After 9.5 months, I finally graduated from Newfield’s Certified Coach Training Programme (ICF Level 2-Accredited Program) last Sunday. This program trained us to be of PCC-level competency in our coaching.
How do you fully capture a year that was filled with life lessons and self-actualisation, that I carry with me as I continue growing my Being as an Ontological Coach?
I was positively overwhelmed, and spent the past 5 days trying to process the entire thing. Then, I concluded, my first attempt at reflecting will be:
- Through numbers, and
- The English language simply doesn’t do my experience justice. So, I turned to Google Gemini to help me find non-English words that can begin to describe all that.
The Numbers, Over Nine and a Half Months
- ~100 hours of conferences including powerful somatic dance and tension-release classes
- 62 hours of teleclasses with masterful ontological coaches worldwide
- 12 hours being coached and mentored by 2 deeply experienced coaches
- 25 hours of small-group learning & peer-coaching with peers
- 50 hours completing 7 discovery & coaching assignment guides, 6 books, with in depth inquiry of self, of others, and attaining knowledge, skills and competencies on my ontology & ontological work with others
- > 80 hours of 1-1 coaching clocked with 25 clients from 6 countries whilst in the programme
- 1 written examination at the end
- In between the ‘activities’, a lot of mental, emotional and physical effort put into practising my ‘way of being’ differently from my past defaults, with the intention to develop and reinforce a wider Mental, Emotional and Somatic range.
I’ll Start With Three Non-English Words:
#1: Paideia (Greek): holistic development of an individual’s mind, body and character
The journey taught me that true transformation of ourselves, from a version we aren’t satisfied with to one that’s more satisfying or productive, begins from within us (Being), and not from our Output / Actions.
#2: Ethos (Greek): character, moral nature, and ethical principles, inner qualities that define a person
The success of an intervention lies in the inner state of the intervener.
Aligning my inner state (body sensations, emotions, beliefs) with my outer state (body language, actions, behaviour & verbal language) constitute wholehearted, authentic presence to best serve my clients, colleagues, family, friends.
With my clients’ wellbeing at heart, holding space for them with care and gentle irreverence, I can never do them wrong.
#3: Meraki (Greek, Turkish): heartfelt investment of one’s soul and passion in an activity, reflecting a deep sense of care and dedication.
I coach with ‘meraki’. That’s how I identify with this word.
I’m aware there’s the ‘high’ of completing a long programme, but, what remains unchanged is the relationship I have with coaching / self-work since I embarked on this journey 10 years ago – energised by gratitude, joy, confidence, humility, compassion.
On The Last Day of the Newfield programme
I received a letter which I wrote to myself, 9 months before (May 2024):
“I want to thank myself for FINALLY listening to my heart and body and treating them right. It has been a long time coming.
I want to thank myself for choosing to live for myself, for choosing to be open to thinking, feeling differently, for choosing to be alive differently, as a human becoming”.
Reading this brought me to tears. ‘Cos I’ve worked so hard the past 9.5 months to be a better human for myself and the people around me. I saw how much I’ve grown thus far, and I cried out of acknowledgement for myself, and in looking ahead to what’s to come.
The Journey Ahead
So what’s next? The same ‘old’ i.e. coaching clients, podcasting, holding workshops, etc. But, I say this with a buzzing excitement in my body, a smile on my lips, a sparkle in my eyes.
If you resonate with what I wrote, however so, leave me a comment or ping me separately. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
If you’re interested to be coached by me, you can expect that I’ll hold our coaching relationship with respect, kindness, yet just a bit of steelness/ firmness so we can get real work done together (and not waste your time and money 😉). I will partner you through a coaching process, for you to find your own answers to the questions / problems you may currently be living in, to achieve powerful, lasting results in your personal and professional lives.
Ping me to learn more about the ontological & NLP coaching I do at Dasein Partners, and explore if this is for you and how we can best work together =)