Why I Joined The Life Coach School Certification with Brooke Castillo
In 2016 I took my first steps into the world of life coaching. Just four years later, I joined Brooke Castillo as a guest on the podcast that inspired me to take those first steps. How did I get here? In this article, I explain why I took the leap and joined the Life Coach School Certification with Brooke Castillo – and how it changed my life.
I’ve completed a lot of training in my lifetime. This is proven by the fact that I earned a Ph.D. in 2013! But even since earning a doctoral degree, you may be surprised to hear that The Life Coach School Certification process is the certificate I’m most proud of. It’s the first one that I earned simply because I wanted to. I didn’t do it for external validation or praise. I did it for me.
Let me take you back to the beginning of the story. In 2016, I was going through a career crisis. I was finishing up my third year as an assistant professor in my dream job, but it had been a difficult year for me. I was struggling with teaching. Our university president had just resigned. And a project I was emotionally invested in came to a screeching halt.
I was devastated. I found myself searching for what was next.
Getting Started with Life Coaching
So I dipped my toes into coaching that summer and into the fall. I found Brooke Castillo’s podcast in a random search and started listening. I proceeded to complete a foundational course in an ICF accredited program and then got to work coaching. My first paid coaching client started in January 2017.
I was thrilled to be doing something that I felt connected to. I started coaching more clients, but then I started to run into a wall. While some of my clients were taking actions and getting results, some of them weren’t and I didn’t know why. I wanted to help them.
As I continued listening to Brooke’s podcast, I absorbed more of her wisdom. (Honestly, I was very suspicious of the fake nails and eyelashes. That’s not how we typically roll in academia! I wanted to see authentic evidence.) As reticent as I was, the more I read the books she recommended, the more I realized she really knew what she was talking about.
In the summer of 2018, I began wondering about my business. I questioned whether I should keep moving forward with it. If I should continue spending my free time coaching. But then it happened, as if by magic: Brooke revealed her first online certification cohort.
Something inside of me screamed YES. You have to do this! You must make this happen. I had heard the siren call when she first opened up Self-Coaching Scholars and ignored it. Now was my time and I wouldn’t let the opportunity pass me by.
But I was PETRIFIED of spending that kind of money. I had spent less money on my car than this program cost. I had never paid for tuition in school as I was always on scholarship or fully funded in graduate school. (I took out loans for living expenses, for sure.) But this? This was a huge deal. I was on a mission to get out of debt and this felt like moving in the opposite direction.
The Life Coach School Certification
Even so, I took the leap and signed up. That’s also when I had my first experience with quality coaching for myself. I hired someone to help me work on my money beliefs (fortuitously, she’s now my accountant). A Life Coach School certified coach helped me to process through my thoughts and fears as we geared up for the program starting in October 2018. I had so many thoughts to manage but, through that coaching, I overcame my constant worrying.
And then I became unstoppable!
Learning all of the tools and techniques from Brooke, I knew exactly how to help my clients get results. Now I have the model and I can understand what keeps a person from taking action. It’s because of the feelings that drive them. Circumstances are neutral. But it’s thoughts that create feelings. And the good news? I get to choose my thoughts.
I couldn’t have anticipated the monumental results I got simply from showing up for myself. Just from being coached, I was able to:
Become a time ninja as I balanced coaching and being a professor.
Figure out with my husband how to reconnect after years of him traveling and me “being busy.”
Become a confident mom when we adopted out of foster care.
Reconnect with my own mother after years of not talking.
Earn back all of the money I invested in certification (and more) within 6 months.
Give myself permission to trust myself and make decisions for myself instead of asking everyone else around me what I should do.
Stop outrunning myself.
Deal with my emotions (boredom, worry, overwhelmedness, etc).
Realize I wasn’t supposed to be happy all of the time. (100% happiness is a myth.)
And then I created an amazing result. Brooke asked me to be on the podcast.
Brooke Castillo’s Life Coach Podcast
Her podcast is regularly in the top 250 list of all podcasts. This was huge. If you had asked me in 2016, when I started listening to her, “Do you know you’ll be on a future episode?” I would have looked at you quizzically. In 2018, I might have said, “Yeah, maybe in 2025?”
