Inspire Aspire - My Beautiful Coaching Experience

I was that young urban professional who wanted it all and had it all planned out. I believed that by the time I'd hit 40, I'd have it all figured out on the home front and career path. Then I lost it all. I had to leave the UK and move back with my parents who had retired to a French island. None of that was in my plan. I felt lost, out at sea, but found myself again through perseverance and personal coaching.

I don't want to sound like a Woody Allen script but in my younger years I'd gone through a brief stint of psychotherapy and years of counselling which I'd used as a form of guidance stepstone to support me through a stressful lifestyle. Although those methods had helped me understand myself to a degree, they had also stirred murky waters to the surface and it seemed that the cloud was left lingering there, affecting my clarity like any unfinished business would.

At the back end of 2012, I started a personal journey. I took it upon myself to gear my life in a more meaningful, more compassionate direction in line with my true life calling, looking for clarity in a way that would be constructive, and where I would be in charge of my own destiny rather than play the victim and blame others for any sorry state of affairs.

With a little help from the Universe I came across the self-development scene, from Louise Hay to Marie Forleo, Gabby Bernstein, Abraham Hicks, Jonathan Fields and countless others. I watched The Secret and it was a revelation, it made complete sense to me. Things moved on quickly from there. I connected with Californian Deliberate Attraction Coach Dina Robison via Twitter (blink blink Universe!). In January 2014 I decided to apply for Dina's complimentary 30-minute Soul Mate Clarity Session, via Skype. We hit it off, really enjoyed the interaction and she officially became my coach. As we speak I've just had my 20^th weekly session, and haven't looked back!

A coach is a facilitator and not a therapist or psychologist. According to Christy Whitman, founder of the QSCA, the client does all the work. We also do most of the talking. Through relevant trigger questions that are well thought out and a series of fun exercises, the coach gears their client towards finding their own answers, their own truth, to those lifelong questions as diverse as "Is he really the one for me? What am I supposed to do with my life? How can I generate more abundance? How to become at peace with oneself? How to forgive others? How to accept the past?" etc.

My Coach, Dina Robison

As a Law of Attraction Coach, and keeping in mind that we live in an attraction-based universe where the power of thought is key, Dina helps bring those energy levels up. The equation is simple: a positive attitude will attract more positiveness. She fine-tunes my mindset to reformulate any negative self-deprecating self-belief into a positive statement. The stream of consciousness works its magic and clarity finally beckons. A little meditation comes into play at the start of each session to get in the right frame of mind.

A word of warning – as easy-going as it sounds, coaching is no walk in the park. For that idle girly chit-chat over coffee and cupcakes, your best friend will do. Coaching is not a case of "Oh well, I'll just stick to that hour with Dina and then put it aside till the next session". If you just stick to your weekly hour without mulling over your session, feeding it extra thought and analysis and willingness for change, stretching out of your comfort zone and shaking off any old habit, it's not going to yield the expected results in terms of personal growth.

Wildfield Paper Co.

In other words, there is no room for half-heartedness. In fact I don't even commit 100%, I commit 500%. I come from a place of honesty during the session. Whatever troubles me, I instantly share it with Dina in confidence and we nip it in the bud. She coaches in the moment, which means we address whatever is irksome right this instant, starting off with the "intention for the session", which I call "buzzword", ex: empowerment, gratitude, life purpose, status, to feel loved, etc. We stay on the bright side. We understand the effects of the buzzword, turn it on its ear, see the potential for growth and expansion, identify the strengths and benefits. Sometimes an old painful memory resurfaces, I shed a tear, and that's part of the process too. In order to build strong foundations, we need to revisit old ground to come to terms with its outcome and to heal and forgive. And move on.

After the session, I listen to its recording, while adding to my notes. I then practice the new thought pattern, the mantra if you wish. I go over and beyond the weekly homework. I strategise, extrapolate, go off a tangent, generate new ideas that I will then share with Dina in the next session. I get more confident, and with it more boldly creative with my career choices and my expectations from life.

'Saisons' Fabric by Toiles de Mayenne

Oh yeah, I am still planning to have it all, you see. Back to my introduction, I might have lost it all at 40 but I intend to have it all back - and in a way that is better, brighter, smarter and wiser too! And this time around I've got help at hand to figure it all out with. Coaching has empowered me indeed into the woman I was truly meant to be. Forget Restylane, coaching is the best investment I will have treated myself to.

Click here to read my testimonial to Dina - or click the screen capture below for higher res: -