My 46% offer ends tonight on a paid subscription of just £26.46, which is silly but a GREAT BARGAIN. You will get to support me with my work, and currently, the paid perk from the workshop on Wednesday evening is a 30-minute walk-and-talk phone coaching session with Moi, available until the end of October.
If you have a problem you want to workshop, a wellbeing conundrum, or an existential crisis (sure, we can come up with some solutions in 30 minutes), then this is for you. Having been professionally coached FOR YEARS (as well as being a professional coach), I would jump at this offering. With a different perspective, we can see our problems much more clearly.
Don’t forget you can go back and watch the webinar and download the free Discover Your Values worksheet.
Finally – if you are from the corporate world and have responsibility or influence over your wellbeing strategy, then come along to my next workplace wellbeing webinar on the 19th of September (note these are not recorded), Thrivership at Work - Building a Proactive and Holistic Mental Wealth Strategy.
Good morning,
I’m writing this on Friday morning from my local Costa Coffee, I do love supporting independent coffee shops, but Costa sent me my lovely birthday sweet treat reward, and I am a sucker for anything free, let alone free cake. So, here I am with my sizeable black Americano and a blueberry muffin. The weather has been confusing this week in the UK. Where I live in Hertfordshire, it has been foggy and rainy, and today is constant drizzle, but it is still warm. Suddenly, it felt darker in my tiny home, but not enough to feel cosy and have the heating on. However, when I have the window open, I feel cold. Do you know what I mean?
This is a seasonal transitionary period as we move into autumn. Autumn wants to start, but Summer holds her hand up, saying, "Hang on. Officially, I am here until the 22nd of September." The spiders in my home would disagree with this; with the number of cobwebs, they 100% believe it is Halloween already.
I’ve read many posts about returning to school, the start of a new era, the academic calendar, etc. There are articles about easing back into September after a relaxing August. Or those navigating new chapters of their lives if their children are starting school, heading to secondary school, or leaving for university. This has not resonated with me at all. I don’t have children apart from nine nieces and nephews. I’ve had one niece start secondary school this week, and one nephew start school. I am not navigating those emotions. I also have not had a relaxing August, for reasons I will share probably at the end of the year, but July and August were particularly hard for me. I had to knuckle down and work. Yes, I have practised tons of self-care and looked after myself, but I am ready for a break. I’ve not had a proper break since August last year, and I cannot tell you how much I am prepared for my holiday on the 11th of October – I am off to Hawaii for several weeks, but there is a small thing of running a marathon in Chicago first. My poor bladder, which has been an ongoing issue since I was in hospital in May, also cannot wait for Chicago to be done and dusted.
I stopped myself the other day from saying that 2025 will be my year. One because having turned 46 last week, I’m all for slowing down time, but also that even if 2023 was incredibly painful, and 2024 has been facing some lurking demons, digging deep with my personal growth, and putting on my big girl pants; it has not been an all bad year. Maybe this is the positive psychology practitioner in me, but I think if you read my articles regularly, I’m not a rose-tinted glasses gal, and I take life as it comes. I am genuinely grateful to be here for another year around the sun, as for a large part of my adult life, I wasn’t sure I would be here at this age. Even this time last year, I was slowly losing my grip on reality; life felt foggy, and I wanted everything to drift away.
However, I may be biased, being born on September 1st. Still, there is something beautiful about September, and I truly believe this is a much better time than January 1st to create your version of a reset.
When I say your version of a reset, this will depend on where you are at; whether that is easing into the working month, whether you haven’t taken your foot off the gas all summer, you might have a lot of personal shit going off now, which is taking its toll, you might feel physically rubbish. Therefore, I will let you determine what your reset looks like. But if you want to make changes, I will explain why it might be an excellent opportunity to start a reset, build new habits, and make small changes NOW rather than wait until Auld Lang Syne's first bars ring out.
