When Frances Williams signed up to Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals at the start of 2024, she knew she wanted to make a change. Unsure what that was however, she took on the 13-week online programme in what she describes as a “leap of faith”. Little did she know how life-changing the experience would be, as she found herself resigning from her job of 24 years to find a completely new direction - along with a renewed sense of peace and a community of cheerleaders! 

Frances explained: “I think you have to take a bit of a leap of faith really at the beginning of something like this because you know in yourself that something isn’t working. And after joining the programme you quickly found there were people from all sorts of different backgrounds and circumstances taking part. There was instantly stuff to relate to, and that was beneficial.” 

Although Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals is made up of 13 weekly one-hour virtual group sessions on Zoom, there is also daily contact between members via WhatsApp, a free mobile phone messaging app that enables group conversations regardless of where in the world each participating individual is from. 

The group Frances was part of comprised seven women - in France, the UK and the USA respectively, and she found this method of contact invaluable, still maintaining weekly contact with some of those she went through the course with. 

She said: “A lot of stuff got shared in WhatsApp. It got the ball rolling when somebody shared something. It’s nice when you wake up and there’s a message from the group. It’s like having a group of cheerleaders.” 

It was this sense of community that appealed to Frances when she first came across Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals through co-founder Sophie, who was an old work acquaintance of her father. 

She went on: “A guy my Dad is still in touch with from an office Sophie used to work in mentioned to him that Sophie was involved in coaching. I had a bit of stress and was experiencing burnout - in fact I was a bit lost as far as what am I doing. I can only describe it as tunnel vision. I had no idea what I was going to do, so I reached out to Sophie through that recommendation and she told me about Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals, explaining that it might be helpful because it’s a community and includes elements about nutrition and exercise - tools basically to help with that stress. 

“My job had been an operations or project manager. I’d had different roles in the same company for about 24 years and have subsequently left as a direct result of my learning from the course. 

“I think the decision was prompted by a group discussion around lots of things, like what is success? Is it all down to money and position or is it down to wellbeing and wanting to go in to work on a morning and not have that dreaded feeling? “I think that discussion it gave me the confidence to go on and do other things. I suddenly just felt I didn’t want to go back. I realised I’d changed so much in myself and the company wasn’t the right fit for me anymore.” 

Having made the unexpected decision to leave her job, Frances, who is based in France, is now looking for the right fit and is undergoing training in a potential new field of self-employment. 

She said: “I’m testing the waters. It’s completely different but it takes a skillset around people and I think I was lacking people in my life as I was solely a remote worker where I had been. 

“I’d always been the earner but actually that has changed. It’s an opportunity to do something that’s going to fit in with our lives, so I’m now looking for something part-time that’ll improve my French, get me out and get me a little bit of money. 

“It sounds very dramatic but for me I’d sum up my experience by saying it’s been life changing. It sounds big that, but I think my thing was because I was working remotely for the last 12 years, and pre-Covid I’d travel for about two weeks of every month, which was a bit too much. Then we moved house and I didn’t have a circle or a tribe or anything so basically I became really insular here. I was in a new part of France. It was really poignant to me that I didn’t really have the language. I didn’t really have any friends. I didn’t really have anything to hold on to and then Covid happened and you’re in that bubble. 

“So I didn’t meet anyone for four years with my job because everything was on video, so for me when my Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals group came along, it widened my circle. I think when you start to meet new people your mind opens up a little bit and you become a bit more open to meeting other new people and that happened for me. 

“Now I’ve joined a gym, I’ve got a coach and everything is in French. I did a group gathering yesterday with my gym friends - all women in mid life as well, and I’ve got a WhatsApp group with them too, all in French. I just sort of welcomed it in and I hadn’t been open to it before. 

“You think everyone’s got their stuff together and that was a big thing for me. I sat there early on in the Fundamentals programme and thought that, and I said it on the session and everyone was like no, I haven’t got it together at all! I’ve definitely opened up more.” 

The 13 week course includes a six-week stint that embeds the principles of Positive Intelligence, but prior to that beginning, groups cover some health and wellness topics, including controlling blood sugar, sleep and the basics of nutrition during the first few weeks of Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals. 

Frances said: “I loved the sleep, exercise and nutrition sessions we did at the beginning. In fact, there’s a lot that stuck from the beginning of the course that I’m finding useful now. For example, when I’d eaten something like a sweet thing or bread, I really started to notice after a couple of hours I’d have a crash and then want more sweet stuff. I now recognise that and ask myself what can I have that’ll satisfy that craving in a better way. But the sessions themselves were also very therapeutic.” 

In addition to the knowledge and increased understanding of some of our physiological processes, the online course introduced Frances to HeartMath, a type of breathing meditation that is offered in monthly group sessions to Fundamentals graduates as part of the Mid Life Thriving Academy, which offers ongoing development opportunities to enable people to further embed their learning. 

Frances said: “HeartMath was introduced to us right at the end and I’ve since signed up for regular sessions. I also loved a recent Academy session on forest bathing. I think these further learning opportunities are super good value and for me it has just opened up avenues by giving me a little taster to follow up on or not. So far those really are interesting. 

“Why put a price on something you think you’re going to get a health benefit from, and when you break it down the investment in Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals is not that much. There’s no regret for me over investing in it.” 

Work is not the only area of Frances’ life that she feels has benefited from her having been part of Mid Life Thriving, as she has found developing a personal practice of carrying out regular PQ Reps - during which individuals take between 10 seconds and 15 minutes to hyper-focus on one of the five senses, has enabled her to develop the ability to interrupt her stress response. 

She explained: “I think I now have developed an underlying practice of PQ Reps, and doing so when a stressful situation occurs I kind of know - something triggers me then to say to myself, ‘remember your PQs’ - they’ve become a way of challenging negative thoughts. I suppose I’ve developed a way of doing things more organically. 

“My husband is a plumber and we’ve gone through two massive renovations together, the first of which was quite disastrous for our relationship. I’ve had several occasions where he just needed a hand - like as a labourer, and I’ve stepped in, but before, if I ever helped him I’d be thinking, ‘I should be at work’, or ‘I could be doing something more productive’, so my head wasn’t ever really present, but now we can work together and I’ll gladly be his labourer.