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Life and Work with Bridgette Binford

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridgette Binford.

Bridgette, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a wife, mother of two precious kiddos, a Georgia peach turned Colorado girl, and a Health & Productivity Coach obsessed with helping successful women take action towards their goals while creating healthy habits to live, work, and lead well.

I founded BJBCoaching and became a health and productivity coach in order to return to my passion for helping others live healthier, happier lives. After having children and working full-time in a stressful corporate career, I found it was more important than ever to find the right balance and to connect personally with my day-to-day work. When my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of three, I made a change in my personal and professional life in order to have the flexibility and focus needed to help my daughter’s health. After realizing the success and fulfillment of striking the right balance personally, at home, and at work, I love supporting others interested in doing the same!

Has it been a smooth road?
I’d like to say that I woke up one morning and just decided to embrace the idea of living with intention. But – that is not the case. Almost three years ago, things in our life felt like they were more than I could handle. My son had been hospitalized and in the ICU for almost a week due to RSV at the age of ten months. Then, a couple of months later, we learned that my daughter had celiac disease. This diagnosis caused us to re-look at everything we consumed and change the way we experienced food. All while we were both trying to manage two full-time careers in the corporate world. Weekends were being spent trying to run a household – groceries, yard work, laundry, and hopefully a little time to spend having fun. It was a very difficult time for our family.

It was at that moment that I realized something had to change. I felt like life was “happening to me” instead of me making my life happen. I had fallen victim to our routine. I was stuck. Not to mention – it just seemed like something was missing. I knew it was time to step up and make some changes. But I was scared. I had thoughts of changing my career to something that fueled my passion years before. I also knew I wanted something that was flexible so I could do more of what mattered to me as a mom and wife. And I knew that I needed the time and energy to devote to our family’s health. This was not sustainable in our current situation.

The process I went through required me to look at different aspects of our life and get really clear about what I wanted for myself and my family. I had some tough conversations with my husband, and our ideas of health and happiness were not always the same. However, we stuck with it in pursuit of something different for our lives. As I’ve embarked on my journey to have my own health coaching practice, I get to witness inspiring stories about others who are embracing the opportunity to do things with intention.

My change to living with more intention had another result. Slowing down and taking stock of what was important really impacted my health. Reprioritizing my time and energy towards my values allowed me to take care of myself. I no longer felt so anxious each evening when I put my kids to bed. My evenings spent eating bowlfuls of cereal or sleeves of cookies in front of the tv to ease my anxiety started to dwindle. I reconnected with fitness in a way that was really rejuvenating. And the weight I’d been trying to lose for years finally started coming off. I realized the “weight” was a lot more than I ever imagined it was.

I am truly grateful that things are coming together as we hoped they would. It hasn’t all been easy or even fun, but I feel like we are shaping the life we want. I still get scared of what is to come or if I’ll rethink my decisions in the future. However, I think Brene Brown sums it up best in her book “The Gifts of Imperfection”:

“One minute you’ll pray that the transformation stops, and the next minute you’ll pray that it never ends. You’ll also wonder how you can feel so brave and so afraid at the same time. At least that’s how I feel most of the time…brave, afraid, and very, very alive.”

So, as you know, we’re impressed with BJB Coaching – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
With roles that have expanded from Wellness Program Manager to Workforce Health Consultant to Primary Care Operations Manager, I’ve witnessed the ins and outs of wellness programming and health behavior change programs… and have also both experienced and witnessed the toll that stress can take on a person’s life.

With this in mind, I’ve created a business centered around doing less so we can be more. Life’s not about just surviving the day-to-day… with the right habits and support in place, we can thrive!

I offer 1:1 coaching, group programming, worksite wellness support, and both one-day and weekend retreats. In addition to my training and education, my work and life experience truly set me apart from other coaches.

My recent women’s fitness and mindfulness retreat in Crested Butte was a true testament to what can happen when we take time for ourselves to slow down and savor what life has to offer.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
I think the sky is the limit when it comes to women and opportunities they are well-positioned for. This day and age, I don’t think a woman needs to be limited to any certain career path simply because she is a female.

However, since many women face the challenge of being the main care provider for their families, it can be difficult to find the right flow in life to truly embrace what they are capable of.

I think that when women strike the right balance at home, in their careers, and with their health, they can help make our world the best place to be!

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