Cecilia Garnett Coaching

What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your ability…but the way you speak to yourself?

Yesterday, I was reminded just how much that matters.

During a very hot 29°C Tennis match, I caught myself doing exactly what so many of my coaching clients do under pressure.

Talking to myself in a way, I’d never dream of speaking to someone else.

The surprising thing?

That negative self talk didn’t make me perform better.

It made me play smaller.

When I changed that inner conversation and started coaching myself instead of criticising myself, everything shifted.

I’d love to know…

When have you noticed your invoice helping or hindering your performance?

Have you built a career you chose… or one you fell into?

It’s a question I ask many of the women I coach.

Not because they’ve failed.

Quite the opposite.

They’re often successful, respected and brilliant at what they do.

They’ve worked hard, earned promotions and become the person everyone relies on.

But somewhere along the way, they stopped asking themselves one important question:

“Is this actually what I want?”

Instead, they kept saying yes to opportunities because they were capable of doing them.

And before they knew it, they were climbing a ladder they never consciously chose.

Being good at something can open doors.

But it can also keep you walking through the same ones.

Capabilities is a wonderful thing.

But it is not the same as fulfilment.

The career that’s right for you isn’t just one you’re good at.

It’s one that plays to your strengths, aligns with your values and leaves you feeling energised more often than drained.

Sometimes the bravest career move isn’t climbing higher.

It’s pausing long enough to ask whether you’re climbing in the direction that matters to you?

So here’s my question for you:

Have you built a career you consciously chose… or one that simply unfolded because you were good at saying yes?

The best career decisions don’t start with choosing a job.

They start with discovering your natural strength and talents.

Last week I had the pleasure of delivering my “Understanding Apprenticeships” workshop to every year nine student at The Ravensbourne School in Bromley.

Yes, we explored apprenticeships – but more importantly, we got them thinking about:

- What they are naturally good at?
- What do they enjoy doing?
- Which strengths come naturally to them?
- And how they can start building strengths and skills, through extra curricular activities, over the next few years.

Because choosing GCSE options isn’t about deciding a future career at 14.

It’s about understanding yourself, recognising your strengths and making choices that keep as many doors open as possible while building the skills and experiences employers value.

A huge thank you to .fogg and from the Careers Team for making the day such a success!

If every Year 9 student understood one thing before choosing their GCSEs, I hope it’s this: your strengths are often the biggest clue to where you’ll thrive.

What do you wish you’ve known at 14?

In just 45 minutes, Year 12 students transformed their interview answers - and their interviewers spotted it immediately!

Earlier this week I taught 120+ year 12 students at The Ravensbourne School how to use the STAR(R) technique.

Less than an hour later, they were using it in their mock interviews.

The interviewers’ feedback?

- More structured answers
- Stronger examples
- Better reflections on what they’d learned

That’s the power of giving young people a framework to tell their story.

Experience matters.

But being able to communicate it matters even more.

What if failure is actually the shortcut to success?

Failure has got a terrible reputation.

We are taught to see it as proof we’re not good enough.

But failure IS NOT the opposite of success.

It’s part of the process.

Every failed interview teaches you how to answer questions better.

Every disappointing result teaches you what to do differently next time.

The people who achieve the most aren’t usually the people who never fail.

They’re the people who don’t let failure stop them.

So if something hasn’t gone your way recently, don’t ask:

What does that say about me?

Ask…

What can this teach me?

That question builds resilience.