Shows
Mission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynPresenceBeing present means not being mentally absent. Ah, guilty as charged then (on occasion)!This week, we discuss why being present even matters, and why we can find it so tricky to master. Luckily, we have a few ideas to help us be more present, even though Kathryn admits to being a planner, and Kirsty tries to change the past through willpower alone.Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: : How present are you on a daily basis? Could you improve it?2025-07-2329 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynRootsRoots: restrictive, anchoring, connecting, trip hazards, something that needs dyeing…?Having agreed that this isn’t about hair, we manage a quite sensible conversation about the ‘woodwide’ web, and (surprisingly) avoid getting too distracted by cream teas, only to end up discussing trees walking about and swinging anchors; daps; bonsai rejection, and our (temporary) failure to be more firmly rooted in biscuits.You had to be there, really - and it’s not too late! Grab a cuppa and a biscuit and join us!Today’s question for you to mull over and which we als...2025-07-1624 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSleepToday’s episode is a special guest episode with John Bryant,Low Carb Coach, and our topic this week is a great one which impacts us all – sleep. A good night’s sleep is the holy grail we wish to have and repeat, but it can feel out of our hands to get!However, fortunately there are some things we can doto help ourselves which John generously shares with us all – from sleep cycles, body temperature, caffeine, alcohol, and blue and orange light! Today’s question for you to mull over and which Ka...2025-07-0931 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynBalanceToo much of one thing (even biscuits!) isn’t good foranyone. But how on earth do we lead a ‘balanced life’? This week we discuss what’s tricky about the concept ofbalance in the first place, a life ‘see-saw’, and how we can create a semblance of balance (rather than a perfect equilibrium). We also pick apart the term ‘work-life balance’ and replace it with a life smoothie! Today’s question for you to mull over and which we alsoanswer in the episode: "What does balance look like for you right n...2025-07-0229 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynLife coaching - is it for me?This week we delve a bit deeper into life coaching: when isit likely to be useful, what coaching offers and when it might be time to try it. Of course we are biased, but with good reason – in a lot of life’s ups and downs, coaching can be useful, complimentary to other initiatives and a way to unravel the messinessof life to make it all feel a bit simpler. Coaching can be proactive, not just as a last resort intervention. There is no ‘I must be struggling to justify this for me’ threshold. In all t...2025-06-2525 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynJudgementThis week, we’re pondering whether it’s possible to be judgement free…spoiler alert: we don’t think it is.But nor do we think judgement is necessarily a bad thing - providing you can notice you’re doing it and are willing to change your mind.This one was recorded when we were both pretty tired, so we’ll let you judge for yourselves (see what we did there?!) as to whether our moment of biscuity spiritual enlightenment was a product of genius or exhaustion.Today’s question for you to mull over and...2025-06-1827 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSlowing downThese days we are all so busy, it takes conscious effort to slow down. In our quest for evidence on why slowing down is important, we discover some fantastic new words including ‘spuddle’ and ‘boondoggle’ and spend rather too long if that might make a person a ‘boondoggler’ or someone who just spends time ‘boondoggling’?!On a slightly more helpful and practical note, we discuss why we may want to slow down a little every so often, how to do it, and how it can help us speed up (in the right way!). Today’s question f...2025-06-1128 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynFearBeing fearless might sound cool, but it can get you into all sorts of bother with sabre-toothed tigers and axe murderers.We consider how fearing less might be a healthier - and longer lived - alternative, and suggest some ways of dealing with fear… if, that is, you decide the regret of not facing the fear will weigh heavier than the fear.Because sometimes the fear is right. Just consider those films where someone staying in a sinister, isolated old house with no lights goes to investigate a scary noise…Sometimes, hiding under the duvet is t...2025-06-0436 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynHabitsRoutines, patterns of behaviour, habits (e.g. eating biscuits with a cup of tea) are often done without our conscious awareness. This week we are talking about forming new habits, and breaking old ones, and just why that can be so hard! But we also have some top tips for supporting habit development and desired new behaviours, although Kirsty and I agree that biscuit-eating isn’t a habit we want to give up! Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: ‘Is there a habit you would...2025-05-2842 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynToxic PositivityThe Black Knight and the last biscuit help us take a look at how positivity can turn toxic. On a more positive note (see what we did there?!), we also suggest the red flags to look out for, and how to keep to the positive side of positivity (which can often sound counter-intuitively negative).You’ll never hear the phrase “At least” in the same way again!Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: What’s the thing you most dread hearing when you co...2025-05-2139 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynWhat if?!‘What if’: two very powerful words that can take us in many different directions! Today we talk about the human tendency to ask ‘what if’ (or as we call it, ‘what iffery’ ), both in a positive and a negative way, and where it can lead us, for better or worse. Also, we discuss adding one small word to the beginning – ‘so what if’ and just how this can change our thinking about what may come next!Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: ‘Where are you doin...2025-05-1430 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynPeople pleasingWe explore what people pleasing is and isn’t, why it’s a problem and how to start to stop it.Bad news: if you think people pleasing is simply being a nice person and putting others first, then this might be an uncomfortable listen for you - especially the rather ouchy definition Kirsty offers…Good news: easing up on the people pleasing doesn’t turn you into a selfish arsehole. And if you want to prove that to yourself, we have some suggestions to help you get started.2025-05-0736 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynReflecting on achievementThis month, Mission Imperfect is 6 months old! We have released an episode every Wednesday since our launch in Oct 2024, and decided that is worth a moment of acknowledgement and celebration. Whilst as coaches we spend a lot of time helping others look forward, focusing on the what now and next, there is value in appreciating just how far you've come too - which we encourage you to do in this week's episode!It's been imperfect, life is, and fortunately so is the name of our podcast. This week's question...2025-04-3025 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynLife coaching - what is it?!This week, we realise it has taken us until series 2 to talk explicitly about life coaching!We bust some myths around what life coaching is and isn't, so you can decide if it is of interest, or isn't - either answer is fine!3 myths we discuss this week:1) Coaching is like counselling, therapy or mentoring (or is the poor relation of those)2) A coach will tell me what to do / how to sort my life out!3) Coaching is for people who need something...2025-04-2336 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynProcrastinationWe couldn’t put this one off any longer… procrastination! We probably all do it, but it’s often misunderstood. This week, we are talking about why we put things off, is procrastination really a problem and how might we overcome / manage it. We also coin the term ‘positive procrastination’ for when it’s not always a bad thing. Biscuits even manage to get a look in, because more often than not for both of us, they are our reward for doing the task we were procra...2025-04-1633 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynMoney MattersAs a society, we’re pretty obsessed with the rich and famous… but talking about money is often a bit of a taboo, isn’t it? Not in this episode of Mission Imperfect, though!!Join us in considering all the benefits of money and all the ways in which we’ve been conditioned to think of it as bad – confusing, much?! We also have some suggestions as to how to start addressing that cognitive dissonance so as to create a healthier relationship with money.Along the way, Kathryn is introduced...2025-04-0937 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSuccessWelcome to series 2 of Mission Imperfect!We’ve spoken about failure before… so it's only fair that it’s now the turn of success.What are markers of success and how do we translate success in our lives? We discuss signs of success and on whose terms in this week’s episode, along with being up the wrong ladder, success ‘traps’ and how to define it imperfectly your way instead! Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: 2025-04-0233 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSelf imageIt’s not just about how we look, it’s about how we feel, howwe value ourselves, and what we think we are capable of too – which the beauty industry knows too well! This week we are discussing all things related to howwe see ourselves, the negative filters we have and how to remove them! We discuss ‘re-blonding’, eyelashes likeescaping spiders and one-legged high jumps; biscuits just sneak in. Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: ‘What does the belief th...2025-03-2638 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynLife chaptersKathryn talks about the idea that our lives are like books, with whatever phase we happen to be in being the current chapter, not the whole story. And, no matter how dramatically or sadly one chapter might end, there’s always a new chapter to follow it - and we always get to choose whether we’re the hero or the victim of our own stories.Kirsty, after wrongly claiming that this episode breaks with a tradition of one word episode titles, gets distracted by the idea of a fairy tale sequel called “Cinderella: the divorce years”...Tod...2025-03-1932 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynShouldIt’s just a word, but a troublesome one – in this episode we talk about all the reasons we dislike ‘should’, or as Kirsty puts it why it sucks the joy out of life, makes us feel inadequate, and separates us from our sense of who we are and what matters to us. And biscuits make a return! Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: ‘What is the main feeling you associate with the word“should”?’ Resources:7 Levels Deep https...2025-03-1227 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynValuesValues are not something we tend to discuss with each other - but maybe we should, and today we’re doing just that!Values are invaluable (see what we did there?!) guides in life, alerting you to what/who is right - and not right - for you, and enabling you to carve out a path that feels good to YOU.Values can also be carefully curated tick box exercises, serving only to create an impression…especially in the corporate world, some cynics (Kirsty!) might say, but also for indi...2025-03-0533 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynBoundariesIn today’s episode we are talking about the areas in which we may want to have personal boundaries and how to communicate them (without having a personal rulebook to hand!). We think they are needed because without them we are in danger of entering ‘people pleasing’ land or ‘I wish I wasn’t here’ land – both undesirable! Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode: ‘What’s your relationship with personal boundaries? Are they clear? Flexible or static? Communicated or often crossed?’2025-02-2635 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynAcceptanceWhat if acceptance is not a sign of weakness or powerlessness, but is what allows you to tap into your strength and power to find positive ways of moving forward?