But here I am, on one of Brooke’s episodes in 2020, sharing my enthusiasm with the world!
Related to that experience, I was also flown out to Dallas for a photo/video shoot to talk about my experience in Coach Certification. It all happened in the same week and I only had about two weeks to prepare. You know your true priorities when an event like this happens - I could have easily said my schedule was full or I was too busy. But I dropped everything!
In order from top left to bottom right - Andrea Scalici, Lauren Cash, Elizabeth Salazar, Lisa Hatlestad, Lindsay Dotzlaf, Janet Archer, myself, and Carrie Marshall
I was privileged to spend the day in Dallas surrounded by other incredible women. The conversations in between videos (and in such a fancy house!) were mind-blowing. I saw the evidence of what it’s like to put yourself in the room with smart people. These women were mirrors for myself and what I had also accomplished.
As I soaked everything in, I heard earth-shattering statements just casually mentioned on the car ride or at dinner. We all helped each other to shine brighter. That trip gave me so much energy to move forward.
Although Dallas was magical, I did need to come back home. But after being surrounded by these encouraging women, I am more trusting of myself now. I used this experience to anchor myself, to remember how far I’ve come and where I’m headed.
Is Life Coaching for You?
I want the same kind of energy and motivation for you to accomplish your dreams. I want you to “trust your knowing”, as Glennon Doyle puts it. When an opportunity taps you on the shoulder and you feel pulled to it - you go for it. That’s what certification was about for me. Listening to and acting on something I truly wanted to do, just for myself.
You probably have things like this too. Are you pushing them away or leaning into them? Even if it’s scary. It’s time to take the leap!
How to kick an unhealthy eating habit to the curb
Have a habit you want to change, but don’t know what to do next? This post guides you through the steps of generating positive feelings, reflecting, and making change on your eating habits.
Are you overeating and regretting it afterwards? Eating too many snacks after dinner? Skipping breakfast because you're out of time in the morning? Do you constantly Google- Do I eat too much?
You're not alone. There are many unhealthy eating habits and patterns that we get into over time. They usually don't start overnight, but they can be hard to shake.
The first thing to recognize is that shaming and blaming yourself isn't going to get rid of that habit.
How do you feel when you think these thoughts?
I should be able to stop eating after dinner.
I should be able to feed myself breakfast in the morning before I leave for work.
I should stop eating these unhealthy snacks.
Feeling guilty? Or some other negative emotion?
Feeling guilty doesn't make us want to take the actions we want to take. It usually makes us want to run away from the problem or hide it.
Too often my coaching clients think they can "should" their way out of a habit or into a new one. It doesn't work.
What does work is generating inspiration and determination.
Those feelings come from different thoughts, like:
I know I can change this eating habit.
I can do anything I set my mind to.
I can figure this process out, step by step.
Many other people have done this before me.
I'm looking forward to figuring out a healthy eating habit.
The key is to find the thoughts that work best for you. They have to ring true and generate positive feelings for you.
Then you'll be able to take the actions you want to take.
You'll look back at your food tracking diaries to see what patterns are emerging.
Maybe you notice that every work day at 3:00 PM you wander over to the vending machine. Seeing that pattern allows you make a shift.
Then you can say, "Instead of going to the vending machine, I'm going to pack a healthy snack the night before." Try it. See if it works for you. If it doesn't, readjust. Small tweaks can make all the difference. They add up very quickly.
You might also notice a pattern of eating more at night. A lot of people trying to lose weight can stick to their breakfast and lunch plans, but struggle in the evenings. Recognizing that's a normal human pattern is important. It's called ego depletion.
As the day goes on, our decision making abilities get fatigued. It isn't something to beat yourself up about. It's something to recognize and adapt to (see how to conquer self-control).
You'll also be able to question the thoughts you believe to be true.
If you say something like, "I need dessert after dinner," you can question that. Is it true that you need dessert? Or has it become such a habit, that you aren't even sure if you need to do it? Try a night without it. See what happens. How do you feel afterwards?
Another common thought is, "Eating this cookie will help relieve my stress." We think eating makes us feel better. Eating as a reaction to a feeling isn't a strategy that works for us long-term. It's a way to buffer away our true feelings.
