Author Archives: Matt Smith Personal and Professional Coach

A year has now passed since we lost Mum. I can easily say it has been the most difficult year I have experienced. I have spent most of the year reliving the last few weeks of her life. This has caused me immense pain over the past 12 months. Back in May I had aContinue reading “Time to look to the future”

I have started being coached again recently, it started because I wanted to support a trainee coach with her confidence in coaching. I could see something in her that would make her a very special coach. She is a very experienced health professional, who is self aware enough to naturally hold her own judgement andContinue reading “Connecting with who I am”

I have had a break from writing for a few months, I think I needed a period of recovery after a difficult year. We have just got back from holiday, and I was hoping I would return refreshed and firing on all cylinders. It hasn’t worked out like that. I still feel mentally jaded, IContinue reading “Holding emotions too tightly”

I have not really been available for coaching for a few months. My Mum’s death had taken a lot out of me, and I just wasn’t in the right space to coach outside of my day job. I just did not have the bandwidth to provide support to people in my day job and thenContinue reading “I am back and ready to coach”

How often in the course of a normal day do you react to what is presented to you instead of responding? If you have kids I will almost guarantee it is at least in double figures. So what do I mean when I say react instead of respond? When we react we use our reptilianContinue reading “Why do you react to events the way you do?”

This is one of them, having a word with myself blogs. Do you, you are good at it, you really are, if only you took time to notice, and stopped comparing yourself to others. That is what I needed to tell myself this week, but I would rather impart this wisdom to you lot instead.Continue reading “Do you, you are good at it…no you really are!”

I have been on annual leave this week. I still get up ridiculously early. I was awake at 5 today. It is a habit I have had since being a young adult. I feel guilty if I sleep beyond 8am. I find I am more alert and can get things done in the morning. TheContinue reading “Habits, foggy, sense of identity and getting shit done.”

We used to get our Christmas tree (a real one) the Saturday before Christmas, most people did then (in the 70s and 80s). Now this might not be strictly accurate, but this is what I remember. I remember having real trees when we lived in Chester, even after Dad had left. I remember getting themContinue reading “It’s that time of year again”

Sometimes (well most of the time) I write this blog to help me put what is going on in my head in some order. This is one of those blogs. I knew this time of year was always going to be difficult after Mum died, granted also it has only been 3 months since sheContinue reading “The Return of Foggy”

Stories of My Well Being Since becoming an adult I have struggled with my mental health and well-being. Over the years this has manifested itself in a number of ways, ranging from general anxiety, self-hatred and physical symptoms. I was going to say I manage to avoid a dependency on this journey, but that wouldContinue reading “Connecting to My Story”