We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
Storytelling is my bread & peanut butter, but coaching is my jam.
Welcome to your MEscape,
an inspirational space where I empower you to dream more, achieve more, and become more. I also throw in snippets of life as an expat and empty nester.
I hope this blog inspires you to
make mind-shift happen – after all, I am a mid-life & travel coach.
Feel free to leave a comment
or follow me on social media!
My name is Shelly Nyqvist, a travel and wellness junkie whose superpower is empowering people. I’m also a mid-life coach who helps empty nest women take control of their new reality — even if they think the best is behind them.
But who am I really? I’m an expat, divorcee, mom of a twenty-something, and empty nester who lost sight of who I am along the way.
Through a lot of soul searching, a lot of grumbling, and a lot of hiding out (or cocooning), I learned to navigate the cross-cultural divide of living in Finland. And when my daughter moved to Paris to study and subsequently put down roots, I learned to be happy in my skin as an empty nester.
Getting lost was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to venture inwards and spend time with myself. Turns out that I’m pretty good company. I’m actually a happy, social being!
Carving out ME-time has allowed me to return to MYSELF. And when I add that travel component, I also unlock new truths about ME.
But let's rewind to 2020, the year I refer to as my soulbbatical... when I jumped off the corporate hamster wheel and hit pause — allowing me to slow down and reconnect with what really lights me up.
I enrolled in Yale's Science of Wellbeing course. I challenged myself to a curiosity camp. I learned to calm my overactive mind.
And through all of this, I discovered a beautiful synergy and started doing things ON. MY. TERMS.
It’s now my mission to channel my experiences into empowering women like you to unlock new truths about yourself and achieve something epic in your second act.
I’m not into hokey clichés and I’m not going to take you down a rabbit hole of spiritual woo woo. My signature MEscape® concept is a tailored approach to finding clarity around your next steps and achieving something epic while traveling (near or far).
This site is inspired by my travels to Paris, where my daughter lives. The helicopter mom that I am made a commitment to “check-up” on her every few months. The more I went to check-up on her, the more I started to venture out of my comfort zone. I sought out yoga studios. I searched high and low for an oat drink latte just so I had a daily plan of action. I closed my eyes and saw the real me in my happy place. Most of all I gave myself permission to embrace doing things that matter. To me.
Then I had an a-ha moment. There must be other people looking to venture out to discover within. Hence, I combined my passions for people, coaching, solo travel, and storytelling – and voilà, your MEscape was born… a community space to share inspiration for personal growth (with or without travel).
XO,
Shelly
Don’t be shy! If you’d like to learn more about my work as a mid-life coach, connect with me via the contact page, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
