
29 Mar Navigating the Challenges on the Path to Mastery
Sometimes, we can get in our own way and unnecessarily burden ourselves, especially when pursuing something we deeply desire. Can you relate? That eagerness for a job, the nervousness building up so much that it seems to hinder success? I recently had a moment of self-awareness about this.
On March 31, my certification as a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) is set to expire. Over a year ago, I decided to attempt certification as a Master Coach, a step higher in the journey. Little did I know what a transformative journey it would be!
The ICF sets some of the strictest standards. Apart from an array of additional training, regular mentoring, and a minimum of 2,500 coaching hours, one needs to submit audio recordings of two coaching sessions with corresponding English transcriptions that meet the requirements of a master coach. This presented a significant challenge.
Over the past year, I recorded 18 coaching sessions in English. The mere thought of recording a session made me nervous. The recordings often didn’t go smoothly; sound issues, mismatched topics, or dissatisfaction with my own role were common pitfalls. As time passed, compounded by the loss of a loved one and the demands of my regular work, the pressure intensified. In the final weeks, the pressure to achieve perfection in recording mounted.
But you know what? It didn’t work at all! It only started working when I shifted my focus from the end result to simply being relaxed without any expectations during a coaching session. Putting it into perspective also helped: whether achieving MCC certification happens now, in six months, or in four years, I am on the path to becoming a better coach, and that’s a beautiful journey! I’ll keep you posted 😉