How can I transform my life in a year?

Three game changing lessons that will change your life for the better

Life can transform dramatically in the space of just one year, for the better, or for worse. As I celebrate Yellow Bench Coaching’s first year in business, I’m reflecting on the major shifts I’ve experienced within relatively short periods of time. I’ll share what I’ve learned about burnout, habits, courage and what I say to my clients about how you can transform your life for the better in the space of just one year. 

How it all went wrong

In January 2023, my life was going great, at least to anyone observing from the outside. I had a successful, purposeful career working as a corporate sustainability leader for a big UK bank. I had two lovely kids, a great husband, and a beautiful house. If you’d have asked me how I was, I’d have told you I was fine. Busy, and juggling, but fine. 

But by January 2024, everything had changed. I was unable to work. In fact, I was unable to do pretty much anything. For a while I needed to be reminded to eat. My husband was doing everything. I’d lost my dad in late 2023 and that had triggered a breakdown. A perfect storm of perfectionism and people pleasing, combined with years of bad habits, overwork and overextending, meeting a moment of serious crisis. And I was unable to cope. It was scary, and it was dark.

I learned how easy it is to let one year drift into the next, how easy it is to ignore small warning signs, to get disconnected from your emotional and physical state. And how the unthinkable, can, and will happen, if every day you are making small decisions that worsen your life. Small daily declines which accumulate over time into crisis.

The recovery - and the power of a year. 

Fast forward to January 2025. I was calm. I had energy. I was more deeply connected to my friends and family than ever before. I was enjoying being a parent. I’d left corporate and had just launched my new transformational coaching practice, Yellow Bench Coaching. So, how did I transform my life for the better, in the space of just one year?

Whilst daily small actions in the wrong direction can eventually compound into crisis, consistent, daily decisions that take you in the direction of the person you want to become can lead to significant improvements. 

In early 2024, I started to focus on doing one ‘good thing’ every day. That might be going for a walk, or cooking a healthy meal, or reading a book. I began journalling each evening, documenting my one ‘good thing’. 

Previously, I’d seen good habits as just more things to add to the ‘to do’ list. More things to overwhelm and exhaust me. But as I started to do ‘one good thing’ each day I realised that habits feed off each other. Bad habits can easily turn into a vicious cycle: that extra glass of wine leads to that bar of chocolate which leads to poor sleep, and no energy for exercise the next day. And this vicious cycle can become an endless downward spiral, until a tipping point is reached and crisis looms. 

But what I’ve found is that good habits can also feed off each other, and create a virtuous circle, or a positive upward spiral. Skipping the wine makes you less likely to eat a salty snack, which improves your chance of a good night’s sleep, and your energy for taking a walk in the morning. As you start to feel better, you instinctively reach for the things that make you feel good. And over a year, that can compound into a massive transformation in your health and wellbeing. 

Lesson 1: Harness the power of compound improvement and do something good everyday that takes you towards the person you want to be. Create positive virtuous upward spirals, knowing that good habits feed off each other. 

The second significant thing I started doing in 2024 was getting to know myself. With the help of professionals, I began to explore my past, my stories, my values and my beliefs. I realised that my overwork, my perfectionism, my people pleasing and my ‘meddling’ were caused by situations and events that had happened years ago, creating deep rooted and unhelpful beliefs. 

Exploring my own upbringing, experiences, and beliefs brought me to a clearer understanding of how I had found myself in this downward spiral of perfectionism, people pleasing and overwork. As I worked to reshape my beliefs, I began to notice moments where I was being presented with a choice. Would I say yes, just to make someone like me? Would I meddle in someone else’s life in an effort to control them? Would I skip a break in order to do something perfectly and feel worthy and valuable? 

As I noticed these moments, I found myself beginning to intervene to choose a different path. Slowly, over many months, I began to feel less resentful, less angry, less exhausted. I felt a freedom and lightness that I’d never felt before.

There are many ways to build deep self awareness and discover the beliefs, values and stories in your past that influence your present. Journaling can help, as can talking to a friend. Many people benefit from working with a professional, to help them guide them through the process of self discovery. Working with a coach or counsellor can help you to explore difficult early experiences and uncover limiting beliefs. For those with particularly traumatic experiences, or where mental health issues are affecting current life, a psychotherapist is recommended

Lesson 2: Get to know yourself. Uncover the limiting beliefs formed in your early life. Notice when they are driving you and intervene to take a different course of action. 

Growth - and my third lesson about bravery

In January 2025 I was in a good place. I had pivoted my career, and was launching a business. I had started a training course and had my first client in the diary. But I was terrified. Now I actually had to start coaching. I had to start promoting my business on LinkedIn.  

My inner critic was loud.  What if I wasn’t ready? What if I wasn’t any good? I’m not the kind of person who does social media. What if I get nasty comments? What if people don’t like me? Doubt had crept in. Looking ahead at my business plan for 2025, I didn’t think I was brave enough to do it. 

But let me tell you what actually happened in 2025. I coached dozens of clients through big transformations. They left me wonderful feedback. I became a licensed coach. I posted every day on LinkedIn and started a weekly email community. I delivered workshops, joined an onstage panel, and started a podcast. I enjoyed my work. 

And, as well as all this professional growth, I grew personally too. I was there for my kids, I spent time with friends, I travelled, I had adventures. I went out on dates with my husband, I took care of my health, I helped my mum. I had fun. I was brave. 

So, how did this transformation come about? How did I overcome imposter syndrome, self doubt, and that noisy inner critic, to change my life for the better once again?

Having the deep self awareness, and creating virtuous upward spirals of good habits that I’ve already talked about were undoubtedly important. But I also learned about bravery. As I talked to mentors, friends and explored the wisdom of the entrepreneurial community for support with my new business, I realised that I’d never really understood it before. 

What I learned is that you’re never really ready for anything. You can never be truly certain of any course of action. You can never be completely sure it’s going to work out. Procrastination is the real enemy of transformation, and waiting until you feel motivated, ready and certain might mean you never do anything. Taking that small step, that first action, is the way to build courage.

Sometimes you just have to do it. You have to say yes to something that feels uncomfortable. You have to write the post. You have to send the proposal. You have to start. Sometimes it won’t work out. Maybe no one likes the post, maybe your proposal tanks. But you have to start. 

Lesson 3: Just Do It. Quieten that inner critic. Don’t think too hard about it. Take that first small step before you find motivation, certainty, or readiness.  

These last few years have cemented for me the true power of one year. Making a series of small poor choices every day creates a vicious downward spiral that can limit you and ultimately lead to crisis. But getting to know yourself, and taking small, consistent, positive and brave steps can create positive upward spirals that can be transformational over a year. 

Here are some questions you might like to consider, or write about: 

💛Fast forward 1 year. What do I want my life to look and feel like? 

💛Are the actions I’m taking everyday consistent with this vision of a better life? Be really honest with yourself. What actions am I taking that are hindering my progress? What actions could I be more consistent with? What actions am I holding back from taking?

💛Write out a vicious, downward spiral that you recognise from your life. What bad habits lead into other bad habits?

💛Write out a virtuous, upward spiral that you’d like to begin practicing. Keep the steps small to start with. When will you start?

💛What steps am I going to take in the next week to improve my self awareness? Do I need any professional help with this?

💛What actions am I holding back from taking, and why? What could I do today to make a start with this?

I’d love to hear how you get on with these questions.

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