Roots

What are they and what is their core function? Roots are “the part of a plant that attaches  itself  to the earth and absorbs water and nourishment from the soil.” To put down roots means, “ to  establish something deeply and firmly.”

There is no denying that my life has been totally transformed by life coaching. I didn’t need to be fixed when I arrived at my first session with Brenda Eckstein, my life coach in 2010, but I was feeling very frustrated and disillusioned in my current profession. I was searching for lasting happiness and a sense of fulfilment. I wanted to make a difference in this world.

The final straw came on 30 November 2012. In that moment, the pain of remaining “stuck” was greater than the pain of taking a leap of faith. It was time to break free from my comfort zone. There was the reward of a 6 week holiday to Australia coming up, but beyond that lay the real “treasure” -  my freedom, and  being  in charge of my own destiny. The holiday gave me the rest that I so desperately needed, and on 1 July 2013, I opened  the doors of my new  life coaching business, “Untapped Potential”.  The search was over. I had finally discovered my true purpose  and the hard work was about to begin.

“Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him.” (Colossians 2:7).  I had planted my roots there many years ago. But their strength and resilience were about to be tested like never before. I was turning my back on a thriving practice and a good salary, as a Senior Financial Advisor at a leading financial services company. So deep and so wide was the leap of faith that I had taken, in order to use my God-given gifts and talents, my time and my resources  to help others to unleash their full potential.

My nourishment during this incredible journey has come from many sources:  The love and support of my family and friends, and  from  Networking.  I have worked really hard to consolidate existing relationships and  have  built new ones. I have even reconnected with an old friend from my Aerobics days in the ‘80s! I am extremely grateful to my own  life coach for creating an opportunity for me  to do some English tutoring, by connecting me with one of her clients. I have come full circle, as teaching was my first profession. I have also been given numerous speaking opportunities to address groups of people on the benefits of life coaching. To all this, I have added my daily routine  of  reading my Bible, praying, meditating and stopping once a day to do some deep breathing and some self observations. I also spend time every evening recording these observations in my journal. By observing my behaviour and looking for patterns, I have learnt how to self correct and how to create new habits. And last, but by no means least, there are my daily trips to the gym in order to maintain my current state of good health. My roots are deeply planted.  I’m being well nourished and I’m flourishing like never before because for the very first time in my life, I am happy, peaceful, calm and most of all, I am contented.