About Astrid

My story

From adapting to allowing myself to be me

My name is Astrid Geel. My own path to more freedom and connection with myself has not always been easy.

For a long time I was insecure. I had learned to adapt, to take others into account and above all to keep going. In my youth I went through experiences that had a great deal of influence on me. Because of that, I learned early on not always to put my own feelings and needs first.

Years later, when I was living as an expat in another country, something happened that I could not have foreseen at the time: distance gave me space. Space to feel. Space to look at myself. Space to discover which patterns I had carried with me. And perhaps the most important question: who am I, when for a moment I don’t have to live up to what others expect of me?

Slowly I got to know myself better. I learned to hear my own voice again and discovered that I did not have to keep living from old beliefs.

I was allowed to be here.

I was allowed to be strong.

I was allowed to make my own choices.

And I was allowed to receive love.

As a result, my life has changed. I am no longer in contact with my family from the past. That has not always been easy. At the same time, over the course of my life I have built my own circle of people. I have a wonderful family, with their partners, and people around me with whom I feel connected.

That has taught me something important:

Family is not only about where you come from. It is also about the connections you build in your life.

About people with whom you can be yourself. About love that does not depend on what you do for someone else. And about the right to shape your own life.

My personal experiences are an important part of who I am as a coach. I know how complicated it can be when the voices, expectations and needs of others are so strongly present that you can barely hear your own voice any more. And I know how liberating it can be when you start to recognise that voice again.

That is why I believe that your own wisdom is ultimately your most important compass.

You don’t have to reinvent yourself. You may meet yourself anew.

I guide women who live in another country or are preparing for an international step. My own experiences as an expat have shown me how much a change of environment can set in motion. Sometimes you lose yourself precisely when you are trying to do everything right. And sometimes a new environment gives you the opportunity to get to know yourself again.

I know what it is like to be insecure. I know what it is like to take others into account a great deal. To notice that old patterns keep influencing you, even when your life has long since changed on the outside.

But I now also know that change is possible. That you can learn to listen to yourself. That you are allowed to set boundaries. That you are not responsible for the happiness of everyone around you. That you may make your own choices. That you may be strong. And that you may receive love.

I bring that experience into my coaching. I don’t need to tell you who you should become. My role is to stand beside you, to listen, to ask questions and to help you discover what you already know yourself. Perhaps it begins with one simple question: what feels right for you?