How I went from chronic illness to a romanticised life

Welcome to 2024 my friends.

It is a privilege to be in your inboxes - and one I do not take lightly. I know you probably get inundated with newsletters, sales pitches and alerts. It can be overwhelming and I do in fact strongly recommend unsubscribing to those that detract from your day. I hope that this is not one of those ‘swipe left and delete’ emails. I hope to deliver VALUE to your inbox.

I made one of those reels today where you summarise your entire story and purpose into one little iPhone screen size amount of text. It is wild that this is ‘long form’ when it comes to instagram, but actually you're boiling down a life into 10 sentences. I chose to focus on what led me to do this work. 

Many of you know about my experience navigating chronic illness during my mid-late twenties. I was ultimately diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome but it took almost a year for that very vague label. I let go of needing to name my experience - it was eventually redundant. It didn't change the reality of my existence. However that reality changed SO MUCH for me.

I genuinely thought I was going to die.

 When I started getting better I felt full to bursting with gratitude. Not in a cheesy #grateful way, but on a soul level. I would shower my legs with adoration for carrying me to the art supply shop and home again. I was on cloud 9 when I simply had enough energy to paint.

And so my journey of self development began. I had been left physically, mentally and spiritually bankrupt. Like baaaaaadly. I would not have survived if I continued going the way I was.

I shifted my priorities to focus on my health triangle (covering those three areas) and to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. I used to do anything for escapism, but that was not doing me any favours. So I did the inner work that afforded me the privilege of enjoying the present moment. Today I maintain all of these tools and they are completely interwoven in my daily routine.

I no longer have a fear of failure so I don't procrastinate.

I no longer have a need to escape so I don't rush.

I am a recovering perfectionist and know I don't have to be perfect to be worthy - my worth is unconditional.

I value efficiency and systems so I can have more time to soak up the little pleasures.

I romanticise the previously mundane and derive so much joy in the gentle.

I know that the pursuit of a goal is so much more precious than achieving it.

I strongly believe that consistency is the secret ingredient to acquiring literally anything I want in my life.

I trust myself.

I love myself.

And so, dear First name / reader, that is how I came to becoming an accredited life coach and designing the beautiful course that is SOAR.