This guest blog was written by Claire Johnson, head performance coach at Shrine London, which helps business owners, senior teams, and investors through growth and transition.
Change is inevitable. Yet when it comes to major life events such as divorce, bereavement, or becoming financially “on your own,” it can feel like everything that once defined you is shifting beneath your feet. For many, these moments also trigger questions about identity, purpose, ability to cope, and performance, not just financially, but emotionally, mentally and physically.
Change is rarely comfortable. Whether it’s a loss, a relationship ending, a health wake-up call, or simply that quiet sense that you’ve outgrown where you are and are ready for change and creating your next chapter. Whatever the transition, it always demands courage, vision, and support to help navigate the new path.
As someone who has spent over two decades working across performance, wellness, brand management and business strategy, and in some of the most high-pressure environments, including elite motorsport, I’ve seen firsthand how change can dismantle even the most capable people. But I’ve also seen how it can become the catalyst for extraordinary growth.
These experiences forged the foundation of my unique coaching framework, RECLAIM, a structured process designed to help people navigate change and create their next chapter with clarity, confidence, and purpose after major personal or professional transitions.
Through four key phases: Reconnect, Release, Rebuild, and Rise, a practical route back to mental and strategic balance can be created.
The first step with any change is to find your baseline. Before you can move forward, you must reconnect with yourself, not the version of you from the past, but the one standing here, right now. Your energy, focus, and sense of self can become fragmented. The first step in RECLAIM is to pause long enough to ask:
- What truly matters to me now?
- Where am I wasting energy?
- What do I need to feel grounded again?
That means getting honest about your mental state, your habits, and your boundaries. Reconnecting with yourself doesn’t require a grand overhaul; it begins with awareness. Sleep. Nourishment. Movement. Stillness.
From that foundation, you can build with intention instead of reaction and release that which has been holding you back. This phase is about letting go of expectations, guilt, outdated identities, and the versions of yourself that no longer align with who you’re becoming. It’s also about unhooking from other people’s definitions of success, strength, or happiness.
Through journaling, breathwork, and mindset coaching, I help clients uncover what’s really holding them back. For some, it’s the story that they “should be over it by now.” For others, it’s a fear of starting again.
It is then time to rebuild and to turn intention into structure. This is where marginal gains – small, consistent actions that stack into meaningful change – matter most.
Drawing on lessons from elite sport, I focus on incremental progress, the 1% rule. Each day, one small improvement. It could be a boundary kept, a training session completed, or a commitment followed through. Consistency becomes the new confidence.
This is also the stage where we rebuild identity. I often ask clients: Who are you becoming? What does that version of you need daily? At this stage, you’re no longer surviving the shift; you’re leading it. You’ve built the self-trust, the habits, and the clarity to step into your next chapter on your own terms.
When clients reach this point, I often describe it as coming home to yourself. You’re no longer defined by what you’ve lost, but by what you’ve built.
If you’re navigating a transition right now, here are three ways to start reclaiming your energy and direction:
- Pause before you pivot. Take time to understand what you want — not what others expect.
- Audit your energy. Write down what fuels you and what drains you. Use it as your personal roadmap for decisions.
- Commit to one non-negotiable habit. Consistency builds confidence. Choose one action that supports your next chapter and honour it daily.
If you’re navigating change and want a little help finding your next step, I’d love to chat. You can book a free 45-minute Clarity Call, a virtual coffee with me, to explore where you’re at, what’s holding you back, and how you can start moving forward with focus and confidence.
Click the link and book a time for you: https://calendly.com/claire-shrineldn/45min
About the author
Claire Johnson is the head performance coach at Shrine London, a private advisory firm that builds stronger businesses through strategy, structure, and performance.
She has worked within the performance, wellness, brand management, product development, and legal sectors, partnering with organisations and leaders to elevate performance, strengthen leadership capability, and create clarity between strategy, structure, and human potential. Her experience also includes working within elite motorsport, collaborating with the FIA, FIM, and Formula 1 to deliver high-performance frameworks in some of the world’s most demanding environments.
An international performance coach, author, and expert speaker, Claire helps individuals and teams navigate change, rebuild confidence, and create their next chapter with clarity and purpose.
