Tag Archives: The Comfort Zone

A Year on – has following my dreams worked?

07 Friday Jul 2017

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It was a year ago this week that I said goodbye to the corporate world. So how has it been?  Below I talk about the ups and downs.

I’ve not taken a holiday, I can no longer afford to buy what I want when I want and thought has to go into everything I do, BUT and this is the very important bit – everyday feels like a holiday to me and life is just so much better for it.

I’ve enjoyed good health. I was able to spend lots of time with my elderly dog, Alfie, who has now sadly departed this life. I have been able to ride most days as I manage my own diary and appointments. I have had time to catch up with friends that ordinarily I wouldn’t have had time for and I’ve made many new friends along the way. I have been able to dedicate my time and all my effort into doing something I really wanted to do which is homeopathy.  It has been hard work, generating new business when you aren’t known is not an easy thing to do, but I have been dedicated and persistent.

My practice is growing from strength to strength with people recommending my services. I’m even “international” as I see people all over the world using Skype and this works really well. I absolutely love helping people and I can safely say that I have helped many people with their health ailments (both on a physical and emotional level) over this past year.

I LOVE my job but there are tough days too. For example, last week someone decided that they no longer wanted to go down the homeopathic route and were going to take anti-depressants after all. For a short while I felt completely useless and that I had failed, but then I looked at the list of people that I have helped and realized that each person has to do what’s right for them. So after spending far too much time wondering whether I could have done this or that differently I decided to let go of that particular situation.   We can’t always help everyone and this is something I am learning.

Anyway enough about me, are you still struggling with a decision or wondering whether to start something new?   Nothing happens over night, we are all on a journey but tap into the true you and your true dreams and you may find that you start your journey sooner than you think. Maybe you’re not sure where you want to go, play with ideas, brainstorm with friends, shout out crazy ideas and from there a seed might just be born.

I would love to hear from you especially if you are thinking of making any changes to your life. My advice would be don’t be afraid. What’s the worst that can happen? At least you can look back and say you tried.

Wishing you a happy and love filled weekend.   If you would like to find out more about my homeopathic practice you can find me here:- http://traceycampbellhomeopath.com

 

 

It’s never too late to make that change

29 Monday Aug 2016

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it's never to late

The other morning I heard someone on the radio saying they were going to university for the first time, nothing unusual at that, but the lady was 49 years old and she said she wanted a change of career and to do that she had to go to university.   Wow, just imagine, doing something you’ve never done before and being almost 30 years older than the other students. I have complete and utter respect for people like this.

It just goes to show that it’s never too late to do anything that we want or at least try. I have always been a believer that if we want something badly enough we can obtain it. Obviously wanting isn’t enough, we have to put in effort and hard work but if we are doing something we enjoy it shouldn’t feel like hard work. After all, the saying goes if you find something to do that you really love then you will never work a day in your life.

Regular readers will know that over the last year I decided I needed a change, I wasn’t enjoying my job and because I commuted I was increasingly aware that I didn’t have much time for anything else. Boredom led to lethargy and I didn’t want to be that person just hanging on in there too scared to make that change, I wanted more and I needed a challenge.

I was lucky I had a friend who was a management consultant and helps university graduates identify what they want and find and develop their core values. I had already done a lot of work in this area but it was good to get a second opinion and discuss these with him.

A few things became very clear, and two main points identified were I needed flexibility and I wanted to help people. This is probably why 15 years ago I decided to study homeopathy for four years and have since treated friends, friends of friends and family. The one thing holding me back from doing it full time was I needed to earn a salary and it would take a long time to establish a practice so I never expanded it as a business and it always took a back seat.

That was until I decided to really go for it and I handed in my notice leaving my job in June.   I’ve had a wonderful summer, working for the charity www.raft.ac.uk from home which offers me flexibility and because I no longer commute on a daily basis it also gives me time to grow and develop my homeopathic practice http://traceycampbellhomeopath.com. I now have a flexible job and am pursuing my dream and chosen career.

Finally and most importantly I am helping people either through my work with the charity or helping people reach their optimum health. I am once again doing something I enjoy and have job satisfaction.   I should also mention I have more time to ride my horses and catch up with friends more regularly. All this would not have been possible if I hadn’t decided to make that change. Don’t get me wrong there are times when I wonder if I have done the right thing, but my life has improved on so many levels that the doubts don’t linger for long.

If you would like to make a change or are afraid to take that leap of faith, I would recommend doing a Google search for core value exercises and choose one that resonates with you. This will help you identify what is really important to you and you might be surprised to discover that if you answer the questions truthfully your core values may be quite different to what you expected them to be. This is when the fun can start.

Remember it really is never too late and that could be anything from learning to fly, swim, dance or even going back to university like the lady on the radio. Just go for it, after all what’s the worse that can happen?

I would love to hear from you and to hear your stories of when you made a change or tried something new and what happened. It’s good to share and your stories may help motivate others.

Wishing all my readers a lovely week full of love, happiness and hopefully new discoveries.

 

 

 

Feeling Energised and Motivated

30 Monday May 2016

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So this is my final week at my current job, the job that I have done for the last 10 years and I’ve been asked how I feel and whether I will feel sad about leaving. The answer is rather sadly that no I won’t. The feelings that I am experiencing are much more positive and I am  feeling energized, excited and motivated about the future.  There are new roads to be made and new adventures to be had.

It has taken me almost a year to come to this decision and it isn’t one that I reached lightly. However I knew that I wasn’t happy and my job was draining me of any zest for life.  I had a new boss and I guess we didn’t get on.   This then in turn had an impact on other areas in my life and I had no real enthusiasm for all the things I enjoy such as writing, catching up with friends, homeopathy and doing things that are important to me.  Luckily my horses kept me sane and gave me a purpose.

