Change it: Are You Ready For a New You?

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put 2019 behind me, dust myself off and start again in 2020. That’s the beauty and fun of a New Year: we can reinvent ourselves and begin something exciting which we have maybe always wanted to do. 

When people change their lives, it always begins with an idea or a vision of how we want our life to be, and sometimes that’s where it stays - in our heads.

Your vision could be to do with changing your mindset, getting a new job, or even setting up that business you always had in mind.  However, for many women, our lack of confidence and self-belief holds us back, and stops from becoming the best version of ourselves.

Change It is just what 2020 has prescribed for you. This personal growth programme will empower you to dream bigger, and after the sessions, you will walk away with a plan for success and a toolbox of tips to help you achieve it.

We cover many elements in the Change It programme which can help you to turn your life around, such as:

Assertiveness: You’ll learn how to communicate effectively and reduce misunderstandings, plus be able to stand up for yourself and for others.

Beliefs: Our beliefs can come from our childhood, our schooling or our socialisation. We show you the skills to effectively challenge a negative self- belief and create new ones that enable you to reach your true potential

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‘Stinking thinking’: Our thoughts create feelings, our feelings create behaviours, our behaviours create more thinking… Your thoughts can impact how you react to situations, whether that be negatively or positively. The skills you gain from this programme will help you switch negative thoughts through thinking shifts, and thereby altering negative behaviours.

Motivation: What drives, inspires and motivates you to make a change in your life? Of course, the answer to this will be different for everyone, as we all want different things out of life. These sessions help you to develop a ‘can do’ attitude and encourage self-awareness of your needs and values in your own life.

Over the past three years, we have had hundreds of women pass successfully through the programme. Afterwards, they have found the confidence to do many things they thought they could never achieve, from enrolling in courses at Adult Learning Services to starting their dream business with the help of the Women’s Org Business Enterprise. 

For some women, it was all about getting the confidence to go back to work after looking after the kids, and in other cases, women had found the courage to access the support needed to address domestic abuse in the home. Whatever the change you need to make, there is plenty of support in the Liverpool area, many of which the Women’s Organisation link with.

We run Change It in a few places around the city: either outreach in the community, usually children’s centres, or in 54 St James Street.

These can be over eight sessions, or four full days in the Women’s Organisation. We offer childcare for sessions in the Children’s centres, which has proved very helpful to many women.

Personal debt is a barrier preventing many women from maximising their potential and changing their lives for the better. 

This has led to the Change It programme partnering up with Citizens Advice, who support many people in getting out of debt with the Better Off Finance programme. Through this initiative, a key worker will support you in finding solutions out of debt and helping you reach the life you want.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got, so this is your time to shine and get the life you really want – not the one you believe you ought to have.

Please feel free to contact The Women’s Organisation for a friendly chat about the Change It Programme or any other programmes we run on business related enterprise.

Let’s make 2020 the best one yet!

If you're looking to get started on building a positive future, we still have 'Change it: Progress to Success' dates available:

Monday 24th February - (4 sessions) 54 St James Street

If you'd like to find out more information about the programme or to book contact us on 0151 706 8111 or email us on hello@thewo.org.uk and find out how we can support you.

Yasmin's Story: "I learnt that I was not alone, Change it made me feel like I was part of something"

5 years ago, Yasmin Annie moved to Liverpool to start dance training at Lipa. Her career took off and she founded her own company 'Percaya Dance' whilst juggling being a dancer, performer & business woman. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious, she knew something had to change...

"I would get days where I just didn't see the point in anything I was doing and I felt like I couldn't handle anything alone. I felt I was pathetic and relied on everyone and that one day everyone was going to leave me and I'd be alone having to deal with life. I had no confidence in myself feeling like I had constantly to get reassurance off everyone, it was tiring and straining for people around me.

