The perfect (shit)storm
I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a life coach. No, life coaching found me over eleven years ago when, ironically, my ‘life’ was pretty stinky. Well, many parts of it were pretty bad long before then but let’s say that’s when it all finally hit the fan.
That was the time I decided to end my happy marriage (happy in pictures, at social gatherings, and around family), while simultaneously growing my personal training business, and learning to be a single mom to my eleven and eight-year-olds.
I was off-the-charts scared and filled with horrendous fears.
What if…
My business bombs and I can’t afford my bills? Should I just get a ‘real’ job?
My kids don’t want to live with me or they resent me?
My family’s right and I’m totally selfish for getting a divorce?
I never find love again and I die alone?
I’m not lovable?
I don’t know how to have a healthy relationship?
That’s when my washing machine literally gave me a big F.U.! No joke. You can read about it here.
The good news? It woke me up! I was determined to figure out how to do my life opposite of how I’d done it so far because I was sick of being tired and feeling unfulfilled, depleted, afraid, resentful, guilty, ashamed, angry, and stuck.
So I…
Hired great coaches who helped me uncover and move past stuck patterns (check out how painful I made it to hire my first coach)
Obsessively learned the science behind how we operate as humans
And routinely experimented with and applied all the profound insight I gained from fabulous thought-leaders like Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Martha Beck, Gabrielle Bernstein, Marie Forleo and so many more!
In my 57 years, I’ve also…
Overcome food and exercise craziness. This is actually one of my proudest accomplishments because I never thought there could be a day I wouldn’t obsess about food, exercise, or the way I looked. Now? I fill myself up with authentic and full-on living and I stay a healthy weight without the stress, anxiety, overthinking, controlling, perfectionism, and all of the other B.S. that used to wear. me. out. Here are my before and after pics ;)
Become gay. Yeah, that was a surprise to me too ;) After the divorce, I wrote down who I wanted in a future partner and started it with, “I’m not sure if my partner is a he or a she….” and guess what? I found her twelve days later. We’ve been inseparably googly-eyed since 2012. Loving a woman has brought me to a whole new level of authenticity (here’s more about that.)
Raised teenagers. Mic drop ;) Ya’ll know this is tough. Remember when we were teens!? They’re well-adjusted, useful, and productive citizens who are very independent. What’s the opposite of helicopter mom? That’s me. Ever seen the movie Bad Moms? That was me before everything hit the fan. Here’s what I’ve got to say on that.
Stopped listening to my negative self-talk. This one right here blows everything else out of the water because it is literally what kept me stuck and unfulfilled all those years. My awful thoughts told me it was important to…
Put everyone else’s needs, thoughts, and opinions first and ignore my own which left me a shell of myself.
Be a control freak and have strict parameters on what I ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ do, eat, and say yet I would ironically feel completely out of control and anxious most of the time.
Chase happiness and look forward to celebrating when I did enough, got it perfect, or achieved some self-imposed high standard yet the payout was just years of stress while still never feeling enough or happy.
Compare me to unrealistic standards, other people, and even my younger self, and then feel drained and sad.
Who knew that on the other side of my storm was a badass Kelly waiting to live full-on!
Those dark days shaped me into the very real, relatable, and effective coach I am today. Life coaching found me because I found life.
Ready to take back your power over your life? It's absolutely possible and doesn't take as long as you may think to go from stuck to full-on for good.
What do you want to tackle?
“Hiring a coach feels super risky, I get it. It was really difficult for me to get to the point where I was ready to make the investment, but I’m so glad that I did. If you trust Kelly’s process and commit to doing the work, you’ll see an exponential return on your investment. Not only am I a much happier and healthier person, but my business more than doubled during our three months together. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”