For as long as I can remember, I had low self-esteem, lacked self-confidence and had a negative perception of myself, all the while having perfectionist standards and never managing to live up to them. In early 2022, even though outwardly everything seemed to be going well, I was really struggling with these feelings and felt like I was frozen, with a sense of overwhelm and being stuck. The work that I do is very personal and all about connecting with people, so if a potential client decided to go with someone else that was because there was something wrong with me and I wasn’t good enough. I had an overwhelming sense of needing to prove myself, to be successful, to show that I was worthy. Throw perimenopause into the mix and I started to feel like I was losing my mind – I was an emotional wreck, short-tempered and unfortunately taking out a lot of my feelings on my family.

I run my business with a friend and in 2022 she was getting ready to go on maternity leave. This absolutely terrified me and heightened all of the underlying anxieties and fears. I always had a niggling feeling that my partner was better at what we do than I was and once she was on leave, I really worried about how I was going to cope. What if I couldn’t keep the business afloat? What if I didn’t get any clients?

Jo Rose was recommended by a friend who runs her own business and the timing just seemed right. It was definitely time for me to start to work on addressing a lot of things that I have been carrying since I was a child. So, not knowing really what transformative coaching was all about, I had a chat with Jo and I’m so glad I did! I can definitely say that it started me on a journey and I am not the same person I was back then.

Over the 6 months, Jo took the time to get to know me and held space for me. The monthly sessions were where I was able to work through a lot of long held beliefs and feelings, but it was the ‘homework’ and weekly check-ins that were so beneficial. It not only let me know that she was there supporting me, but also gave me the momentum and push I needed some times to keep going. I think I always wanted someone to ‘fix me’ because the work always felt too hard. And it really was icky at times, addressing lots of the beliefs that I had held about myself for so long. The negative self-talk overrode things quite often.

But as time went on and the work continued, I can’t explain it but I started to feel lighter, more relaxed, more at ease. I was enjoying things more, consciously choosing things that supported my emotional and physical wellbeing and treating myself with more compassion. The strategies she used were ones that I had never done before, particularly timeline therapy, but also just identifying the values and goals that were important to me and creating a vision of what and where I wanted to be in the future. And they resonated with me – I really engaged with them and didn’t do it just because I was going through the motions. I have always lived so much in my head, staying in my comfort zone for fear of being judged, afraid of truly being myself and essentially holding myself back. Jo helped me to address all of those patterns I was repeating in order to protect myself which ultimately kept me from growing, expanding and flourishing.

The trepidation that I had about running the business by myself transformed into huge enjoyment and a sense of freedom. It really surprised me how much I actually enjoyed it! I was busy booking and supporting clients, feeling full of confidence that I was good enough. Funny, my business partner said afterwards that she never had any doubt that I would be great, it was just me!

I would absolutely recommend anyone work with Jo Rose. It was such a positive and uplifting experience – her gentle guidance really helped me to feel supported in exploring the many things that were holding me back. I am so proud of where and who I am now! I’m feeling so much more confident and strong in myself and my abilities, enjoying life, work and my family so much more, and my husband says that he can definitely see the difference. It’s not perfect 100% of the time and it’s still a work in progress, but I feel fantastic!