Our Live Coaching Session on Self-Care is this Wednesday
Plus: Maintenance is an essential self-leadership skill. Here are 3 tips to help you hone yours.
Hi and welcome to another free post from ‘Something More’. I’m Caroline Ferguson, mindset trainer, speaker, therapist and your guide as we wander together through the uneven hills of mindset and self-leadership – with the odd slice of real life thrown in.
A couple of weeks ago I posted an article on radical self-care and how important it is that we give ourselves permission to look after our own wellbeing. I chose this subject for two reasons:
It’s on-topic for this month’s group-coaching session for paying members, which is MAINTENANCE. This is one of the four pillars of self-leadership that I teach my one-to-one mindset training clients.
I’m paying a lot of attention to my own self-care at the moment so I’m giving myself permission to keep this article on the shorter side so that I can head to bed before 2am tonight (and be OK with making that choice, which wasn’t always the case).
I have a few goodies for you in this article, starting with these three tips for radical self-care that can make a big difference to your wellbeing.
1️⃣ Learn to tell the difference between your true needs and your appetites.
For example, you might find yourself craving a piece of chocolate. When the desire hits, ask yourself, “What am I really hungry for?” Is it chocolate? Or is it relief from boredom, a dopamine hit, a hug or an escape from a task I’m putting off?
Awareness gives you the agency to tolerate a moment of discomfort and prioritise your health by making a difference decision.
Of course sometimes you just need a piece of chocolate!
2️⃣ Protect your mental, physical and emotional bandwidth
This one can be difficult for those who have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, and even more so if you’re genuinely struggling to manage a lot on your own.
Give yourself permission to enforce boundaries, prioritise your needs and say no occasionally. Let others in your life know that you have limits. The world won’t stop if you occasionally carve out some space to look after your own needs.
3️⃣ Ask for help, and accept it.
It’s amazing how difficult it can be for some folk to believe they deserve support - particularly those with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and underdeveloped sense of entitlement, as mentioned in point 2. (Dear reader, I know whereoff I speak, though I am a lot better at asking for help these days.)
Scan your social, family and work networks for people and systems that can help you plug the occasional support gap. Perhaps you can set up a buddy system where you swap favours with a friend or a group of Mums from school?
Reach out before things become critical and please, please, please allow others to show up for you.
Here’s a little something else for you.
I love having quality conversations with interesting people. Barbera Schouten is a coach from the Netherlands who works with highly sensitive persons, intuitive visionaries, sensitive truth-speakers, creative rebels and soul-led guides – what a fantastic list!
She hosts a couple of YouTube shows and invited me to chat to her recently. In our first conversation, we talked about my ‘wiggly path’ to finding the something more I always sensed was out there for me.
Here’s how Barbera describes our conversation:
“In this heartfelt and insightful interview with Caroline, we explore the concept of the "wiggly path"—the often non-linear journey towards discovering your true purpose, soul alignment, and deeper fulfillment. Caroline shares her personal journey of embracing life’s twists, turns, and unexpected detours, and how these experiences ultimately led her to something more meaningful and aligned with her soul’s calling. Through this conversation, you’ll discover the power of trusting the path, even when it feels uncertain, and how to embrace the wiggly, winding journey as an essential part of personal and spiritual growth.
Key takeaways from this interview include:
Embracing life’s detours as part of the spiritual journey
How to trust and navigate the uncertainty on your path to purpose
The importance of authenticity and self-compassion in spiritual growth
Real-life examples of the wiggly path leading to something more meaningful
How to find alignment and clarity even when the path seems unclear
This interview is perfect for anyone who feels like they’re not on a straight path and is seeking reassurance, guidance, and inspiration to continue on their unique journey. Tune in to hear Caroline's powerful insights on how the winding road is just as important as the destination.”
Wow, what a write-up! If that’s whetted your appetite, here’s our conversation:
Join our next live coaching session to elevate your self-care
This month’s group-coaching session for paying subscribers is on:
Date: Weds 25th June, 2025
Time: 8:00pm to 9:15pm UK time (3:00pm EDT, 12:00pm PDT)
The Zoom link is in the PS at the end of this article and is visible only to paying subscribers.
During the session we’ll:
Examine why taking care of ourselves is such a vital part of self-leadership
Explore my three-part maintenance framework and go deep into the areas that true maintenance touches
Have fun building our own unique maintenance plan
Answer 5 key questions to keep us on track
Embrace a simple but profound wellbeing manifesto
As usual we’ll end with an open discussion – and these usually turn into the juiciest breakthrough conversations (but only those who attend will ever know as I turn off the recording at this point).
Does that sound like something you’d like to take part in?
If so, it’s not too late to subscribe. Come along to this 75-minute session for just £12, or you can join for a year for only £80 and get 12 of these live coaching sessions a year, plus recordings.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and I hope you mark Wednesday in your calendar as the day you made a radical, lifetime commitment to look after yourself, with or without my help.
Sending love to you all,
PS - Below is the link to join the coaching session on Wednesday. My lovely paying people, I’ll send you a quick reminder on the day too.