2015 Gratitude List

Each night before bed I like to reflect on the day and list at least three things I am grateful for. I have found that over time this practise has not only helped me be more present but also more positive, and has allowed me to deal with difficult situations from a more positive mindset. So here’s my list of biggie’s that I’m grateful for in 2015:
Re-Discovering My Passion for Writing
2015 has bought me more writing that every before from writing content for corporate HR and Leadership, Penning prose on my love of yoga, food and manifestation, to wiring 3000 word uni assignments. Even though at times the pressure has been on with juggling deadlines and competing priorities, I have loved every minute and am more certain than ever that a book (if not a book series) is inside me somewhere.

 

My House Mate
When one house mate left I was unsure if I wanted another, and then Louie turned up. She is incredible easy to live with, we share a passion for slow cooked lamb shanks and offbeat conversations.

 

My Corporate Job
I still have one foot in corporate while I continue to grow and build my yoga and coaching business. This has alowed me to keep moving forward with financially supporting my passionate endeavours and also continues to help me broaden my skills in understanding sales and marketing.

 

Debt Free
Being debt free is something that seemed so insurmountable only 2 years ago. Time to build wealth baby! Millionaire mindset for 2016.

 

Teaching Yoga
Yoga has kept me sane throughout the year. My schedule is jam packed and I didn’t really know how I was going to find the time to run my first yoga program, but I did. I’m so glad I made it happen, I enjoyed every moment and it’s very humbling to see not only how far I have come (nervous wreck at teacher training) and more importantly how far my students came. I learnt so much from them in each and every class, and their laughter and enthusiasm has spurred me to add more classes for 2016.

 

Heart Opening
Anyone else single at 36? Seriously dating in your 30’s is like having another full time job. What with online dating, dating safaris, tinder dear universe help me please! Somehow, out of the ether a man arrived who cracked my heart wide open for the first time in a long time, and it has just been amazing. From laughing until we’re blue in the face, to having slippery yet moisturizing experiences in the bedroom, I never knew I could feel like this again. Now separated by the Atlantic ocean, I can only be truly grateful for the experience and the knowledge that there is definitely someone out there that truly understands and sees me for who am, flaws, wounds and all.

 

Travel
Travel is always near the top of the list for me and I was unsure if it was going to get a look in 2015. Bali and Thailand were both on my vision board and glad to see a visit was made, actually as we speak!

 

Time to Heal
I feel like i endured rather than lived through 2014, it was rife with toxic work situations, colleagues and family illness. When my new boss decided that we would work from home early 2015, it really gave me the space I needed to heal and recover from months of anxiety and adrenal fatigue.

 

Online Home
Finally, after about 10 years worth of websites that never really felt like me. I have an online space I adore. Its bright and bold which totally suits my personality.

 

Super Charged Sisterhood
This really started out as a Mastermind Group for a few close friends, and the experiences we shared, the way we supported each other and the dreams that came into fruition in that time led to me writing the Super Charged Sisterhood program. In 2016, I will be supporting a group of women to get focused on their dreams, get practical about building a plan and make them happen. If you’d like to know more check out how to work with me.

 

Expansion
My word for the year was EXPANSION!
I wanted to grow outside my current boundaries, stretch my mind, and step one foot closer to doing work that I love. Mission complete with a steep learning curve around marketing, teaching yoga and putting myself out there, embarking on MBA and then switching to the EMBA. Knowing when things don’t feel right and being brave enough to call it and make a change was a great lesson for me in 2015.

 

What’s on your gratitude list for 2015?

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Hi, I'm Alisha

I coach women (and businesses) how to value themselves and their female talent. I guide women through a process of releasing limiting beliefs, building their personal wealth and how to navigate the parental transition journey to create a truly flourishing life.

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What Bali Taught Me (That I Already Knew But Needed to Remember)

What Bali Taught Me (That I Already Knew But Needed to Remember)

I’m writing this from Bali, somewhere between a freshly squeezed juice, a pool and a wedding.

And something has already shifted. It always does when I genuinely stop.

I want to share what came up. Not because it’s unique to Bali. Because I think it’s available to all of us, if we let it be.

The Last Time I Was Here

The last time I came to Bali I was single, no kids, and deep in a Kundalini yoga and meditation phase of my life. I spent the first half of the trip in full spiritual immersion and the second half, because I’ve always loved a bit of balance, drinking cocktails on the beach and dancing under the stars until the early hours.

Both halves were exactly right for who I was then.

This time I arrived with a husband, two boys, and a wedding to celebrate. And yes, there was still a dance floor involved at some point. Some things are just non-negotiable. 💃🏾

What struck me most wasn’t how different this trip felt. It was how much of me felt exactly the same underneath all of it. The same woman who needs stillness and movement in equal measure. Who finds clarity near water. Who comes alive on a dance floor and also genuinely loves a morning of complete quiet.

Returning to a place at a different point in your life has a way of showing you who you’ve stayed.

What the Quiet Taught Me

When you step away from the noise long enough, things become clear that were impossible to see up close.

For me this trip it was this: I’d let the pace creep back in. Gradually, quietly, the way it always does. The early mornings on the phone. The evenings half-present. The low-level hum of tasks that never quite switched off.

Nothing dramatic. Just the slow drift back toward a version of myself I’d worked hard to move away from.

