My Coaching Journey

My journey into coaching was an unexpected one. I sort of just fell into coaching and have enjoyed it ever since. It did take time to find my passion and purpose. There were times of frustration, boredom and feeling disillusioned with life as I didn’t know what I wanted to do and wasn’t happy with the work I was doing. There were moments of experiencing self-doubt and I would ask myself ‘Would I ever find work that inspires me?’. I just didn’t want to feel that I was existing and wanted to live my life to my own full potential.

When I was in Dublin Institute of Technology now called Technological University Dublin, I studied a Degree in Accountancy and Finance. When I finished my degree, the plan was to study accountancy exams with Chartered Accountants Ireland. I didn’t know what area of accounting I wanted to specialise in and decided to go down the small practice route. Despite learning and gaining skills in accountancy, audit and tax during my trainee contract, I didn’t have any desire to pursue a career in accountancy after my contract finished.

I wanted a new challenge. Recruitment did cross my mind and sounded like an interesting career. In January 2019, I moved to Vancouver shortly after my trainee contract finished. I just wanted to get a different perspective on life and always wanted to live abroad. While I did enjoy the outdoors, hiking and sightseeing in Canada, the American work environment wasn’t for me as I felt it was live to work instead of work to live. I did do my best to start a new career in recruitment and was unsuccessful in my pursuit and fell back into accountancy which wasn’t the plan. My colleagues were working weekends and didn’t seem to have much else happening in their lives. It got me thinking and asked myself ‘Do I really want to be doing this kind of work for the rest of my life?’ The answer was ‘No’. I left the job and travelled Canada and parts of America for 4 months and came back to Ireland later in 2019.

Back in Ireland looking at the different options I could pursue, psychotherapy and counselling did cross my mind as an area of interest that I could study. I always liked helping people and this is where I get my most meaning and fulfilment from. Psychotherapy and counselling would be such a rewarding career and vocation in my eyes by helping people overcome past struggles and traumas.

I wasn’t ready to commit and go back to university to pursue a degree or masters in psychotherapy as this would have been a huge investment in terms of finance and time. My heart was telling me to do some more travelling and give myself more time. Travelling to me is always worth it and an investment in myself. Travelling allowed me to experience different cultures and ways of living. It allowed me to look at the world from a different perspective and fresh approach. Life coaching did cross my mind as well and decided I would explore this career more after I came back from South-East Asia.

With no real plan apart from a flight and hostel booked for Bangkok all with a backpack and phone I went over to South-East Asia for a few months. It was the best decision I ever made. In Thailand, I saw some beautiful parts like Chiang Mai, Pai, Khao Sok National Park, Koh Tao and Koh Lanta. Laos had some fun and interesting places to see like Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. Vietnam was amazing too! Doing the Ha Giang Loop on a motorbike, canyoning in Dalot, visiting Phong Nha National Park and Ho Chi Minh City. A cruise to Ha Long Bay was a wonderful experience as well. The people I met on my travels and the fun I had with them was the best part. Sharing our life journeys and stories of travelling was insightful. I did learn a lot about myself during this time.

I came back to Ireland in March 2020 and was ready for a new challenge. Covid-19 was still spiralling around the world and on 11th March, the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic and most countries went into a lockdown. For me the lockdown was an opportunity to reflect on my own life even further and work on my own personal development. During 2020, I read 72 books and it was the best investment in myself as I challenged my own views and outlook on the world. I learned a lot from this extensive reading. Coaching was one of these areas. From reading coaching books, I gained a lot of new awareness and insight about myself. I was curious to see what a coaching session was all about. I signed up to one coaching session and fell in love with coaching ever since.

Coaching ticked all my values like helping others, honesty, contribution, adventure, freedom and self-development. I wanted to pursue a coaching career. I did take time to decide who I was going to study and train with. There were coaching training facilitators that stood out to me like the Irish Lifecoach Institute, Kingston College and Coach Institute of Ireland. After reaching out to all of them there was only one for me and that was the Irish Lifecoach Institute and I signed up to their Diploma in Personal, Business and Executive Coaching. I knew a few people that trained there and spoke highly of their course and training. I did like how their coaching style is to coach the person rather than coaching the goal.

I commenced the course in October 2020 and there were 23 people in the class. It was all online and this was the only disappointment since I didn’t meet anyone on the course until it was finished. It would have been face to face if it wasn’t for government restrictions and health & safety for everyone does come first. I enjoyed each weekend of classes. I learned a lot more about coaching and made some friends along the journey. I found the pro bona sessions to be the most beneficial for developing my own knowledge and skills as a coach. I coached 13 people, all having different personalities, life experiences and goals they wanted to achieve. I have the say as a coach the best feeling is being in the present moment with client. Seeing the world from their eyes and understanding their own reality. I felt as both as a coach and person I have become more empathic, improved my listening and able to put myself into another person’s world.

The benefits of coaching can be seeing a client gain new awareness and insight about themselves. Moving from feeling unstuck to creating their own action plans to achieve their desires. Despite creating a safe and trusting space, an important responsibility for us as coaches is to support the client and hold them accountable. By holding them accountable we make sure they achieve their goals, challenge their limiting self-beliefs that may be holding them back and to equip them with the tools and techniques to allow them to find the answers to their own life.

It was rewarding and meaningful journey to work with all my pro bono clients and to see how far they have come. During the course we also had to do assignments, have regular peer coaching group meetings which is a support group and to attend classes one weekend per month. After 8 months of the course and in May 2021 I graduated with a distinction. The following month I set up my own coaching practice and shortly after that I left my full-time accounting job to pursue my passion.

Now I have further qualifications in coaching and have certificates in both Relationship and Career Coaching. I have become a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) which is the largest community of professional coaches. I am currently enrolled on an Advanced Diploma in Personal, Business and Executive Coaching and working towards my first accreditation which is the Associated Certified Coach (ACC) with ICF.

Since I have started my own coaching business it has been fun and challenging at the same time. I have worked with so many fantastic clients and it is such a rewarding feeling seeing each of them make progress with their own personal and professional ambitions. It has been very challenging starting a business in a pandemic, finding clients and at times wondering when the next coaching session will be.

For me I have found my own unique path in life. Coaching has been so meaningful and fulfilling. It does take time to find our own purpose. A lot of self-reflection and solitude is required. We all have a choice in how we live our life and the work we pursue. It may feel difficult as society, friends and family have their own views of what a working life should be and expected to follow the norm. If I was advising anyone who wants to change careers and pursue work that will bring a purpose to their own life, don’t allow anyone else’s view to hold you back. There is a lot of support for you transitioning into a new career. Trust me, I have been in that boat and first step is always the hardest and could be the most important. Trust yourself, live the life you deserve, your potential deserves it, it is actions that forge reality.