Veena Joseph - Forerunners consulting and coaching

The first pic was taken in 2024 June. This was an unforgettable day. I had planned my husband's birthday party and also accepted a soap making workshop. Swipe right to see what I did before and then after. It was a busy day but I felt so peaceful. I did all I wanted to do.

Now swipe further right to see what I did for this Women's day. Further swipe right for a week earlier.

I am not a super woman or super human or super mom. I just choose to be who I want to be and I like to do that with dignity and strength.

This Women's day I just want to remind women to love who you really want to be not someone else, not keeping up with whoever. Whatever you choose to do, do it well.

My biggest takeaway from the IWD 2026 - Bloom Beyond limits is every woman, white, black, brown, old, young, privileged, struggling and everything inbetween, all of us have it tough. The degree of difficulties vary but we all don't have it easy.

But still we rise, we fall, we stumble, we get up, we don't give up, because we are not only doing this for us but for the Women who came before us and for the girls and women who will come after us.

Keep going! Find your strength! Find your limits and slay them one step at a time! And learn tact.

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❤️

✨ Invisible scars leave marks you can’t see.
They’re the stories you tell yourself about not being enough, not measuring up, or being stuck in the past. They shape how you see the world, how you hear others, and how you show up in your own life.

But here’s the truth: your past does not define your future.

🌱 2026 is your year to walk in freedom.

It starts with one question:

Who are you, really, when no one is watching?

When you face your invisible scars, you challenge yourself to:

See the beliefs that keep you small.

Notice the stories you tell yourself about failure, rejection, or not being enough.

Take responsibility for your reactions—without blaming yourself.

Choose actions that align with your true values.

💡 Step into freedom:

1️⃣ Pause and reflect. What “scar” are you carrying that still shapes your choices?
2️⃣ Name it, accept it, and release the shame it carries.
3️⃣ Take one small step today that aligns with your authentic self.
4️⃣ Surround yourself with support that lifts you up, not holds you back.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to start. One choice, one boundary, one honest conversation at a time.

🌟 Challenge for 2026:
This year, be brave enough to walk in your truth, feel your worth, and live free from the invisible chains that have held you back.

💬 Comment below: What is one invisible scar you are ready to face this year?

Grief and Love

I didn’t always understand the grief my friends felt losing their parents in their later years. I used to think — at least you had decades together.

But grief isn’t measured in years. It’s measured in connection.

I lost my dad when I was 13, and for a long time, I thought my loss was different. But the ache isn’t for another day — it’s for all the moments we’ll never get to share, the ways life unfolds without him.

Still, grief didn’t leave me stuck. It opened me. It taught me empathy — to sit with others in their pain, even when their stories aren’t the same as mine.

And even now, after all these years, grief still comes in waves — sometimes gentle, sometimes strong — reminding me that love never really leaves.

When we stop resisting grief — when we stop trying to make it neat or final — it softens us. It cracks the shell we build around our hearts to stay safe.

Grief shows us how fragile everything is, but also how deeply we can care. It teaches us presence — to hold people a little closer, listen a little longer, say the thing we might have left unsaid.

If we let it, grief can turn us toward love instead of away from it. Because once you’ve known what it’s like to lose, you start to understand how sacred it is to have.

Time for reflection: It was a fantastic opportunity to retreat from regular work and schedule to have sometime away in Zonnewende, Tilburg to reflect. I was also give my very first workshop on The Mirror Within: working with ease and clarity with different personalities.

We live in the age of Ai where connections have become short like watching your tube shorts. The possibility to reflect and have a reflective lifestyle continues to be a challenge.

Then the question arises: Why reflect at all?
To gain clarity over one's course of life and life purpose there is need for reflection.

Imagine building a huge tower without much planning and counting of cost.

How can you develop a reflective lifestyle?

Busyness in doing cuts off time for being.

When one's life direction and purpose is not explored, it is filled with busyness even meer indulgence in activities.

What is the season of life I am in?

How do I best use my time?

I hope today brings you this food for thought and you take time to reflect.


❤️

✨ When we chose this year’s theme back in June—surrounded by brilliant ideas and a simply delicious lunch at —we couldn't have imagined the world would feel so heavy just weeks before the retreat.

🌍 Uncertainty is rising:
– Tarriff increases
– Tightening immigration laws
– Asylum freezes
_ Global Conflict
– More school shootings...

And then, the devastating shooting of a young activist who once said:

🗣️

“When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts.
When marriages stop talking, divorce happens.
When civilization stops talking, civil war ensues.
When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group.”
— Charlie Kirk

💭 The SheSustains Retreat has always been a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect—with ourselves and each other. Every year, we leave a little different. A little more whole.

