What’s in a name? Why I rebranded: ‘be still’
Time is a funny thing. Pending the task, you’re either running a race against the clock, or staring hopelessly as the minutes pass by… ever, so, slowly. For those who know me well or have followed me in creative and business pursuits for some time, you’ll know that I have one setting, and it is fast. I climbed my career ladder at speed, ticked off a whole bunch of personal and professional milestones under 30, and always found myself just outside my comfort zone. Always a little empty, often anxious, and twice burnt-out. Cue the birth of Be Still.
There’s a few reasons why I shifted away from AEP Consulting, the previous business name I traded under between 2020-2022. The first is very boring in that the rebrand is a sensible, strategic call. AEP stood for ‘attract, engage, perform’ and was solely focused on HR services. As I reflected on the future of my practice and where I’m transitioning into, it’s away from stock-standard HR, and into workplace wellbeing and therapeutic counselling. ‘Be Still’ gives me the flexibility to market where I am today and where I’m going, not just the last 10 years of my career. It gives me freedom to write articles, create content and advise on the psychosocial safety realm for healthier workplaces and healthier people. ‘Be Still’ allows me take my skill-mastery in HR and combine it with my post-graduate training in counselling.
The more important reason in choosing this trading name, is my belief in the power of intentional work and living a life that you don’t dread - which requires you to be still. A beautiful nod to my Christian faith, ‘be still’ also serves as a reminder that there’s only so much within my control, and healing my own burn-out comes from deep surrender:
Surrender of a false identity of who other people think I am, or how they think I should shape my career;
Surrender of superficial or vanity success metrics that somehow kept me anxious - because true success will not require you to sacrifice your health or your values; and
Surrender of ego.
These last few months have been a blur since stepping back into consulting work, and I can say with reflection that it was the safest decision I could have made. I am at capacity until October this year - mind blown! But if your business needs support with embedding psychosocial safety policy and training, workplace wellbeing strategy, or robust HR advice, please do connect.
