My client Maria used to be a teacher, close to burnout, depleted and tired from commuting and being boxed into a demanding schedule. Today, she works independently as a writer, coach, learning consultant and builds up her own business. Following is our conversation about her coaching experience with me and how that helped her reinvent herself and her career path.
How was your situation before the coaching and why did you decide to go for coaching?
Before the coaching, I was feeling quite stuck, a little bit kind of desperate for a change. I have been working too much the last couple of years. I was kind of burning out. And I had also just quit my job. I knew I wanted to change. I just didn't really know how to or didn't have any current thoughts. Feeling stuck. And really feeling a very strong need for change.
It was also because you're an empath, and you were not in the right working environments, that you kind of felt that this was not the right thing for you, is that right?
Yeah, many things. I was a teacher, I'm still a teacher, and I loved parts of it. But it was too much in the sense that, I love having time, I love having peace and quiet. I love nature. And I was all day long, looking into a wall in a room with three other people when I was not teaching. Lots of busyness and having to do things I didn't always agree with just because I was in the system. Every day I was in front of a group for six, eight hours, and being an introvert, I just crushed every day, almost every weekend. I had to take the time to just be with myself to get ready for the new week. And that was what I would say was balance. I was just kind of too much in a sense of things that didn't feel completely natural to me.
You said at the beginning that you felt stuck before you started coaching. So how did coaching help you to get out of that? What was the main part that you would say that made a difference, or that helped you to get out of this?
Having someone empathetic, to talk to, that was a big thing. Someone who listens to your dreams, my dreams. Someone who was curious. It helped me get gradually more courage and also to listen to myself or to listen to the parts of me that I kind of suppressed for a long time. I think that was it. Being allowed to be curious about myself as well, having someone listening and asking questions to guide me. And also, the work on values was very valuable.
What would you say was most helpful to break out of the system? We're afraid of being judged by others and that's what we've grown up with. And it's not easy to create that out of the box work life. What would you say was the key for you personally?
I think that the visualisation was very powerful. Just looking a bit into the future and drawing a picture of how I would want things to be. And then also having to do a few things like having to take action from the first call. And then kind of everything went from there in a sense and learning that it just comes from action. Having things stuck in my own hand. Maybe I will be able to change things or get where I want to live, but it takes so much longer and having to take action, I think from the beginning, having the support helped.
And you feel more accountable when you have a coach. You have invested and you don’t have an excuse anymore, not to do things…
Courage too. There's someone kind of holding your back. Someone who's not charging, they're cheering for you. I think that's very powerful. And not like a worried hand holder, but someone who is championing you and believing in you. So I started believing more in myself as a result. There's ups and downs and I'm still learning everyday. But I feel like that's built up some kind of strength and even just the strength of asking for help. I feel like I have built up this support system. Before I was just kind of on my own. I felt like I had to keep things to myself in a way. The exterior doesn't affect me in the same way in my life. I feel a bit stronger, definitely.
It’s okay to ask for help and to get support, especially if we go through these massive changes. I would love to encourage you in redesigning your career where you have the freedom to be yourself and feel energized, fulfilled from your work life.
You may have overcome lots of challenges in the last year and long for healing, reconnecting with your life force and taking the leap towards a more fulfilling work life. If you don't know don't know where to start, or simply need some guidance and accountability in your journey, I recommend booking a free chemistry call with me to find out how I can best help you. Click here to do that now.