Surprising numbers of people have the misfortune of experiencing various traumas in their lives.  Why or how this happens is very individual, yet what we all face is the reality of getting on with life afterwards.  Coaching focuses on moving forward in life and life coaching can help move past this experience to a better place.

There is no excusing or hiding from the tremendous and unique range of emotions you may be facing after a trauma, and there is no expectation that anyone else can totally understand how you feel at that moment; traumas are so powerful that working with a life coach is only relevant if you are ready to move forward.  Even if someone has had a similar experience in the past, theirs is now in the past and they will have moved on.

Here are some life coaching tips on managing trauma and starting your journey to a new and better place:

• Find a few trusted people you can talk to, this may be only one person and that is fine.  Someone who will be compassionate, understanding, without criticising, judging or lecturing you.  Someone who has the capacity to listen to you, to sympathise, without interruption, without telling you what to do or what you should have done.
• Seek out a professional who you can work with on a regular basis, both from a financial and logistical stand point; someone who is experienced in your field and who knows how to work this particular type of trauma; someone who can be a counsellor, guide and possibly even a mentor.  Someone you feel you can grow to trust and use to move yourself forward with time.
• Take care of yourself; give yourself time to heal, this may be physically and / or emotionally.  Traumas can be anything from loss of someone we love, a terrible accident, a difficult physical experience and lots more.  No two experiences are the same and each one of us will handle the situation we have experienced totally differently.  Therefore, be more easy on yourself, if you are able to cope with less than usual, or if you are finding you are not as efficient or organised as usual, allow this to be.  Rest more, pamper yourself if you can, let your mind swith off more if you can; do whatever you need to just be without the old pressures that you would normally have put on yourself in the past.
• Get away for a short break if you can; any change of scene is helpful to clear and ease the mind.  This could be a trip to a different town or city, something that clearly contrasts with where you live; maybe the countryside or the sea-side, somewhere more green or more busy to what you usually do.  Something that is totally different so that you are able to disconnect for a while from those things that you associate with your normal life routine and therefore, possibly with the cause or effect of the traumatic experience.
• Be sad, be down and cry if you need to; there is huge value in allowing ourselves to express what we feel.  Some of us were brought up in environments that did not encourage displays of emotion.  When we have had an unusual and unexpected experience, the need to be who we are and feel what we are feeling is very much a part of healing ourselves and is therefore necessary.  You will not cry or be down forever, emotions are non-permanent and constantly changing, so just as one moment you may feel sad, moments later you may feel calm or happy again.  This is the nature of emotions.

There is a lot you can do whether or not you work with a life coach, if you chose to take the approach that this has happened, and you can move on, move forward from this point in your life… allow yourself time…

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach
Life Coaching for Positive Change, Positive Performance & Success

As a life coach, I use my own techniques to guide and motivate myself too; this blog is about me life coaching myself back to work after a short break away…

Four days ago, at some silly o’clock in the morning, when the sun hadn’t shown it’s colour in the sky yet, I was met at my front door by my travel companions in their mini cab.

For a change, I was perfectly on time, even ahead of time, sitting on my doorstep, my front door already locked behind me, and having packed myself and my tiny case (yes, I was the only female and yet with the least amount of luggage!) into the vehicle, and off we flew to the airport.

There’s a sense of who cares what o’clock it is when you’re leaving cold, grey, wet London and you’re on your way to sunny South of France… yet as I began to switch off from the world of norm and routine, I felt the tiredness of the previous weeks begin to show themselves.

Our bodies and our minds sometimes simply need time; time to switch off, time to rest, time to recuperate from the traumas, the dramas, the draining experiences we face again and again in our daily lives.

Clearly that was what I needed.  Even as a life coach, even with more attention to work / life balance than most, I was very aware that I needed what could only be referred to as “time out”.

Realistically, only on day three of the four and a half days away did I begin to feel my energy and my spirit coming back to me; I could sense myself feeling more grounded, more awake, more alive and more ready to deal with all those life norms we tend to deal with in our daily lives.

On the drive back to the airport on the day we left the South of France, I was calmer, more relaxed, more at ease in my own skin than I have been in the past few weeks.  I could feel the smile on my face, the lightness of being, and the calm acceptance of this being time to go home.

