Why are you working on Plan B?

Hi, I’m Elizabeth Diacos, founder of Larksong Enterprises…aka “Super Eliza”. I was working as an artist and a teacher in community settings for some years when I decided to become a fully fledged teacher, and got my dream job as an arts teacher in 2006. I was so excited! I thought it was THE best job in the world and I gave it 110%.

I was only working part time, but I went into school on extra days and even recruited my family, friends and colleagues to tune instruments, cut out stencils, sew curtains and sweep, wipe and scrub before the start of each school year.

I put my heart and soul into that job, and at the end of the year, I was offered a great position in a new school, and it was full steam ahead. But after a term of feeling undermined, bullied and under-resourced, I quit…I didn’t want to waste another moment of my precious time in such a toxic environment. So then, I didn’t have a contract, so I did some relief teaching…that was stressful… It’s like the students sense your fear! The next position was for a longer period, and I made some real gains as a professional.

I began to have a really positive impact on my students as I became better and better at what I did

I began to have a really positive impact on my students as I became better and better at what I did. I developed some great relationships with students and their families and shared some belly laughs and heart-to-hearts with colleagues. But the expectations kept getting greater, and resources were siphoned off into other areas of need. The extras that I did for love, outside of my job description, became just one more thing that I was expected to do…without thanks or acknowledgment, or any benefit to me or my team. One day when I was told “You have to….”, I thought, “No, I don’t!!…I was doing this because I enjoyed it and I saw the benefit…now it is becoming a burden”

I needed to forge a way out, so I searched for options and decided to go back to Uni and study a Master of Applied Positive Psychology and then went on to gain a Graduate Certificate in Organisational Coaching. Coaching is such a wonderful way to walk alongside someone who is searching and guide them through the process of self-discovery. But I kept on with teaching. Trying to make a difference wherever I could.

But things continued to go downhill. My autonomy and creativity were being stifled more and more as each term rolled around.

My autonomy and creativity were being stifled more and more as each term rolled around.

I was tired, searching for other options, crushed with disappointment and shame at the waste of that precious time and my education costs, and overwhelmed with a sense of deep and morbid dread of putting my feet on the ground and going into work: EVERY… SINGLE... DAY.

I hired myself a coach, and one day he asked me why I was doing more education training instead of working on my coaching business. I said, “well...that's Plan B”. He asked me "Why are you working on Plan B?

I stopped in my tracks! I was floored! I felt stupid and ashamed.

"Why... are... you... working... on... Plan... B? I stopped in my tracks! I was floored! I felt stupid and ashamed. Why AM I working on Plan B...I don't know...I guess it's safe. But it isn't what I want. This is not the life I signed up for. I need to stop that at once!

So I stopped working on Plan B and began to focus on coaching, quit my job and started talking to others in the same position that I was in. I have since interviewed and coached hundreds of people who want to make change in their lives and their stories are a lot like mine. The ones who are making positive change in their lives have stopped working on Plan B. If I had been doing what I do now, five years ago…I would have hired myself!

These days, I love helping teachers who are in the position I was in. We stop working on Plan B and say goodbye to shame, fear and dread. When we work together, we co-create the positive future you are looking for and it feels AMAZING!

Let’s make your life worth getting out of bed for!

Let’s find YOUR Plan A!