Kathleen’s Story

Oct. 07, 2013 - Nancy

I shared with a previous client that I was going to launch a website and asked her if she would be willing to write a few sentences about her experience. What I received was this eloquent testimonial about her journey. I hated to just choose a few sentences because I believe she captured the thoughts many people have as they evaluate their current circumstances and their ability to make changes. You don’t have to do it by yourself…

When I received information from my employer, they were offering a “wellness coach”, I initially thought this was for nutrition and weight loss only. I did not realize the “wellness” part meant each aspect of your life. At the time I was working on becoming healthier and more fit and having a “wellness coach” would help give me that extra little push I needed to stay on track with my weight loss, so I signed up for the program right away. After our first meeting, I realized this was not just a coach for “weight loss”, but a “life coach”. My first concern was if I was ready to make changes and how would I do it…would I fail? Was I ready to be open and evaluate myself honestly? But the thought of having someone there to assist me was exciting too, because I was not only going to be able to have the support and encouragement for help in my weight loss journey, but I would also be receiving assistance with other aspects of my well being. This was going to be a lot of work, but I was open and willing to work on those things in my life. In doing so I could hope to bring a real balance to it. One of the first things we talked about was setting goals. I had never taken the time to sit and write out goals… “where did I want to be….what did I desire”? Taking time for myself, filling out the pie chart circle, putting down goals, setting ways to achieve those goals, and evaluating and making behavior modifications, with the principals that you taught and your encouragement (not telling me what to do, but asking me questions) helped me make some lasting lifestyle changes. I learned the importance of re-making and evaluating goals from time to time in order to continue to improve my lifestyle or bring it to where I want it to be. It is so easy to just go day to day about our lives and let complacency become the norm and it was definitely something that I had done in my life, before this program. Now I try to take those valuable lessons: setting self determined goals, evaluating how I will achieve them by using my internal strengths and external resources, and then making those behavior modifications to find a balance and achieve where I want to be. Have I perfected it…am I where I want to be? That’s the beauty of it…you can’t fail, you can continually re-evaluate and start over….but the principals you taught remain and they all start by setting and making a goal. So, I guess the most valuable part of what I learned and took away from coaching is to quit whining about what you want and or what you don’t have and find a way to change or get it and it all starts by “setting goals”. Thanks for being my coach, your simple, straight forward, sincere and inspiring manner has helped me make some real lasting lifestyle changes…and they all started by setting a goal.

What changed for me because of coaching:

I am better off financially, I have a romance, I have maintained my weight loss within a few pounds (still have a goal to lose more), I am training and advancing in my work.

My mantra: “It’s possible…it’s my choice…it’s up to me. Set a goal.”

- Kathleen Bonifazi