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I grew up with a teacher for a mom and a dentist for a dad both of whom had work ethics that were hard to beat. I remember times when my dad would go to work even though he was throwing up! GASP. Not in the world we live in today! He believed you just don’t miss work. And my mom would teach all day and coach tennis or swimming after school which meant she didn’t get home until 9 at night sometimes. While I am big on creating a life where there’s more flexibility and time to do things besides work, their strong work ethics laid the foundation for the effort I put into my work, family, and relationships.
When I was in college, I had NO intention of becoming a teacher. I wanted a serious, professional career, so I got my first degree in Communication. I landed a marketing internship and then was hired on after I graduated. Not only did it BORE me to death, I came in contact with a lot of people that I had no aspirations to be like. That was a pretty big sign for me and it sent me right back to school because guess what? Turns out, I kind of wanted to be a teacher.
Teaching came naturally to me. I loved kids, I love to learn, and I love to get creative with helping others learn things that don’t come easily to them. I started my career teaching 1st and 2nd grade only to quickly realize those little people weren’t my jam. So, I moved up to middle school, and went back to school for the 3rd time to get my Master’s Degree.
I taught for 12 years before I had the boys and that ushered in more changes than I ever could have imagined, including the birth of the Confidence Collective.
Taking my Skillset Beyond the Classroom
As a working mom of twins I’ve been through it all myself. After growing two humans, I went through the struggle of trying to rediscover my confidence. I began that journey through my wellness. After I started to feel better in my body, I started to lean back into part of my former life that I missed so much which was personal style. My body felt great but my wardrobe had turned over so many times through pregnancy and postpartum, I needed to start over.
Finally I felt great in my skin and my outfits but my mind still had that negative sound track playing in the background and I recognized that I needed to start paying closer attention to what I was feeding my mind on a regular basis. Through trial and error I’ve found that what works for me are podcasts, audio books, and listening to affirmations.
As the pandemic hit, it forced me, like so many others, to take a long look at what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Impact has always been number one on my list when it came to the work I did. I knew I wanted to make an impact with teaching, but I wanted to shift my focus towards helping busy women, the fellow plate spinners, rediscover their confidence. This came from a place of deep knowing. Knowing that women have so many diverse gifts to offer. Because I believe confident women will change the world.
So, I hired a business coach to help me sort through all my ideas and come up with a business plan. I took my teaching skills and put them to work to create content and tools to help busy women blaze a path back to that inner confidence. And I keep pushing forward, learning along the way, to improve, create, and remind the women I come into contact with just how powerful they are!
Fun Facts About Me:
I have twin boys that are now 6 1/2
I met my husband on Yahoo Personals after moving to Colorado for another guy I thought I was going to marry ;)
I still work part time at the same school as I did when I moved to CO in 2007 as an instructional coach
I am a serious shopaholic but I have rules that keep me in check
I’ve been able to take that passion and turn it into work. It LIGHTS me up to help women discover new pathways back to living their most confident lives!
Confidence Hacks You Can Put into Action Right NOW:
Find people, podcasts, books, etc that help you feel less alone in the struggles and challenges of everyday life. I have a few podcasts I listen to on the regular and one of them is the Working Mom Hour. Their guests and topics really resonate with me. They also invited me to be a guest recently which I was honored to do. Check our their work here.
Create an awareness around your habits, specifically in the areas of how you look, feel, and think
Once you start noticing those habits, start asking yourself if they are serving you or working against you....this requires some brutal honesty with yourself
Clean out your closet!!! If you want some help with in this arena, I am co-hosting a free closet edit challenge next week. Join us here.
Do something everyday just for you. This could be something as simple as taking 10 minutes of quiet time with your coffee, a quick walk around the block in the sunshine, putting on lipgloss, taking a shower and getting ready etc. You filling your cup on the regular is going to help you regain your confidence more quickly than you can imagine
TRACK your progress and celebrate small wins. If you noticed one of your habits wasn't actually serving you and you have made changes towards removing it, recognize that work!
Put something on that makes you feel really good about yourself. A color, a particular piece of clothing, your favorite shade of lipstick.....and then take a picture of yourself to serve as a reminder that you have a light inside of you that the rest of the world wants to see!
Did you find these helpful? Let me know what you put into place!
~ Jenny