Ain’t no mountain high enough…

Howth, Ireland

See that glorious photo of Howth in Ireland? I took that after I climbed my first cliff. I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it to the top, but I did. Standing there, I took a deep breath and muttered to myself: ‘I did it!’ It was such a significant achievement; it was the first time in ages where I really believed that I could achieve anything I wanted to as long as I thought I could.

And there’s the rub. Believing in myself does not come easy to me. I have always doubted myself in every aspect: as a student, a teacher, a colleague, a mentor/coach, and especially as a leader. My self doubt swallowed up any positivity and truths I felt and knew about myself. You see, I had this malicious internal voice which amplified my feelings of inadequacy: ‘you know nothing,’ it would exclaim every time I attended a meeting, delivered a CPD session or even relayed a message in a morning briefing.

I had had enough of it.

So, over the last year, I have had an abundance of support from wonderful people helping me to work on my confidence, teaching me how to be kind to myself and encouraging me to be brave.

Consequently, after a year of coaching, I have been able to turn down the volume of my malicious internal voice. Instead I have chosen to be courageous and share my thoughts and experiences as an educator. And though these blogs may just be my ramblings, I hope that you will find some things useful.

Thank you for reading.

@msybibi