Yesterday - five years ago - I established Insolo Coaching and embarked on a very new journey being a self-employed coach. This blog is a brief reflection and an opportunity to say thank you to all those people who supported me along the way.

Today, I look back at the five years and I am so grateful for all the experiences and growth that they provided me with. Being able to support PhD students and Early Career Researchers enabled me to find a purpose and meaning that gave me a clear direction and it brought a lot of joy and satisfaction. I discovered how what I do now deeply connects with my nature and enables me to do something I love. When I coach, I am in flow.

At the beginning there was only an idea. It took courage to get going. There were three key people who supported me and at times ‘pushed’ and ‘challenged’ me in a positive way to say yes to a journey of discovery but also one that required focus and belief in myself. These three people were my partner, my karate teacher, and my coach. I am very grateful for everything they did for me back then and how they still continue having a positive impact on what I do.

I want to conclude this brief reflection with encouraging you to say yes to something that has been on your mind for a while, but you have found it challenging (or scary!) to get started with. Give it a go and a path with emerge. Five years ago, I didn’t know if what I had on my mind would succeed. It did. If I wouldn’t have tried it I wouldn’t have had a chance to encourage and empower so many wonderful people and learn myself.

What are you saying ‘yes’ to? What would be the first step towards it?