2023 has been a year of big changes for us as a family.
It's been tough at times, but it's been good.
And as a result of all these changes, I had to ask myself some hard questions.
In this episode I share:
- 3 things that kept me going through the tough days
- what is coming as a result of all this change (some significant change in my business)
Transcript:
Well hello and welcome back to the beauty in balance podcast.
If you’re new here, I’m Vandghie. I’m a qualified dietitian and I teach ambitious women how to thrive through perimenopause. And if you’ve only recently heard about this term, you’re not alone. IT’s a fairly new term and one that is only starting to be talked about. And I’m truly so excited that women are starting to become more aware of this normal reproductive phase. It has a real impact on our businesses, careers, marriage and parenting and it’s something that we can actually take control of.
So my message in this podcast is always one of hope
You don’t have to fall victim to the unpredictability and discomfort of these symptoms.
Now today’s episode will be a bit different to the ones that I’ve done up until now. I wanna use this opportunity to talk about my year that is 2023 and what that has lead to. We’ve had a lot of change and challenges in this year as a family, so I wanna share that with you here today, because it will be leading to significant changes in my business going forward.
And I’ll talk about those changes in next week’s episode, but today I just wanna use this time to talk about what happens when we go through significant changes in life.
So at the end of 2022, my husband had come to the conclusion that he truly did not want to be in the corporate world. He is an exercise physiologist that had a management role at the university in our city and he was well and truly over the politics and stuff that was sucking the joy out of his job.
He’s also a family man and he didn’t cope well with being away from home for the long days that it was.
So at the end of last year, a job came up as maintenance manager at a local christian camp facility and it just felt like the perfect opportunity that was presenting itself to us without us really going out to look for it.
It meant that we could be together in one place every day and that my son could hang out with his dad most of the day after we’ve finished our home schooling.
The only stumbling block was that we couldn’t move into the house at the camp facility until May, so we would have been without a home for about 3 months.
And God has been so faithful through this entire process.
So on the 4th of Feb, we moved out of our home to make way for tenants as we started renting our place out and moved into a beautiful semi-furnished house on the river, where we lived for the next 6 weeks. It literally felt like holiday, it was so good.
Then towards the end of March, we moved into friends home while they were away in the UK visiting family for 7 weeks.
And I have to admit, this is where things got really tough for me.
We’ve been without our own home for almost 2 months at this time and I was doing a lot of driving every day to take my daughter to school as she is finishing primary school this year before we’ll start homeschooling with her next year.
I spent almost 3 hours a day on the road, lived in a home that was not my own and suddenly I felt the full affect of this season.
And during this time, I really struggled to keep the good habits in place that I knew were the things that would help me keep my head above the water.
And all of this lead to me really questioning whether I can still go ahead with my business. To the point where I actually started looking for jobs and pretty much made the decision to lay my business to rest.
This business is truly something that I believe God has given me and I’ve seen the major impact that it has had on so many women over the last 2.5 years, but i just felt like I didn’t have the strength to push any further.
Buyt thankfully, God never leaves us alone and provides whatever we need to fulfill the mission that He has for us. So my very dear friend decided to take things into her own hands and put me in touch with her incredible business coach, Jan Ditchfield, who kindly offered me a spot in one of her student-only programs.
And so in May, with very little hope left, I embarked on this journey to pick up the pieces of my beloved business.
And wow, has this been a journey!
Jan truly helped me to save this business and has been an incredible support through it all. I’ll also link to Jan’s social platforms so you can look her up., If you need any help with yoru business, whether in real life or online, Jan is definitely your girl. She’s incredible with supporting all aspects of business, not just creating and selling products or offers.
And so with this season of intense change, came a time of really taking a good look at my business and who I serve. And in working with Jan, I realised that some change was needed. So over the next 2 weeks, I’ll be talking more about this change, but it includes a rebrand of my podcast and rolling out 2 new programs which I’m really excited about. But I won’t let the cat out of the bag just yet.
I wanted to share this episode, as change is bound to happen for all of us. And in most cases, it comes with extra stress and as a result, unhappier menstrual cycles, a possible dysregulated nervous system, and all the symptoms of hormonal imbalance through perimenopause that we can experience.
So how can you set yourself up for success as you move through these seasons of change.
I wanna touch on 3 key aspects that I believe is important to remember and implement as we go through these inevitable seasons. These were also the things that helped me pull through those tough months.
The first thing I think is super important, is to share the load. I have a handful of good friends, scattered across the world, that have supported me tremendously during this time. They have talked sense on days that my brain just refused to think logically and they pushed me when they saw potential and I didn’t.
And this was exactly how a friend of mine introduced me to Jan.
So when I look back, I know God was working out His plan for me, as I probably would never have reached out to Jan otherwise. And it turned out that she was exactly what I needed in my business.
So on those days that you feel completely flat, who are you reaching out to? Are there people that you know will love you enough to not pity you? That will show empathy, but then keep pushing you forward?
Secondly, the thing that totally kept me same during this time, was that I did not compromise on my walking. Those walks actually started getting longer. Sometimes I cried on those walks, sometimes I listened to music, other times to podcasts, but I ALWAYS felt better and like I could see a future again when I got back. It helped me so much to be able to show up for my family during this time that was even tough on them.
So I wanna encourage you to put your walk into your diary first thing in the morning. It’s the thing that should hold priority, everything else is planned around it!
Even if it means you get up slightly earlier every morning to fit it in first thing.
And then finally, make peace with the fact that change is here to stay. If you are in your 30s or 40s, you are going through a season of change. And i don’t know about you, but it’s something I’m intentionally wrapping my head around.
I’ve always loved looking at older women, who clearly looks after themselves really well and found that just so beautiful, especially the wrinkles.
But the thing I’m struggling with is the changes that are happening with my body.
But a decision that I’ve made, is to embrace the process of aging.
I often talk to my kids about the incredible privilege of aging. It means that God has given us years of time with the people that we love, which also brought life experiences and so many other privileges.
Aging is an absolute honor and privilege and I think it’s something we need to be reminding ourselves of every day.
It also means that your children are going through seasons of change and this will not stop, going from leaving home, getting married, having babies, etc.
You might also be going through a career change or starting a business, as this is generally the age when we do that.
So I guess what I’m saying is that we need to get comfortable with the thought of change and let go of the comforts of predictability.
So with all that said, I’ll be sharing some changes with you on the next episode that are coming in my business. That means the way I show up will change slightly, who I serve and also the programs that I’ll be offering.
And although I’m excited to share this with you, I’m also incredibly nervous, because change is hardly ever a comfortable thing. I find especially as I get older, my sense of risk and adventure seem to be declining.
So I’m looking forward to sharing the details with you on next week’s episode.
If you’ve been enjoying my podcast and find it useful, I would love for you to please place a rate and review wherever you are listening right now. This will help more women to discover my show and find solutions to the struggles they’ve been facing for so many years.
But until next week my friend,
Bye for now.