MDR Happy by Nature

MDR Happy by Nature provides outdoor life coaching, running therapy, trainings, workshops, retreats and a blog. All focussed on helping you live a happy, healthy and meaningful life.

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Looking for a coach? I offer outdoor life coaching and running therapy in Dutch, English and French. Below you can find information in English. For information in Dutch, please see the main menu.

Outdoor life coaching

What?

Outdoor life coaching uses the environment to find answers to important life questions, such as: What makes me happy? What do I want to achieve in this life? By walking and talking at the same time you put both your mind and body to work, and you activate both your rational, analytical left side of your brain and the emotional and creative right side. You literally and figuratively bring movement into your personal transformation process.

Why?

Being in nature has a positive effect on your body and mind. In the outdoors, you can get away from everyday worries and reconnect with what is really important to you. Walking outside and enjoying nature can help with the prevention and recovery of stress and burnout. The beauty of nature can also give you new inspiration, energy and strength to tackle your problems and set new intentions for actions to create the life or your dreams.

For who?

Outdoor life coaching is for anyone with questions about how to live a happy, healthy, and meaningful life, and for anyone who wants to work on their personal development and goals. You need to be physically able to walk for around 1,5 hours. You dare to look at yourself with an open mind and like to be inspired by nature. Especially suitable for highly educated professionals who want to connect with themselves in a different way than by using their head.

What clients say

“There are many reasons why working with Marjolein brings value to my life. There are many reasons why working with Marjolein brings value to my life. She is a great listener, and her love for innovative thinking, combined with her sense of humor, make our sessions continuously fun and challenging.”
Pauline

“Marjolein’s positivity, energy and genuine interest in others, coupled with her extensive knowledge about personal development, was inspiring and immensely helpful. In only a few weeks I gained new habits, improved my focus and understood my strengths and aspirations, to name a few.”
Zuzana

Read more reviews here. And have a look at my recommendations on LinkedIn and reviews on Facebook.

Interested in outdoor life coaching?

Book a free intake.

Make appointment

Themes

What do you want to work on? I can help you with coaching in the following areas:

Developing a positive vision for your compelling future
Setting and achieving goals
Making choices and prioritizing
Energy management
Developing new habits for a healthy lifestyle
Setting and preserving boundaries
Becoming better at saying “no”
Dealing with (work) stress
Prevention and recovery from burnout
Career questions
Preparation for job applications or interviews
Work-life balance
Rest and relaxation
Love and relationships
Grief and loss
Effective and connective communication
Increasing self-knowledge
Increasing self-confidence
Living with high sensitivity
Listening to your intuition and inner wisdom

Do you want to grow in one or more of these areas? Or do you have another goal you want to work on? Please contact me to we discuss what I can do for you.

Running therapy

Are you looking for a way to improve your physical condition? Do you want to run the stress out of your body? Or have you not been exercising for a long time and need help to get moving again?

In addition to outdoor life coaching, I will soon be offering running therapy as well.

Running therapy can help to improve your vitality and fitness and to reduce anxiety, stress, depression or other psychological conditions. It can also help you to recover from a burnout by gradually building up your physical condition again in a mindful way.

Run with Marjolein

I have a passion for running. On my blog Run with Marjolein I write (in Dutch) about what we can learn through running about the art of living.

Bring movement into your transformation!

Book a session

About Marjolein

My name is Marjolein de Ridder and I am the founder of MDR Happy by Nature. I am an outdoor life coach, trainer, writer and speaker with a passion for personal development and nature. In addition to my work for MDR Happy by Nature, I work as a strategic advisor with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With MDR Happy by Nature I want to inspire and help people to be healthy and happy, to enjoy life to the fullest and to give meaning to the time that each of us has been given on this earth.

I think it is important to live consciously, to try to be the best version of myself every day and to contribute to a better world. I love to learn and write, to be active and creative, and to spent time with loved ones. I am an avid writer and share my stories about what I learn, read, watch and experience on my blog.

Blogs in English

Most of my posts are in Dutch but every now and then I will write something in English. You can find the latests posts below. You can also find more posts by selecting the category “English” on my blog.

The new era of positive psychology

The benefits of journaling

Vision

The name MDR Happy by Nature refers to my personal belief that we humans are naturally happy at our core. That we all thrive on positive energy and in a society based on compassion and respect for each other and our planet.

Because of the events in our lives and the hectic of everyday life we sometimes lose the connection with our true nature. I have personally experienced how healing it can be to go into nature when we are struggling with life’s big questions.

I believe that if we go outside and turn inwards, we can better address both our personal problems and societal challenges. Nature can help you raise your level of consciousness and feel reconnected to life and the greater whole of which we are a part.

Mission

What drives me is that I want to help people to be the best version of themselves. For me that means “anima sana in corpere sano”: a healthy mind in a healthy body.

I want to motivate and inspire you to develop a healthy lifestyle, to reach your full potential, to achieve your goals and to follow your heart, so that you can live the life of your dreams.

That is why I offer coaching based on successful interventions for behavioral change. During our sessions we investigate behavioral patterns and beliefs and other impeding and promoting factors for your happiness and vitality. I help you to become focused on your goals and to take responsibility for your life and happiness in a positive and motivating way.

My mission is to literally and figuratively bring movement into your personal transformation process by taking you outside to use the natural environment to connect with your true nature, desires and life energy.

Expertise

My coaching approach is based on scientific insights and literature on positive psychology, behavioral change and vitality (health and happiness), knowledge I gained from training and courses, as well as my personal experiences.

Vitality and sustainable employability of highly educated professionals

Highly educated professionals often work in a intellectually and organizationally demanding environment with ambitious, intelligent colleagues. I know what it is like. It comes with both positive and negative challenges to our happiness and well-being. I did extensive research for my MBA graduation thesis (2016) into the vitality of highly skilled professionals.

My research focused in particular on the sustainable employability of female knowledge workers between the age of 27-35 years old. I looked into why this group suffers so much from stress and burn-out.

Are you a highly trained professional and are you looking for a coach to help you with your personal development? Then I think you can be of great service to you on the basis of my research and personal experience.

Due to my own experiences with stress and burnout, loss and death of loved ones, I can empathize with the situation of people who are going through something similar.

Learning how to deal with pain, grief and uncertainty has made a crucial contribution to shaping me into the person I am now. Having learned to turn setbacks into opportunities for growth, I use this knowledge to help others.

After all, I also went through a personal transformation process myself. An inspiring experience, which gives me a powerful, positive and energetic life and which motivates me to guide you in realizing your dreams and potential.

I am a certified outdoor life coach. I did my training at the Atma Institute. I also did a certificate course in the science of well-being from Yale University. In addition, I have a Master of Business Administration, an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy (cum laude) and BA in Political and Social Sciences (cum laude).

Want to know more about my work experience and education? See my personal LinkedIn page.

Let’s meet

I am happy to meet you for a free intake session.

This is a non-committal discovery session of approximately 30 minutes in which we discuss your needs and I can elaborate on my methods. This way you can assess whether outdoor life coaching or running therapy with MDR Happy by Nature is suitable for your situation and the right choice for you. Contact me to make an appointment.

Contact

Locations

Experience nature in a different way. Discover green oases of peace and tranquility in the middle of the busy city.

Together we decide when and where the coaching sessions take place. Possible locations in The Hague include:

Haagse Bos
Clingendael
Sorghvliet
Scheveningse Bosjes
Westduinpark
Zuiderstrand

See these locations on a map.

Want to go outside?

Make an appointment

Prices

Coaching is an investment. Since it’s an investment in yourself, it’s probably among the best investments you could make.

Individual coaching

The standard rate for a one-on-one coaching session of 1,5 hours is € 125 excl. VAT. To make outdoor life coaching accessible to everyone, I use reduced rates for individuals and self-employed persons.

Individuals

€95

incl. VAT
per session (1,5h)

Book now

Self-employed

€105

excl. VAT
per session (1,5h)

Book now

Companies

€125

excl. VAT
per session (1,5h)

Book now

Free intake

I offer the option to book a free and non-committal introduction session of approximately 30 minutes to discuss your needs and my methods. This way you can assess whether MDR Happy by Nature is the right choice for you.

How many sessions?

You have the option to book a single coaching session or a coaching program consisting of 4, 6 or 8 sessions. The price per session remains the same, so that you always know exactly where you stand, even with adjustments in the duration of your coaching program. Often you can gain new insights that help you become the best version of yourself in just a few coaching sessions.

Reimbursement and tax deduction

Often employers have a budget available for development of their personnel. Ask your employer if they want to invest in your personal development, professional growth or your employability. Perhaps a partial or full reimbursement of your coaching program is possible.

Sometimes you can deduct the costs of coaching in your Dutch tax return, for example as study costs. Please contact the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and/or your accountant for more information. Read more on Belastingdienst.nl

Groups

For group training, group walks or workshops: contact me to discuss the possibilities and to request a quote.

Contact me

Charities

Choosing for coaching with MDR Happy by Nature means choosing for nature. By offering coaching outdoors, I want to contribute to an improved connection with nature and better stewardship for our planet, so that future generations can also enjoy the beauty and benefits of nature. Inspired by One Percent for the Planet, I therefore donate 1% of MDR Happy by Nature’s revenues to various green charities aimed at nature conservation.

Protecting, maintaining and developing local natural reserves is crucial for outdoor life coaching. That is why I support Zuid-Hollands Landschap.

Worldwide, the environment is under pressure worldwide. Because I think it is important to prevent nature and biodiversity from disappearing, I support the World Wildlife Fund.

Celebrate nature.

Choose MDR Happy by Nature.

Make appointment

Collaboration

Are you looking for a business partner to organize trainings, workshops, retreats or active holidays focused on nature, outdoor activities and personal development? Please contact me to discuss whether we can make it happen together.