Bali reminded me of the difference between functioning and flourishing. I’d been functioning beautifully. I hadn’t been flourishing.

That’s useful information. And I wouldn’t have had access to it without stopping long enough to hear it.

What I’m Taking Home

A renewed commitment to the structures I know work for me.

Movement scheduled like a meeting, non-negotiable. Two email windows a day instead of a constantly open inbox. Evenings that belong to my family, not my business. And the regular, protected breaks that make all of it sustainable.

These aren’t new practices. But the trip reminded me what it actually feels like when I honour them. And that reminder is worth more than any new productivity system I could have come home with.

Something Coming in July

I’m coming home with something brewing.

Reset & Rise is on 24 July. It’s a 90-minute online masterclass for women who know something needs to change but aren’t quite sure where to start.

We work through what’s keeping you stuck, what needs to shift, and what the next real step looks like. It’s practical, personal, and it works.

Details dropping very soon. If you want to be first to know, book a Discovery Call and I’ll make sure you hear about it before anyone else.

Book your free Discovery Call here: https://calendly.com/alishawaterman/exploration-session

In joy, Alisha

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Tomorrow I’m flying to Bali with my family.

And I want to write something honest before I go.

About what it actually feels like to step away. Not the Instagram version. The real one.

The First 48 Hours

I won’t pretend it feels completely natural from the start.

There’s always a low-level restlessness in the first couple of days. A quiet voice asking whether something important needs you. Whether things are okay without you.

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Just to let it be there.

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The thoughts slow down. The background hum of responsibilities quiets. You start sleeping deeply. Finishing conversations without half your attention somewhere else.

And then clarity starts arriving.

Not forced clarity. Not the kind you squeeze out of a journaling session at 6am before the house wakes up. The kind that just shows up when you’ve finally created enough space for it.

This is what real rest does. It doesn’t just restore you to where you were. It recalibrates you. Shows you what you’ve been too close to see clearly.

What I’m Expecting to Find

The last time I was in Bali I was single, no kids, deep in my Kundalini yoga and meditation phase. I spent the first half of the trip in full spiritual immersion and the second half, because balance has always been my thing, drinking cocktails on the beach and dancing under the stars until the early hours.

Both halves were perfect.

This time I’m arriving with a husband, two boys, and a wedding to celebrate. Completely different chapter. Same woman underneath, just with a lot more life packed in since then.

I’m expecting Bali to do what it always does. Slow me down enough to hear myself think. Remind me what I’m doing all of this for. Send me home clearer than when I left.

And I’ll be sharing what comes up when I’m back.

You Don’t Need to Go to Bali

I’m not telling you to book a holiday. I know that’s not available to everyone right now.

What I am saying is that somewhere in your life, there is a version of genuine rest available to you. An hour on a Sunday morning with no agenda. A weekend afternoon you protect from productivity. Ten minutes of actual stillness every day.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to rest. It’s whether you can afford not to.

And whether you believe, in your body not just your head, that you are allowed to stop.

Because for so many of us, that’s the real work.

If this resonated and you’d like to explore what building more space into your life could look like, I’d love to have a conversation.

Book your free Discovery Call here: https://calendly.com/alishawaterman/exploration-session

In joy, Alisha

If Your Business Stops When You Stop, You Haven't Built a Business

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I’m getting ready to step away from my business for a couple of weeks.

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Straightforward on paper. But it also required something less logistical.

It required me to actually trust that things would hold without me actively holding them.

That’s the part nobody talks about. The inner work of stepping back. The voice that says what if something goes wrong, what if someone needs me, what if it all falls apart without me there.

That voice is not evidence that you need to stay. It’s evidence that you haven’t yet fully trusted what you’ve built.

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I am genuinely not that person anymore. And the freedom of that is hard to overstate.

What would need to be in place for you to step away for two weeks? That’s a useful question to sit with.

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Book your free Discovery Call here: https://calendly.com/alishawaterman/exploration-session

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June.

We are almost exactly halfway through the year.

And before you scroll past that fact, I want to ask you to sit with it for a moment.

Not to audit your progress. Not to tally up the goals you haven’t hit. But to give yourself a genuine, honest mid-year check-in.

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Instead of asking did I hit my goals, try asking these three questions.

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What have I learned about myself that I didn’t know in January?

What do I want the second half of this year to feel like?

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You don’t need to wait for a new year, a new month, or a Monday.

The second half of this year starts right now, with whatever you decide today.

If the first half was harder than you expected, that’s not failure. That’s information. Use it.

If you’ve drifted from the person you wanted to be this year, you haven’t lost her. She’s still available to you. The question is just what small step brings you back.

I’ll be honest with you. There have been moments in the first half of this year where I’ve had to come back to myself too. Where the pace crept back in, where I caught myself running on residual energy again, where I had to deliberately choose to reset rather than push through.

The difference now is that I catch it faster. And I know what to do when I do.

That’s what the work builds. Not perfection. Awareness and the tools to come back.

The second half of this year is yours. All of it.

What’s one thing you want to be true by December that isn’t true today?

Start there.

If you’d like some support figuring out what that looks like for you, I’d love to have a conversation.

Book your free Discovery Call here: https://calendly.com/alishawaterman/exploration-session

In joy, Alisha