Corrie women ask the experts!

It's a constant challenge coming up with new and exciting, entertaining and informative fare to clog light up Corrie Blog, but under the watchful eye and expert guidance of Nora, we somehow manage it. Today for your delectation, I'm unveiling a new feature that I hope to return to occasionally, and that's Ask the Experts! Our first victim expert is Gabriella Goddard, author of  Gulp! : 7 Day Crash Course to Master Fear & Break Through Any Challenge and she has sprung to mind because my colleague Katie has been working with her to promote her book. Gabriella is a leading coach who has helped certain TV presenters reach their goals. Who better to kick off a series advising the likes of Sally, Kelly and Eileen, on how to turn their lives around?  I've penned some 'agony aunt' style letters on their behalf and hope you enjoy the results. Future experts lined up are relationship and teen gurus. Well that's if they watch Corrie of course. Why not tell us which character you'd like to see under the microscope? Who needs the most help? I mean, there's not many to choose from, is there?

Click through to see Gabriella's words of wisdom.

I’m only in my early 20s but I feel my life is going nowhere. I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit at work and have recently split up with my loser boyfriend. Now I’m stuck in a dead end job in a factory and have a criminal record. People tell me I have a gorgeous figure and I would love to find out about modelling. How can I turn my life around? Yours, Kelly.

Kelly, you’ve been dealt a pretty lousy hand for someone so young.  The great thing is that you’ve left that loser boyfriend of yours behind.  Whatever you do, don’t go back to him, even if you’re feeling low.  In fact, to avoid temptation, throw out any photos of him and take any gifts he gave you down to your local charity shop. And about the criminal record, I bet you one day that will sort itself out - you just have to bide your time.  Now, you have the opportunity to make a fresh start, so think of your life as a clean slate.  Ask yourself this; Where do I want to be in two years time?  Make a list of how you’d like your life to be in two years time covering career, money, romance and health.  Then pick out one thing to focus on changing over the coming month.  For example, let’s take your dream about modelling, nothing is going to happen just by thinking about it.  You’ve got to take action.  Plus your gorgeous figure isn’t going to be around for ever!  So get your portfolio together, and go and see some modelling agencies.  Remember, you’ll never know until you try.

Please help. I am a hard-working mum with two grown-up sons and a lodger who also looks on me as a mother figure. I have a busy work life at a local taxi firm, where I’m often left to pick up the pieces when things go wrong or make sure they don’t in the first place. Everyone seems to rely on me. I have lots of friends I adore spending time with but I’ve not been lucky in love. The last man I fell for ended up with my sworn enemy. Please help me find the man of my dreams! Love Eileen

Eileen, why do I get the feeling that you’re one of these women who puts everyone else first?  You have got to start living your life!  There are always plenty of people that don’t want to take responsibility for their life, and they’re more than happy for someone else to take that role for them.  And the problem is that 1) they’ll never learn and never take responsibility and 2) you’ll just keep attracting more people like that into your life – and that includes any new love interests.  Do you want this to happen? My advice to you is simple – you have to take better care of yourself.  How can you expect someone to love and respect you if you don’t do that for yourself?  The first thing I want you to do is schedule two sessions of “Me Time” each week. This can be one or two hours where you purely focus on doing things YOU like, for example reading a book, having a hot bath or taking a long walk.  The second thing I want you to do is treat yourself to a hair cut, manicure and some new clothes.  And then the last thing I want you to do is think of a red traffic light anytime you find yourself “mothering” someone or taking responsibility. Stop and ask yourself, “if I help now, will it hold them back from learning an important life lesson?”  I bet that if you do this for the next couple of months, pretty soon a wonderful man will literally waltz into your life.

I’m a married mum to two girls. Everyone seems to think I’m a pushy parent but I just want what’s best for them. One is at private school and seems to think more of her boyfriend than her studies and her younger sister appears to be falling in with a bad crowd. How can I make them understand that to have a better life than I have, they need to work hard? Sally.

Sally, you’ve got to lighten up.  Of course you want your daughters to be the best they can be, but you have to remember that they are growing into young adults and need to find their own path in life.  You can’t live their life for them.  In fact the more you meddle with their life, the more you undermine them because by meddling you are implying that they aren’t able to cope. Stop breathing down their necks.  They have to learn for themselves, and that means they might make some mistakes along the way.  So the best thing you can do is make sure you’ve instilled in them a strong foundation and then hope for the best.  Think back to your teen years – I bet you weren’t an angel all the time.  Plus you’ve survived your own fair share of hard knocks, which have made you all the more stronger as a person.  So give your daughters some space to breathe and give them the chance to find their own way.  Focus instead on sorting your own life out.  Invest some quality time in your new relationship, and try and create a harmonious vibe in your household – it’s very contagious!

[Linda]