We contemplate the possibility that resisting what you don’t want actually keeps you stuck in it, while acceptance allows you to process events and emotions; find ways of changing what can be changed, and make choices about what can’t be changed.
The good news is that acceptance doesn’t exclude the option of throwing a massive strop: just don’t get stuck in it!
...2025-02-1931 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynDecision-makingMany of us struggle with decision-making and place a lot of pressure on ourselves to make the ‘right’ one.
This week we discuss thinking traps around decisions and making choices, including that there isn’t really any such thing as a right decision!
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘Can you identify one (or more!) of the 6 thinking traps playing out for you?’
Resources:
Kathryn’s blogs on decision-making
https://www.kbmindfulcoaching.com/post/why-are-some-decisions-so-hard-to-make
and
https...2025-02-1229 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynIntroversionA trip to the introvert end of the introvert-extrovert spectrum, which turns out to be a lot less anti-social than you might expect, and not all the “loners” are serial killers!
Needing quiet time to recharge your energy, and space to think before you speak, can lead to introverts feeling drained and “othered” by a society geared towards extroversion - we discuss how understanding introversion and where you are on the scale can benefit you.
If you instinctively warm to the word “depeopling”, this one’s definitely for you!
Today’s question for you to mull over...2025-02-0532 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSelf doubtExperiencing some doubt is normal, but what about self-doubt? What about when it becomes obstructive? This is our focus in today’s episode – how we can get stuck in a cycle of self-doubt and how to get out of it! Fortunately we can still have healthy questioning and become more self-assured.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘Do you recognise thoughts with a negative slant about yourself cropping up – e.g. ‘ I can’t…’ or ‘I’m not…’ or ‘I don’t…’? instead of ‘I can, I am, I do’?’
2025-01-2929 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSelf talkIn a nutshell, our self-talk matters. In this week’s episode we are talking about what we are saying to ourselves about ourselves and how we can make this kinder.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘What word or phrase are you going to look out for in your self-talk going forward, and how will you respond to it?’
Resources:
Kirsty’s kinder self-talk exercise https://www.coachingbykirsty.co.uk/resources
Find us here:
...2025-01-2230 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynFailureThomas Edison helps us shed some light on the problem of the usual “boom” reaction to perceived failure, and the difference between being a failure and failing at something.
We consider how our feelings about “failure” can be changed by the word “yet”; understanding what we truly want, and acceptance of the impermanence of both failure and success.
Kathryn tells us how “failure” later resulted in marriage, and Kirsty shares how she’s made peace with “failing” at marriage. Which is all decidedly unbiscuity – sorry!
Today’s question for y...2025-01-1534 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynComfort ZonesWe explore how our comfort zones gradually become less comfortable, leaving us with the choice of familiar discomfort or unknown discomfort…and the longer term possibility of a bigger and better comfort zone.
We offer 4 tips to help you take that first step out of your comfort zone: focus on what you want; commit to one small action; journaling, and…coaching. Well, we would say that, wouldn’t we - but it really helps!
Key takeaways: don’t get an earful of sand; eat more biscuits, and be nice to frogs.
Today’...2025-01-0835 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynNew Year ResolutionsIt’s probably no surprise we are talking about new year resolutions for this episode, our first of 2025!
We discuss our aversion to SMART goals, and some general pitfalls of new year resolutions… and yet we both concede that we are in favour of direction, purpose and thinking about how we want to be and feel. So we’ve decided to talk about resolutions (at any time) the Kirsty and Kathryn way!
We also discover that Kathryn can’t say ‘2025’ which could be problematic for the next 364 days, and Kirsty ties us in knots with a double negat...2025-01-0139 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynThe 12 Days of Christmas!Something a little different for Christmas Day and the lead-in to the new year: inspired by the 12 days of Christmas, we have a series of coaching questions for you, (very) loosely connected to the days of the song.
Don’t worry: there’s no singing from us…relief all around!
Today’s (last!) question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘Which of the suggestions for the 12 days of Christmas do you definitely want (or don’t want) to do?’
