I think the me from 10 years ago would be surprised and yes ecstatic at what I do now. 10 years ago I was still in a corp marketing job in an industry I didn’t love but was flexible and the team were lovely. Now I have my own multi-passionate creative business, have created ways of working that were purely my own ideas and just going for it, and she would have never believed a cancer diagnosis coming with Hodgkins Lymphoma and that leading to training to be a coach through Life After Cancer and that being added to what I do now! The icing on the cake recently, just last week, was getting DYCP funding from the arts council to get my book written and out there by the end of my 50th year, which is next year!! Quite mad when you reflect back isn’t it, definitely my most eventful decade yet! 🙂❤️
You from ten years ago has so much to be proud of! What a journey you've been on and with your book getting written there's so much more to come, Juliet. It really makes you think, doesn't it? What might current you have to say about you in ten years' time?!
I don't think we necessarily take enough time to reflect, do we? There's always more to do, we can forget just how much we've done, how far we've come, what we've weathered, the experience we've gathered and there's so much treasure in all of it. I'm guessing your life looked quite different ten years ago :) Happy to share more about my old biz, what would you like to know?!
Today’s me has less self-doubt than 33 year old me and much less than 23 year old me and amazingly less than 13 year old me although probably more than 3 year old me.
Looking back at where I was in the past and where I am now is always a great exercise for me because I often make those younger girls proud.
Sometimes I mortify them (the early twenty something cynical poetry cafe girl with no television is astonished by my binge watching while getting Amazon deliveries, for example.) But mostly I make them proud and the things that mortify them are things that I wish I could back and tell them aren’t quite so big of a deal.
I love that you recognise you make the younger yous proud, it's so important to acknowledge that, isn't it? Along with the mortification! I know that me of 30 years ago would be utterly bewildered by me now, partly because what I do and how I do it (ie coaching and the internet) didn't really exist then! It's such a good point you make that what past you would find mortifying you now have a different, broader perspective on. That wisdom is hard won and invaluable. In another ten years' time where do you think your self-doubt level could be?
One of the things I want to do is apply to read at Mortified where you read on stage your old teen diary entries. My teen self would be mortified by this middle-aged lady and also so proud and also, I think, relieved at where I’ve ended up. I love the question of ten years from now ... I hope I am increasingly in tune with my own beating heart and have even further quieted external noise!
What a journey! It’s amazing how much can change in 10 years.
The me of today ultimately gives a few less f**ks on what others think than the me a year ago, let alone the me 10 years ago (apologies for the language!). When my son died in Jan my world imploded and since then I’ve started trying to put myself first. Less worrying so much about what people think but it can still be hard for the people pleaser I am. It’s hard to break the habit of a lifetime.
Trying to waste less energy on those who seem to sap it out of me with not much in return other than leaving me feel overwhelmed and sad.
I’ve also learnt not to judge so quickly. You never know what goes on behind closed doors or behind a smile. Someone may be having the worst day of their life and just need a friend.
How devastating to lose your son, Catherine, my heart goes out to you. I'm so sorry you're going through such pain and I'm glad that you're putting yourself first. Giving fewer f**ks is something I feel too, I think as I get older I'm just less willing to do it, as well as actively working on it. But that people-pleasing habit that is drummed into us from when we're little girls is a hard one to shift! Dropping the judgement and assumptions can be quite lightening, because you're no longer thinking the best or worst of someone, you give up trying to know what's going on with them. I hope you can continue to take care of you x
I think the me from 10 years ago would be surprised and yes ecstatic at what I do now. 10 years ago I was still in a corp marketing job in an industry I didn’t love but was flexible and the team were lovely. Now I have my own multi-passionate creative business, have created ways of working that were purely my own ideas and just going for it, and she would have never believed a cancer diagnosis coming with Hodgkins Lymphoma and that leading to training to be a coach through Life After Cancer and that being added to what I do now! The icing on the cake recently, just last week, was getting DYCP funding from the arts council to get my book written and out there by the end of my 50th year, which is next year!! Quite mad when you reflect back isn’t it, definitely my most eventful decade yet! 🙂❤️
You from ten years ago has so much to be proud of! What a journey you've been on and with your book getting written there's so much more to come, Juliet. It really makes you think, doesn't it? What might current you have to say about you in ten years' time?!
I love a reflective post! Wow 🤩 what a journey Gabrielle! Super interesting to hear more about your old business. ✨
I don't think we necessarily take enough time to reflect, do we? There's always more to do, we can forget just how much we've done, how far we've come, what we've weathered, the experience we've gathered and there's so much treasure in all of it. I'm guessing your life looked quite different ten years ago :) Happy to share more about my old biz, what would you like to know?!
Today’s me has less self-doubt than 33 year old me and much less than 23 year old me and amazingly less than 13 year old me although probably more than 3 year old me.
Looking back at where I was in the past and where I am now is always a great exercise for me because I often make those younger girls proud.
Sometimes I mortify them (the early twenty something cynical poetry cafe girl with no television is astonished by my binge watching while getting Amazon deliveries, for example.) But mostly I make them proud and the things that mortify them are things that I wish I could back and tell them aren’t quite so big of a deal.
I love that you recognise you make the younger yous proud, it's so important to acknowledge that, isn't it? Along with the mortification! I know that me of 30 years ago would be utterly bewildered by me now, partly because what I do and how I do it (ie coaching and the internet) didn't really exist then! It's such a good point you make that what past you would find mortifying you now have a different, broader perspective on. That wisdom is hard won and invaluable. In another ten years' time where do you think your self-doubt level could be?
One of the things I want to do is apply to read at Mortified where you read on stage your old teen diary entries. My teen self would be mortified by this middle-aged lady and also so proud and also, I think, relieved at where I’ve ended up. I love the question of ten years from now ... I hope I am increasingly in tune with my own beating heart and have even further quieted external noise!
Mortified sounds brilliant! I hear you on quieting the external noise, I feel that’s been happening as I age but there’s more to tune out.
What a journey! It’s amazing how much can change in 10 years.
The me of today ultimately gives a few less f**ks on what others think than the me a year ago, let alone the me 10 years ago (apologies for the language!). When my son died in Jan my world imploded and since then I’ve started trying to put myself first. Less worrying so much about what people think but it can still be hard for the people pleaser I am. It’s hard to break the habit of a lifetime.
Trying to waste less energy on those who seem to sap it out of me with not much in return other than leaving me feel overwhelmed and sad.
I’ve also learnt not to judge so quickly. You never know what goes on behind closed doors or behind a smile. Someone may be having the worst day of their life and just need a friend.
How devastating to lose your son, Catherine, my heart goes out to you. I'm so sorry you're going through such pain and I'm glad that you're putting yourself first. Giving fewer f**ks is something I feel too, I think as I get older I'm just less willing to do it, as well as actively working on it. But that people-pleasing habit that is drummed into us from when we're little girls is a hard one to shift! Dropping the judgement and assumptions can be quite lightening, because you're no longer thinking the best or worst of someone, you give up trying to know what's going on with them. I hope you can continue to take care of you x