Why I became a life coach & the power of coaching
Why I became a life coach & the power of coaching
I get asked this question quite often. Shaina, why did you become a life coach?
I get it, we all want to know the story behind someone’s mission. It helps us feel more connected to them. I too loveeee a good story. When someone is giving a keynote speech and they start with a compelling and genuine story, I am immediately hooked.
It’s also because we connect to people’s vulnerability. One of the hardest things to do is to be vulnerable and it is even harder to do it online, but I’ve realized the key to success is being vulnerable. But before we lay it all out there, I believe we have to do the inner work first. When you’re working on yourself, finding self-love, practicing healthy boundaries and communication you can share more deeply without being repeatedly triggered by others’ responses to your vulnerability.
One of my favorite quotes at the moment is
“Nobody can make you feel a certain way but they can knock on a door that already exists”
Whew, that just pulls on your heart strings and makes you really reflect on your own triggers and buttons.
I’m saying all of this because ya girl is about to get a bit vulnerable.
Me living my best life in Florida during my SEA graduation week
Why did I become a life coach?
Working backwards, I was being interviewed on a friend’s podcast and she asked me if I ever considered being a life coach. Up until that point the thought never crossed my mind. I’ve always loved inspiring and helping people, but I did it through dance, friendships, and holding space. I did not know you could create a career out of holding space for other people! I did some more research on it, and I was immediately intrigued. One thing about me, when I want to do something I can be a bit impulsive and I’m all in. I wasn’t sure how coaching would manifest itself as a career for me, but my gut was telling me to follow through and get certified.
So what brought me to being interviewed on the podcast in the first place?
I believe this is where my journey to becoming a coach truly begins and honestly I haven’t asked my friend why she asked me (I probably should), but this is why I believe she did.
2020 was a very transformational year for me and the entire world. My dad had cancer for 3 years and to my ignorance up until 1 month before he passed I never thought about him not making it. He was the pinnacle of a strong, prideful Black man who did not want anyone to pity him. So, I knew he had this diagnosis, but I never viewed him as “sick.”
That all changed Christmas 2019 when everything about him shifted. He was visibly weaker and couldn’t eat much. Now, if you knew my dad you knew that man could EAT!
January 2020, less than a month after Christmas I was faced with my first big loss. Death of a parent cripples you in a way that can be debilitating. I felt an emptiness, hopelessness, and anger that I had never experienced before.
I saw firsthand how short life can be and I made it my mission to live life to the fullest and not take any day for granted. It sounds so cliché, until you experience how temporary life is.
I dove deep into my faith, personal development, and started therapy as ways to heal from the inside out. My faith and personal development saved me and instilled in me a love for the inner-work.
Our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves are powerful and they impact how we see ourselves and the world around us. I gave myself permission to share my thoughts on Instagram and I started a short video series “My Truth Thursdays.” I would just share weekly from a genuine place and hope my story and journey would inspire someone else. I hope as you read this, you realize and acknowledge the gifts, wisdom, and experiences that you have that you can share to inspire someone else too.
I have to ask my friend, but I believe what I was sharing and how I was showing up made her ask me to be on her podcast.
So, what is the power of coaching?
This can be an entire blog post of it’s own and it probably will be but coaching is priceless. Let me ask you this- what is the cost of your happiness? The cost of your peace? It’s priceless and that is what coaching unlocks for you.
Coaching unlocks the opportunity for you to live the life you want. It allows you to find personal agency, reach goals, and rewrite the old story of yourself that no longer resonates.
As a coach, I am simply a mirror to your own thoughts, judgments, and beliefs about yourself and the world.
It is not my job to shame you into change, get in the box with you and your story, or this is the kicker- tell you what to do. The truth is we all have the answers and solutions to our problems, but our thoughts and mind drama get in the way.
It’s my job to hold space for you, un-clutter that mind drama and bring your awareness to it, and help you create a plan to reach your goals.
Have you ever told yourself I can’t do something? Then, you might feel powerless, undeserving, or guilty. Guess what- in response to that thought and that emotions reaction our brain is finding ways to answer that question and keep us small. The action you take after that is either procrastination or nothing at all.
What if you had someone be a mirror to that thought and question it. Ask where it came from. Ask how true it is. Ask what it’s protecting you from. We are all influenced by our past experiences but they do not have to dictate how we show up in the present.
Coaching helps to bring more awareness and solutions to how we see ourselves and the world.
Really ask yourself this- what do you really want?
Now, what’s stopping you from getting there?
Good news! You don’t have to do it alone and I’m here to help you figure that out my friend.