This year, I’ll be leading a workshop called:
“The Mirror Within: Relating with Clarity and Ease Across All Personalities”

It’s an invitation to rethink how we engage with people we disagree with.
To build bridges. To stay human.

🤍 I’m looking forward to this weekend with a deep craving for growth.

📌 Registrations are still open.
DM me or follow the link in bio to join us.

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The past three months, I’ve been working quietly in the background—coaching, refining workshops, and holding space for transformative work. Not only for those I support, but also for myself.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐥
In a recent coaching conversation, a client used the phrase “The Immigrant Toll.”
It struck a chord. We explored what it means to feel like you don’t fully belong, while also hearing the call of home.
𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 & 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝
This summer in India, I felt the joy of family and childhood memories. Yet, I also noticed restlessness. When I returned to The Hague, the silence after all the noise made me realize something powerful:
• India is my Motherland—nurture, love, and the comfort of the known.
• The Netherlands is my Fatherland—adventure, growth, and stepping beyond comfort.
Both have shaped who I am and how I serve.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧
I’m proud to stand with an incredible group of migrant women—each with her own story, yet united by one goal: to thrive and make our mark in the Netherlands.
Thank you, Thrive -Migrant Women Program, for making this pitch training possible.
Hauwa Olowookere Liia Guguchiia Nadine Angelica M. Ajero
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧
Our stories stand tall. They are not finished—they are being woven.
👉 Come and explore Stories that Matter at the SheSustains Annual Retreat 2025.
Theme: F𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 – 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞.

https://lnkd.in/ddUWfCHY

After much silence and just live, I feel.like I have something to say 😀.

What are you reaping? Do you like what you are reaping?

If you are not happy with your reaping then pay attention to what you are sowing.

If you sow in complaints you reap in bitterness
If you sow in discontent you reap dissatisfaction
If you sow into being scattered you reap confusion

You can choose today....

To change what you sow

To sow in overcoming to reap in confidence
To sow into gratitude to reap contentment
To sow into focus to reap results

If you are someone who says I keep trying to sow but waiting for my reap. Take courage.

Reflect on your sowing, where do you need to redirect yourself. Refocus. Re-strategise.

These red berries we planted 2 years ago, we have to tend to the plant, prune, protect from birds to reap these beautiful berries.

Nothing comes out of nothing, sow and reap.

Grateful for the completion of the 1st Cohort of coaching Thrive migrant women and completing 2 months as a workshop facilitator at The Beautiful Unseen.

Some highlights from interactions with women, some common themes emerged:

⏫️ The urge to be productive,efficient,following a plan 100 percent of the time.

⏫️ Defining one's value with external factors.

⏫️ Giving up on dreams due to delays and rejections

⏫️ Internalising misteps as a personal failure to deliver.

And we flipped these perspectives into

📈 To aim to be reasonably productive, efficient for 80 to 90 percent of times.

📈 To take breaks and resets as needed,because we are human.

📈 To show up from a place of value and worth from within.

📈 Making bite sized action steps with reasonable goals to make your dreams come true.

📈 To learn from misteps, take feedback from rejection and keep moving forward.

I am happy to see progress in my clients. We will call her Anna, she was going through a major life transition as a immigrant, student finishing their studies entering workforce and entering a new relationship. She was so confused when she had anxiety and panic attacks. As she shared all that was going on, with compassion for herself she was able to use practical tools and a mental framework that helped her feel more grounded and handle her anxiety.
As she prepared for her wedding these helped her enjoy the new beginnings of her life.

As I celebrate International Coaching Week 2025, I will be diving into some development activities to keep up with development. This will help me serve my clients better.

I want to thank every one that trusted me and let me share the coaching space with them.

Are you someone who is going through a major life transition and is need of support, approach me for a exploratory call.

Travel, was not always my thing. But as I discovered travelling over the years I enjoy being able to see different places, understand culture and people.

I loved our recent trip to Greece, it was an eye opening cultural and spiritual trip. Loved the people, the wonderful cuisine but most of all, the culture of family and the presence of faith.

Travelling has helped me explore beyond my comfort and expand my mind,body and spirit.

This hilltop trek felt impossible, but with every step it became possible.

As you explore the strength of your body,mind and spirit , you gain confidence. With every discomfort comes learning and growth.

How has discomfort shaped wonderful learning experiences?

What comfort keeps you in your wraps?