Are you thinking big enough?

Five questions for your dream 2025

Jan 04, 2025

Beautiful soul,

When I was a little girl I used to look out at the lights of the town we lived next to, which were orange and flickering, like little flares.

Something in me stirred. A feeling that there was more.

That life could be big.

Thirty years later I found myself rubbing pen from a whiteboard after teaching another exam preparation class, wondering why I felt so flat again.

The truth was, five years into a second career, I had started cutting corners, spending the minimum amount of time doing what I needed to do and rolling my eyes at systems and rules.

I still loved working with young people and pursued my creative projects, but life felt stale and predictable. When a friend of mine decided to take a year out I immediately did the same, renting out my flat and going for a new life.

The funny thing was, about three years before I had a counsellor who invited me to write out all the options for my life, including not working.

It might not be easy she said. But we have to be careful. We always have choice.

It’s a lesson I’ve carried with me.

Before I left teaching I had embarked on self-development and discovery.

I had tried to do everything the world told me to: university, career, relationship – and nothing worked. I still felt different – not in a good way – kind of empty and little bit broken.

Then, I went all in. On my business yes, but mostly on my relationship with myself.

We all know that life can look ‘fine’ on the outside, aspirational even, but on the inside it can be a totally different story.

Fear, doubt, questioning and criticising yourself, all of it is especially potent when it feels like you’re not where you’re meant to be.

When friends suggested keeping my teaching registration, I knew I wouldn’t. If an ounce of my energy went there I wasn’t fully IN.

With Jo Bell

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