Lately, I’ve been thinking about the idea of success and what it means to me.
When I look back on the happiest moments in my life over the last 45yrs, I loved playing sport, hanging out with my extended family & best mates, travelling to magical places around the world, falling in love with my hubby and becoming a mother. These are the moments in my highlight reel that still bring me joy today.
Why is it, that at a certain point in our lives, a lot of us, stop doing what we love?
We stop playing sport, put our own well-being on the back burner and put our family's needs before our own. We stop hanging out with our besties, because life gets too busy - Our time is taken up driving our kids around to sport, birthday parties and afternoon playdates and we don't have any energy for anything else.
We tell ourselves that when our children grow up, we will be able to do all these things again, yet these are the activities which bring us the most joy now.
I am guilty of “ALL” of the above and it’s only recently that I’ve gotten real with myself about how sometimes even in the smallest ways I can put my own well-being on the back burner for everyone else, and the irony is not lost on me that I'm a women's wellness coach. They say you teach, what you most need to learn.
I have all the excuses for not doing what I’ve been wanting to do for so long, in all honesty though, I am doing what I love, but I tend to fit it in around my family life, instead of fitting family life around my well-being.
“It is only when you live your best life,
your children will then be able to live their best lives.”
The reality is, I am responsible for my own well-being and when I do what makes ME most happy on a daily basis, I become the best version of myself and this flows beautifully into my marriage, my home, my friendship circle and my work place.
In the past I used to measure my success by the sporting teams I was picked for, the kind of house I lived in or the amount of money I had in the bank, but this has all changed for me over the last few years - Living an inspired life is the way I measure success in my life today – Inspiration fuels me and energizes me so much and this is how I aspire to live my life moving forward.
So, I'm not waiting until my daughters have grown up, in fact, I’ve already started to include more activities that I love to do back into my life, bit by bit.
I’m doing what I’ve always loved to do and that is to play sport - I recently competed in a Futsal (Indoor Soccer) Tournament in the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. I have played in this biennial tournament now for the last 12yrs with friends and have created amazing memories through this experience.
Closer to home, I play in a weekly Oztag competition – My eldest daughter Gigi and I play together in the same team, along with her fabulous friends and my hubby is our super coach ( I'm known to give him a bit of cheek from time to time, but mostly love his amazing coaching abilities). My whole family plays on the same night at the same venue, which is what I love most and we all get to cheer each other on.
Next year I will be returning to my sporting roots as a player/coach of our local women’s soccer team and I'm really looking forward to playing soccer again through winter. Giving back to the football/soccer community through coaching is my "thank you" to a community that nurtured me as an elite footballer for 15yrs. And as if that's not enough, I also coach my youngest daughter’s soccer team which is a whole LOT OF FUN.
I’ve also put my hat in the ring to play at the QLD Oztag Senior State Cup in March 2019 and training will start soon for this tournament. My girls are pretty excited about having their mum and dad play Oztag at this level, so I do hope I make them proud.
I continue to prioritize my emotional well-being through daily meditation, hanging out in nature (the beach is my favourite place to rejuvenate), immersing myself in positive experiences and surrounding myself with positive people – I love, love, love listening to inspirational podcasts and interviews and often share with my Instagram family @kayevlachos_soul2soulwellness and @kayevlachos_soul2soulathlete the podcasts I’m listening to on a daily basis, as well as my “5 A DAY 4 MY EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING” insta stories. I aim to include 5 activities throughout my day to improve my emotional well-being and keep the inspiration flowing.
In addition, working with Women and Athletes in my coaching practice, workshops and Soul Sister Circle brings me so much joy. My clients truly inspire me to continue growing into the best version of myself, which in turn inspires them on their own journey.