I tried to make things work for a while, but I was met with negativity so I soon realized that action was needed.  I did some core value exercises on myself and the main things that came out in almost all areas of my life were, friendship, happiness, flexibility and achievement. It was glaringly obvious to me that in my work life I was not achieving 3 out of 4 and this was also spilling out into my personal life. I had lost my equilibrium, which for a Libran is the Holy Grail. We don’t operate very well when our scales are unbalanced.

So what to do? I toyed with many ideas, the most drastic one was moving down to the New Forest and starting again. I just felt I had to get off the treadmill that I had found myself on. I was amazed to discover that the reason I was going to make such a drastic change was to escape the job I was so unhappy with even though in a new place I would still have to find a new one and make new friends and not only find a new home for myself but for my horses.

I hadn’t anticipated how powerful my brainstorming session would be and it was the beginning of positive change, I was of course doing Reiki on myself which is a great catalyst for getting things moving and becoming unstuck in situations.

I realized I like helping people and I was also a qualified homeopath and have been practicing on friends, family and my animals for the last 10 years. I decided to take control of my life and handed in my notice. At the same time, I also reconnected with an old acquaintance who is a CEO of a charity (http://www.raft.ac.uk) and she said she might have something for me. I went to meet with her and one of the directors and I am now really excited to report I will be joining them in July. I will write more once I have officially started with them as I am still employed by my current employer. However, I am so happy that I will be working for such a good cause that makes a huge difference to people’s lives.

So the burning question is why I stayed in a situation for so long when it made me so unhappy and believe me I tried every tactic to turn the situation around, but as they say it takes two to tango and there comes a time to know when to let go. I guess if I’m really honest with myself , the main reason I stayed was for money, the pension, the health and travel insurance and all the benefits that go with working for a corporate company.

The trouble is money doesn’t make us happy and the thought of doing something for the next 10 years just to get a pension that, according to forecasts wouldn’t be very much, filled me with dread. Also my Dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he retired so I, more than anyone, was and am aware of how important and precious life is and how we should really live and enjoy the present moment. I would rather choose happiness over money any day.

I will however miss my train journey that I take each morning with a guy that works at a large investment bank. He is happily married with 7 beautiful children. He is not the typical stereotype investment banker and is one of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. He said that on a conference call recently his colleagues were all discussing what they did over the weekend and the majority said they bought this, or that or just worked, rather sadly not one of them mentioned their loved ones. When it was his turn to speak, he said “I spent time with my beautiful children and wife and that’s all I need”.   No more words needed. We have had many philosophical conversations in the mornings putting the world to rights but I have made a good friend and we will keep in touch.

So at last things are once again moving for me, I am no longer stagnating in a job where I wasn’t valued and will hopefully make a difference in my new role.  My advice to anyone experiencing something similar would be first to let go and then reach for the stars. Trust and be confident that things will work out, they usually do and if they don’t at least you tried and won’t say the most regretted words of “What if”.   I also know many people who have made similar life style changes and whenever I have asked them how they are and how they adapted to the change, they always say that it was the best thing that they ever did and they wished they’d made the change earlier.

I would love to hear from anyone who has had to make a big change in their life or are contemplating a lifestyle change.

 

 

 

 

Golden Angels (A special tribute to my Dad)

23 Monday Mar 2015

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Yesterday morning when I turned on the radio the first song I heard was Yellow by Coldplay.  This song always reminds me of my Dad.  It doesn’t necessarily bring back particularly happy memories for me.  It was one of the songs that played on the car radio when we drove to find out his test results for his brain scan which confirmed a brain tumour which was sadly later to kill him.

Funnily enough I love the song and it doesn’t upset me when I hear it, in fact it makes me feel incredibly close to my Dad.  I always listen carefully to the words that Chris Martin sings “look at the stars, look how they shine for you and everything they do, yeah they were all yellow”.

To hear that particular song yesterday morning was, I felt, a sign from my Dad that he was sending me huge encouragement.  Many of you will know that yesterday I was competing in my first ever dressage test with my young horse.  Between both of my parents my Dad was always the encourager, the one that pushed me, whereas my Mum was always the careful and cautious one.   So at a time when encouragement was required I believe he was with me yesterday telling and willing me to “go girl, you can do anything you set your mind to”.

Yesterday was a day of firsts for me and a rather big deal.   I’ve never competed before and hadn’t had my new horse for very long.  In fact some of you will recall I was even thinking of selling him at the beginning of the year, but with lots of hard work on both our parts, we have turned a corner.  I decided to push myself and move out of my comfort zone and enter a competition and  I am pleased to report that we came 7th in our dressage test.  Yes, there is a lot of room for improvement but we were placed and more importantly we did it.

Another first for me yesterday was I learnt to drive a 3.5 tonne lorry, another achievement and one I have to confess I am rather proud of.  I should however add that I would not have been able to do this without the encouragement from a friend.  Sometimes all we need is someone to tell us we can do something, someone who believes in us and of course I’m lucky enough to have my Dad who has been watching over me and encouraging me every step of the way.

It just goes to show that whatever our age it’s never too late to start or try new things, it’s good to challenge our brains with a new hobby or direction and I rather think it gives us a new lease of life.    Whatever stage or age we are in our lives we can always begin or try something new.

So if you’ve been thinking of learning something new or different my advice to you would be to go for it and as the saying goes it really never is too late.  Remember life is for living.

I would be interested to hear from you if you have recently started to learn something new or have pushed yourself and was amazed at the results.

Wishing you a very happy love filled week and may the yellow stars shine on you.