PART I: Being Coached.

In the first half of the year, I had the opportunity to work with an inspiring Co-Active Coach. While it initially felt like I was 'getting fixed', it eventually triggered an overdue shift from an "outside-in" way of living to an inward-oriented exploration. This helped to clarify what matters most to me, to articulate what I truly want even though it seemed impossible to achieve, to identify my personal life transformation plan, and to have the discipline, courage and drive to pursue specific small and big actions to get there.

PART II: Receiving Coaching Training.

Realizing that anything is possible when you have a champion by your side who sees strengths and potential more than failures and weaknesses, I decided that I want to be that champion for others. I completed the CTI Co-Active Coaching and Positive Psychology curricula to further learn about my Self and to acquire techniques to help others experience the same.

Applying coaching techniques also in my role as a corporate leader, I came to appreciate coaching as an invaluable skill for every leader who truly puts their people, human connection and (mental) health first. Coaching practices are tremendously empowering and energizing.

While being busy transforming my own life I also continued my coaching education. I dove into trauma-informed leadership practices, firmly believing that trauma awareness can tremendously benefit the corporate world and enable individuals to live more of their potential. I also explored body work (chiropractic, shiatsu, ayurveda) as a way to maintain holistic balance and wellbeing. It is fascinating how much our upbringing and life experiences impacts how we look at the world and our ability to live free from fears and limiting beliefs and experience joy and lightness.. It also gets in the way of taking care of ourselves, others, and certainly the world around us, today and in the future.

2022 was an important year for me. An unexpected curveball gave me the opportunity to learn to engage with my feelings at a deeper level and to truly "grow through what we go through", and also heal past wounds. My default coping mechanisms used to be fight or flight responses, which were useful in the moment but did not help me build capacity for more resilience, growth, and self-agency. These responses also left me feeling lonely and alienated from one of the things I care about the most: deep connection to others.

Throughout the year, my mind learned to be more self-compassionate, my heart communicated its feelings more clearly, my body understood that being with difficult emotions can be safe and result in more aliveness, and my spirit began to appreciate the space it was finally given in my life.

I understood that being all of me in this world starts with being connected to and loving my Self but also includes engaging with others and allowing them to see me holistically. Choosing attend-and-befriend over fight, flight or freeze opened up the possibility for disrupting old patterns and replacing them with those that truly serve me.

I decided, after almost 20 vegetarian years, to become fully vegan, and to further move toward, and actively promote, a plant-based, cruelty-free, wildlife-friendly lifestyle. I also decided to take a bit of a break between chapters to enable a healthy transition - personally and professionally. To declutter my life, mind and soul and create space for something different - a lighter, peaceful, more purposeful, joyful presence every day.

The ability to enjoy the Now and to experience aliveness requires living a life in accordance with one's values and full acceptance of all we are - every day, all day. Authenticity means not only knowing and being true to yourself but also being genuine, real and visible as such to the outside world with consistency, vulnerability and integrity. In that state, mindful, attuned living through healthy, balanced daily choices regarding, for instance, one's diet, activities or connection with nature and people becomes a natural source of energy and grounding rather than something that needs to be managed or handled.

Living with less, sharing with people and animals in need, doing work that plays to one's uniqueness, feeding one's body, mind and soul with food that is nurturing, and living in a place that gives you the space to be: We landed in Berlin, in one of the centers of plant-based, outdoor-active adventure living. A place of diversity, full of contrasts, polarizations and triggers. A place to be and to grow.

More specifically, I landed at ESMT Berlin, where I transitioned into group coaching.