Centre Sutton Coldfield where she volunteered. I had wanted to focus on helping working mums after experiencing some challenging returns to work myself and being frustrated at seeing under-recruited women in the playground or watching talented women leave the business as they couldn’t make it work. When Alison explained her experiences of being self employed through two separate cancer diagnoses, we realised the feelings were the same. That changes in our personal lives can cause anxiety and overwhelm when we go back into the workplace. We often find ourselves working with conflicting priorities and can end up not satisfying our wants and needs. This, coupled with a loss of confidence can make us feel stuck and doubt our ability to get what we want and deserve out of life.
So we set to work. Our ambition to understand the beliefs women held which allowed them to tackle any situation with confidence, resilience and come out stronger than ever. We all know those women that seem to be self-assured, graceful and empowered, who come out on top no matter what the challenge. Alison also told me about Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and holocaust survivor who said “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” He demonstrated that it’s not so much the life events we experience that cause stress, anxiety or PTSD, but how we react to them. We realised if we could work with others to change their thinking and how they see the world, it will change their lives for ever.
After many long but fascinating hours and research we concluded there are 6 ways people think that if adopted, would allow them to not just tackle any situation but to learn, evolve and thrive as a result;
6 habits and why they matter:
I embrace change and personal growth – because every change is an opportunity
I value and care for myself – because you set your self-worth
I am positive and optimistic – because possibilities are endless if you believe it.
I am open and am generous to others – because we don’t thrive in isolation.
I am motivated and driven – because we fuel for the journey
I am bold and courageous – because the opportunities are limitless if you are brave.
From this, ‘I have got this!’ was born, as that is how we know people will feel and think after our programmes. It’s life changing to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow, to embrace the new and improved version of yourself (what we call v2.0), to be resilient. So every time we meet we say it to each other with pride “I Have Got This!”……. Have you?
Cathy Lawson