I didn’t know what a Health Coach was until the day I enrolled to become one.
I never dreamt about my life as a coach. I vaguely knew what a Life Coach was but due to some interesting encounters with one in my late teens I wrongly decided that they were sleazy and kind of annoying in an upbeat sort of way.
I didn’t have massive plans to jump into the world of Wellness and attempt to make an impact on the happiness of other women. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to have for lunch most days.
But I wanted SOMETHING.
Anything.
So much so that two months prior to making the decision that changed my life, I enrolled in an online business marketing course so I could learn how to build a successful online business, without even knowing what business I wanted to do. Yes, I actually went through an entire 2 months studying online business… without an online business… or any thoughts as to if I was actually going to start one.
I suppose I did that part just for fun, or because I was hormonal. Whatever.
Then one morning, I found myself Googling the words Health Coach. To this day I still don’t remember what made me put those two words together. But I remember standing in my room, my laptop on my dresser, still in my towel from the shower but needing to IMMEDIATELY find out what a Health Coach was.
And there it was.
The Institute of Integrative Nutrition
I scrolled, read, pondered, questioned and read some more. I found former students and checked out their work. I emailed through an enquiry for someone to get in touch and the next day I was on the phone to admissions, committing to the next year of my life as a student of an online Health Coach Training Program. I tossed up between payment plan or full commitment, I dipped into savings and put the money down in it’s completion as a sign of the energy I was going to pour into it.
It almost seemed to good to be true.
See, I didn’t want to go back to work and send Bo into Child Care at a young age. I didn’t want to lose myself in motherhood alone. I didn’t want to keep going feeling how I was going.
What I did want was to take charge of my health, stop the binge and starve cycle I was using to stay slim. I wanted to find something I could do from home and make some shopping money from, while still sparking my creativity and staying in line with one of my top values - SERVICE. But most importantly, I wanted to learn. I wanted to be educated and not from Google or my favourite Insta-foodie accounts, but from real experts who had years of experience and research to back their words.
But as a woman who was getting used to the title of mum and wife, I also wanted something that was ME. Not me linked to someone, just me. I wanted independence and something that was my special light to hold. Something I could do alone and be proud of. I don’t know why, but I was simply craving it.
My year of studies taught me so much, not only about health and happiness, but about myself. I grew. I developed my intuition. I got creative. I let myself be uncomfortable. I made friends with people all around the world. I reached out for help and support. I became the best version of me so far.
And in the years following, I’ve done all of the above over and over again and in return, I keep getting better, healthier, happier and fuller.
So, what do you need to know if you want to become a Health Coach?
You need to know what you want at a soul level.
I needed to be of service, it was calling me from every inch of my being. When I finally discovered health coaching, I realised that I had been doing it most of my adult life to some extent. My friends and family were drawn to ask me for advice and not because I was an expert, but because I knew how to listen. Not wait for my turn to talk, but just listen.
You need to know how you want to serve.
And this is SO important because so many people go into service forgetting that a crucial part to being all you can for others is making sure your needs are met first. I needed to be home with my baby. I needed creative control. I needed to get out what I was able to put in. With this in mind, starting my own online business, building my own website and making the rules for how a work day looked for me was paramount to the success. Because I didn’t want to serve while holding resentment. I wanted to do work I loved in a way that I loved.
You need to push through fear, bullshit excuses and blocks and DECIDE.
There was SO MANY things that came up for me. Most of my family asking “What on earth is a Health Coach?” and calling me crazy for committing to this with a newborn. The fear of running out of money - spoiler alert! There’s plenty to go around and you can always make more #abundancemindset. My “I’m not smart/pretty/funny/creative enough to build an online business that people will care about” worries. And what got me out of that? Remembering that I’m not for everyone, I will just do me and attract the people who resonate with my message, there is no pressure when you stop trying to please your entire world.
But the truth was, I couldn’t afford to not do this. Both financially and spiritually. What I spent on my training was made back. But what I put in my soul bank over that year was priceless.
The most important thing I did in this journey was that I made a decision, backed by my strong WHY and I pushed through the discomfort of the unknown because this is what I wanted. No thing or person was going to take that away from me.
I made a decision.
I backed myself.
Through the fear, the doubt, the worry and the excitement — I never stopped backing my decision to do this.
This month marks three years since I made that decision. The crazy thing is it’s ONLY been three years that feels like a lifetime.
I slowed down time by doing what I love.
I created a successful business by doing what I love.
I got my husband home from stressful corporate life by doing what I love.
I worked hard.
I created this. And it started with the decision to back myself.
And excuse my french, but fuck tall poppy syndrome - I did awesome and today I’m celebrating me.
How are you celebrating you?
IS IT YOUR TIME?
If you're wanting to look into a career in Health - in whatever way that looks for YOU - this is the life changing school I attended in 2014 and if you want to attend a sample class, simply click the image to the left!