Bring on the daylight!!! We're nearly there! The Smile Coach doesn't hibernate well. Do you?

Hi Smilers! How are you all?

Once again, thank you so much for all your support whether that's, a like, share, comment, chat, advice, or taking those steps to look into become a Smiler......or just continuing to be one....thank you. Without it, The Smile Coach would not be a concept, I've realised that I've been working on this idea for a very long time and look forward to it becoming a fully functioning business, it excites me that I can help people that feel just like I have and at times still do....

So this blog is about just that, I think January is a dark old time, it brings us all down, its a long month, we have to prioritise financially as there are about 100 days in that month, mentally you may want to be out there doing it all but the short days and the weather just don't help your motivation when you're maybe not feeling your best...clothes are a bit tight from all the December fun, chocs, party food and of course the wine/prosecco followed by Christmas Baileys.

It's so right that we should celebrate Christmas, enjoy spending time with family and friends but maybe if we extended that longer into January we could all help each other....and maybe the food wouldn't impact so much as we wouldn't rush to enjoy it all so much over such a short time. We'd all keep the happy hormones going longer and not struggle on so much...sometimes alone. We can be surrounded by so many people yet still feel lonely......and then comes the overthinking. Gotta love the overthinking...if the rest doesn't get you, that will!

So what can we do about it? I realise that I'm writing this in February but it can apply all year round!

1) Talk Talk Talk....let it out, get it out. We can so easily build up the small things into big things by whirling them around in our heads over and over again. If you don't have close family, there's friends and if you don't feel like you have friends (i bet you do...you just may be overthinking it), colleagues, the person that says hi to you on your morning wander....there will be someone that you can offload to.

I have my "go to" people and I hope they consider me the same.Sometimes promoting myself as The Smile Coach complicates my overthinking more but they help me to remember that I am also human...and then I think well without a journey I wouldn't be a great coach!

2) Find some activity that you can do to divert your mind from the darkness. January has bought icy pavements and lots of rain so my sports of choice running and netball have been a bit sporadic. Although my beginners running group has managed to keep going whatever the weather, and we've had it all except sunshine!

I needed to find something else though as I'm used to higher activity levels so I've restarted my Hiit sessions with Joe Wicks The Body Coach. I love his sessions, they are short and sharp, 15 mins every 2 days is what I've been doing.

All his workouts on on his You Tube Channel for free, there is no reason why not. Its time to tone up those wobbly bits, ready for the year ahead and for me it's a big number at the end of the year so I need to enter the next decade feeling positive!

I've also realised that by doing his workouts I've helped myself in another way, I was really struggling to wake up and get up to my alarm/Jack but by getting up half an hour earlier the mornings are much more organised for the school run, book bags etc are sorted if I haven't done them the night before!

I know I'm lucky in the level of activity that I can do and understand that some can't but I can honestly say that there is a pathway for you no matter what you feel you can physically do, it may just be some breathing and relaxation exercises initially but opening up that pathway will do wonders for your mind in the long run.

3) Find a future focus, now this could be absolutely anything that floats your boat, anything that builds fire within your soul and anything that helps you move forward from the madness of January.

My current personal goal is to run Hastings Half Marathon at the end of March, You might think...well she ran a marathon in October that's easy....it's really not. Beachy Head Marathon definitely took it out of me and left me with a slight knee niggle that I've tried to nurture so that it doesn't lead to long term damage yet have still had to put the longer miles in to keep the legs in the game! But the mental motivation I have knowing that I have a day, a date that I need to do what I've set out to do, along with many other mad people is what gets me out there! And you can't beat a chat with a good running friend to clear your head too!

The Smile Coach needed a future goal too, one that is manageable around the rest of life but that will continue to drive my coaching forward after completing my Life Coaching course  I have now signed up to a Diploma in Weight Loss Coaching. I want to go towards Nutrition and this is my first step towards that whilst my monkeys need me around.