With awareness of these thoughts and feelings, it was easier to watch the scenery on the drive to the airport with a smile on my lips, and a good, positive feeling in my heart.  I will be working when I get back to London this afternoon, and I am looking forward to seeing my clients, knowing that my own sense of well-being will be beneficial to them too.

The life coaching tip that I would like to share with you today is, be true and honest with yourself about what you need and how you feel.  If you are tired, stop and take time out to give yourself rest; if you are hungry, make sure you eat something.  By giving yourself what you need, by recognising your own needs you will both benefit in how you feel inside yourself and anyone who comes into contact with you will benefit too.

There is a part of me that would love to stay in sunny South of France for a few more days, and yet there is a part of me that is comfortable with having had a rest, a break, a few days of sunshine and is now ready to face the realities of being back home, back in London UK.

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach
Life Coaching for Positive Change, Positive Performance & Success

Sitting in the back row of one of the smallest aeroplanes I have ever flown in, as the plane took off, blue skies above me and the ground slowly growing smaller beneath me, I was mesmerised as I watched the size of the world changing before my eyes, with each passing moment.  As a life coach, I love to be able to see how simple things in life make such a difference to how we feel and think.

There is something exceptionally fascinating about being in an aeroplane, in the middle of a bright, sunny day, and watching it take off, being able to see the views below and around you.

Leaving Nice, in the South of France, where the airport is on the edge of the Meditteranean, the plane flies directly over water almost immediately, and the colour of the sea and the movement of the waves through the small round aeroplane windows looks so beautiful, so rich, so inviting as we move higher and higher.

Flying further and further away from the land, it is fascinating to gaze at the view of the city panning out before me, with the mountains encompassing it, just to the side of you, it almost feels as if you could just poke your hand outside the window and reach across and touch it, yet it is so far away and getting smaller and further by the minute.

A flight in the middle of the day, in a small plane, with views of the land all the way home, is really an eye-opener.  As I lean forward and put my nose to the window, I can see the patchwork equivalent of fields of green and beige, in a variety of shapes and sizes.

There is a reason for me sharing this picture with you today.  As a life coach, I am aware that my clients are seeking their own way to improve the quality of their lives.  Each person I meet has their own goals, desires for change, ways to achieve greater performance, results or efficiency.  What we sometimes forget is simply to be aware of the natural beauty that surrounds us all the time, it can be a view from an aeroplane on a sunny day in a cloudless sky, or the colour of the changing leaves, or a child playing in a sandpit for the nth time.

Take time to receive joy from the simple things in life, those things that require you to do nothing, yet to simply be aware.

Be aware of the beauty that we can see if we choose to regardless of any coaching you may chose to do; if nothing else, for that moment, you may find that it gives you a warm, glowing, positive feeling somewhere deep inside.

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach
Life Coaching for Positive Change, Positive Performance & Success

Ever wake up with that feeling “oh no, another day” where you know you’re just going to be doing the same old thing you’ve done before and will continue doing again and again?

Yes, those of you who’ve seen the film “Groundhog Day” will know exactly what I’m talking about.

We are the only ones who determine what each day will look like, will be like and how we will feel, so bearing that in mind, we are the only ones who can do something to change that same old routine, same old pattern and same old feeling we’ve been having day in-day out.

We can add value and meaning to our lives by doing something to interest and excite us; something to break the pattern, to change the routine, to move away from the monotony many of us tend to experience on a regular basis.

Everyone has different interests, each of us is inspired, excited and awakened by something that is specific to them; what’s your specific thing? What would you feel excited about doing today, right now? What would make you really happy? Ask yourself – what would I personally love to do?

Not everything we want or love to do we can do all the time, and at the same time that’s not a reason not to do a bit of what we love most some of the time. Make your life exciting, find a way to incorporate that one specific thing (or more if you can) that you know you really love to do and take your life pleasure, your personal fulfilment up a notch… it takes very little to make a difference, so go ahead and do it, you’ll feel great for it afterwards!

I’d love to hear your own personal story and if you’re willing to share, email and let me know you decided to do.

