There are even days when we are getting on the ladder just to get out of bed. Those are the toughest ones - when you feel like you are carrying all of your emotional baggage in a sack on your back and it’s so heavy.

It’s such a hard climb, only one step at a time and everything aches while you are carrying this heavy load.  As you figure out how to take your next step you wobble and then you fall off.  You find yourself back at the bottom. Ugh!

When this happens, you may even think that you want to rest and wallow here for a while.  You’ve been here before, energy is low but it’s kind of familiar.  In fact it might even feel safe and warm.  Let me sympathise. I’ve been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.  And this is what it looked like for me when I used to spend time in this place.

I’d sometimes decide to stay for a few days even weeks, feeling warm, safe and familiar.  If I were to make a picture of it, it would look like I had fallen into a pool of my own crap .  Warm and brown, safe and familiar.  I’d have my old friends with me who always show up when I fall off.  There would be all my old limiting beliefs, all my critical self talk and my judgments and self sabotaging behaviours.  We would be sitting there, wallowing together, reminiscing on how many times we had done this.  The level of crap  would go up according to how long I chose to sit there.  The only thing that would have me shift would be when the smell got too bad.  I’d hit my limit.

It was time to wake up to myself.  That’s when I would take stock, take responsibility for myself , find my truth, my clarity and my purpose again. I’d make a new choice. I knew I didn’t want to be back there and I would start making moves and see more of  what I did want. Even although I might feel wobbly and unsure.  I’d put my foot back on the ladder and start again, leaving my old friends behind.  They are old friends, they have spent a long time being part of me, they have helped me become the person I am today.  I am truly grateful when they show up now because they always have something to show and teach me that will help me to grow more. Once I make that choice I instantly start to feel better.  The struggle stops and I let go of the need to hang on to the ladder.

After years of falling off and getting back on, I now know that when I let go, I can live life in a real and truthful way that creates a whole new freedom and joy.  It can be the same for you.  You don’t have to struggle or climb the ladder.  If you know that you want something more, then it’s time to get to know yourself better.

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If you want to:

• Wake up to yourself and grow more.
• Notice habitual behaviour patterns that don’t work for you and live the kind of life you have always dreamed of.
• Set yourself free to make new empowered choices with more rather than less.
• Work together on sabotaging behaviour and limiting beliefs to create a new sense of Self, Understanding, Self Awareness and Self Acceptance.

Start Now! Sign up for ‘One to One’ coaching today

Your Self Esteem will soar because you have finally started to engage and make friends with the beautiful human being that you are and always have been.

Louie Gardiner, Director, Potent6 Ltd’

“A colleague of mine first introduced me to Judith following  a particularly stressful period at work where my
working relationship with my line manager had broken down. Initially sceptical & even fearful of discussing my  inner thoughts with a stranger I soon looked forward  to our weekly discussions.  The result is, I feel happier and have become more thoughtful & reflective of my behaviours, in particular how it influences others to achieve their own and my own goals.  This has directly led to improved outcomes in driving my projects forward.  Although the learning process will continue for some time,the benefits and skills gained in a short period have proved their worth and have made work significantly more enjoyable and productive.”

Nick, Construction Project Manager

When I set out in my coaching relationship with Judith,  I was looking for strong guidance and support.  I wanted a coach who would not be afraid  to challenge me and ‘hold my feet to the fire’.  Judith has provided this and has balanced it with  warmth, caring and gentle support.

As a Manager working within Scotland’s voluntary  and public sectors, it is crucial for me to deliver an impeccable service to the people I work on behalf of and for those who I manage; who in turn,  work directly with some of the most  vulnerable and excluded citizens of Scotland.

Finding the words to express my gratitude for the remarkable and insightful support and direction is a challenge in itself.  I have valued the work Judith has done with me on harnessing my motivation, exploring my sense of purpose and matching those to my everyday practice with all those I work with.  What I want most is to ensure that I come from a place of integrity in my work, my relationships and my everyday life.

My coaching support helps me stay on track. I am excited by the continual ‘Aha’ moments that I experience on a regular basis in my sessions and as I apply my learning in my life and work. Judith has helped me identify patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that often contribute to the stressful and difficult events that are features of my daily life. She also helps me to identify and adopt effective strategies
for overcoming negative patterns that create unnecessary havoc and anxiety and gradually undermine my capacity for happiness and emotional well-being.

