As an educator...why I needed a lifecoach

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Maddie Frances, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

From the age of 22-26 I taught middle school. It was fascinating to be that young and to be thought of as a ‘professional.’ I felt like I was playing teacher most of the time – having just graduated college and just starting a graduate program in Education – I wondered how others viewed me: “Will they take me seriously?” “Will they listen to me?” “I have to tell parents I know best for their kiddos….?” For four years these self-deflating thoughts would swim through my stream of consciousness and subconsciousness. By my last year of teaching, I finally felt comfortable in the classroom (and my own skin) but then decided to leave the classroom to become a counselor.

In retrospect, I wish I had someone to coach me through those years of thoughts and through what I decided to do next. It wasn’t that I didn’t have people around me to discuss this with – I had wonderful mentors, but they were in the classroom still; I had educators all around me, but no one to help me see the big picture.

As I started my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and School Counseling I started attending biweekly/monthly therapy. I felt a rush of relief to have someone to share my anxieties with, but it still didn’t feel like it was easing me into the next part of my life. Healing old wounds is definitely recommended and something I desperately needed to do – but it was not as future conscious as I had hoped it to be. This is why I wish I had known about lifecoaching. I would have sought one out immediately because I needed that extra motivational, supportive, and goal-oriented subtext that I was not getting. Instead, I had to bumble my way through misled internships and jobs, to find where I fit in the counseling world. Albeit, I found my lifecoach in the nick of time. Through the coaching experience, I realized that I most desired to coach other educators and those in service, because I feel that they need this type of coaching the most, especially from someone who has been in their shoes and walked many miles.

Those who provide service can be of two sorts – those who give and give and give, until there is nothing left to give and they get sick, are exhausted, feel deflated, and broken – often leaving their careers to get well. And there are those who give and feel completely refueled, but often do not realize that their cup is running over with too much of other peoples ‘stuff’ and not enough of their own goodness. That is why finding a lifecoach, therapist, counselor, mentor who can identify these patterns and come up with tools can truly make someone’s career come to life and be sustained.

If this sounds familiar – please reach out or find me on facebook on what you have done to find your place in the service world and also what you have found works or does not work. I look forward to hearing your story.