Monthly Reflections: October
Welcome to my monthly reflections! This is where I get personal, sharing my monthly highs and lows of running my business as a solo founder, whilst navigating life as a girl in her 30s, who loves to not take life too seriously whilst also having existential thoughts most days. This is my 8 for October.
What I’m Loving
This clip of Gabor Mate speaking about Authenticity vs. Attachment is such a great explanation of why we don’t show up in life the way we want to deep down, highly recommend watching. If you haven’t heard of Gabor Mate before he is incredible and has so much wisdom – one of my favourite books of his is When The Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress.
What I’m Grateful For
The past week my best friend who moved to Mexico has been back in the UK and I feel so grateful for her. The laughs and chats I have with her is like no other! Feeling very happy and grateful I got to spend some time with her.
What I’m Reading
Your Journey Your Way by Horatio Clare which is such a helpful book if you or someone you know is experiencing mental health challenges and is navigating the mental health system. He shares guidance on how to survive a mental health crisis and grow from it, what happens when you seek help, whether you should embrace or reject a diagnosis, and draws from his own experience from breakdown and recovery to offer so much more.
My Upcoming Goals
Personal: Change up my daily routine – I’m finding that I can focus really well in the mornings and evenings, whereas during the day I sometimes get more distracted so I want see how I can lean into this for November and see how it feels.
Business: Start with 2 new clients in November – I have 2 spaces available. On that note, if you are interested in working with me, please get in touch!
A Challenge I’ve Faced
I had a challenging first month back at my master’s and felt really overwhelmed by the pressure to share and open up. You may have seen me talk about this on my Instagram before – growing up I never really shared things and although I see SO much value in sharing now and feel incredibly proud of myself for how far I’ve come it’s still difficult for me sometimes. I like to do things in my own time and the pressure I felt really kicked me into “protective mode”. It was a lot! This is a journey for me and although challenging sometimes, 1. I feel more able to say no I don’t want to share, 2. I recognise what I am happy sharing and what I feel more protective over, and 3. I’m excited (and of course a bit nervous) about challenging myself to open up more.
Monthly Win
I host a monthly coaching circle with New Circle Society and this is definitely my monthly win for October. Being with a group of women opening up about their fears and how life would look for them if they let go of their fears is so incredible powerful. To hear them say that just by sharing they already felt like their fear had less control over them is honestly why I love sharing! Such a beautiful morning, connecting with people in real life, being able to chat, give them hugs and see the shifts even in a short period of time.
Client Breakthrough
One of my clients experienced a really challenging month which previously would have completely thrown her. Instead of falling into old patterns of spiralling into negative thoughts, overwhelm and neglecting her needs, she was able to navigate this difficult period with love and compassion for herself. Through previously working on beliefs around being good enough and it being ok for her to feel difficult emotions, she was able to prioritise herself and what she needed during this time.
Favourite Meal
Asian food is hands down my favourite food, I could probably eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner! And I know this is a little cheeky but I have two favourite meals this month, both Asian. Goldmine in Queensway for its delicious duck and dim sum. And if you’re around South London and fancy a curry I highly recommend Namkeen in Tooting which serves Pakistani and Afghan cuisine – they have a huge grill inside the restaurant and the chicken tikka, bombay aloo and chana masala are so good! Already planning trips back to both.
Have a lovely month and I’ll see you at the end of the month for my 8 for November!
Elyssa x
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