Today, I met my 26-year old self for a coffee...

Over the last few days, I've enjoyed reading posts on social media, where individuals have taken their younger selves for a coffee. I've felt inspired and been thinking about how this exercise could support individuals in coaching.

I've also been thinking about how it might support me too.

I could have chosen a number of versions of my younger self to take for a coffee:

*15-year old me - intensely heartbroken - who never imagined she'd love again.

*17-year old me, newly heartbroken, whose self-confidence and self-worth was in the gutter.

*21-year old me, navigating a health journey that was so beyond comprehension. 

*23-year old me on the day of my beloved gran's death. 

*30-year old me on our Wedding Day.

*31-year old me, as I became a mum.

The point here is that there are so many younger versions to choose from, but I chose my 26-year-old self. Here's why...

This morning, I met my 26-year old self for a coffee.

*We met at her favourite coffee place, Starbucks.

*She had a tall, skinny, half shot, extra hot, latte in a mug.

*I had a regular latte in a takeaway cup.

*She was tired.  She’d hadn't slept much in the last few days.

*She was weepy and seemed lost.

*The day before she’d withdrawn from her postgraduate teacher training qualification - the last 5-years had been focused on becoming a primary school teacher, leaving a full-time job in the civil service in the process. 

*But she’d known for a while that it wasn’t the right path for her, but had been too scared to admit it.

*She had NO IDEA what was next.

*She was terrified at there being no plan or direction to follow.

I held her hand.

*I told her she had done the right thing.

*She'd made the right choice.

*She’d been right to trust her instincts.

*That I knew the fear of having no plan was terrifying, but that the hardest bit was done.

*She didn’t need to feel ashamed.

*She hadn’t failed, but the opposite - she’d shown unbelievable strength in trusting herself.

*She was brave.

*She was courageous.

*I told her that this life transition was a game-changer and would teach her to trust her gut instincts more… she was going to need to be able to do that much, much more in the years to come.

*I told her that a 12 week casual contract was just around the corner and that it was the start of a brand new career.

*I told her that she was right where she needed to be.

*I told her how grateful I was to her for choosing this new path for us.

*How that bravery had carved the way for us to be doing something we LOVE.

*I told her I was proud of her, and us.

I also told her that Jim (Mr Hunter) would EVENTUALLY propose!

My reason for sharing this is because I found it such a cathartic, nurturing and empowering experience.

In coaching I often talk about creating a toolkit of strategies and tools to lean on when things feel tough and overwhelming. My trusty evidence bag is in my toolkit and contains evidence of my resilience, my grit, my power, for when I need it.

This exercise is going in my evidence bag as a reminder that I am capable of dealing with hard things, and that great things can be born out of challenge.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If this is something you'd like to do, with the support of a coach, just get in touch.

Laura x