So this future goal leads me to letting you all in on some news that if you've been thinking about getting in touch may help you to do it sooner rather than later.....I will need Case Studies for this course so for that reason I am going to reduce the prices that The Smile Coach charges for a limited period so if you've been thinking about finding out more, please get in touch and lets get you smiling!

I plan for a limited period to reduce my regular Smiling sessions from £30.00 to £20.00 per session. The One-off Goal setting sessions will remain the same. If you've been thinking about it for a while, now is the time, it won't last forever, just mention Smile when you contact me :) !

Look Spring is on it's way, a glimpse of battle on a 12.5 mile training run on 09/02/19 

4) Get the Girls round (or boys!) This is my number one recommendation, whether it's just a cuppa or a full on night of fun together, food, fun and bubbles! Sometimes you know you need it, sometimes you don't, but that release of negative energy can be at it's quickest when you get to put the world to rights with the right people, who just let you be you. It may just be 1 friend, it may be a group, it really doesn't matter but the power you gain from just letting it out, or maybe not letting it out but listening to their worries or rants too, can just normalise your thoughts and prioritise how high on the list yours really are!

A Girl's night is always a positive thing with the Awesome Foursome!

Overall Smile Thought: Look to the Future.....It's all ahead of you, now go get it! You're in charge of your own destiny! And if you're not sure how, let me know, I'm sure I can help! It might be health,weight, fitness, career, just plain old surviving the busy everyday life, needing time for you, whatever it is, we can tackle it together!

Wishing you all Big Smiles, look after those that you love!
Have a great month!

Lots of love,

The Smile Coach

www.thesmilecoachforyou.co.uk

Facebook: Emma Wareham
Instagram: @Thesmilecoachforyou
Twitter: @Emmalovesarun

The Smile Coach reviewing 2018's Goals and setting more for 2019...

Hi Smilers! How are you all?

It's been a little while since my last blog but that just means life has been busy and now I've finally chosen some time to sit down and reflect on this crazy year that has been, since I decided to put my ideas out there and see what happens.

It's a year since I asked my first Smiler if she would become just that, in early 2018. It took a lot to ask but as I'm finding...if you don't ask...you don't get...although you may not always get the result you think you will, you will get experience and wisdom.

The first 6 months or so, I was trying out different methods, some work, some don't, finding out what The Smile Coach can do, what elements make up a successful Smiler. I've worked out that the Smiler needs to guide the transformation, I'm solely the mentor to their commitment and determination to transform themselves and their mindset.

I've launched my website www.thesmilecoachforyou.co.uk, and grown my Social Media presence including joining Instagram, all things that will help in the future.

More recently I've changed my approach slightly, I've concentrated more on my own learning, I have the experience of coaching but I want to make sure that I have the paperwork to back it up, it helps me to feel more confident in my abilities when explaining what I offer. I've also have plans to complete other courses early next year that will only enhance the smiles that I can offer so I have some goals set....

I think the biggest Personal Goal I had for 2018 was to complete a Marathon, at times it didn't look like it was possible...but I did it on Saturday 27th October, I completed Beachy Head Marathon raising £400.40 for The Sara Lee Trust.

I learnt a lot from that goal, I learnt that even though you may not follow a training plan that you set, it doesn't mean that that was the only way to do it, I learnt that I can fit in extra long runs, even when I can't see how it will happen. I also learnt that running a marathon is not a natural thing for me and my body...it took a good 3 weeks to properly recover physically ( the first few days were so hard to just move comfortably), I learnt that next year I may settle for the BH 10K so that I can enjoy the beautiful scenery more, at a pace that is more comfortable.

My next marathon goal will be London but not just yet! And there's plenty of running out there to be done, next up will be Hastings Half in March 2019, one challenge that I enjoy yearly, you can't beat the atmosphere when the weather is on your side!

Another goal this year was to continue growing and building myself, like anyone I struggle at times with juggling life, love, family friends and everything else on top! The subjects I've written about in previous blogs are all things that I have experience of and work hard to keep on top of, I truly believe that we all have these ongoing thoughts/behaviours, our strength comes from whether we recognise that as we go through them and how we find ways to keep us coping with them.

