Jenn’s Story
By the summer of 2015, I was at the end of my rope. On paper, I had a well-paying job, a nice home, wonderful friends and a supportive family.
BUT.
I felt empty. Whatever band-aids I’d applied to hold my life together were coming apart. I knew I had to do something. But what? I’d tried therapy before but that didn’t feel right for this moment. I thought about a travel adventure—something that had previously brought joy. But… meh.
In my desperation (and by this point, I was desperate), I scoured the pages of a catalog for a retreat center in the bucolic Berkshire Mountains. I came across a workshop with Martha Beck. I had never heard of her before (or been to a retreat center), but something about the description grabbed me – “peel away the layers of socialization to reveal your essential self.” I thought about how I was talking myself into staying at a “good job” in a “nice city” that had both long since lost their appeal, because I couldn’t envision something better.
The workshop changed my life forever. Turns out I didn’t need a journey to a foreign land, but one deep within myself. The universe agreed when it gave me a Kia Soul for my rental car. I was going on a journey in my Soul! From that weekend on, I stopped worrying about what I was doing and started thinking about a different way of being. I hired a Martha Beck-trained life coach, who was instrumental in helping me clear away the cobwebs and imagine a life worth getting out of bed for. Today, I live in a place that nourishes my soul every day, my work/life balance is, well, balanced, my relationships are stronger than ever, and I am building a future that excites me. Although trials continue (after all, I do live on planet earth!), I am better equipped to manage the ups and downs and make positive meaning out of them.
Becoming a life coach for me is built on years of helping teachers find inspiration and sharing that with their students, on mentoring and coaching fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and colleagues and on my own personal exploration. In addition to being a certified life coach, I hold a certificate in mindfulness and degrees in fine arts and public administration. I have worked in the private, non-profit and government sectors in the US and overseas and have worked independently in the creative and consulting fields.
I don’t have all the answers about my own life, and I certainly don’t have the answers about your life – only you have those! What I can offer is the wisdom gleaned from my own transformative experience and the top-notch training I’ve received. I like to think of life coaches not as sages but as fellow travelers, who are just a bit farther along the path than their clients and reaching a hand back to help. If you’re ready to get on the path, I hope you’ll grab my hand.