About Me
Hi, I’m Anneliese
My motto for the past 15 years has been a quote accredited to Charles Dickens:
“The world belongs to those who set out to conquer it, armed with self-confidence and good humour”.
It reminds me to go after my goals, but also to laugh when things don’t go the way I want them to.
After finishing high school I went backpacking around the world for a couple of years and continued to live abroad and travel while completing my bachelor and master degrees. During this time I worked a variety of random jobs such as safari guide in Africa, mustering cattle in Australia, running leadership training for a consultancy in the Alps and more, leading to a number of fond memories that I look back on today. My love for constant change, learning new skills and meeting interesting people kept me going. When adventure called, I answered.
Unfortunately, all of this came to a crashing halt when I had a bad snowboarding accident in 2006 and was told that I’d never be able to play sports again. Yet, when I wheeled myself out of the hospital on Boxing day, I was reminded of my favourite quote and made the decision right then and there to not let my injury get the best of me and to face my fear of not being active again.
I wasn’t able to do any impact sports and activities and for a long time, so I took the opportunity to discover new hobbies such as skydiving and scuba-diving. I realised very quickly that I was afraid of heights, but overcoming this fear was doable, especially considering the alternative for me was being bored at home and unable to experience outdoor adventures.
However, I did not always have this confidence to tackle new challenges and activities.
When I was 12, I was told by a gymnastics trainer that I was “too old” to learn a new sport and to “not waste my time trying”. This thought still pops up every time I get excited about something new, but over time and many new experiences I have learned to harness that fear and put that energy to use by pushing myself further when my mind and body tell me that I am ”too old and broken”. I am aiming to apply this learning to all areas in my personal and professional lives and am always on the lookout for new topics to explore, learn and study.
Around 3 years ago, I got lured into mountain biking by a friend. While I (briefly) contemplated being “too old” for a new extreme sport, I quickly became addicted to mountain biking, as it combined fitness, adrenaline, socialising and being in nature.
No extreme sport is without its share of injuries and my adventures echo this. Inevitable crashes resulted in tears, scars and broken bones. I have experienced a lot of setbacks due to the injuries and the resulting internal doubt and fear. Yet, embracing the knowledge and mindset I have from previous experiences has allowed me to overcome these obstacles and continue to progress every time I focus my energy on this sport. Coupled with this, the mountain bike riding community is incredibly supportive and reinforced the mindset that you are never too old to try something new (some of the best riders I have met didn’t start until they were in their late 40s), but also that progress doesn’t happen overnight and takes time to occur. Mountain biking has become an apt reflection of life for me, whereby progress is something I strive for every time I’m out on the trail and happens in small increments through determination, persistence and practise.
Becoming clear about what I value in my personal life over the last few years, made me realise that I also needed to re-evaluate my professional career. I enjoyed working in operations and revenue over the last 10 years with two of the biggest leisure industry companies in the world, however a promotion to a new position 2 years ago saw me behind a screen for more than 90% of my time. I discovered quickly that while I enjoyed the career progression, I gained greater satisfaction from training, mentoring and coaching my teams. It made me acknowledge that it was time for a major change to follow my true passion of connecting with people.
As a result, I began the process of training towards becoming a certified Health and Wellness Coach.
Fast forward to 2020 and I now get to use the skills I have learned throughout my career and personal life along with my curious mind to help others to face and overcome their fears. I am extremely passionate about seeing my clients progress, regain their confidence and succeed in their own lives through building healthy new habits that align with their vision of ultimate wellbeing.
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