Gamechanger

I've just sailed through 20 weeks of Gamechanger with my fellow shipmates, across stormy seas towards calm horizons. We've laughed, we've cried and we've connected on a deeper level than just the everyday. There hasn't been time for small talk or surface-level conversations. We've held each other through little wins, big breakthroughs and surprising challenges that have sometimes taken our breaths away. We've grown towards our goals, we've discovered inner treasures and we've become something closer to who we were always supposed to be.

What an unexpected pleasure the journey has been, more so because I’ve really surprised myself. I’ve known when to step back and have never felt the need to push myself past my boundaries. I’ve also taken a bigger role in this group than I thought I would - usually choosing to peek out from behind the desk in the corner, I’ve chosen to step out and get stuck in and the reward has been truly wonderful.

It hasn’t always been easy to transverse Jamie’s games, particularly the ones that required me to take myself less seriously - those ones took conscious effect to let go of the need to always get things ‘right’. There were also other moments when things took me by surprise and triggered me in ways that I hadn’t expected, and I know this happened to lots of us at different points during the journey. What made it okay was being gently held and supported by Jamie and my crew-mates, some of whom I know will be friends for life.

Jamie has a way of facilitating and holding space to allow for all the multi-faceted aspects of being human - all the messy, beautiful, raw and deformed bits are held in a way that gives us permission to just ‘be’ where we are. He shows us that all these weird and wonderful bits can be loved just the same as each other - that we don’t have to have favourites when it comes to ourselves. Everything Jamie teaches is done with a lightness of being that only he manages. Though he jokes about being a guru, the fact is that Jamie knows he is not perfect, nor will he always get things ‘right’, and this is what brings a certain ease to playing with our own shadows through his many games. There’s nothing worse than being preached to by someone who’s high and mighty and so far removed from reality and the human experience - Jamie’s feet are firmly on the ground - mostly ;)

Gamechanger has had such an incredible impact on me, and I’m sure it will take a while for it to integrate properly. Until then, I’m carrying with me such amazing memories of laughing so hard that my head ached and connecting to so many different kinds of people in deep and meaningful ways. As someone who has travelled so much of my personal development alone, it has been an unexpected joy to explore things alongside others - and this is something I’m taking with me going forward. We can only go so far alone - there is a whole other side of life and ourselves that require the mirror of others to truly discover the treasures hidden within the depths.

The next cohort of Gamechanger starts in November. Take the leap and join the next ship leaving port - you won’t be disappointed!