Over the past three years I have embarked on my own wellness journey and working to change myself. It all began when I started health coaching school. I was learning how to coach others in a way to make their lives healthier, but I was also learning about how I could improve my own life.
I wasn’t sure exactly what type of health coach I would be and for a while I wasn’t very authentic. I saw what others were doing or listened to the advice of those who thought I should be doing it a certain way. I then tried different trends such as brands of shakes, spoke to those selling supplements and soon realized that many people wanted me to focus on Nutrition and sell their products. I did at first try this a few times, but it never felt like that was my thing, so eventually I stopped. I needed to figure out exactly how I saw my life, not the way everyone else saw it. This was the next step in doing the work and improving myself.
After I completed the health coach training, I began grad school. This wasn’t the original intent but as life would have it, that’s where I needed to be. I decided I didn’t want to teach children anymore and was going to make a career change. I thought at this time I wanted to work with adults and create programs that would help them live their best lives. My own brand was on the focus of overall wellness not just nutrition. The experiences I had gone through had more to do with improving well-being. My belief is that it’s not just what’s on your plate that matters, it’s also how you live your life and who you surround yourself with. This was the message I wanted to get across with my coaching.
As I worked my way through my grad school classes and had to start building a program I struggled with the type of program to create. I thought about what I wanted to see in the world and what I was great at doing. As it turns out I have always been good at teaching, I’ve been complimented on this skill and I actually enjoy doing it. But hadn’t I decided not to be a teacher anymore? Wasn’t I changing careers? On a whim, I sent in a draft idea of a children’s wellness program that combined cooking, nutrition, fitness and mindfulness to my professor for a class and she praised it very highly. At that moment I threw my hands in the air and said “Okay Universe, if this is what you want me to do then show me how.” Well don’t you know after I said that, I began to receive offers to teach children’s nutrition classes and the ideas for what I wanted to do in my program and life started flowing. Why create a whole new career when I could combine my two degrees into a career where I worked with my two passions and used my best skills. Now that I’ve graduated I’m able to teach children’s nutrition, wellness and cooking classes. I’m still working in the Education field, only now it’s on my own terms, in my way.
Any time I even think I might veer off, I am pulled back in by a new opportunity. I know with complete certainty I am walking the path I am meant to live. I’m still planning to be a wellness coach as well with adults and am currently working on creating my first workshop teaching about achieving overall wellness in your life. I also have a plan to blog every week about the things I think are important for all the aspects of a successful wellness lifestyle. There isn’t anything that says I can’t do all of these things. They are all still in the same wheelhouse and bring me joy, which is the point of living your life. They even have a word for people like me with many jobs and careers that all align together, multi-hyphenate.
So my friends the moral of this journey is, you have to find what lights you up, makes your heart sing and your soul happy. It doesn’t even have to be just one thing either. Stop fighting against yourself and start LISTENING to yourself! You just might be surprised at what you hear. And if you need any guidance in how to have that conversation with yourself and start living your best wellness lifestyle, you know where to find me.
Wellness Wednesday,
TK
