A Lesson From My Four-Year-Old Granddaughter

This morning, I had a heartwarming chat with my son about my granddaughter. She’s just turned four and is about to start school. He mentioned that she's getting very good at counting, but when she writes her name, she always writes it backwards. 

It got us talking about how in different parts of the world we learn to read and write in different directions — left to right, or right to left. It’s all about what the brain gets used to.

It made me realise that our beliefs work in much the same way.

We learn our beliefs early in life, and they settle into the subconscious shaping how we ‘read’ people and the world. 

But unlike the fixed direction of a book, we can pause, step back, and see that we don’t have to follow those old patterns. We can choose the direction we want our beliefs to take — how we think about life, the kind of relationships we want, and the way we treat ourselves.

In doing so, we each become the creator of our own story. 

And any of us can change, at any age, at any time.

Many of my clients come to me because they’ve realised they’ve been leading their lives and relationships based on old beliefs that no longer serve them. Often they’re stuck in people-pleasing patterns such as saying “yes” when they want to say “no”, trying to fit in with what others want, or always putting themselves last.

It means their own needs often get overlooked and they end up feeling disrespected and taken for granted. 

Together we write a new story where they release old patterns so that they can have relationships that are more equal, where they’re heard, seen, and valued.