I recently had to write a summary of my life story, and a mini biography for an inspirational talk I am delivering. To say mindset was key to the changes and transformations that have taken place in my life would be an understatement . . . . I have shared the mini life story and bio below to put this conversation into context.
I went from suicidal and feeling hopeless, to optimistic and full of the joys of spring literally overnight.
The Potted Life Story
Miserable child. I genuinely believed I was born on a Wednesday; Full of woe. Sexually abused from age 7 to 17. Off-the-chart introvert and very quiet and shy until age 32; Nowadays you can’t shut me up! Considered committing suicide age 32 after my partner and then fiancé had an affair. The following year I became a Relationship Coach and Samaritans volunteer; Talking to others on the ledge or felt the same way. The year after that started writing for newspaper and magazines and doing live TV and radio talking about all the above and emotional health and wellbeing. Ah yes, the health devastation; went comb over bald and lost all my hair, went from a natural size 8 to size 16, from “are your nails false” to watching them literally peel away before my very eyes, from sharp mind to forgetful, and from beautiful clear skin to “pizza face.” There was also being diagnosed with what they thought to be early onset Alzheimer’s in my 20s; For the past 17 years I’ve been teaching PhotoReading and Accelerated Learning. I’m now 51. And don’t get me started on God and his sense of humour . . . . . the potential monthly emotional rollercoaster from your teens to 40s and 50s, and just when you think it’s all over ‘he’ hits you with the indignity of hot flushes and other crazy stuff. At age 32 I went from trainee Chartered Accountant to Hypnotherapist overnight. The rest, as they say is history. What can I say? It’s been quite a ride.
The Mini Biography
Marilyn Devonish, The NeuroSuccess™ Coach, is an NLP Trainer, Keynote Speaker, Off and Online Workshop Facilitator, Freelance Writer, and Certified Multi-Disciplinary Therapist which includes Soul Plan Reader, Timeline Therapist, Past Life Regression, Future Life Progression, Tarot Reader, Archetypal Profile Consultant, and PhotoReading™ Instructor. Marilyn is also the Founder of TranceFormations™, a Coaching, Training and Consultancy organisation committed to creating impactful and lasting rapid transformation and change. She is also Management Consultant, Corporate Trainer, and Leadership Development and Change Management Specialist. Her journey into the world of personal development started with considering suicide after her partner had an affair and she faced several debilitating illnesses. She went from years of suffering to moving on a matter of days and gave up her Chartered Accountancy studies and become a Personal Development Trainer, Hypnotherapist, and Samaritans volunteer instead.
My initial mindset was it would be easier to end it all and commit suicide because the dread, guilt, shame, anger and frustration seemed insurmountable. When I shifted into a new mindset, everything changed. I went pretty much overnight from feeling suicidal to bouncing around with a spring in my step and open the possibilities and joys of life. Within a year of called the Samaritans; The UK ‘suicide’ hotline, I had become a Samaritans volunteer, answering the phone lines and receiving visitors into the centre for a cup of tea and a chat.
The mind shift happened by ‘accident.’ I put that in mini quotation marks because I don’t believe there is such a thing. I have been a believer in synchronicity since studying A-Level Psychology when I was 18, and I believe this was a BIG example of that. In a nutshell, I thought I had signed up for a Communications Skills course because I was very quiet and shy. When the course materials arrived, I realised I had signed up to become a personal development “Practitioner” so immediately got on the phone to cancel. An immediate refund wasn’t forthcoming, and they suggested I attend, saying if after I completed the course it hadn’t changed my life, they would give a refund at the end. The rest as they say is history.
The first step for me was taking action and making that call, both to the Samaritans and the training company. I used to think our life and destiny was set; I’m the quiet, shy introvert one, who “wouldn’t say boo to a goose” until I was 32. I now speak and train all over the world and love presenting and helping others, something I would have deemed impossible and downright ridiculous if you had asked me before this shift in mindset.
Were the Changes in Mindset Long Lasting?
Yes, I have maintained this shift in mindset and things have gone from strength to strength. I had the dramatic overnight turnaround from suicidal to an optimist at 32 years of age. I am now 51, and like fine wine, things are getting better with age despite the craziness of the external world and global politics.
I continue to share my story whenever I can because I want others to know that no matter what your background or start in life, you can TranceForm and change your mindset too.
I always say that personal development and investing in my mindset didn’t make me immune to to the challenges of life. What it did was allowed me to cope with adversity and develop a sense of resilience and bounce-back.