Purple Pebbles Coaching

Happy 2025. I had a conversation this afternoon, which I’m sure people up and down the country are having this week – that post-holiday chat about Christmas and New Year. What did you do? How was it? And maybe, as my conversation did, the chat turns to resolutions for 2025….. When I was asked about this my answer was that much like nature, this early part of the new year is still a quiet time, not a time for high energy commitments, especially after what can be for some a fairly exhausting few weeks. Rather, like seeds planted ready for the spring to come, I use this time to germinate ideas, intentions and aspirations for what I’d like to come to fruition in 2025. It may be a quiet and gentle activity, but it is also one that can bring anticipation and possibly even excitement to what can otherwise be a somewhat flat post-festive period. So, I invite you to sit quietly and let your thoughts wander where they will and see if they come up with any seeds that you’d like to germinate over the next few weeks in readiness for spring.

Christmas. It’s at once a simple and complex word. On the one hand when you say “Christmas” everyone knows what you mean, but at the same time Christmas means something different to everyone. There is often the pressure that Christmas must be a certain way - think Christmas films and glossy magazine spreads. There is an idealization of Christmas, an expectation that it must be a certain way to be “right”. It’s difficult, in this season of expectation and idealization to celebrate Christmas authentically, in a way that makes it meaningful for you. If you could celebrate Christmas exactly as you wanted, what, if anything would you do differently? How would you craft a Christmas that was authentic to you – even in just a small way? I have realized that I love the smell of Christmas, the cloves and cinnamon and the greenery. I love coming down early in the morning and breathing the scent of the Christmas tree; I love the soft light of the living room when the only light is that of the fairy lights on the Christmas tree. I sit quietly and just appreciate it. Wishing you well this Christmas, whatever that looks like to you.

It's December…. I can’t believe it’s December, that Christmas is nearly on us. I’m sure the last time I checked it was early October! In many ways the run up to Christmas can be one of the busiest times of the year, between getting everything finished before Christmas and taking part in the festivities of the season – whatever that looks like for you. This busy, bustling time full of activity is in direct contrast to nature which is slowing down. After the glory of autumn, the palette of winter is plainer, quieter, made up of browns, greys and blacks. Nature is going through its cycle, entering a period of drawing back, down and inwards, before the wheel turns once again and nature returns, renewed in the spring. As autumn progresses into winter, I hope that you can find some time to follow nature’s lead during these darker days, to turn inwards, quiet your own mind and to consider what it is you want to bring forward once this season of winter is over.

Do you love your life*? To answer that question with a yes, most people think you need hearts and rainbows everywhere, to be positive, enthusing and “all loved up”, but when you think about it love can be hard, it can be challenging. Sometimes you love something despite all its faults. So, what does loving your life* mean? It means acknowledging that not every day is perfect, that times might get tough, but that on balance the “good times” outweigh the “bad times”. If, however, there are more bad times than good, then maybe it’s time to step back and see if this is just a rocky patch or if you need to make changes to fall in love with your life* again. *Or job, or relationships, or home – whatever it is that feels most important to you right at this moment.

Do you know where you’re going in life? This is a very big question. Possibly too big. Do you find it slightly overwhelming? It may be a big question but it’s also one worth considering, because if you don’t know where you’re going in life there is a danger that you drift through life. And I believe that life is best lived with some intention, some purpose.

Hi 😀 My name is Suzi. I’m a practicing lawyer and a coach. I’m also a wife, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a mountain biker, a small business owner and so much more…. Purple Pebbles is my coaching company, set up to help people find the right path for them, whether in their career or in life more generally. I know how it can be to be stuck. I found myself knowing that I didn’t want to stay where I was, but not being able to change because I didn’t know where I wanted to go to. It took me a lot of time and effort (and some money) to makes the changes that would give me the purpose and fulfilment I was looking for. And now, through the power of coaching, I’d like to help others who are in a similar position – questioning where they are but not sure what step to take next.