Are you doing what you’re meant to do? I wasn’t. (Part 1)

Ever since I was little I thought I'd be a teacher.

You know that feeling when you have your favorite people around, it’s a long weekend, you are doing something you love to do, the weather is perfect and you just experienced something really funny or touching and you wish you could freeze this moment?
 
That’s how I feel when I coach… complete fulfillment and bliss.  I’m doing my best to not sound corny here, but I’m trying to give context to a feeling.
 
And that feeling is the most profound way that I know I am doing what I was meant to do.
 
This week is my next “Ask me ANYTHING” blog I’m called on to answer, Valerie Riesen’s questions:
 
How did you know that coaching was meant for you?
How did you know it was what you wanted to do?
 
I start by asking you to reflect on if you feel you are in the right career?
 
So often clients come to me wanting clarity around what kind of career they should have.  They have either ended a job they didn’t like and are now in search for the “right fit” or are entering back into the work force after kids or for another reason and want to have something that fulfills them.
 
How do you know if you’re doing what you are meant to be doing?
 
I have to admit that I am pretty darn lucky to be blessed to live in a country that I can choose to work my purpose, that I’m not held back by limitations and I have a supportive husband and partnership which allow me to not work a traditional 9-5.
 
This means I get to live my purpose. But maybe you can’t do that depending on your priorities.
 
What do I mean? Well, what are your priorities for doing your career?
 
I wanted to bring this up because sometimes we do the “wrong” job because it meets our other needs, wants and priorities. I’m not saying this is bad, but hope it’s a temporary or short-term situation. For example, we may stay at a job because we have an immediate need for stability, a large pay cheque, or benefits. This may be true if your partner is laid off, you want to purchase a house, have debts to pay, or a family member is sick. This might also be the case if we are using it as a bridge job to carry us financially while we build a business.

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If this is your current experience then I encourage you to satisfy that priority and see how you can also work at something doing what you were meant to do.
 
How did I know I was meant to coach? It was not a straight path though ever step has deepened my learning.

Since I was really little, I always felt I was meant to be a teacher. I helped other students in my classes, I taught my friends things like crafts when we were playing and I loved sharing and presenting.  I knew that I was good at those things, but at the end of highschool something didn’t feel right about teaching. It didn’t feel like the right fit – like something was missing. 

I decided that instead of a teacher’s educational degree I’d go into English and MIT (Media Information and Technoculture) in University to keep my options open as I figured it out. After graduating, Japan was calling me and I moved there to teach English for three years. In returning to Canada I continued with more ESL teacher training and taught immigrants in Toronto and after moving to Vancouver I taught Korean children in a private English immersion school.

Teaching in Japan

Teaching in Canada

While I was good at what I did and was quickly promoted to the Head Instructor where I would hire and train other teachers along with building curriculum and supporting high achievement in the students. I started to see one aspect that was wrong for me. 

Once I excelled in teaching I could move up and be a professor, a department head and even principal, but then… I’d be taken away from my love of teaching. I’d be pulled further away from what I felt I was meant to do.In order to feel fulfilled, I needed to be able to constantly strive for more and be challenged to achieve. This would only be possible if and when I didn’t have a cap or a structured path of progression. SO how could I teach, but also use my gifts of pulling the greatness out of others with complete creative control?

I had to be in control of what I taught, how I did it, and who I worked with. I needed to do it on my own as a business owner.  I thought I needed to be an ESL Tutor, then a corporate trainer and eventually after experiencing coaching for myself I realized I wanted to coach. 


But was it MEANT for me?
 
You bet!

Leading Dynamic Women in Action: Coaching in Action along with teaching and training

Stay tuned for next week when I continue on and share the three ways you can easily know if you’re doing what you’re meant to do.

Until next time... be Dynamic!

 Mwah!