Overcoming Setbacks

Marlene Le Roux
May 30, 2021
3 min read

Last year I had all these great plans. I was Ubering, I was coaching and doing facials and then COVID-19 hit us with a big bang! Everything was turned upside down.

Let’s rewind 3 years.. don’t worry I won’t go into too much detail, but 2 years ago I was working in a Sales, I was selling chocolate, yes you read that right, chocolate. I had enjoyed this job for 3 years and then I changed my thinking about health and what I wanted my future to be. I couldn’t do it anymore.. so I changed jobs and what a change, I was now working in a job that aligned with what I enjoyed, which was helping people with solutions to designing spaces... it was great.... but it didn’t workout. So I was now unemployed and feeling a little bit defeated. Then my partner suggested to concentrate on coaching and why not Uber to bring in some extra cash, that was brilliant, for almost a year I was my own boss, living the life I wanted and then... enter COVID-19 to change everything.

At first I didn’t think this was going to be a big deal, it would be a couple of weeks and then everything would blow over, right?!. Boy was I wrong! What do you do when the rug gets pulled out from under you and everything changes? You take a minute to breathe and then you pivot.

Yes COVID has definitely been a set back, but it’s also made me think about other ways to continue my business and to keep moving forward. Now I’m not saying it didn’t knock me about a bit, but having a system and people to support you is so important to getting through times like this.

This time has been difficult for a lot of people out there, and don’t get me wrong, it was definitely not easy for me or my partner either. Things really had to change, for starters social distancing (that’s so good if you are a melancholy like me, I kinda hope we get to keep that), so there are some good things but there are also the down falls, people have lost their jobs, businesses have closed, parents have had to spend more time with their kids....I’m kidding, that’s a good thing. Seriously though there are so many things that have changed and they may never go back to the way they were.

One thing that should remain permanent though, is taking care of our health. If anything, this time has taught us that we really need to prioritise our health, and that is why I decided to change my job 3 years ago. I could no longer in good faith sell chocolate, when I was trying to change my life and help others do the same. It was tough enough in the beginning to stay on track without being surrounded by sweets and chocolates, but I did pretty well. I had a great coach to help keep me on track and it inspired me to do the same. Taking the setback of having to change jobs and failing forward has given me the insight to help people who don’t always get it right the first time.

Becoming a Health coach was not an easy decision either. It was a massive change and it meant learning a whole lot of new information to help others. Change is hard, I'm not going to lie, I like things to stay the same, but that is impossible. We are always evolving whether we like it or not, and those of us who don't evolve, get left behind.

I'd love to hear from you, so what is stopping you from making the changes you need to improve your health?