What do you care about?

I recently read that care is our greatest currency. 

Upon arriving at my family home in France, for an extended visit, I submitted myself to recalling my early childhood joys. Re-turning inwards…

Not so surprising (for those who know me) – anything scintillating, playing dress-up, intoxicating fragrances… contemplating nature's patterns and people's beauty… curating collections in my head and inventing more beautiful worlds. 

Cultured butter, listening to Brian Eno’s Another Green World, drying on a rock at the river while being sun kissed, and 'dragee' (sugar-coated almonds)… 

A collage I made last year while visiting my homeland around the same time…

But the most validating and revitalizing was to remember that nurturing other living organisms was central to my early being. Listening close, extending curiosity and care through touch and conversations and offering presence.

We all contain multitudes and I spent significant time working on clarifying my complexities around the contribution I want to make. It became apparent, several years ago, immersed for the first time in a group coaching container, that I was longing to expand professionally far beyond my role as a photographer. 

Slowly, I allowed myself to consider, for the first time, the possibility of my other interests. Under the guidance of the coach, I got familiar with my main blocks and developed more awareness around my potential but I kept bumping into the same polarized truths which always seemed to hold me back from progressing further. The incompleteness of that initial taste became the catalyst, urging me to explore other methodologies, other processes and containers. New spaces opened new doors. 

I really can get lost in flow when I am behind a camera and I must admit, this is one of the most rewarding feelings; to successfully compose evocative images. But my initial talent had quickly become tied to my livelihood, as well as the way I framed my identity. Subconsciously, in order to stay safe and receive love, I felt I was not allowed to explore other outlets or interests. I had frozen.

There was wisdom in this strategy. And I am deeply grateful to the practices I have learned for uncovering the purpose that strategy was serving. The self-imposed limitations kept me safe; in the realm of the known. But that meant the unknown was off-limits.

As I had more experiences in coaching, visualizing all these openings led to actions. New pursuits. My first endeavors were largely projections. Possibilities that felt aligned but were still just scratching the surface. 

First playing with the idea of having my own beauty brand around edible cosmetics and flower essences following my love for skin health and the intelligence of nature. But I didn’t have much desire to grow new competencies in product-making. One of my closest friends is a successful entrepreneur at the head of a brilliant beauty platform. I have been enjoying partnering with her as a creative producer to materialize her vision at the top so much more than starting my own beauty brand. The aliveness that I felt by contrast was information.

Then it was the idea of a one room spa offering integrative treatments and preventive interventions back in France. Taking care of myself and advocating for restorative and preventive health and beauty measures is something deeply embodied so that made sense. The reality of the task though, seemed to be mostly logistics and management concerns once you were done with the initial curation of the space/experiences. This didn't seem versatile enough for a triple gemini. 

I thought of becoming a health coach. I went through my own arc of transformation recovering from a decade of health crisis in my 30s. And I loved the idea of helping others reclaim their vitality. I was getting close. I thoroughly enjoyed training as an intrinsic health coach yet there was still something missing in narrowing myself to this niche (instead, this will be a key element embedded in my signature program). 

All of this exploration was necessary in order to go deeper. Receiving different flavors of coaching (Co-active, Strozzi institute, IFS etc..) and then beginning to coach others, dedicating hours to my own self-cultivation, it became clear I had a passion for the art of self-unfoldment at large and the process of guiding others through their personal (r)evolution.

As I continue to soften my limiting beliefs and update my operating system using precious tools and processes which I’m now equipped to offer, I can finally feel I’m beginning to reconcile one of my historical polarities.  I am centering my identity around my highly perceptive and nurturing nature. A lens that focuses on beauty and supports it as it emerges. 

What I care most about is holding people in an expansive embrace and materializing their creative visions.  

If you enter a coaching engagement with me, this is one of the first questions we will explore at Depth but for now, I invite you to observe your own answers in writing and, if you feel moved, to post your journaling in the comments. 

What and who do YOU care about? 

What do you keep returning to? Is there a through-line? And if you were to follow it, where would that take you? 

Officially launching my coaching practice in September but feel free to reach out nastassianinaconquet@gmail.com to inquire about the different ways to work with me or book a free 30 mins chemistry call to explore what needs to transform or shape-shift in you and whether I am your flavor https://calendly.com/nastassianinaconquet