My coaching journey started in July 2013. Until this point, I had never even heard of a life coach. How could I have known that it would change my life?
Ash Nayate
At the time, I was working in three part-time jobs as a clinical neuropsychologist.
I had landed sought-after positions in paediatrics, and I thought I was where I wanted to be. I had a good job and fancy title, a loving husband, a beautiful home, and living in a wonderful city in the greatest country in the world. However, I was experiencing a sense of unease in my work. Whilst I loved working with children and young people, and I was enjoying the intellectual challenges of my job, I wondered if there was more I could be doing to help others.
I was also uneasy in my personal life. My husband and I had been trying for several years to start a family. We’d been through the rigmarole of medical testing, and the problem was me. My body was not doing what it was supposed to. There was no medical explanation for what was happening. My blood work was perfect and scans were clear. I was fit, healthy, and active. I was told that medical intervention would be needed… and I was mentally preparing myself for that journey.
And then, one day in July 2013, as I was idly flicking through a book, the words “life coach” jumped out at me. I’d read those words before, but this time they stuck in my mind. I contacted a few schools in my area, and TCI was the clear stand-out. Within a day of signing up on the TCI website, I received a call from the wonderful Fiona Mangano. We had several conversations over the subsequent few weeks – conversations unlike any I’d had before. Her enthusiasm and spirit were infectious, even over the phone, and I found myself becoming increasingly excited about the prospect of coaching. I received the starter kit and I realised that coaching might be the way forward, not just professionally, but also in my personal life.
“I hadn’t yet made the decision to join TCI, but I knew something had to change. I had put my life on hold, telling myself that I needed to have children to be happy. After some introspection, I resigned from one of my jobs, and felt instant relief. I soon signed up with TCI and did my intake weekend in September 2013”
The weekend was intense, and incredibly profound.
By Sunday I was renewed. I knew with absolutely unyielding certainty that I was exactly where I needed to be. I walked out of TCI on Sunday evening feeling truly powerful.
In the weeks that followed, I threw myself into learning everything I could about coaching and about myself. I loved everything I was discovering and receiving, and I quickly realised that helping myself to become happy was the greatest gift of all.
And then, the medically “impossible” happened. Exactly five weeks after my intake weekend, I took a positive home pregnancy test. My heart skipped a beat. The world stopped turning. And from that moment, I realised that anything is possible.
So it began, my journey as a coach and as a mother-to-be. Over the last six months everything has shifted. Just as new life is being created in me, I can feel my true self also emerging. I’m learning to listen to the quiet whisper of my own heart instead of the screaming expectations of others. My perspective on life is changing every day, serving to strengthen my resolve to help young people and their families. I believe that to create a global shift in happiness and wellbeing, we must start with the adults of today and tomorrow. To that end, I have created “Revolution Me”, to proactively promote mental health and positive mindset in ourselves, children, young people, and families. I truly feel the power of my own revolution, and I am humbled and blessed to be able to share this with the world.
Ash Nayate
