Embracing Change: My Journey from Anxiety to BOLD Business.
- Feb 19, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: May 17
Join Jenny Jarvis on her inspiring journey through personal and professional transformation. From battling anxiety and health issues to mastering NLP and fostering bold relationships, discover how embracing change shaped her into the leader she is today.
I’ve lived in several places.
Many of them for long periods of time (showing my age). My first 11 years were in Hull, followed by 24 years in Scotland split between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Lockerbie, 6 months in Norfolk and the last 11 years in Melbourne, Derbyshire.
With each move I’ve had to learn to adapt to big changes. I’ve had to learn how to build relationships with new people and I’ve had to let go of relationships that just weren’t working. No mean feat for a socially awkward girl who was riddled with anxiety.
But I continued to push through the discomfort. And there was a lot of that! I pushed through postnatal depression, I pushed through autoimmune illness (to the point I went into remission and have been for 10 years), I pushed through so many things because I just kept moving forward. But was I happy? Not really. My marriage broke down and I had no idea who I wanted to become, just something different.
I see this in businesses all the time.
Keep pushing through, one day at a time, hoping one day you will reach the holy grail of happiness, financial freedom, and relationship stability. You know you want change, but how to do it and what, that’s too much to even think about.
It was when I hit 40 that I realised something had to change. I couldn’t just keep pushing anymore, I needed to discover who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. That’s when I came across coaching and NLP. I embarked on an ambitious program of coach training with an ICF accredited provider. Not only was I going to learn about coaching for personal development, but I was also going to learn about coaching in the education, small business, and corporate world. And on top of that, I signed up to study to be an NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) practitioner. This turned out to be the piece of the jigsaw I had been searching for. Learning to help others change their mindset, confidence levels, belief systems and go on to achieve their goals in turn helped me do the same for myself.
My real passion is healthy relationships.
I know how hard life is if the people you surround yourself with are not supportive, helpful, or uplifting. We can’t always change the people in our lives, but we can find others to help us navigate the difficulties. I’ve spent the last few years learning how to communicate and build lasting relationships with people who will add to our experience, I’ve also been navigating the world of neurodiversity and learning how it can impact how society works for those who think differently, and I’ve also learned how to be more BOLD.
Being bold for an introvert who doesn’t like to ask people for anything has been a challenge. But like confidence, change and relationships, being bold is a skill and as such, practice makes improvement. I’m loving the new bolder me, there is definitely room for improvement but that’s what life is all about, continuous improvement for myself and my business.
Jenny Jarvis - Head of People Transformation at Q Branch.
Mindset and people development specialist. Jenny helps founders, teams and organisations unlock what’s holding them back, strengthen relationships, and lead with more confidence, clarity and momentum.
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Email Me:jenny@qbranch.consulting
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