After coasting on auto-pilot for most of her adult life navigating marriage, school, motherhood, divorce, re-marriage & career advancement what felt like all at once, it wasn’t until her world was suddenly turned upside down that something in Vicky Jomaa finally broke free. Vicky had been experiencing stress, burn-out and constant frustration with the BS concept of ‘work-life’ balance for so many years that she had no idea who she was or what she wanted anymore.
A true epiphany, which Vicky found both fascinating and absolutely terrifying. Vicky realized her lack of self-esteem, absence of self-identity and complete deficit of self-care was something that lingered in her for practically her entire life. She made a decision – she was going to start taking care of herself. Vicky wanted to be a better person mostly for herself, but also for those around her.
‘’When we are the best versions of ourselves, that also bleeds into the other areas of our lives – in motherhood, careers, partnerships & more.’’
But what did Vicky REALLY need to do to achieve this? How can she really live through this idea of taking care of herself first? She looked at the parts of her life that brought joy and fulfillment, and explored who she was and what she wanted her life to look like going forward. It involved hard decisions. It involved holding space. It involved un-becoming and re-becoming all at once, but she continued to give herself permission to practice this raw and vulnerable side of self-care and extraordinary things happened.
‘’This isn’t a one and done thing. This is a continuous & conscious discipline that will be a life long journey.’’
As a former interior designer, Vicky went from imagining and designing interiors & homes, to teaching women how to lead themselves into re-imagining and re-designing their existence through self-love and self-care.
‘’We all deserve to live a life we feel soulfully connected with, and I would be honoured to help & support you in creating yours!’’
Working as a transformational coach & changemaker, Vicky is bringing all her education and experience together to help others re-imagine and re-design their lives through self-care and self-love.
What inspired you to start your own business?
Honestly, reaching the proverbial ‘rock bottom’ in terms of my mental, emotional & physical health was the catalyst for me. I had spent most of my adult life being in service to others (personally & professionally), but I clearly neglected my own needs & desires in the process. This eventually led to complete burnout, and it was at that time where I realized the power of self-care in its truest forms, and how much of an impact it had on my well-being. I discovered so many strategies and habits through the process of pulling myself out of this dark space and changing trajectory in my own life, that I knew I could teach others how to do this, and now – I have the capacity and ability to both be in service to others and take care of myself at the same time. Pretty awesome, right?!
In your own words, what do you do?
I help women who are lost, stuck & burnt out learn to discover who they are again & empower themselves to live their lives authentically and unapologetically. I do this with the triad of ‘self’ which is self-love, self-acceptance, self-care. I have also been dubbed a professional hype woman and your own personal cheerleader!
Tell us more about your services: the Self-Care Clarity Course, self care sessions, six week self care system.
These offerings were designed to give women a safe & empowering space to reconnect with themselves, discover what they want & how to feel in life, and give them the tools they need to achieve that. There are a few reasons why we tend to struggle with change and become better versions of ourselves – I’ve discovered what these factors are, and aim to give women the support & accountability they need to break through these barriers. Each one adds a different dimension and layer of value to the previous, so that I can provide this type of support to as many people as possible. We all deserve this!
How do you help people as a life coach?
One of the most fascinating parts of coaching is being able to guide people through their own self-discovery so they can awaken to things that they haven’t become aware of yet. Through mindset work, my proven approach & of course some accountability – I not only help people create a vision of the future they want to experience and what they want it to feel AND look like, but help them devise an inspired action plan in order to make it a reality. It’s AMAZING. Seeing women transform themselves and become the drivers of their own existence in an empowered & intentional way is truly inspiring.
Tell us the biggest mistakes you see people make when you are guiding them in your coaching.
In my practice, there is no such thing as a mistake. That, and the word regret just aren’t in the vocabulary of my sessions and programs. Instead, we remain future focused and shift our mindset into one of growth and opportunity. Every experience can be viewed as a chance to learn something about ourselves and our journey.
How do we know we take care of ourselves?
I love this question because we often focus on the signs that we are NOT taking care of ourselves. These are very easy to list and we have probably all seen countless articles on how to recognize it. We know when we feel tired, burnt out & unhappy. But why do we let ourselves get to that point? If you are experiencing some of the following, it’s clear you are taking care of yourself in some pretty profound ways, but the key is consistency and making sure you’re checking off items in ALL 8 elements of self-care (which you can learn about in my Self-Care Clarity Course)
- You feel gratitude daily
- You spend more days smiling and happy than not
- The people around you lift you up, support you and inspire you, not drag you down.
- You honor yourself and your needs in the moment
- You practice positive self-talk
- You are inspired & happy in the work you do
- You are comfortable with being alone and/or being in silence
- You check in with yourself and your feelings daily
What is self care really and how does one know they should do more of it?
Self-Care is not the bubble bath & face mask (hello, #selfcaresaturday) routine that social media has been feeding us with. Real self-care is HARD. It’s often messy and not pretty. It involves creating boundaries, facing our problems and doing whatever it takes to make sure we are healthy, happy & fulfilled. This is HARD WORK. We need to start viewing self-care as a necessity, not an indulgence or luxury. Everyone deserves to put themselves first, and we can start by making self-care a daily intention. It’s not that we need more of it per say – but we need to be doing the right things, and that starts with a brutally unapologetic & honest awareness of yourself. This is exactly where I come in and start supporting you to work on YOU first, above all else.
What has been your biggest milestone / achievement so far ?
Two things, and neither of them are professional or work related. All that stuff comes after this!
- My kids. I made them…. with my body. How cool is that?!
- Learning to trust and honor myself again. I am so proud of the growth and progress I have made. I can’t wait for what comes next.
What is a skill you think all women should learn and why?
Self-care, of course! In a society where for decades we have valued bottom-lines & status before the individual, and treat burnout like a badge of honor, I dream of a world where instead we teach young girls & women (and EVERYONE, really) the value of themselves first. I truly believe that we would be happier, healthier & more empowered if we were taught these life skills at a young age. The natural consequences to this would undoubtedly be a richer and more productive society, but that isn’t the main goal here – it will just be a result. The future will be us embracing ourselves first and leading with heart – I just know it.
If you could go back by ten years, what would be some of the top tips you would give our audience?
As women, we often doubt ourselves and are conditioned to play small in this world. I would tell everyone a few things (including myself!)
- Trust your intuition. It is a gift.
- Your voice matters – use it.
- You can do hard things.
- Start following your dreams. Seriously, just start. And if they change… that’s ok. Change your direction.