On the back of the incredibly dramatic female-first finale of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins on Sunday, which saw the recruits facing the intense interrogation stage; Female First speak to some incredible women who are celebrating their resilience stories of undergoing their own SAS training of life, enabling them to rise form the ashes, embracing the spirit to drive on.
Louisa Herridge
During the final of the Channel 4 series, viewers heard Chief Instructor Rudy Reyes say: “What you need to pass this course – is the strength, grit, resilience and the spirit to drive on…” and sometimes that is what many of us need to get through the challenges and rollercoaster of life.
Mindset and Positive Psychology Empowerment Coach, Louisa Herridge, and Founder of Mamas Ignited (www.mamasignited.co.uk) says; “Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins teaches us lessons around leadership, resilience, fortitude… and survival. I was so excited to see that the finale was an all female line-up… I love seeing powerful women on our screens as inspiration.
This week, Louisa is launching a collaboration book, which includes eight incredible women from across the UK and beyond, who are all bravely sharing their stories of resilience. Louisa continues; “Seeing ‘From The Ashes; She Is Ignited’ come together has really reinforced the power of the message that nothing should hold you back and that when we develop courage and resilience through difficult times, we can turn what could have broken us, into our greatest strength.”
Solo mum to her 6-year-old daughter, Louisa describes herself as being like ‘the glorious Phoenix, who has risen from the ashes of; debt, domestic abuse, trauma, chronic pain and depression to be reborn in flames as the blazing leader.’
Louisa’s book, 'From the Ashes; She is Ignited' is due to be published this week and is already tipped to be a global best seller.
Louisa said: “One thing that all of the women who have contributed to this book have in common is resilience… a crucial component as we all navigate the SAS training of life...
“Life sends us unexpected horrors at times and the only thing we can do is carry on. Being resilient is often not on purpose, it is something that we find when we have no other choice. Resilient people are strong enough to adapt and change… and we can’t despair if we feel like that’s an uncomfortable place to be. It comes with experience.”
Within 'From the Ashes; She is Ignited', Contributing author, Global Empowerment and Wellness Coach, Laura Rowe, shares her health struggles of anxiety, depression and cancer, she says; “I learnt the hard way that if we don't make time for our wellness, we'll be forced to make time for our illness.”
Rachael Parland shares her story of losing her beloved son Rocco in her heartbreaking chapter; ‘An Unbreakable Bond; a Mother, A Son, A Journey’, and the choices she made to heal and make life worth living; free from pain and heartache, encouraging readers - “my destiny was not to live a life of sorrow but of love, hope, gratitude, abundance and positivity.”
Faye Edwardes, shares her story of losing millions in business, spiralling into depression and how she sought to rediscover her purpose and values to now helps thousands of other women find their own mission and worth.
Other chapters in the book cover subjects such as; overcoming trauma, infertility, anxiety, cancer, debt, mental health, domestic abuse, dealing with loss and grief and much more...
All eight women within the book share their own strategies for how they have overcome their adversities as they have worked through their own SAS training of life...
Louisa continues; “I often think about resilience like a the palm tree – able to bend in the storms, but rarely uprooted. You may feel like that today, but don’t be troubled. The storm makes you stronger! Resilient people know who they are and accept themselves, both the good and the bad. Resilient people have a strong support network; family, friends, peers, work colleagues.
“We don’t need an army of support, just those significant individuals we can turn to when life gets rough or the waves feel too strong to navigate. Resilient people are honest with themselves and others. They don’t sweep things under the carpet and pretend their way through life. I’ve learned that if you don’t deal with some‐thing, it will eventually deal with you.”
Louisa and the authors hope that by sharing their stories of overcoming and re-ignition, they will help and encourage others to leave behind; judgement, trauma, limiting beliefs and self-sabotage.
Louisa concludes; “Ladies, you are stronger than you think, you are resilient… don’t believe me just look at what the four finalists achieved on SAS, just read my story and some of the stories in this book – stories of surviving and thriving. Stories of overcoming adversity. Stories of transcending pain and fear to live a full life. Stories of the power of women and how together we lift each other up…
“We don't just rise from the Ashes. We IGNITE. The truth is women can overcome any darkness to find the fire and light of life!
RELATED: How can I get my spark back as a mum? by Louisa Herridge author of Stop Ironing, Start Living
