My Path to Coaching
Whoo it’s been a busy week! My family went to Boston to visit dear friends, I got a slew of new readers – hello and thank you! – and :drum roll: I received my International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification!
ICF certification is the international gold standard, and the application process reviews your training program, hours of coaching, work with a mentor, and a final test covering everything from coaching core competencies to ethics – and I aced it!
Have I told you how I got started coaching?
Short answer: 2020.
Slightly longer answer: epic burnout and a depressive episode brought on by working too much and parenting two small children while trying to make the holidays special despite a global pandemic.
Fortunately I had a few incredible resources to help me through:
1. A husband who helped me get back into therapy
2. An amazing therapist who could work with me over Zoom
3. Holiday Council, one of my favorite parts of the year. This program, run by my coach and friend Molly Mahar, invites you to look back on the past year and set informed goals and intentions for the year ahead. (Not an affiliate link; it's just a really great program.)
I set one goal for 2021: find my soul work and take steps to make it real.
By February 2021, I was enrolled in Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training and knew I’d arrived in the right place. (Years after thinking, "Must be nice -- but I could never do that.")
The more I dug in, learned tools, got coached, self-coached, and practiced coaching, the more I fell in love with this work.
But there were also some pesky thoughts getting in my way.
Here are some thoughts I worked through:
Quitting my job is irresponsible.
I made a commitment to this organization.
We won’t be able to afford health insurance on our own.
What if I can’t support our family and fulfill my calling at the same time?
Who am I to think I can be a life coach?
Any of those sound familiar?
Now that I’m on the other side, I'm deeply grateful that this is my life -- and deeply humbled that people invite me in to talk about their most tender dreams and longings. I've been there, and I knew for sure:
