The Camino Frances
In May 2026 I walked the Camino Frances, a challenge I set myself for my 60th birthday, a trip many years in the making. I knew it would be a once in a lifetime adventure, I didn’t know it would be a life changing one.
The Camino Frances (The French Way) is a nearly 500-mile route from the west of France, over the Pyrenees and across northern Spain. It took 6 weeks of walking almost every day.
People ask me what the Camino was like and the honest answer is: physically painful, exhausting, hilarious, tear-jerking, inspiring, a self-uncovering, a privilege and very, very humbling. In the early days my biggest goal was simply not to cry, especially when I’d just walked 28km in 30o heat to find my room in a B&B was on the second floor and there was no lift! But beyond the aches and pains and hobbit feet there were glorious views, kind strangers who became friends and surprising moments of deep gratitude and peace.
When you walk hour after hour and day after day, living a simple existence of walking and talking, eating and resting, the thoughts you have on life simplify too. A realisation gently surfaced as the miles went by. I had gotten off track somewhere along the way with my business and my life. I had been doing what I thought I should do, rather than what I wanted to do. The time and space walking the Camino gave me helped me realise I was being guided by thoughts, beliefs and habitual behaviours that were no longer relevant or helpful to me.
What The Camino Reminded Me
The Camino did not teach me something completely new, it reminded me of something I had forgotten. You don’t create a meaningful life by endlessly doing more, buying more, proving more or by forcing yourself into what you think someone else’s idea of who you should be is.
You create it by coming back to what matters to you. By asking what drains you and what sustains you? What are you passionate, excited and joyful about? Are you making decisions that reflect your values and what you truly believe in, rather than what you fear?
You create a life that feels good by solving problems in front of you, one step at a time. By setting boundaries around your time, energy and attention. By, and this is a big one, treating yourself with a little more compassion and a little less criticism. This isn’t selfish. It’s self-care. If you believe that everyone should be cared for then everyone includes you!
Walking The Way reaffirmed the meaning and message of the KonMari Method. At a surface level it is a very effective process for decluttering and tidying your home. It can create systems, order and more breathing space. But there is a deeper layer that can really change your life. By asking the questions; what really matters to me? What does the life I want look like and what am I doing to support that vision? What is precious and joyful and what am I ready to thank but let go of? Those are not just tidying questions. Those are questions for an intentional, meaningful and joyful life.
So, I am making a course correction to focus on what I love.
The Way Forward
Instead of spending my time and energy on marketing, networking, competing for space online and all the other stresses of running a business I have decided to spend more time doing what I love, getting my sleeves rolled up, sharing skills, stories and a giggle with amazing women while they create more order and calm, more confidence in their choices and actions, more self-compassion, more trust in themselves and more space for the things they truly love.
How do I achieve that?
By making Tidy Home and Mind a free, at home, community support service for busy or overwhelmed women in Fife and Kinross.
I am doing this not as charity, not as a grand gesture or a gimmick and not because I think women need “fixing” – definitely not! But because it reflects my values more honestly. I am in a position to offer this freely and wholeheartedly. Sharing these skills and supporting women to make their own lives better, calmer and more joyful makes my life more fulfilling and joyful too. It really is a win, win!
Why Practical Skills With One-To-One Support Matters So Much.
Today we’re awash with philosophical one-liners and self-help guides that can be very useful, but research shows they are generally read or watched and then, even with the best of intentions, quickly forgotten.
Positive change occurs more quickly and lasts longer when someone is there to support and encourage you as you learn, step-by-step how to:
- Joy-check your belongings to match what you truly value, what supports you now and brings you joy.
- Let go of things without shame, guilt or fear.
- Self-calm, to be more self-compassionate and self-confident in real-life, day-to-day settings.
- Create more time and space for the things you really want to do.
Research consistently shows that having these life skills lowers levels of anxiety, stress and depression, and increases emotional well-being. There is also evidence that these skills are associated with increased belief in your ability to cope and take action, which then increases self-confidence. Depending on other people’s opinions to build your self-esteem carries a lot of uncertainty and risk.
Studies on value-based living and psychological flexibility suggest that when we act in ways that are aligned with our own true values, emotional well-being tends to improve.
In plain English? With the skills to understand ourselves more deeply, respond to life more intentionally and purposefully, we often feel less overwhelmed, less anxious, and more able to trust ourselves.
That matters enormously. Confidence is not usually something you’re born with or that drops out of the sky one morning and chooses you. Self-confidence grows when you practise and build the skills that help you navigate life well.
A Different Kind Of Success
For a long time, like many people, I absorbed the idea that creating a successful business meant constant visibility, polished offers and a well-behaved social media presence.
The Camino gave me enough distance to ask: success by whose definition?
How often are we measuring ourselves against what we think we should be doing, what media dictates or what we believe other people think and do?
For me, success now looks different. It is living in alignment with my values. Less time selling, more time serving. Less pressure, more purpose. Sharing the skills I have learned with women so they can build the life they want.
Next Steps
I am so grateful for the experience of walking the Camino Frances and the reminder that what truly brings me joy is helping others discover theirs.
If what I have written resonates then please go to www.tidyhomeandmind.co.uk for more information or contact me directly at hazel@tidyhomeandmind.co.uk to arrange a call and we can start taking the first steps to a calmer, more confident, more joyful you.