The work I have done with Judith so far has reaped many benefits, but the one stand-out quality has been that I have learned a greater sense of fun and enjoyment in my work and with my own self in relation to personal growth. I could not recommend her highly enough.  She is indeed a holistic practitioner, working to support others to ensure they get the most in all areas of their lives Judith is a woman for whom the term ‘wise sage’ was coined.

Hazel Smith, Director, Women Onto Work

Judith’s therapy has the quality of good music - you don’t know where the next note is going to sound but when it does, you know it’s exactly right. Her questions and guiding comments unerringly hit the spot that’s required to move you into the territory that needs fixing, and gently help you to recognise the fix. She works at her work, taking herself last year to Canada for more training.

She’s rescued me from the straitjacket of a hard science upbringing in a family that, whilst perfectly functional, didn’t believe in emotion. The person I was then was called by others ‘clever’. The person I am now attracts words like ‘wise’ and ‘charismatic’. She held my hand before, during and after my wife’s death from cancer, enabling me to cope through the crises and to recover in a fraction of the time that others, without help, must suffer.

As well as working on me, I’ve deployed her to work with a dozen other people, friends and also employees of five of my clients as a management consultant. Any of them would fall over themselves to commend her.

Brian Chandler, Management Consultant

I have known Judith for a number of years as a very good friend and recently I had call to recieve support from her. My partner and I split up after nine years of being together and it became a period of time that I descended into a deep abyss of self loathing. I beleived that I was someone who did not deserve love because I was fat, stupid, ugly and nobody would ever want to have me as a friend.
It was a period of time that I did not want to live or be alive and I prayed nightly for my suffering to end and not wake up next morning. I slept very rarely in the first few weeks but when I did wake in the mornings I cried because I had not been granted my wish to be taken out of my misery. My kids (all grown now) were worried for me and they were at their wits end to know what to do. I didn’t want to eat or talk to anybody and I didnt even have time for the grandkids who I adore more than life itself.


My Self Esteem was so low I rang Judith in tears and told her that this was the last time we would talk as I could not face seeing friends who knew me and my ex-partner.    
                                             
She realised how bad I was and gently brought her skills of support forward and stuck in with me. Judith helped me to see things I had not realised. I woke up to myself and she got me through the worst period I can remember since my wife had died. She did it with love and at times it was very uncomfortable for me. Some things I did not want to see. I wanted to lay all the blame on my ex but I came to accept my part in our split as well.


Self Esteem affects every aspect of our lives.  The way you think, feel and behave  and identify yourself comes from high or low Self Esteem.  Self Esteem is all about the relationship we have with ourselves based on our belief system, which comes from our own life experience  Self Esteem is about being in alignment with who you fundamentally are, without the baggage you picked up on the way.  Lack of Self Esteem affects our confidence, trust, acceptance, forgiveness and a whole lot more.

Self Esteem, high or low is a mirror for the way you treat yourself.  The belief system you have been hanging onto for so long can melt away and your Self Esteem.

When our Self Esteem soars then the quality of our life changes and all that we ever wanted becomes possible.

Here are my Top 10 Tips To Boost Your Self Esteem:

1. Start a positive relationship with yourself. Get to know more about who you are and make friends with yourself.Treat yourself like you are your own best friend.
2. Make an agreement with yourself to not use critical language about yourself or others today.
3. Stop “trying” to please other people.
4. Split your day into two. At lunch time take a couple of minutes to think of 2 things you have done that morning that were successful.  For Example, getting to work on time, remembering to feed the dog/cat. Passing your driving test.   At bed time write those 2 things down and add any others and take a few moments.  Notice how that feels in your body as you look at your successes for the day.
5. Make a list of all that you are grateful for in your life every morning.
6. Take some action, change a routine that feels dull, even if it’s just about the first thing you do when you get out of bed.
7. The next time you look in the mirror stop and smile.
8. As you prepare for your day, whether you take 20minutes or 2 hours say yes! to everything that you do.  You might start off thinking this is silly but I guarantee before long you will find yourself smiling and your heart opening. Saying Yes changes your energy!
9. Buy or make yourself a beautiful card.  Write in it ‘Love from Me’ and then post it to yourself.   When it arrives, place it somewhere that you will notice it. Don’t forget to see it.
10. Spend the day with your favourites. Your favourite outfit, shoes, perfume, friends, food and music.

Using any one of these steps will make a difference to your Self Esteem!