Top Five at Thrive!
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to speak at the inaugural Thrive Festival in the Convention Centre in Dublin a couple of weeks ago.
I was part of the Coaching Circle panel discussion on self-care, self-belief and resilience in the Thrive Life room. We were delighted to have a full room of interested, enthusiastic and open-minded attendees both days and I believe it is testament to the growing interest in Life Coaching in recent times.
Aside from my specific role at the event, I did also get a bit of down-time on both days to have a little potter around and check out the lay of the land! As we were presenting both days, I unfortunately wasn’t dressed appropriately to do any of the exercise classes but thankfully I was able to attend to some of the other talks and got a lot out of them.
From what I did get to see, here’s what I thought was great about Thrive:
- Good vibes – there was a really lovely atmosphere at the event and a real sense of like-minded people coming together to hear, see and try new things all under the umbrella of “wellness”. There was a relaxed flow of people moving from one class or talk to another – I didn’t see anyone rushing anywhere so hopefully that meant all attendees left refreshed, revived and ready to “thrive” after their sessions!
- Delish food – the Thrive Marketplace was a cool concept where there was a whole host of healthy and nutritious snacks, treats and juices available as well as other healthcare products and fitness apparel. I have to say it’s a good thing I was only there for 2 days as otherwise I might have developed an addiction to the toast from the Avo Nice Day stand, run by two lovely lads from Galway!
- Real Talks – it was great to meet and stay for what was a very “real” talk with the founder of the podcast of the same name, Alan O’ Mara. A former Cavan GAA player, he is very down-to-earth and spoke openly about his personal experience with depression. As well as his podcast, he regularly gives talks on the topic of mental health and is author of “The Best is Yet to Come.”
- Refreshingly honest perspectives – we were also delighted to meet Siobhán Murray of Twisting The Jar who has recently written the Burnout Solution. Again, she was incredibly honest about her own background and I could identify with a lot of what she spoke about. She tells it like it is and I loved the fact she dispelled the myths of “work-life balance” and “multi-tasking” which I think is an important message to anyone feeling the pressure to be great at everything all of the time.
- Wholeheartedness – it was lovely to hear Laura Agar Wilson from Wholeheartedly Laura talk honestly about self-care and I really liked her warm energy. She had some nice concepts such as “parenting yourself”, which essentially involves taking care of yourself the way you would do a child and ensuring you get enough of the basics such as nutrition and sleep.
All in all, I feel privileged to have been able to partake in the Thrive Festival and meet so many great and interesting people!
Elaine x
Image courtesy of @kristopher_allison