Is it okay to not be okay as a Kids Life Coach?

You may be wondering why April was my worst month yet? So I will need to digress a little...

At the tail end of last year, I realised I was having serious problems with my eye sight..and so the end of April arrived having a few months under the belt of attending a visits to the optician, othamologist, ENT, glaucoma specialists and hospital for surgery which is yet to be completed....

I am not going to sugar coat the truth....

April has left me feeling exhausted! Ongoing headaches, blurred vision and sensitivity for the past few months, has lowered my productivity and took me away from my usual routine. Yet in many other ways I am still incredibly blessed with good health. 

I have tried as best I can the past few months to stay positive and motivated and to put the 7 key ingredients in place that our global network of Kids Life Coaches use to support children...but it has proven harder than usual.

I hadn't only lost my eye sight to a degree but I lost my VISION...and by this, I am referring to my ability to think about or plan the future with imagination, confidence and wisdom.

What I realised is that turning 50 for me brought a wonderful time of reflection and an opportunity to breath and recalibrate. As frustrating as it has been, I really needed it. BUT...

It also found me (selfishly?) losing focus of my original VISION to empower, educate, equip and enable the largest global network of world-class Kids Life Coaches.

In April, I have felt tired. I have felt unstimulated. I have felt lacking in the desire to try harder. I just lost momentum and I lost steam.

So I asked myself this ONE question?

Is it okay to not be okay?

My heart gave a little tweak and a tear rolled down my cheek as I realised the answer. 

Absolutely YES...it is okay to not be okay. I have been going through a lot and for those of you who know, you just know because you have probably done my training and read your prescribed books...

Like Psychiatrist Dr Bessel Van der Kolk says in his best selling book "The Body keeps the Score" 

“As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself.”

So I am now laying down arms and stopping this internal war within myself that I am letting our Kids Life Studio® students down or I am not delivering value to our Certified Kids Life Coach membership Alumni when I have been unable to show up as engaged as usual in our weekly mentorship sessions. 

You see, I am human too.

Perfectly imperfect.

I have always believed in authenticity and showing the real me...but I have been struggling along in a wave of despair because my VISION dwindled a little this past month. 

I lost focus and track of why I started this work over two decades ago in 2003...as the FIRST kids life coach (that I know of...) in the world...to pioneer, design and develop the first play based coaching curriculum now used in over 45 countries by kids life coaches in multiple languages and in multiple contexts. 

So this is me saying MAY the month of May...(get my play on words there...you see my humour is coming back online LOL!) be a time of creating a new healing pathway forward where I can continue to lead with integrity and be okay with not being okay at times.

To any of you who witnessed me dropping the ball and you were wondering why...I guess this mail is my official explanation to you.

Onwards and upwards as I continue to be a Secret Parent to children globally - most that I will never meet. Thank you for all the work you do as a children's change maker. Remember, if you find yourself not feeling okay like me...know this...

It is okay to not feel okay as a Kids Life Coach...so long as you surround yourself with a supportive community.

Speaking of which, click here if you are interested in finding out more about my upcoming Press Pause & Play Retreat with a twist!! Designed for professionals (this isn't just for Kids Life Studio® certified Coaches!) who work with children and may value my dedicated support in finding their spark or reigniting their spark or getting on track with their VISION as a children's change maker and have fun while doing it!

All participants hand picked by me to make sure our group is a good fit for each other so that we can spend time together playing, nourishing, dreaming, rejuvenating and creating! Hosted annually in my home town of the New Forest in England.  Where you can tap into my two decades expertise working with children and studying wellbeing and human development, so that you can map out your own plan and meet wonderful like minded people!  

Yay!!! Hope to see you there! I am feeling better just writing this blog so thank you if you sticked with me this far! I appreciate you!

Wishing you a great month of children's change making ahead!

Take care

Zelna

Kids Life Studio® Founder

www.kidslifestudio.com