In conversation with Catri Barrett, a life coach and mindset expert

Are you interested in reducing your everyday anxieties, getting rid of insecurities or just taking time to feel more calm? Catri Barrett, a life coach and mindset expert has ALL the tips and tricks to do just that. From Instagram Reels and IGTV’s to her podcast, you are sure to get all the info you need. If you are looking for something more in depth, you can be a part of her programmes and book a mini coaching session beforehand to get a feel for what its all about.

In the mean time, check out her Instagram:

Or you can listen to her podcast on Apple or Spotify; pick your winner:

If you want to hear what Catri has to say, look no further!

What made you decide to become a life coach ? Is this something you have always wanted to be ? 

Not at all, I studied Fine Art at university, but I became a Life Coach after my own challenges with mental health for many years. Various talking therapies helped me a lot, but my biggest transformations happened when I discovered the world of personal development and started applying all the practical and actional tools to myself and my life. 

After I learned so much about how I could change my mindset, confidence, relationships, wellbeing and improve all areas of my life, and improve my wellbeing, I had that moment of “Why didn’t I get taught this in school”. I felt like so much of what I’d experienced with my mental health struggles could have been prevented had I been equipped with the practical skills and tools for coping with challenges, understanding myself and how much what’s going on in our inner world affects whether we achieve/feel what we want in our outer world. 

I became very passionate about helping others do the same by taking personal responsibility for their lives and that’s when I discovered Life Coaching. At the time, no one knew what a Life Coach was (we’re talking 2013) but it is becoming much more popular now, which is great as most of us would benefit from what it has to offer - I still work with coaches myself and always will. 

Do you keep a structure to your day or is everyday a different routine ? 

As a creative at heart, I love to be spontaneous so I rebelled against having a routine for most of my life. The idea of it scares me as it can feel restrictive, but I now know from experience that in reality I respond so well to structure. Through trial and error I’ve really cracked what works well for me. Now, I have different days dedicated for different tasks in my business. For example, I have 2 days a week where I do all my 1:1 coaching sessions, a day a week for admin, one for content creation, and one for my second business and podcast, the Curiosity Club. This works a lot better than trying to do everything on all days as I can really focus on each task.

The term 'life coach' is so broad - is there a topic you prefer in particular ?

Each coach is very different with a unique approach so it’s always important to find the right match for you. I would say I’m a confidence coach and mindset expert who specialises in helping procrastinators and perfectionists overcome the self-doubt and people pleasing that is sabotaging their wellbeing, achievements, and happiness. As a mindset expert, a huge part of what I do lies in teaching clients to manage their thoughts and beliefs and understand how this influences them, but emotional and physical wellbeing are also a huge part of what I do because each area of ourselves is so connected and all influence us.   

You have a bunch of podcast episodes from your podcast 'The Curiosity Club' - if you had to tell someone to listen to one of them which one would you pick ?

Ooh, that’s a tough one! I’ve had so many incredible guests and I’ve shared a lot on there as well in my solo episodes. Two that spring to mind are my conversation with Co-dependancy coach Jo Westwood (Season 2, episode 6) as I think so many people are in co-dependant relationships without realising it - I had some realisations myself whilst talking to Jo! Also, ‘Reasons why you should start loving failure’ (season 1, EP 24) because fear of things going wrong is still the number one thing I see holding people back.

Can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to start your podcast and how you went about it ?

I have always wanted to ensure that I am making coaching and powerful life lessons as accessible to everyone as I can.  It’s really important to me that I create a lot of free content - it was Youtube videos and blogs that massively helped me when I first started my personal development journey and I understand not everyone is in the position to be able to afford, or have the capacity for, embarking on a full coaching programme. I love that podcasts are so digestible and that you can listen to these inspiring stories or learn something new on your commute, run or do your house chores. 

I had wanted to start the podcast for a few years before I actually did. I had been very much sabotaging my idea telling myself “It’s been done before”, “Who will listen” etc. before I practiced what I preach, embraced the vulnerability and just got started in 2019 learning as I go.

I learned all I could online, watching lots of Youtube videos and tutorials on starting a podcast but I have learned most from the doing. It was a big reminder to me how much time can be wasted if you wait to feel ready. I bought a second hand mic on eBay and just got started! 

What would be your top three tips for reducing anxiety and staying calm throughout our daily lives ? 

• Allowing yourself to feel what you’re feeling: What we resist grows and if you’re feeling something it’s totally legit. It’s okay to feel stressed and anxious, there’s nothing wrong with you and it doesn’t mean you are that feeling. For example, if you feel lonely, it doesn’t mean you are alone. Start allowing your emotions to be there, acknowledge and label them - this allows the logical part of our brains, the prefrontal cortex, to process them more effectively and is the foundation to improving your emotional health.
  

• Calm your nervous system: This is always my first port of call with clients and encourage them to make it a number one priority. It’s really important to remember that when we’re feeling anxious or stressed it’s a totally normal and healthy physiological response that all humans have. It means our stress response has been triggered and it’s so important that you intentionally, and regularly, practice triggering your relaxation response to counteract it and find more balance.

In short doses it’s okay and can even be helpful, but problems like burnout can arise when we stay in the stress response for long periods of time. There are lots of things like yoga, meditation, breath work, exercise etc. that trigger the relaxation response for everyone but there’s no right or wrong, and it’s important to find something that works for you.  

Get clear on what makes you relax - in the past, when have you felt most at ease, relaxed, and calm? Was it with a particular friend, listening to music, or walking in nature? Prioritise these things more often. 

• Manage your mind and inner critic:  Our brains don’t know the difference between a thought and reality, it doesn’t have to be a real threat to our safety that can trigger our stress response. Just thinking and imagining something going wrong, someone thinking negatively of us, or the amount of work we have to do is enough to tell our brains there is danger.

Becoming more aware of your mindset and how your thoughts could be feeding your stress and anxieties is really important. Particularly if you have a loud inner critic who tends to beat yourself up a lot and remind you of all your shortcomings. 

When you have a negative thought, practice asking yourself these three questions:

• How much evidence do I have that this is true?

• What would be another way of looking at it from a different perspective?

• What would I say to a loved one in this situation?