Guest Post: An Experience With Lesley @ The Parent Whisperer
The first time I heard about Lesley and ‘The Parent Whisperer’ was when my mother sent me a link to a parenting workshop that was being held in my town. As a first time mum to a toddler, with a self-confessed parenting style of ‘I-have-absolutely-no-idea-what-I’m-doing’, I was really keen on gaining some wisdom into how I could be a better parent.
The workshop itself was wonderful, and afterwards I was offered three free sessions with Lesley. Having never experienced a coaching session before, I was unsure about what to expect, though I had visions of it being some kind of Super Nanny situation where Lesley would tell me exactly how to handle my daughters tantrums, night waking, separation anxiety, and so on. The sessions were going to be held over the phone, which I was delighted about, for two reasons 1. At the time, I was suffering from a pretty severe anxiety disorder, and I often would shy away from face-to-face appointments 2. Talking on the phone for an hour is much more manageable than leaving the house for an hour when you have a toddler who is permanently attached to your leg. The night of the first session came, and at 8:15 we started the call. Lesley asked me to get a big glass of water, and settle in somewhere quiet. She asked if there was anything in particular I wanted to gain insight with, and though I had originally assumed it would all be about how to ‘manage’ my daughter, we ended up talking about my issues with anxiety, and the blocks that were holding me back. The session was amazing, Lesley was gentle enough to not make me feel pressured or anxious at any point, but firm enough to get me to recognise where I was telling myself a whole lot of BS, and where I was hiding away. By the time we hung up, I was absolutely blown away. My partner asked how it had gone, and I couldn’t give him an answer – I was amazed at the journey I’d been on in just over an hour!
The thing that struck me the most though, was how I’d gone into it assuming that I was a crappy parent who needed help to control her child, and I’d come out the other side realising that I was a wonderful parent, with an incredible child, but that I had let my own beliefs about not being good enough get in the way of my innate ability to nurture and to know what was best for my child, and myself. And what’s more, was that it all came at exactly the right time. The workshop, meeting Lesley, the free sessions – I was at a point in my life where I was tired of living my old patterns, but wasn’t sure how to break free from them, and then help basically fell into my lap when I least expected it! (Oh universe, you tricky old thing)
The following sessions with Lesley were just as awesome as the first, and I found myself finally able to shake off most of my habitual fearful behaviour; replacing them with acts of self-care, and commitment to follow through with my goals.
If you are wondering what a session with Lesley is like, my suggestion is to just go into with your heart and mind open and see what happens! As I found, sometimes in life we think we want to ‘fix’ one area, but it is really something underneath that needs change. I am incredibly thankful that Lesley’s and my paths crossed, and I am still finding that the breakthrough made in those three sessions are lighting up my life even today, and instead of sitting comfortably in some kind of weird state of arrested development like I was before - I’m now quite happily and excitedly on a journey towards the rest of my life.