Why I Decided to Become a Coach, P.2

By my seventh year working as an instructional designer, something inside me started to shift. At first, it was subtle — a strange kind of numbness. I wasn’t caring the way I used to. Deadlines felt meaningless, expectations didn’t move me, and the image I projected at work suddenly didn’t matter anymore.

For years, I had told myself I wanted to be a senior specialist, a leader, someone important. But looking back, that wasn’t my soul speaking — it was my ego. The truth is, I’ve always been a natural leader, not through titles but through ideas, perspectives, and the courage to see things differently. I just never allowed myself to step fully into that identity.

And then it happened. Burnout.

I remember the moment so clearly — March 2025. I simply… stopped. Stopped caring, stopped pushing, stopped pretending. My whole system shut down in a quiet, terrifying way. I recognized that face of burnout immediately.

My psychologist told me to take two weeks off, to rest, to breathe, to do nothing. And in that stillness, something deep inside me woke up.

During those two weeks, a voice — calm but firm — kept whispering: Enough. Move. This chapter is over. You don’t belong here anymore.

It wasn’t running away. It was returning to myself.

I remembered that back in the fall of 2024, out of curiosity (or intuition), I had bought several coaching courses. I wasn’t even sure why at the time — I was just drawn to positive psychology, journaling, human behaviour, and the idea of helping people grow. I had read The Coaching Habit by Stanier and loved it. I had collected books, saved links, taken notes… almost like my future self was quietly preparing me.

And suddenly, in those two quiet weeks of burnout, it all made sense.

What I needed wasn’t a promotion. What I needed was purpose.

So I went back to those coaching programs. And on weekends, while recovering, I began practicing — little by little. Coaching sessions, reflective exercises, journaling, learning… and something inside me lit up.

That’s when the idea came: What if I combined English with coaching? What if language learning became a space for women to connect, grow, reflect, and feel seen?

In the beginning, I imagined something simple: An English club for women like me — curious, thoughtful, eager to talk about real life, not grammar worksheets. Women who wanted to speak English, yes, but also wanted depth, meaningful conversations, personal development, community.

Around the same time, I had just finished reading Leadership for the New Female Manager by Karina Sanchez — a book that shook something awake in me. Suddenly everything aligned. It felt like puzzle pieces falling perfectly into place.

So in May 2025, I built my first training — mixing leadership, personal development, and English. It was like stepping out of the woods after being lost for years.

And it felt… like coming home to myself.