Jocelyn Joan - My story into personal coaching
I grew up on a sugar cane and macadamia nut farm within a small community on the South Coast of South Africa. I always knew I was different from my peers in more ways than one. I just didn’t know why or how.
I was born with an auditory processing disorder which led me to many sessions of speech therapy and resulted in me falling behind in school from an early age. As you can imagine, a childhood with this deficit led to a school life of misery, being teased, bullied and excluded. The resultant feelings of unworthiness, loneliness and hopelessness, coloured my core being and left me with a sense of not feeling good enough for years to come. Sadly, in addition to these feelings of rejection and vulnerability in my childhood years, I held deep seated fears as my sexual orientation became my truth which I fearfully protected. Confusion reigned as I purposefully ignored these complex feelings and chose instead to follow a path of ‘normality’ with the mindset and beliefs society dictated, particularly in my farming community. This proved really difficult as my self esteem and confidence were eroded over time by constantly dealing with both the external battles on the school field and the internal battles of self realisation. Eventually, living as someone other than myself became exhausting and frustrating. I intuitively knew there had to be another way if I was to lead a fulfilled, purpose driven life.
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"What seems like failure is often the result of giving up too soon. There is no failure, only feedback."
Jocelyn Joan
Thinking back to my childhood, I was blessed with a lot of freedom. I created this freedom for myself, in my own way, and I would use it to my own advantage to do a lot of self-work. I was able to grow and nurture myself with the resources provided. Most days as children we would roam through the sugar cane fields on horse-back, motor bikes, bicycles or go surfing. This automatically graced me with freedom in independence, freedom in gaining confidence in reassurance of self, and freedom of expressing who I am to become more of myself. It provided me with joy which flowed through me and on to others. It provided me with a vast imagination and expanded my vision of the world to think outside the box. It gave me the time and freedom in natural doses of self-reflection propelling me forward to live the lifestyle that I create for myself.
We all walk this earth in different shoes, along our own path within our versions of our maps of our world. But it is up to us to find and create our own version of a healthy sense of freedom balanced with joy and going within ourselves to grow within. It’s when we find peace within the freedom of ourselves that we truly find ourselves.
Growing up surfing did wonders for me as a kid. Even on days when there were no waves, I’d just sit there on my board in the stillness of my presence and of life itself. It was in this stillness with nature where I began to meditate.
With this newfound sense of freedom and loving support from family and mentorship, I began to develop a new lens through which I viewed my life, using a cornerstone of strong belief systems and forming new perspectives. Proudly - with growing confidence and trust in myself - I mindfully set about preparing for and overcoming the punches thrown my way. In fact, the self-love that evolved, expanded and overflowed onto others around me, amazingly ignited a love for the real me, the authentic me, in return from others! I felt guided to acknowledge and choose wisely whom I’d associate with, carefully nurturing friendships that helped my growth and built me up. At the same time, I mindfully avoided others who didn’t serve this purpose. Step by step, positive changes opened new, exciting possibilities for me. The quest for seeking the truth within myself began for real, this propelling me forward into life, for life!
Humans are adaptable, and the adaptation of recognising the uniqueness in myself inspired my own personal transformation and courageously opened a doorway to living well. Never underestimate the power of change. Disillusionment had chased me my entire life until I developed a new roadmap for a powerful journey leading to a story of healing and new beginnings. This gave me the opportunity to discover a purpose in helping and inspiring others.
I feel fortunate that I can help you develop a strong intuitive belief system and show you how to live a mindful life. I feel fortunate that I can encourage you to discover your own chosen purpose and have a sense of belonging. What a great life to feel free within your authenticity, your sexuality and gender identity, but most of all, to live a more inspiring and purpose driven life.
How has my journey shaped me?
Being an athlete most of my life, I have professionally invested ten years in the health and fitness industry both within South Africa, Canada and now England. I have equipped myself with the knowledge and experience to design and teach coaching programes to empower people through coaching - whether it’s sports conditioning training, personal training, nutrition, or life coaching. I enjoy working as a confidence and personal coach.
I experienced many setbacks in my childhood and early adulthood. I’ve had to face, forgive and overcome sexual assault, rejection, betrayal, mistrust, money scarcity, self-worth issues and feeling lost in my acceptance of my homosexuality when others rejected me for it. This has given me the ability to understand people as they are and to understand trauma as it presents itself in people’s lives.
With certainty and personal growth, by healing and forgiving, by going deeper within ourselves and transforming, we can free ourselves from all burdens and troubles holding us back to gain clarity and develop a sense of happiness and longevity within self.
My motto in life is to dream big, think deep, act fast and finish strong!
As a Life Coach and Neuro Linguistic Practitioner, I am here to help you find clarity and a safe space in your sexuality and gender identity. Even if you feel lost right now, I am here to guide you to live a purpose driven life regardless of setbacks and addictions.