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach

Sometimes life sends us gifts and sometimes it sends us lessons, it’s about recognising which you are being sent at any point in time.

Some of the greatest gifts in my life are the wonderful people around me, my friends, acquaintances, contacts, new people I meet…

Somehow these people are always good, kind, generous and compassionate.

Is this a reflection of the space I’m in or is it my choice to see the good in people?

Think about the gifts and lessons in your life.  What do you already have around you that you realise is either a gift or a lesson?  What can you learn or gain from what you can see or recognise?

We can make the most of what we have, without much effort, without much change.

Even with life coaching, it is often what already exists that can give us so much, we don’t necessarily need to “do” more, just “be” and open up your awareness to what’s already there.

All the best,

Natalie
Life Coach & Business Coach

Do you ever wake up and feel that your own world seems so grey?

I know how you feel because like many people, even though I am a life coach, I’ve had mornings like that too.  Yet, I know that thoughts and feelings can change from moment to moment and I don’t have to hold onto that feeling; just like I can change it, so can you.

How do I do it?  I close my eyes, take a deep breath and think for one minute about how I’d like my day to be, how I’d like to feel.  All I’m doing is imagining it, I’m simply making it up, yet strangely enough it changes how I actually feel, which is good enough for me.

Although I often use this technique as a life coach, this is a simple and effective method of making us feel better, and you’ve probably come across it before in othe areas of your life.

Ever watched a movie, laughed one minute then cried the next?  That’s the proof that our feelings can easily change based on the images seen on a screen in front of us.  You can do the same by changing the images on the screen of your own inner mind.

Try it sometime, you’ll be amazed at how quick, simple and effective it can be; and if you’ve got a story to share, write and let me know.

All the best,

Natalie
Life Coach & Business Coach

On a sunny day like today, it’s easier to think of ’sunny’ thoughts and generally have a more positive outlook on life and whatever situation you are facing.

Today I made the most of the great weather and delayed my desk work until later in the day, spending as much time as I could outdoors.  As a life coach, I make sure that I too do those things that my clients and I discuss for their well-being when we’re working together.  As with any field we are in, it’s important to walk your talk and be able to experience those things you may expect others to be doing.

I found it so much easier to get on with piles of work later on.

The moral of my story: take the time to enjoy the moment, whatever that moment gives you to enjoy.

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach

Again and again we experience a ‘feeling’ inside us that tells us something very different to what we ‘think’.  Yet we don’t follow our intuition and most of us regret it later.

How much time have we wasted in our lives?  How many mistakes or wrong decisions have we made?  How absolutely untrue to ourselves were we in those moments?!?!

Believe me, in every aspect of our lives, when we follow our intuition, we will always get it right for that point in time.  Our intuition is, and always has been, much smarter than our thinking minds.

As a life coach, it is one of my key roles to encourage my clients to recognise and listen to their own intuition.  You don’t need a life coach to do this, you only need to listen to yourself and be honest with yourself.

Trust yourself and enjoy the results!

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach

I was watching an old episode of CSI, New York, when Mac Taylor said to Danny (one of his staff) “The evidence is there, but you’re not, yet.”

So often, all you need is some peace and a quiet space to work out the obvious without interpretations and interruptions.

As a life coach myself, I often need to step back and take a fresh look at what is clearly in front of me, in order to work it out, to see the bigger picture.  I love it when the penny drops for me and everything around me falls into its right place.

Whether you use life coaching to give you that quiet space for yourself from time to time, or whether you are simply able to take time out, remember it will always be valuable and helpful for you in both the short and the long term.

I know because I see this every day.  When you’ve done this yourself, let me know how it felt for you.

All the best,

Natalie Dee
Life Coach & Business Coach

Finding a way that worked for him was the goal, he didn’t want to push himself too much outside of his comfort zone, because he knew he wouldn’t act on it.   The great news is that he found his own personal way to communicate with his client, and he got very positive feedback from them!   So much so that they’ve decided to continue using his services.

The greatest pleasure for me is hearing the confidence and sense of achievement my client got!

All the best,

Natalie
Life Coach & Business Coach