2024-12-2515 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSelflessnessThe paradox of selflessness…we tie ourselves in knots considering how you’re supposed to give of yourself if you’re not supposed to have a self; ponder the middle ground between selfless and selfish (self-full??); discuss whether the practice of preventative mental and emotional self-care is really fully ingrained in society, and agree that giving of ourselves doesn’t mean sacrificing ourselves.
We also use the word frippery, which should happen more often, and reference being burnt at the stake, which shouldn’t.
Today’s question for you to mull over...2024-12-1829 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynComparisonitisIt may not be in the dictionary – yet – but what we mean by ‘comparisonitis’ (comparing ourselves, mostly unfavourably, to others) is a trap we can often fall into! We discuss how comparisons start but how they actually provide an unhelpful and unfair measure of ‘how am I doing?’ – which is really the question we want to be answering.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘If you find yourself comparing, what can you say to yourself that is helpful in that moment?’
Find u...2024-12-1124 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynStress-less ChristmasChristmas = jolly, right?! As much as we love the word jolly (and roly-poly), we know that unfortunately the festive season can be a source of stress rather than joy sometimes. In this episode, we discuss some of those sources of stress, and more importantly what we can do to counter them.
Also, Kirsty admits to sometimes being Scrooge (but that’s not a bad thing!), our views on Christmas games vary and we debate if biscuits can in fact be festive.
Today’s question for you to mull over and...2024-12-0437 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynPause...The power of a pause is our topic this week – to rest, review, regroup, re-energise. In a busy world of ‘doing’, sometimes we need to take a pause, and it’s a great antidote to the ‘autopilot trap’. We discuss conscious awareness and when we might want to tune in and tune out in a moment of pause.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘Where in your day to day life might pausing help you and what will help you pause?’
Find...2024-11-2738 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynConfidenceIf you’re waiting for the Confidence Fairy Godmother to wave her wand before you take action, then this is for you. We talk about the Confidence Catch-22 and the importance of various c-words (no, not that one – behave!) in building confidence: having the courage to start, offering yourself compassion as you learn, letting go of self criticism, and developing competence.
Remarkably, we fail to mention biscuits…but Donald Trump crops up…we promise to try harder with the biscuits in future.
Today’s question for you to mull over and w...2024-11-2047 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynSelf-BeliefIs self-belief just another word for confidence? We think not! We explore the subtle differences and why it even matters in this week’s episode, plus what impacts our self-belief and how we can grow it, even later in life.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
‘What do you like most about yourself?’
Find us here:
Kathryn: www.kbmindfulcoaching.com
Kirsty: www.coachingbykirsty.co.uk
And on social media her...2024-11-1343 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynResilienceTalking about the right kind of resilience – ditching “manning up” and “bouncing back” in favour of Kathryn’s 4 step cycle, and Kirsty’s allowing-not-wallowing.
Along the way, things get a tad biscuity.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
Recall a time when you demonstrated your resilience: what does that tell you about yourself?
Resources:
https://www.kbmindfulcoaching.com/post/the-right-kind-of-resilience
Find us here:
Kirsty: www.coachingbykirsty.co.uk
Kathryn: www.kbmindfulcoaching.com
And on social...2024-11-0641 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynTransformationTransformation is one of those buzz words – especially in
the world of coaching. Hear our take on what transformation in life coaching can be, in a good way! Clue – there’s no caterpillars or butterflies in sight –
the transformation in you is about your thinking.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also
answer in the episode:
‘What thought about yourself do you want to transform – and what into?’
Find us here:
Kathryn: www.kbmindfulcoaching.com
Kirsty: www.coachingbykirsty.co.u...2024-10-3032 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynPerfectionismWe discuss the imperfections of perfectionism (eg self-criticism, failure to act, burnout and a clone army); the possibility that doing our best is perfectly acceptable; the perfect storm of conditioning that creates perfectionism, and how embracing our imperfections can make us less imperfect.
Along the way, we confirm that Kathryn looks human, and discover that Kirsty says ‘absolutely’ way too much.
Today’s question for you to mull over and which we also answer in the episode:
What’s your favourite imperfection?
Find us here:
Kirsty: www.coachingb...2024-10-2333 minMission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and KathrynMission Imperfect: introductionA warm welcome to our podcast – Mission Imperfect: navigating life with coaches Kirsty and Kathryn.
So who are we? We’re both former HR professionals, mums, and now life coaches, but we are definitely two people, living in London and Devon respectively. We love tea and biscuits and talking all about the messiness of
life, and finding your own path through it, imperfectly but your way.
In this brief intro episode we introduce ourselves, discuss
why we decided to do a podcast, what our intentions are for our listeners and how we hope you will enjo...2024-10-1613 min