Rachel is a young woman not long into her career. She has struggled with meeting new people, she panicked when she had to go to a place she didn’t know, and found she couldn’t walk into a room of strangers. All of which were affecting her work and personal life. 

Her self-perception was that she was invisible, she bought beautiful clothes for herself – only to leave them hanging in the wardrobe, choosing to wear the bland clothes that made her blend in.

It took a brave moment for Rachel to connect with her coach and a couple more months to get going.  Using her coach as her sounding board, she quickly identified that she was stuck in ‘victim mode’ and that some of her recent close relationships had served to keep her firmly in that place.

Rachel started with some very gentle exercises to help her appreciate the things she liked about herself, she explored aspects of her own personality and started to uncover those authentic elements that she had kept locked away. She quickly realised that she had to give herself a break and start loving and appreciating herself more.

Being able to look in the mirror and say “I love you” sounds simple yet is so challenging for some. And remember,

Be gentle on yourself. We are all different shapes and sizes – the human race doesn’t have a “one size fits all” policy. 

Pat yourself on the back. Small steps lead to big things. If meeting others is an issue and you engage with a stranger in small talk, maybe in the supermarket queue – then well done you! Write it down in your journal.

Appreciate the good things about you. Beautiful eyes? Great smile? Kind and considerate to others? Focus on what you do like and not what you don’t.