My Pivotal Moment

… and my career (and life) reset.

Hello! It’s lovely to meet you and thank you for stopping by. As I embark on this new adventure, fully out of my very cosy comfort zone and foraying into a new world (one that I’m wildly excited and passionate about), I thought it would be a nice to say a bit of a hello so you can get to know me, my story and what I stand for.

I’m Jo Jackson; sun worshipper, stationery obsessed and partial to a delicate Provence Rosé! I’m founder of Pivotal Moments, an Executive Coach, I’m hugely passionate about people and an all-round social butterfly.

Pivotal Moments Ltd is my baby- I work in service of empowering driven, professional females who feel stuck to unlock their self-worth, realise their potential & create a fulfilling life, on their terms.

My story will be familiar, I’m sure, so hopefully you can relate

For full transparency, I’m a self-confessed perfectionist, go-getter and high achiever. I’m the one who worked so hard to be the best she could possibly be; I earned excellent grades, studied at a top university, secured a highly competitive graduate job and progressed through my career at pace. But then one day woke up and realised I was trapped in a life that wasn’t making me happy.

To the outside world, I had all the signs of perceived success and I was living the dream of the “perfect life”- financial security, a lovely home, further up the career ladder than I had ever imagined possible and a busy social life with wonderful friends.

I was also the girl who had absolutely no confidence, self-appreciation, headspace or balance in my life. I was exhausted. I was sleeping and eating badly, I was run down, I was overcome with anxiety, constantly feeling panicky and never feeling good enough. Tears were a daily occurrence. I was so deeply unhappy and giving everything I’d got, trying so very, very hard to make it right. I was chasing the dream of the perfect life and in reality, it was getting further and further away.

I survived by constantly shooting for my next sunshine break where I would inevitably collapse onto a sun lounger in some beautiful tropical spot, sleep almost solidly for 3 days, by which time I’d finally feel a bit more like myself. Then I’d get the “itch”- I’d get my phone back out, I’d start plotting and planning, I’d be organizing or “getting on top of things so life is calmer when I get back”. I’d have FOMO of all the social occasions I was missing out on (even though I was in paradise), I’d be making list after list. I was simply unable to relax, to rest and be in the moment.

Something was missing, something was out of balance, but for years (& I mean years) I never acknowledged it to myself or others (in hindsight probably for fear of being perceived as a failure). I just kept on the hamster wheel and plastered a smile on my face even when I felt like I was selling my soul and dying ever so slightly inside.

It was on a sunny beach (remember those?) in February 2020 when it finally dawned on me.

I started thinking “There’s got to be more to life than this”. That moment was a turning point- my realisation that I needed to connect with me again. My Pivotal Moment.

I chose to work with my own Executive Coach and, by doing this, I learned so much about myself. For the first time in my life, I understood my values, my self-limiting beliefs, how to hear (and, critically, listen to) my inner voice, how I can redefine success and happiness on my terms, how to overcome my imposter syndrome and how, by trying to please others, I’ll never find true peace. It was a Pivotal Moment for me and has completely changed the course of my life for the better.

Consequently, I chose to redefine what success and happiness means to me (spoiler alert- it wasn’t what I had always imagined it to be, or what other people had defined it to be).

During my own Pivotal Moment, I chose to:

Break free from the mould of “should” (whether self-imposed or imposed by others). For me, this means deciding to live my life on my own terms, to do the things and live my life in a way that pleases me
Break free from trying to fit in and say the right thing to please others. I realise that I lost my authenticity, my magic dust, my superpower of being “me”. Just JJ, with my good bits and not so good bits. I tried to mould into someone or something that was fitting in to other people’s expectations. And I lost myself along the way.
Release myself from my own self-imposed limitations of what I could do and start being true to myself again. This was everything from what I thought I was or wasn’t good at. It was giving myself a break when I wanted a nap, or saying no to those parties that I just didn’t really fancy going to. It was about setting some boundaries that help me (in the nicest possible way) to feel like I’m living life on my terms.
Find freedom and have fun again– untether myself from my laptop (I’m a people person but I was spending my whole life behind a screen?!), get my heels on, turn my music up loud when I fancy it, paint my nails bright pink, book in fun with friends and family (guilt free) so I can spend time with the people I love the most in this world.

Turning my life upside down

Through much soul searching and working with my incredible Executive Coach, I learnt so, so very much about myself which helped me to shape my future path and make choices that are right for me.

I learnt:

I dreamed of working for myself
I’m at my happiest working with amazing, inspiring people
I want to help others
My strengths lie in building rapport and creating a personal connection with others, in open listening and in cutting through the noise and complexity to find clarity
My values are fairness, freedom, authenticity, achievement and community
I love to learn, that expanding my knowledge in subjects I’m passionate about gives me a real kick
That having flexibility in my diary to create a balance that works for me is more important than the stability of a 9-5 with a paycheck at the end of the month

In summary, I chose to release myself from the trappings of the life I’d built and live life in a more full and inspiring way, with a balance that works for me. I’m also determined to have a bloody good giggle along the way.

It’s this experience that has spurred me on to retrain and here I am, an ILM Level 7 qualified Executive Coach building on 15 years of corporate commercial experience in some of the world’s biggest multinational organisations. I’m working in service of my passion: to empower driven, professional females who feel stuck to unlock their self worth, realise their potential & create a fulfilling life, on their terms.

You might feel that working with me could be useful to you. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a complimentary discovery call to explore how we might work together.

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