Welcome to my journey, “An Ontological Life”. A few years ago, I was filled with self-doubt, and was not coping with a number of challenges that I was facing. With the assistance of a coach, and through much self-reflection, learning, determination and whatever else I could muster, I turned things around, to a point where I now feel that I am enough. This blog is my account of that journey. It starts at the beginning, and it will keep going.

I have chosen the name “An Ontological Life” for two reasons:

• Firstly, my journey was based on an ontological approach (which you can read more of in my blog posts and my About page).
• Secondly, we are all generating a life from our ontology (way of being) every single moment, regardless of how aware we are that we are doing so. This is my journey from creating a life from my way of being without the awareness that I was doing so, to actively observing my way of being and creating a life that served me more effectively.

How to use this Blog Site

The posts appear on the page in reverse chronological order. There is a list of all posts at the very bottom of the page, in order from newest to oldest.

There are a couple of different approaches that can be used with this blog – see below.

Read the posts individually: Each blog post has been written with the aim of it standing alone, with a simple story of where I was at that particular point in time, some reflections on the situation that I described, and some questions that may or may not be useful for you in moving forward. The information in each post may or may not resonate, and can be used however it may be useful. With this approach, feel free to read any post, and in any order.

Read the posts sequentially: If each post is read in order from oldest to newest, you will read about my journey: How I was thinking along the way, what was occurring to me and the actions that I took. The aim is that it will be like reading a journal, and will provide the full picture of how I was feeling and what I did. It may or may not be useful to read the posts in order; the choice is yours.

Comments, Questions and Feedback

I love reading comments, and engaging in chats about this stuff. I want my blog to be a place of learning for others, and I am committed to helping that happen. So, please, feel free to leave comments and ask questions along the way. I’ll aim to respond to them all. I am also happy to engage in a discussion via the comments along the way.

Getting in Touch

I would be love to hear from you. I am happy to provide more information on the ontological approach. I am also currently taking on coaching clients, and am happy to discuss possibilities in that space. If you wish to contact me, my name is Deanne, and my details are below:

There is also a Facebook Page for this site, and you are invited to come along, like the page, and engage in conversation.

Thank You

So many people have helped and supported me throughout this journey. For that reason, I have an entire page devoted to saying Thank You. Here, I would like to acknowledge and thank:

• My family for their incredible love, patience and support along the way
• Ian Higginbottom from Reflecting Power, for his medal-worthy effort as my coach for two years. I never expected that first coaching conversation to lead to this, and I will always be incredibly grateful.

I am a leadership and life coach, available for coaching and facilitation services. If you feel that it would be useful to have a conversation with me, please feel free to view my services on the Leading and Being website.