There is such a thing as the fresh start effect, which is how we are likely to take action towards our goals right after a specific occasion or a key date has passed. Also, think about how, as a child, you would have had 13-17 years of the “back to school” rituals, behaviours, and feelings. It is a temporal landmark that will be ingrained into our brains. If you have your own children, all of this is cemented again, and even if you don’t – the people around you give off that energy of returning to school. We might not necessarily pick up on it, but it will likely have had an effect from the return of the traffic on the roads, the busier commutes, people back in the office from their holidays, and back-to-school supplies in the shops.
This is also where we need to be mindful of others. Not everyone has the same positive vibes around September. You may not have had a good experience at school, so this may unconsciously bring up those feelings. Those who struggle with low mood and poor mental health or live with SAD might also start to feel anxious. The thoughts of leaving the summer behind and the creeping in of the prolonged winter nights may signal struggling with emotions or loneliness.
September is the perfect transition month in terms of seasonal shifts. It still feels warm, but there is a focus on the upcoming harvest – beginning to reap what we have sown throughout the year. It is an excellent time to think about what we metaphorically want to plant and sow and the rewards we want to envision for next year. It can be a wonderful time to consider longer-term growth. I have had to stop and think about this. About what future Coops wants. Previously, I would have been ashamed to admit that at 46, this was the first time I’d given my longer-term personal future any consideration. I know this has been a part of my psyche for many reasons, but I’ve worked through this. So better late than never. I’ve got some wishes I want to achieve, and this involves taking stock of where I am and where I want to be by the end of 2025.
Another reason that September is better than January is the weather; we have yet to see darker nights, making it easier and safer to be about. If you’re like me, you may have more energy now than in winter to focus on establishing new habits, as come January, I still very much want to hibernate away.
Much evidence suggests our New Year resolutions don’t work in January. We go too big, and our brains cannot handle that. To change behaviour, we must become uncomfortable. The paradox is that the brain finds change uncomfortable, even when we want to do it. We also don’t often dig deep and ask why we want that change; what is the benefit? Or it may not be the right time. We are not ready to make changes. For real change to happen, it is better to make incremental changes and to have support in achieving our goals.
The RCD Radical Responsibility Method – Group Coaching Programme
I have created the RCD Radical Responsibility Method – Group Coaching Programme because it supports you in making incremental changes. I know change can feel so massively uncomfortable. It can cripple us to the point that we then stay where we are, stuck. My goal is to give you the tools to change what you want and how you can be radical. No matter how small this might feel to you compared to others. Being your best self is the most important thing to me.
This will be the container for you to feel supported and safe while figuring this all out.
The tools we will work through cover self-compassion, self-forgiveness, breathwork, mindfulness, strengths work, creativity, and more. This is my tried-and-tested formula for supporting others, based on years of coaching in this space of healing, letting go, and stepping into our most potent and bravest selves.
If you are ready to make that move, whether it is a tentative step or a bold leap, Hell Yeah, I have you.
The Group Coaching Programme starts on September 23rd. The first Zoom call is Thursday, September 26th, at 7 p.m. BST. Throughout week one, we will discuss radical responsibility, our adversities, and how we ended up here, and we will learn about journaling.
There are two prices for the eight-week programme:
Tier One
£333 inc VAT—this is the programme plus a subscription to Coffee with Coops.
Tier Two
The first five people who purchase also get a 45-minute 1:1 coaching session with me throughout the programme.
Tier Three
£444 inc VAT—this is the top tier. It includes the programme, Coffee with Coops subscription, and two 1:1 45-minute coaching sessions with me, one at the start and one at the end of the programme.
Are you ready to take radical responsibility?
You have two weeks.
If you’re ready to be brave, the button to purchase is below. Please send this on to a friend who might need this support.
I posted some journal prompts on Instagram, so if you need a little nudge about this transition period, I’ve got you covered.
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the RCD Radical Responsibility Method.
Until next week, have a fabulous weekend. Saturday, I will be running a 12-hour ultra relay marathon, and Sunday, I will be at the cinema—recommend below what you have been watching!
Love Coops ☕️💛
x
I was born on in September. So we are close