The journey

A personal reflection

Generally I don’t share personal reflections on my website or social media but an experience has stirred my creativity and I hope my words will help at least one person on their journey.

Where am I trying to go to?

Recently I went on a journey to a place I had visited once. I had a general sense of the route and felt ready to set off early in the morning. For a while all was well, and then I found myself in an area that was completely unfamiliar. I thought if I just kept going the route I hoped to take would soon be within my sights.

What did I notice?

This area is not familiar – I do not like it. I also noticed anxiety rising and doing my best to restore peace within so that I could concentrate. I even found myself thinking ‘what would I say to my clients?’ …..exhale….lower my shoulders, talk gently to myself. Then I remembered something my clients hear me say a lot – ‘when there are many things that are uncertain and we don’t know where we are, see if you can find one thing that you do know.’

With those reflections going on in my head I looked again at my sat nav and noticed an instruction – ‘turn left in 300 yards. ‘ ‘That’s brilliant – yes I can do that.’ It struck me as so important because I noticed the prompt and felt my body relax. I also noticed the number of miles to my destination was decreasing so was reassured that I was getting closer.

Then I saw road signs that were really familiar to me and heard myself exclaim – ‘oh I am on this road – I know this.’ 30 minutes later I saw the reassuring black and white flag of the sat nav – ‘you have arrived at your destination.’

So many parallels with life

That journey reminded me so much of life. Usually we go about our routine with a confident sense of what we are doing and how to get to where we need to be. We all know that life is not linear so whilst it may look as though we only have one thing to think about all of us are dealing with many challenges. We are all trying to work out what direction to go in.

How was your Christmas?

Society expects us all to be joyful at Christmas. The reality is that it will be mixed depending on our personal circumstances. We may be laughing one minute and in tears the next. I invite you to tune in to yourself – what do you notice and what do you need right now?

As you consider what steps to take next, take your time, be self-compassionate. You will find the way forward even if the route is sometimes unfamiliar and anxiety-provoking. Take time to pause so that you can think more clearly. One step at a time on your journey is absolutely fine. Each step helps the route become more clear.

Would professional support help?

If you feel that professional support might help you and you are in the UK, I will be back at work on 5 January 2026. Do feel free to contact me on www.stellagoddard.com