💛I switch the light on inside, so the 'real you' can shine softly from within. For over 20 years I've helped people shed the layers that aren't theirs, the job titles, the roles, the expectations, and remember who they actually are underneath. If something in you is done hiding, you're in the right place.
I don't fit in the boxes anymore
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Hi Reader I've just been away in the sun for a few days. Blue skies. Space to breathe. That kind of stillness that makes you reflect without even trying. Somewhere between the sea air and reviewing my website content, I started thinking about boxes. For years, people asked, "So what do you do?" And I'd scramble for an answer. "Well, I'm a coach ...but also a writer ...oh, and I make things too." Like I had to pick one. Squeeze myself into a neat box so other people could file me away. Coach. Writer. Creative. But here's the truth: I'm not those boxes anymore. I'm the work that flows through all of them. I call it being your 'Soulful Challenger' - that straight-talking friend who challenges you to challenge yourself, but always with warmth and Northern grit. It's all one thing: helping you remember who you were before the world told you who to be. So I stopped splitting myself into categories. And my website is being rebuilt to reflect that. Not "services" in neat little boxes. Just different doorways into the same soulful challenge: → Words that wake you up It's nearly ready. A few pages still catching up with the vision. But I wanted to share this with you first because I have a feeling ... ...you might be squeezing yourself into boxes too. The "professional" box at work. The "good parent" box at home. The "sorted" box with friends. The "I'm fine" box everywhere else. Stop trying to fit. What if the labels you've been wearing - the roles, the titles, the "I'm supposed to be" - what if they're not protecting you? What if they're just keeping the 'real you' hidden? I'd love to know: What box are you tired of fitting into? Even if you're not sure how to name it yet. Even if it's messy. I read every reply. And I promise you're not the only one feeling squeezed. Keep shining softly Andrea Your 'Soulful Challenger' PS: Before I show you what I've been creating, I need to know what you're trying to break out of. Your answers matter. PPS: Not ready to reply yet? I get it. You can read more about my journey in She'll Do It Her Way - the book where this whole "breaking out of boxes" thing really began. |
Andrea Goodridge
💛I switch the light on inside, so the 'real you' can shine softly from within. For over 20 years I've helped people shed the layers that aren't theirs, the job titles, the roles, the expectations, and remember who they actually are underneath. If something in you is done hiding, you're in the right place.
Hi Reader I'm sitting in it right now. My morning chair. The one that catches the sun first. I have my coffee, my comfort blanket (not because I'm cold, just because it feels right) and I'm looking out the back windows at the birds doing their thing. It's bright today. Really bright. Even though I can see the frost still on the ground. The windows need cleaning. I notice that. And then I let it go. It's not a dreamy house or a dreamy world I live in. It's just mine. And this quiet bit at the...
Hi Reader I took these two photos over the last couple of weeks. Both blue skies. Both beautiful. Both in January. They look almost the same at first glance. But one was Manchester at 5 degrees. And the other was Barbados at 29. Same surface. Very different experience underneath. And that’s been on my mind lately. Because this is exactly what happens when something big is going on inside us. From the outside, life can look fine. We’re functioning. Turning up. Doing what needs doing. But...
Hi Reader She sat on the call and said: "I know I need to make a decision. I just don't know why I can't." We were 10 minutes in. She'd been circling the same decision for months. Talked it through with friends. Journalled. Made pros and cons lists. Still stuck. I asked: "What happens if you don't decide?" She paused. Then quietly said, "Nothing changes. I stay exactly where I am." "And how does that feel?" Another pause. Longer this time. "Safe." There it was. Realisation she was stuck...