A bit of a trip down memory lane today... I moved to Henley on Thames eight and a bit years ago just three days before my first child arrived on the scene. At the time I knew only my brother, my sister in law and my husband locally and they would all be working all day. I was pretty confident that being lonely and isolated was not the best way to start life as a mum, so I set off to meet people.
It felt weirdly similar to my 'single-living -in-London' era! Meeting somebody, sensing a connection, awkwardly asking if they fancied a coffee, even more awkwardly asking if they wanted to swap numbers. Luckily for me, I enjoy meeting new people and so it wasn't long before I started to find a tribe. And that tribe grew until I was running coffee mornings for women who were in the position I was once in.
So, I guess it wasn't all that surprising that a few years ago, when I sat down with my coach to work out what was important to me, community came out as one of my eight core values. Since that session, I've learned more about community and the power that it brings. The healing power of being connected with others. The joy that comes from truly getting to know people. And it has become even clearer to me how important community is, not just to me, but to all of us.

And so, last month I launched the Henley Female Networking Group. It was such a joy to stand in a room of women and hear the gentle buzz of conversation as new connections were made, the seeds of community laid..
The group is centred around the ideas of conversation, inspiration and connection. Each month we invite a guest speaker to tell their story, to inspire us so that we get away from the mundane and have genuine, real, thoughtful and thought provoking conversation. And by doing that, we are able to facilitate real connection. If you are local to Henley check out details of our next few events.
Now, the reason I'm telling you all this is because recently a lot of different opportunities have come up. Different directions I could go in. And different ideas for what could be next for me. When this happens in life it can be really confusing, hard to know what to do. But it doesn't have to be. By being really clear about what matters, what our values are, we are able to make choices and decisions easily. Because we aren't swayed by the outside world but instead we ask ourselves 'does this bring me closer to living in line with my values, or further away?.' It's so empowering to feel clear on what matters. To know what's important - not to anyone else but to us.
And starting the Henley Female Networking Group ticks almost all of my values - community, learning, making a difference, joy, challenging myself, integrity and kindness (the eagle eyed amongst you will notice I said I had eight core values but I've only named seven.. family is my final one in case you're wondering!). So it was totally clear to me that it was the right thing to do, and I'm so glad I did, because the first event was wonderful. And I was so proud to stand in that room with 40 strangers and see the potential for friendship, support and community all around me. And felt so grateful that I had started my coaching journey and had the kind of clarity I needed to make decisions that bring mejoy and fulfilment.
If you would like to feel that sort of clarity in your life then I can't recommend coaching more. It was coaching that gave me that level of self knowledge and awareness. Coaching that helps me to notice when I'm straying from what's important to me. Coaching that helps me to understand other people's perspectives and points of view. Coaching that helps me to find joy on hard days. Coaching is truly such a powerful tool.
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