After my husband and I were married (going on 23 years!) I worked and went to college until our first child was born. Then I stayed home and continued my degree online, graduating 3 months after our second child was born. After graduating I remember thinking “Now what?” I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom but I also wanted to do something else, I just didn’t know what.
I did the stay-at-home mom thing while my husband worked and finished his degree. We bought a house, welcomed another child a year after he graduated, and a few years later welcomed our last child. All four of them are girls. :) I still yearned for something more but we were in the thick of child-rearing so I pushed that feeling away and focused on being mom.
I taught preschool for a semester while my husband was in college, and started teaching piano lessons after we bought our house. I also taught preschool at the local athletic club when my youngest two were each preschool aged. When the girls were all in school for at least half-day I started looking for something outside the home. I felt more discontent and a longing for personal development. I tried various jobs - in the elementary school, at a craft store, at the election polling place, as an English language reviewer for a University, all the while teaching piano lessons from home. During these times I felt varying levels of fulfillment but not happy or that I was doing what I really wanted.
Somewhere along the way I started dealing with anxiety. I wasn’t practicing self-care and it was building up. I was searching for “my thing”, something that would allow me to still be the kind of wife and mother I wanted, but would also take away the discontent I was feeling.
I decided I wanted to have my own business, so I could be my own boss. I wanted to do something that would contribute, have meaning, use creativity, and involve personal development. I have always been interested in psychology and personal development - reading self-help books, going to workshops or conferences, listening to podcasts and webinars, all the things.
Last year my cousin convinced me to join a women’s coaching group she was leading and through that experience I was inspired to pursue coaching! The things I learned helped with my anxiety and in realizing I needed to prioritize self-care, part of which required finding “the thing”. I realized becoming a coach fit with everything I was looking for: my own business, being my own boss, personal development, contribution, creativity and meaning. So I started researching coaching programs and now here I am!!
I had to work through a lot of anxiety and self-doubt along the way, but I used the skills I learned in the group coaching program, along with what I was learning in coaching school and through my own personal coach, to help me along the way.
What are your goals and dreams? Who is helping you along the way? If you don’t have a coach yet, I would love to guide you in your journey!! Contact me for a FREE discovery call.