Yasmin Annie

I went on to do the ‘Change it’ course which came conveniently right after the break up. It felt like fate! During the ‘Change it’ course I learnt a lot. I learnt that I was not alone, even in a room full of ladies I’d never met. Change It made me feel like I was apart of something, because everyone in that room was going through something, they had their own battles, their own stories but we all at some point felt the same feelings! 

I didn’t feel 100% and I wasn’t sure how to change it. I’m obsessed with self help books and anything to help myself feel and be a better person. I've been to counselling, CBT, hypnosis and I think all these things are great and potentially could work more effectively for others, however for myself I couldn't keep up with the sessions as well as my hectic life.

Just before I went on the course, I went through a break up which meant I had to move out of my house and change my surroundings. This terrified me because I had to face one of my biggest fears: being alone, feeling abandoned and having to deal with life alone. My go-to reaction was ‘I can’t do that’.

The best thing about the programme was the trainer and the knowledge she had. Jenny is an asset to the Woman’s Org courses, she helped me a lot, she understood, cared and listened and had so much information to share.

I learnt so much, which I now use in my everyday life, which gets me through my days. I think I've have always been strong and confident deep down but I never told myself enough which was the issue! After leaving the course I reminded myself everyday that I was confident and that I could handle life on my own and that I am a strong person. It wasn’t always easy at first I felt like I was reading a script about someone else and it didn't connect to me at all! But everyday I developed and I started to notice a change and ways I would approach something in more of a positive way. I felt brave!

I still have a lot to learn and practice but I'm at a great place and I can and will handle what is thrown at me. I can do that by helping people, helping myself and helping in general through dance, and just having a tight network of women around me because I think we are good support for each other! 

Women who are thinking about doing ‘Change it’ Just do it! You won't lose anything from doing it. Only gain, gain a lot of amazing friends going through so many different things, which will broaden your mind! You will gain the knowledge that everyone has their own rough journeys but everyone's goal in the end is the same which is to be happy within themselves so why not help each other to get there. Finally you will learn that you deserve happiness and you will get there by following your own path!

I have changed a lot with the help of Womens Org and also by believing in myself that I can change things. I am so happy that I made the decision to go and I made that decision on my own and I am so proud of myself for how far I’ve come."

We have new dates available for Change it!

54 St James Street - Monday 14th January 2018, 10-3 (4 Sessions)


Wavertree Childrens's Centre - Tuesday 15th January 2018, 12:30-15:30 (5 Sessions)


Kensington Childrens Centre - Wednesday 16th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions with half term break in February)


Speke Childrens Centre - Thursday 17th January 2018, 9:15-12:15 (5 Sessions)


Belle Vale Childrens Centre - Thursday 24th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions)


If you’d like to find out more information about the programme or book a place, contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk and find out how we can support you.

Andrea's Story: "It was very exciting discovering the change in myself step by step"

When Andrea was recommended 'Change it: Progress to Success' by The Women's Organisation's Engagement Team member Sabah, her first thought was 'How does she know that I really need it?' After moving to Liverpool and losing her way, she decided to give it a try. 

"I have been in Liverpool for five years and somehow became completely lost. My partner got a job here, his dream job, and it was time to follow his aspirations (the previous ten years were about my passions). However, as a Hungarian journalist I didn’t know what was next for me. I still kept writing articles about my experiences, great and amusing British traditions and other cultural topics in my mother tongue, although the time and distance worked against me. My previous network was thinning out and I couldn’t find my new place.

This course promised a lot, identification of the positive achievements in my life and setting achievable targets on my action plan for example. I wondered how they would be able to do so, because my clouds lost their silver lining completely…

It started with a kind of magic. I never knew how difficult it could be to find positive adjectives (relating to myself) with the letters of my name. Or at all, at that time. Finally, I found six words which felt mine, and a journey started on which the brilliant and understanding Victoria guided us. We learnt a great deal about ourselves and more crucially about each other, that we are not alone with our struggles. We came to comprehend the importance of change, and more importantly how to appreciate it, and studied assertiveness, what is a very useful skill in an impatient and (passive) aggressive world.

It was very exciting discovering the change in myself step by step, to see the world through a different filter. Somehow everything got a warmer shade, just like when the sun suddenly shines through the clouds. However, the biggest surprise came after the third week, when I got my first ever English blog entry published. Honestly, it is a big deal for me, who thought that I just had to let my ‘writing thingy’ go…

Without the Change It program I would never have the courage to offer my writing skills in English, but by now I have learnt my favourite lesson: there is no such a thing like fail, it is only an abbreviation for First Attempt In Learning. Valuable message for a perfectionist. And the best part, they asked me for some more articles.

I have to thank Victoria Hart, Sabah Shams and Cynthia Bosafola (my business advisor), who introduced me and led me on my journey. I still have a lot to do, but now I am less afraid than how excited I am. All in all, I recommend this course for anyone and everyone who ever felt being under a bad spell or simply curious about themselves. Have I mentioned that it is fun too?"

Thanks very much to Andrea for sharing her story, we wish you all the best for the future

We have new dates available for Change it!

54 St James Street - Monday 14th January 2018, 10-3 (4 Sessions)

Wavertree Childrens's Centre - Tuesday 15th January 2018, 12:30-15:30 (5 Sessions)

Kensington Childrens Centre - Wednesday 16th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions with half term break in February)

Speke Childrens Centre - Thursday 17th January 2018, 9:15-12:15 (5 Sessions)

Belle Vale Childrens Centre - Thursday 24th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions)

If you’d like to find out more information about the programme or book a place, contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk and find out how we can support you.

CHANGE IT: Natalie Burgess

‘Change it: Progress to Success’ was designed to help the women of Liverpool see their true potential and do great things. We have been lucky enough over the past year to help women in different stages of their life come together to build a positive future. This is why we are so delighted to be able to announce our new dates for the programme!

Whether you’re looking to manage your thinking or develop more effective communication skills 'Change it: Progress to Success' really has something for everyone. We have seen women become more motivated and confident right in front of our eyes and walk away from the sessions with a new lease of life

Are you still wondering whether 'Change it: Progress to Success' is for you?

We caught up with Natalie Burgess who graduated from the Change It Programme, before starting her role as a Finance officer for The Women's Organisation to tell you all about her experience on the programme and why Change it will change you.

“I’d just had my first child and didn’t feel like I really knew what I was doing, and it started to make me feel a little bit depressed really. Picton Childrens Centre really helped guide me through the steps of having my first child. Checking the centres timetable, I saw Change it and I thought ‘I’m going to apply’ so I booked onto the course and I can honestly say it was the best 8 weeks of my life.

I went onto the programme because I wanted to become a better me, I felt like I was very confident before having children and I started to feel like I didn’t know who I was or where I was going in life, but doing the programme helped me realise who I really am.

The best thing about the programme was learning how to say no, it’s really helpful to know how to be more assertive. I’m also confident in myself again, it’s made me realise that life is too short, and you should really enjoy it.

I’ve always thought about starting my own business, and after finding out I was pregnant with my 2^nd child it scared me because I didn’t want to struggle with working and having childcare issues, I realised that if I did my passion of starting my own business I’ll be able to be in my children’s life a lot more, this is still my dream but now I’m able to feel more motivated about going for it.

Since Change it, I received information from the childrens centre about a job that was being advertised at The Women’s Organisation, and since the organisation had already helped me a lot I decided to go for it, and I got the job!

I’m now able to focus on my dreams and would say, do it, go and do it for anyone thinking about doing the programme! Never have a stigma about personal development programmes, they are there to help and support you and having Creche facilities at Picton gave me 2 hours to focus on myself!

I’ve suggested the programme to my mum and my sister, because it’s finally made me realise that I’m not the only one who has problems in life."

Natalie has since gone on to work for an accountancy firm and we're so proud of the achievements she has made and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors!

If you'd like to find out more information about the programme or to book a place, contact us on 0151 706 8111 or email us on hello@thewo.org.uk and find out how we can support you.