What environment do you need to be in to feel seen and heard?
The newsletter that begins with you
I remember feeling unseen and unheard in the offices where I used to work. Part of me was scared to speak up about things and to share my ideas, but they didn’t feel like safe spaces to do so. What was the impact of this? I didn’t voice things that were important to me, or share my creative thinking, I just kept quiet and got on with my job. This seemed to be the norm and after years of working in offices I didn’t really question it, until I reached boiling point and felt compelled to speak up for myself. This took a lot of courage, but I was met with resistance instead of support. I realised that these environments were crushing me - my confidence, my creativity and my ability to speak up about things that felt very important to me.
I didn’t consider what type of environment I’d need to be in to feel safe to express myself, to be really heard in meetings and annual reviews. This newsletter invites you to consider the question:
What environment do you need to be in to feel seen and heard?
What type of communication would you trust? How would your manager and colleagues respond to you? Would you be in the office or somewhere outside in order to express yourself freely?
As always, you can share your response with me in confidence by email: sarah@sarahventurer.com
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Transport yourself to the Scottish Highlands by listening to this episode of About The Adventure podcast. Themes during this interview with Anna Danby from Wild Roots Highland Guiding include training as a Mountain Leader during her pregnancy, starting a company during the covid pandemic, resilience, collaboration, outdoor leadership and where her own wild roots lie.
Anna says it is essential for humans to reconnect with nature if we ever want to move towards a more sustainable way of being on planet earth and when thinking about our impact on this place that we call home.
More details are in this blog post - or click below to listen now. You can support my podcast by becoming a patron here.
It took courage to be there, not relying on others to plan the day, to navigate and to make decisions. A sense of freedom came with that - “I can do brave things” became my mantra.
I have written a blog post about my experience of walking in the Lake District mountains alone for the first time. I didn’t realise how nervous I felt about it until I had set off walking in a heavy downpour. At the end of the day I felt proud of myself for doing something that took courage.
Featured coaching session
Walking up and down the rivers of Kinder Scout in August you can experience the beautiful purple haze of heather lining the paths and across the moorland. There are plenty of bilberries to snack on too. It’s always nice to shelter from the wind at the top of the cloughs, looking out to the amazing views on a clear day.
This route takes around 5 hours at a conversational pace, including breaks to dip your feet in the cool water and to enjoy coffee or lunch.
Coaching testimonial from Charlotte in May 2023:
Just wanted to say a big thankyou for Friday. It was exactly what I needed and I'm amazed at how much we covered in just 3 hours! I felt like I'd had 3 months worth of coaching with you. It was just incredible. I feel inspired and back on track and really clear on how to make a few shifts to bring in my nature passion to my business. You helped me see how I'd started diluting myself and not speaking to the people I really want to work with and it was so helpful knowing how to tweak my website messaging and offerings to support me on this shift.
You are a fantastic, intuitive and wise coach (that word doesn't even encapsulate what you do full!) and that experience was like no other!
If you have a question about my coaching sessions, or if you would like to book a walk together, please email: sarah@saraventurer.com
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A few quick updates
I guided a walk on Kinder Scout this month, the first of twelve gifted 1-1 walks over the space of a year. “I could not have hoped for a better day out or a better companion to share my first ever Kinder Scout experience with.” Read Joanna’s account and see her photos here.
The next episode of my podcast is already out, featuring an interview with Jen Scotney. “The tough times are when we really find out who we are and what we’ve got.” Themes during Jen’s interview include running, burnout, chronic fatigue, bereavement, the shame of not being able to cope with work, self-employment and career change. She also talks about the importance of flexibility to allow for time in nature, deep rest, and authentic connection. Listen here.
My talk at the Sisterhood Social event in July was on the theme of speaking up. I’m going to write about it on my blog soon as I really enjoyed the experience and received wonderful feedback about it.
Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you have a question to ask, something to share, or if you’d like to be a guest on my podcast or blog, please get in touch: sarah@sarahventurer.com