Freedom in the flow

This is a regular blog that presents an interview with a person, dedicated to an aspect of stressfree living. People do amazing things, fight and win amazing battles, and are successful in creating happiness and satisfaction for themselves and others, without being perfect.

Recently, I listened to a talk of Penny Power (Ecademy – www.ecademy.com), and she mentioned how ‘we all have a song to sing’ and how sad it is that there are people, who don’t sing their song. This resonated with me, as for a long time, I felt the song inside, but couldn’t sing. And now I can and I do and I want to sing alone and with others who are singing and with the ones that want to learn to sing! I want to hear the songs that people sing, and they will do that in this series of blogs.

Dr Mariette Jansen MBACP

In this first edition, I will interview…….. myself! Mariette Jansen, life coach, counsellor, stress management consultant.

Q: What inspired you to work as a counsellor / coach?     

In have been a fighter all my life. Tried to find my own path, but also tried to get the approval of my closest. And that did not go together. One of my biggest struggles was to get that need for approval out of my system. And you know, there are still bits there. But it doesn’t hinder me anymore. On that journey I faced lots of challenges, learned from it and came out the other end with a smile on my face. I like to think that I had those experiences for a reason: to let others benefit from it and maybe make their journey a bit easier with my support.

Q: How do you take the stress out of your life?

An important ‘life rule’ for me, is to never lie. One of the reasons is that I talk so much, that I could never ever remember what I said to whom, if it wasn’t consistent. But another reason is that it makes life much easier and clearer; if the truth is too painful, I don’t mention it. If I need to talk about a painful truth, I choose an appropriate moment. And if someone accuses me of saying different things, then I know it is a misunderstanding, rather than a deliberate twist.

On a different level, I meditate and run. The last two years I get out of bed at 6 am and meditate for 30 minutes: that gives me a calm mind and a peacefulness I have never known before. Great stuff.

             The running gets my body going and sweating, and it is similar to the meditation: it calms my bodyand makes me really grateful for working muscles and the enjoyment of the run.

Q: What is your secret for happiness?

My glass is always half full. As a result, I might drink too much, but with the rest of my healthy lifestyle, I tend to believe it is okay. I never fret over stuff from the past, it is something I can’t change, so I focus on the future.

I am grateful for the good stuff: gratitude lists are brilliant to realise what is in place and good and okay. People have a tendency to look at what is not okay, but forget the good stuff.

Q: If you could give one message about stressfree living, what would it be?

Live your life true to yourself. Easier said than done. Before you can do that, you have to know yourself and that is hard work and a painful process. But worth every bit of it. It makes you alive and it takes the stress out of life and makes it possible to SING YOUR SONG!

Thanks Mariette, for sharing this on the stressfreecoaching blog. I wonder what others think about this reflection and also, are there other questions? Please send your comment or questions on this wonderful topic. Do you want to sing your song on this blog? Please send an email to mariette.jansen.coaching@gmail.com