Musings: An Introduction
I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself and my coaching philosophy. I am a registered nurse, I have been on a spiritual journey for the past few years, I have a passion for holistic wellness, and I have a strong desire to share aging positivity as I grow older myself. These things have converged and led me to transformative holistic coaching. In this musing, I want to share with you some of the reflections that I wrote during my Transformative Nurse Coaching program. This was a time of deep introspection for me, and I think these writings do a great job of describing who I am as a coach. I’m so happy you’re here, and I can’t wait to get to know you!
My Why Statement: My purpose as a coach is to help empower older women to move past feeling irrelevant and invisible so that they can once again see themselves as vibrant, confident women who still have a lot to contribute to the world.
Limitless Possibilities: Coaching matters to me because I truly feel that it is making a difference in the work I do in this world. I want to take my life experiences and coaching skills to make a difference in the lives of my clients, one conversation at a time.
Growth Mindset: In my role as a charge nurse in a busy operating room, I was expected to have all the answers. Obviously, I didn't. I needed to remember that, and not be afraid to say, " I don't know...yet. But I'll find out." "Yet" truly is such a powerful word. It's the first step to opening up possibilities and willingness to learn. I love that! The older I get, the more I realize what I don't know. Embracing the growth mindset is a beautiful tool that I love sharing with my clients.
Empowered: I have always been fiercely independent, and while that helped me move on beyond challenges and hardships, it didn't help me heal. As I developed a strong spiritual practice and learned to use tools like mindfulness and yoga, I realized that I didn't have to just move on. I realized that I was empowered to truly heal. I continue to deepen my spiritual practice and learn new skills, like Reiki and guided meditation, that strengthen my resilience and sense of empowerment.
I Am Enough: I have always felt that I'm not enough in my energy level. In a world of "Go! Go! Go!" I felt like I was always falling behind. Before long, I'd be exhausted. This was especially true in the workplace. I felt like one of those cartoon characters, running as fast as I could on a treadmill, but falling further and further behind. Through my spiritual journey, I am learning to love myself as I am. By nature, I am calm, thoughtful, and focused. I am an encourager, and I take the time to really listen to the concerns of others. These traits didn't help me keep up with the pace of my previous workplace, but that just tells me that I needed to find my place…a place where I am valued as I am…a place where I know that I am enough. Nurse coaching is that place for me.
Co-Creating: When I first became a nurse coach, my biggest ah-ha moment was realizing that this is a co-creative process, and I'm not here to solve my client's problems. My role as a coach is to hold space, listen deeply, and stay curious. The healing is going on inside my client, and my client in in control of that.
My Superpower: My superpower is my ability to sense when others need encouragement. I am empathetic to the feelings of others, and I have a knack for knowing what to say when someone is feeling defeated. I am thankful for this superpower, and I believe it’s what makes me a successful coach.
Values: My core values are spirituality, family and integrity. These are the values that direct my decision-making. When I consider what I should do in a given situation, I consider how it will impact my spiritual beliefs, my family, and/or my integrity. I consider all of my other values - authenticity, service, health, honesty, compassion, freedom, etc. - as a sub-category of one or more of these core values. Nurse coaching allows me to have a career that truly is in alignment with my values.
Connection to Others: Throughout our coaching sessions, I make sure that I remain authentic and don't put up barriers between myself and my clients. If a situation arises where I feel that a personal experience of mine is relevant to the discussion, I share that experience and my own feelings surrounding it. Throughout the sessions, I strive to show empathy and support, never judgment or criticism. I try to make sure that my clients are always aware that I am there as a coach, not as some kind of expert, and that they are the experts on their own lives.
Integrating Mindfulness Into Personal Practice: For my personal practice, I begin most days with a mindfulness practice. I find the practice to be most effective if I put on some nature sounds and then just silently focus on my breathing, using varying breathing techniques. It really helps me get in a good space for starting my day. When I prepare for a coaching session, I always stop to check in with myself and make sure that I am present. I pause to take a few deep breaths before beginning the session. Then, I start every session with a mindfulness practice. I can tell that it gets us both to a place where we can really go deeper in the session.
Clearly Describing What I Do: I recently had a client who is in her early 60's, widowed, and approaching retirement. She is postmenopausal, and is very unhappy with the changes that have occurred in her body. When we met for our initial session, she was forty pounds over her ideal weight. She expressed concern about her health and quality of life as she gets older. She is also concerned about losing her identity when she retires, and expressed a desire to become more involved in community activities. However, she's not sure how to do so with her current work schedule. During our coaching sessions, we put together a healthy diet that includes many of the foods she loves. She was confident that she would be able to stick to this diet and begin losing weight. We were also able to find group classes at her local gym that fit into her work schedule. so that she would have an opportunity to make the community connections she wants to have in place before she retires. At our last session, she expressed delight that she is meeting people in her classes, and she has made a lunch date with two of the women she has met. She's also very happy that she can tell a difference in her body, as well as her mood, since she has been attending classes at the gym four times a week. We also celebrated her loss of 6 pounds since beginning her new diet. She now has a positive attitude toward her ability to make real changes in her health and fitness. In addition, she's optimistic that she can live a full, active life after retirement.