Today LinkedIn has told the world (okay, maybe just my connections) that four years ago on this date, Plateful of Soul was born. It’s hard to believe.

Thank goodness for the Internet. If it wasn’t for Facebook reminding me of people’s birthdays, I would probably never remember their special days on time. If it wasn’t for Google calendar reminders, events I’d planned to go to would pass me by. And if it weren’t for LinkedIn, I wouldn’t have been reminded of the journey it’s been the last four years, and to reflect and be grateful.

So on this day in 2013, I took the leap and told the world that I was starting a private lifestyle coaching practice.

This journey had begun years before, though, when I realized that I was tired of struggling with my own personal habits and health – physical and emotional. I’d had battled with depression, emotional eating, being overweight, always feeling exhausted and fed up with my life, feeling alone, and never quite able to live up to my expectations while simultaneously telling myself that I wasn’t worthy enough to reach for those stars, anyway.

Little did I know that all of those were symptoms of the same problem. That is, until I started digging into it to find help. And dig, I did. For years, and from countless sources, as one source led to the next. But it was a very hellish struggle. I won’t lie.

I learned how fragmented my beliefs about myself were: That my emotions, my body, and my eating habits were all separate. But actually they all intricately intersected, and needed healing. I learned I needed to manufacture for myself a sense of love and safety, creativity, adventure, confidence, and acceptance. This I cobbled together from support I found from amazing people, books, youtube videos, documentaries, health and wellness programs, webinars, workshops, blogs, meetup groups. They all had finally helped me put the pieces together.

And I’m still learning.

But after slowly amassing these holistic healing tools and practices to change myself (and therefore life around), I couldn’t wait to spread the word. Because it’s difficult doing it on your own, trying to find the answers from so many separate sources. And when you feel that lost, it takes twice as long to get where you want to go. And even more lonely.

So that’s why I started Plateful of Soul.

But do you know who taught me the most about health, wellness, and how to live a creative, love-centered life?

My clients.

So today, I am not just celebrating my journey, I am celebrating you, dear reader, and the many people who have come to me in the last four years seeking support in healing their hearts, bodies and minds. Each of my clients struggled with my struggles, and helped me as much as I helped them in walking through the mud of change. My clients have all taught me to also be kind to myself as I helped them find kindness in their hearts and minds. They’ve taught me how beautiful every human being is, even if they find it hard to believe. And they’ve taught me so many times that self-compassion and confidence is a weekly, daily, hourly practice. And there is absolutely no shame in that. No one is perfect. And that’s what makes us so unique and worthy of awe.

So thank you.

Thank you so much for making these last four years an incredible journey. And I am looking forward to many more.