I don’t know about you, but I am very much in a reflective, end-of-year mood in my business. (It’s November, yes. But I guess that’s what darkness at 4pm will do to you 🤷🏻♀️)
So with this in mind, I’ve decided to use the next few newsletters as a mini-roundup of lessons I’ve learned and lessons my clients have taught me throughout the year.
I’m extremely proud of my clients and honoured I’ve gotten to work with each and every one of them. So my first ‘roundup’ is how they’ve inspired me this year.
This isn’t an exhaustive list; and in a way, what they’ve done isn’t anything ‘out of this world extraordinary.’
But that’s also why I love them. Because they’re not more special than you and me — and what they have achieved and who they are is incredibly special.
So this list is for you and them: a celebration of the people who touch our lives, who do their best with what they have, and who remind us we are all very human. We are all connected, and that’s one of the things my clients teach me every day ✨
A non-exhaustive list of how my clients inspired me this year:
1. They did things they were scared to do; even when they didn’t know how it was going to work out 😱
Simply put, they allowed themselves to be messy.
They allowed themselves to be scared, to feel the resistance, and do things imperfectly anyway.
This is a skill, and dare I say it, a habit. This isn’t about pushing outside your comfort zone because it’s inherently ‘more worthy,’ but it is about giving yourself opportunities to respond differently to fear.
Fear is a useful tool. It tells us when we’re getting close to danger. But it can also be a bit of a blunt tool. It can sometimes have us avoiding anything that feels too unfamiliar.
And if you want to change things, or to make new things, you’re going to face the unfamiliar. Being okay with that discomfort and unfamiliarity is a muscle and a skill. And it’s something my clients have been practising throughout this year.
2. They trusted that taking action was part of the process. That clarity is not just a one-time event.
One of my clients recently described the process of gaining clarity in their work this year as ‘ironing out.’ I love the action inherent in this image. You can’t iron out something without movement.
Movement is a requirement. Thinking is wonderful and useful, but it is only one part of the equation. You need to take action, because this is what will give you the information you need to make the next decision.
It is these series of decisions, supported by thinking + action, that helps you move forward and gain clarity in the long term.
3. They surprised themselves in how much they can change… and how wrong we can be about ourselves.
One of my favourite moments this year was when one of my clients expressed how much she had changed in terms of how she responds and reacts to people. (As a result, her interactions with people are very different.)
She hadn’t believed she was capable of such change. And yet here she is, proving herself wrong.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be able to prove ourselves wrong.
It means we are capable of so much more than we thought we were.
It means we don’t need to believe all the lies our brain tells us when we’re at our lowest and most vulnerable.
Being wrong about ourselves is opportunity. It means we can change our narrative — change our story. And that’s one of the most inspiring things I think we can do for ourselves and others.
4. My clients embraced their ‘weird selves.’
A lot of my clients describe themselves as ‘weird.’ I love them for it.
There is nothing more endearing and inspiring to me than someone who accepts they might be not like everyone else in the world (who is?), and wholeheartedly embraces this.
Don’t get me wrong, I know it can be a very lonely place at times. It is not fun feeling rejected or misunderstood.
But when you find ‘your people’ — and by that I mean people who accept you for who you really are — there’s almost no better feeling.
It turns out a lot of my clients identify as neurodivergent. I’m sure that’s not a coincidence. My clients are often sensitive, perceptive, and see the world differently to how other people might see it. In a world that often punishes us for being 'different,' it is a never-ending source of inspiration to me when I am in the presence of someone who likes and celebrates themselves, for all of who they are.
5. They kept moving towards connection.
Finally, this year has been a very difficult one for a lot of my clients. It has been hard and painful to keep going.
I don't want to make this all fluffy and say that everything has worked out all right in the end.
But one thing I know, that has always been there for all of them, is a desire towards connection.
A desire for love and humanity. A desire to end suffering.
Even in their deepest grief, and painful dis-connection, there is something in the human spirit that recognises the need for connection.
We might not always know how to go about achieving this. But we still continue.
Be in the presence of people struggling for, and struggling towards connection, and you will be inspired towards connection yourself.
If there's one thing I'm grateful for this year (there are many!), it's that all these wonderful people have shared their humanity with me. Their presence has inspired my presence — throughout our coaching sessions and beyond. I cannot tell you how much my life has changed because of them. And I hope that right now you're thinking of how much you have changed someone's life because of your presence.
Here's to your 2024,
Kathryn
PS. If you’d like to work with me in 2024, I have spaces available! I’m a coach who works with creative people going through transitions — whether that’s in life, work, or business.
As you may be able to tell, I’m not a ‘strategy coach’ or a ‘tell you what to do coach.’ I support people to find their own answers by encouraging them to listen to themselves, and then coming back to the actions that will make the difference for them.
Each coaching relationship is unique, so if you’d like to find out more about what coaching could look like, I invite you to schedule a call with me. It’s free and will be very helpful for you in working out if this style of support suits you. Feel free to ask me any questions, or find out more about coaching on my website here.