hi, I’m Sophie (aka the joyful coach)!

I’m a qualified coach, positive psychology practitioner and bestselling author, and i help individuals and organisations to flourish and thrive by finding joy.

as featured in:

“The poster girl for joy” - You Magazine

Research tells us that joy makes just about everything in our lives better. It improves our wellbeing, it boosts our immune systems, it makes us more resilient and it helps us to achieve more success in our careers. There are even some studies that suggest joyful people live longer.

And yet, so many of us fail to prioritise joy in our lives. We sacrifice it, thinking it’s something we’ll get around to in a few years time, or when we retire. We put it to the bottom of our to-do lists, thinking that it’s somehow selfish to make room for joy when life can be so hard.

And in doing so, we miss out on all of the benefits. We miss out on the success available to us. We miss out on the joyful memories waiting to be made. We miss out on life.

I’m here to change that.

who am I?

My name is Sophie Cliff (aka The Joyful Coach), and I’m a positive psychology practitioner, qualified coach and bestselling author of Choose Joy.

I hold a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology, host the chart-topping podcast, Practical Positivity, and have over 500 hours of coaching experience. I’ve had the pleasure of working with organisations such as Freddie’s Flowers, Wild and Method to help them bring joy back to the workplace, and my expertise is regularly cited in the national press.

Prior to building my coaching and psychology practice, I spent a decade climbing the corporate career ladder, working in sales and marketing at global organisations such as The Walt Disney Company and Hallmark Cards, and developing high-performing teams at smaller tech start ups.

I live in Leeds, UK, with my husband, Sam, and our cat, Lola. I’m a proud volunteer, a voracious bookworm, and an avid adventure-seeker. I find joy by hanging out with my nieces and nephew, cooking up a storm and getting out in nature.

what do I do?

So that’s who I am, but what do I actually do? The answer to that question is long, but put simply, I use evidence-based tools from positive psychology and coaching psychology to help individuals and organisations flourish and thrive by finding more joy.

Here’s how I do that:

The Choose Joy Club. I run a monthly membership called The Choose Joy Club, where I host monthly workshops, provide regular journaling prompts and share the necessary tools to help members prioritise more joy in their day-to-day lives. Think of this as like a gym membership for you mind!
Coaching. I work with a handful of clients at a time to provide expert 1:1 support to help them make positive changes in their lives.
Content. I write books, share blog posts and record weekly podcast episodes all designed to help you access the tools that will make your life feel more joyful.

Consultancy, collaborations & speaking. I also partner with like-minded organisations to consult on their wellbeing strategies, collaborate on brand campaigns and content, and deliver workshops or keynotes designed to inspire.

why joy?

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is “why joy?”. Out of all of the things in the world that I could have centred my business and career around, why did I choose joy?

It’s a great question and one that always elicits an impassioned response from me! But before I jump into my answer, I want to start by clearing up a common misconception: living a joyful life doesn’t mean being happy 24/7. It’s not about ignoring the tricky times, or turning a blind eye to all of the bad stuff happening in the world. No, living a joyful life is about living a life that feels authentic to you. It’s about choosing to be intentional and playing a proactive role in your own life. It’s about choosing to see the good as well as the bad. It’s about squeezing as much of the magic out of our time here on earth as we can.

The reason why I’m so passionate about joy is because it helped me during a very hard time. I didn’t come to this work because my life felt great - I came to it because I was dealing with a huge upheaval and was looking for ways to cope. Joy, gratitude and a positive mindset were the tools I used to keep on going when the going got tough, and when things got easier, they were the anchors I used to rebuild my life in a way that felt truly aligned to my values and intentions.

Since then, I have only become more sold on the idea that we should all be prioritising our own joy. Research tells us that joy improves our health, our relationships, our chances of career success, and can even add more years to our life! Are you starting to understand why this work gets me so excited, yet?