It is never easy condensing your story, we all have many stories and layers to who we are. This is a bit about why I decided to become a coach, what lead me to this path, and how some of my experiences have readied me for the journey.
Gemma Walsh Woodcock
My Story
People Connection
For as long as I can remember I have been interested in people… At school, this got me into a fair bit of trouble. I recall a parent’s evening with Dr. Fothergill my science teacher who told my parents she had moved me to every desk in the class to try and find someone I wasn’t interested in talking to. In the end, she gave up and sat me at her desk. But to her disbelief, Dr. Fothergill found herself engrossed in conversation with me mid-lesson, hooked by my questions and attention. I didn’t know it then but connecting with people is my super-power. Every job I have ever had has been about connecting with people in a positive way.
Seeing potential
As the eldest of three girls, I have a nurturing nature. I want to help, lift and support those around me, and over the years I have coached and mentored friends and family with little more than a dedication of my time, my attention, and usually some homemade food.
I don’t hide the fact that I struggled at school and this lead to years of self-doubt getting stronger and diluting my own self-belief. When I was 17 I found out I have dyslexia and almost instantly it started to change the way I perceived myself. And when I saw my power, others did too.
Five years later I graduated with a first-class honors degree (my 16-year-old self didn’t think uni was an option) anything felt possible now. And since then I have been working to hush that voice in my head that is still there today telling me I can’t, I shouldn’t, what if etc…
Fulfilling my purpose
At my core my purpose is my family. Cooking, camping, being out doors is my joy, and if I can I will always take a dip in the sea. The birth of my first child brought me on a journey to reconnect with my own joy as a new Mum. I started to ask questions like: what do I want to do, how do I want to spend my time, how do I want us to live as a family. At the start of the covid pandemic, I gave birth to our second child and I took the time to think more deeply about these questions and welcoming more balance and joy.
In those lockdowns of 2020, I started to think about the impact I wanted to have on the world around me and the examples I was setting for my children about living a fulfilled life.
I read a book suggested to me by my middle sister – Martha Beck’s, Finding your own North Star. That book combined with – other books, podcasts, life experiences, training programmes and the positive people around me – brought on a journey me to change the course of my life and live in alignment with my values.
I stopped seeing these values as a destination and started to see opportunities to live that life now. I stopped turning down my volume to make others feel more comfortable and I started to let go of the narrative that my people skills meant I had to be all things to all people. I wish I could go back and tell 22 year old Gemma just how powerful she was, just as she was. Instead I will show my children.
The wave connection
I have a very special connection to the sea. Swimming in the sea, in Cornwall is my happy place. Between the waves, I feel grounded, adventurous, and free. And spending time on the coast is a place where I can think with clarity and unfold my own wisdom.
Wavespace Coaching is born out of that connection. A dedication to hold a space for my clients to be heard, to think, pause, reflect and connect with themselves.