My journey - part one
I never shared this before...
It was 2015 and I was crying on the top of a cold, windy, misty mountain. I was shaking, insecure, incapable. My legs and feet hurt. My husband was with me and encouraged me. I did my best to please him. To like what he and the boys liked so much and managed to descend the mountain to the nearest mountain restaurant where we drunk cappuccinos. It warmed me up a little, but I still felt cold. I decided to stay in the restaurant while my husband went up again to find and ski with the boys.
I was miserable. I felt like a loser. I felt weak and inadequate, and perhaps the worst part of all angry: “This ski- thing is going to create an unbridgeable gap between me and the boys!”. The more they skied, the more they loved it while I was experiencing the opposite. I was thinking of other women in similar situations who would book a week to enjoy the tropical sun with a friend while their husband and children go skiing... Should I decide to do the same to stop the misery I was in?
No, not me. I used to practice gymnastics four times a week. I used to be strong, had toned arms and legs and great flexibility. Won prizes. Now I was a mother of two sporty boys. “You should be able to master this even if you are 44 years old” I told myself. Yet I had taken ski lessons years before but never really enjoyed it. Which voice should I listen to? Which voice was I allowed to listen to?
I blamed my busy job as Deputy GM (Netherlands) of one the biggest communications firms in the world for not allowing me time to work out and providing me with a lot of pressure to perform. I had gained 10 kilos in 14 years, lost my muscle tone, energy and shape altogether. I felt down realizing this. I was close to giving up for good. I believed I could never train back to a decent level and make my boys and husband proud.
Fast forward 4 years later, having returned from a sunny week of skiing in Grächen, Switzerland which I enjoyed to the fullest. A big smile on my face. Amazed by myself on how well I skied while feeling strong and confident. No pain whatsoever, just joy. I saw my youngest boy smile: “Wow mom, you really improved!”
In 2015 I quit my job, in 2016 I lost ten kilos sustainably and became a veggie pescatarian. I started a new demanding head of brand and communication strategy job at a large international bank. In 2017 I lost that job and joined an American programme to become a Health & Life coach. In 2018 I founded my own coaching firm “Mellow Revolution”. At the same moment I started personal fitness training and trained 3 times per week. And I look at where I am now. I feel stronger, healthier and happier. It is such a freeing experience. I believe that all women deserve to experience this transformation!
Let me know if this story resonates with you. If you feel like taking the pressure off and switching your power (which you know & feel you have in you) back on. I did it, it is SO possible for you.

Ze vragen mij nu om raad en geven aan mij als voorbeeld te nemen als ze worstelen met leiding geven.

Drie fabels over vrouwelijk leiderschap die 92% van de leidinggevende vrouwen onnodig doodmoe maken.