If you're feeling stressed, the key is to allow the feeling of stress. It won't last very long when you actually allow the feeling. You can even start to shift with statements like, "I'm feeling stressed, which does not mean I need a cookie." Try it, see if it works for you. Write down what you notice.
As you do start to change your eating habits, build in rewards.
If you've figured out a habit you want to change and make a plan to change it, what reward will you get? We all thrive on a reward system. If you avoid the vending machine for an entire week, is there something else you want to spend that money on? Is there an experience you can gift yourself (e.g., pedicure)? Create a system for yourself to succeed and something to look forward to in the future.
And don't try to change all the habits at once.
Many of us dive head first into 5-10 new habits all at once. We also have a knack for doing it right when everything else is stressful. The semester is ending, there's a work deadline looming. So we take on "healthy eating habits" like it isn't going to be too much at once. Habit building takes time. Give yourself grace and compassion in the process. Write yourself a permission slip to work on one healthy eating habit at a time.
Extra inspiration:
Want to work on your eating habits through life coaching?
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How to Stay Healthy with the Holidays Quickly Approaching
It’s easy to say that the end of the semester is brutal and you might as well give up until the new year. Wait, not so fast! Does it have to be that way? This post breaks down the thoughts in an intentional way.
It's easy to give up on the rest of the year right now. The semester is busy, final projects are due, and everyone seems to be exhausted.
"Oh we only have a few months to go, might as well give in."
"The holidays will be here before we know it."
"It's gotten cold and all I want to do is hibernate."
"I'll start a new diet in the new year."
Are you saying any of those thoughts to yourself right now?
You're not alone. It's common to do. But those thoughts can change.
Unintentional Model
Circumstance - The holiday season is approaching on the calendar.
Thought - Time is slipping away and I might as well give in.
Feeling - Dissatisfied
Actions - Eating extra cookies, avoiding getting on the scale, avoiding exercise, overdrinking
Result - Overindulging and giving in
The result of overindulging feeds right back into the thought of "Time is slipping away and I might as well continue to give in." It continues on until it's the new year and you're still feeling dissatisfied.
I used to be in this unintentional model too, especially with the stress of the academic semester. I thought I couldn't help it. I was giving in with everyone else. I could just keep repeating the same cycle.
But nine years ago, around this time, I reached Lifetime Status in Weight Watchers (WW). That means I was starting the journey of maintaining my weight (within 4 lbs of my obtained goal). It would have been easy to eat the holiday cookies and zone out. I could have patted myself on the back and said I'd get back to work in the new year. But I was on a mission to maintain my weight.
So I worked on my thoughts and created a different model.
Intentional Model
Circumstance - The holiday season is approaching on the calendar.
Thought - I am still going to maintain my weight and stick with my plan.
Feeling - Motivated
Actions - Looking up ways to eat healthy at parties, sticking to just one cookie, staying active in my workout plan.
Results - Maintaining my weight and sticking with my plan.
See how the very same circumstances existed in both models?
It was the thoughts that changed. Changing the thoughts then led to different feelings, different actions, and results that fed back into the thoughts. If you’re new to models, they were created by Brooke Castillo of the Life Coach School.
The hard part about the end of the school year isn't that it simply exists.
We've told ourselves a story that it must be difficult and overwhelming. We encourage each other with this negative story. But it's just a story. We don't have to believe it.
You must know that's true because you're reading this post.
You're looking for ways to stay healthy this holiday season. Remember, it isn't just the action that leads to staying healthy. It's the thoughts you get to choose, that lead to feelings, and then the actions. If you don't believe something will work for you, you probably won't do it.
Positive Affirmations for this Holiday Season:
- I am a healthy person.
- I make healthy decisions.
- I feel clean and light when I stick to my plan.
- I enjoy finding healthy alternatives at holiday parties.
- I am choosing great options for myself.
- I want to feel good in both December and January.
- I can enjoy myself without eating everything at the party.
- I am enjoying the process of staying healthy.
- I enjoy taking care of my body.
- Every month out of the year counts, including the holidays.
Other Ways You Can Stay Healthy this Holiday Season:
Spend time around other people who are choosing positive thoughts about the holiday season.
Ask for others to join you in making healthy decisions.
Remind yourself of the bigger picture. Why do you want to stay healthy in general?