Why I became a life coach

Photo David Iskander / Unsplash

I’ve been a journalist for over 30 years.

It was the job I wanted to do straight after finishing university so I completed a journalism training course, then combined work experience on magazines and newspapers with working in care homes and hospitals, until I secured my first staff position on a monthly glossy magazine. I progressed in permanent roles on various titles and, a couple of years after having my first child, made the move into freelancing for 14 years. Then I was asked to come back to a staff job as an editor.

I never wanted or needed a Plan B, until I did.

I came to life coaching after a difficult period in my career, when I still loved my job but I felt my values were out of sync with those of my workplace. The situation improved but the seed had been sown. For the first time in my professional life, another direction opened up ahead of me. 

I’d interviewed countless life coaches for features over the years, and had seen how their combination of pragmatism, encouragement and empathy could help change lives for the better. As a journalist, I’d learnt to ask questions that went to the heart of someone’s story, then to listen deeply to their answers (and never to assume I knew what they were going to say). I’m a do-er, someone who uses reflection as a motivator to action, which is why the forward motion of coaching appealed over the past-focused analysis of therapy (this approach is one of the differences between coaching and therapy). I also knew journalists I respected had moved into coaching (shout out to Suzy Walker and Sheryl Garrett), so I asked them for their advice. Then I chose Animas to train with and worked on the evenings and weekends to gain my qualification and begin coaching clients. 

I wish I had discovered the power of coaching earlier…

…when I made the decision to go freelance and worried so much about financial security; when I felt a loss of identity outside of my role as a parent and partner; when my mum died and I felt bereft as an only child with no living parents.

I found my way through those difficult times. I had the love and support of family and friends, and I also gave myself the grace not to feel shame about being overwhelmed at times. But I know a coach could have helped me see the bigger picture sooner, to identify the beliefs holding me back, and to help me plot a course to the life I wanted to live and how I wanted to feel.

If you feel coaching with me can help you, then why not book an intro call and let’s talk about how we might work together to build the life you want.