Christmas came and went and is one of the times that it is most important to keep all the above things in check!

To be honest I thought there would have been a blog written for Christmas, but as often as I sat down to write there was another event to go to (nativities, carols, lovely kids things!) and by the end of each day I still hadn't written anything! I was starting to put pressure on myself until I had a little word with myself and decided that I would write when I could and if it was to be a New Year blog then...so be it! And that's what we've got!

Another personal goal met in 2018 was definitely the Bikini wearing in Kos!!!! It was  the beginning of the blog and hopefully another example of how there are so many reasons that I've begun the idea of The Smile Coach, because these are all real situations that I've been through and am still going through...I've just decided to write about all the crazy thoughts that we all get in our heads, if it can help motivate just one person to make positive then I've done my job!Plus you just cannot beat a trip away with the girls to reset your mind and it's lovely to just...be...even for a short while! 2019 sees me hit the Big 40, so I'm hoping that that will bring me another girls trip at some point!

So far in 2019 I have taken part in a Careers and Aspirations Fair at a local primary school, where the main question that I was asked was "What does a Smile Coach do?"

I spoke to many children from Early Years to Year 6 and had some very interesting conversations, they seemed to love my ideas, and agreed that the world needs more Smile Coaches!

The Smile Coach and Aimee with my lovely flowers from the Careers Fair.

So the answer to their question has evolved even from a few months ago, as I said I'm learning all the time, I know what I'm not...I'm not a counsellor, I'm not a medical professional, I'm not a  Psychiatrist,I'm also not a personal trainer but I am a Mentor, Motivator, Coach, Tutor, mindset changer to those wanting to make a change, improve their weight or well being in a way that suits them but also inspires them to carry on!

I have now studied Life Coaching for over 55 hours and have achieved my first LC qualification, as well as having 9 years of coaching experience. I do plan to add more services in near the future and hope to see my ideas become a concept and my future, so that once my babies decide to fly the nest I will have a positive focus...and maybe even a school of Smile Coaches!

For myself in 2019, I'd love to complete my own weight loss journey...6 stone down with a little bit more to go but I don't plan to make it my number 1, as long as I continue to eat well and exercise, it will come and if you do it all too fast it will only go back on, I'm running from it and I'm not looking back.

I'm also hoping to combine some fitness goals with more family time too, we started last weekend with a 4.5 mile walk around the hidden secrets of Battle, it's great now that Jack's little legs can go a little distance and as long as I have a few snacks hidden away we can all have a lovely time!

One of our chilly family walks.

Weights are another thought, I do some at home but I'd love to get more serious in the gym...in London you can find great gyms that don't break the bank, sadly in Hastings and around there are lovely gyms but the monthly costs make it very hard for a family to commit. For years now I've done well on low cost exercise but sometimes there's something more that you want to focus on....my time will come! Think Positive! 

In truth I have so many goals that if I wrote about them all, you'd still be sat here reading next week, so for now I'll stop and just learn to scatter them about into future blogs.

Whatever your goals and ambitions for this lovely new year, I hope you achieve them all but remember that if you struggle or you just don't even know where to start them get in touch, we can work them out, we can find ways to move you forward, we can look at what limiting beliefs may have always stopped you achieving past goals and how we can break them to get you smashing them all!

All you need is the commitment to change, we can meet weekly or fortnightly where ever is comfortable for you and begin to build a picture of where you want to go!

I'm also planning to write blogs monthly, in October I tried to do more regular smaller ones but I didn't feel that it worked well, so it's back to the way I know best...unless you have any other suggestions!

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2019!

Please get in touch if something that I've written strikes a chord with you, or at least have a look at my website to find out more!

www.thesmilecoachforyou.co.uk

Facebook: Emma Wareham
Instagram: @Thesmilecoachforyou
Twitter: @Emmalovesarun