In this testimonial, the client (Speaker A) reflects on a transformative coaching journey. She describes moving from feeling "small" to feeling "right-sized," experiencing a boost in innate confidence, and deepening her connection with her children. A key influence was Brené Brown's Daring Greatly, which she applied to herself and her family. She became more aware of her parents' "soundtrack" and chose to author her own story, recognizing generational differences and rejecting the notion that everyone is "fine." The client reports a waning of perfectionism, a conscious effort to protect her energy, and an overall improvement in quality of life. Professionally, she rediscovered a career purpose she first noted in a 2020 HR document—advocating for culture and guiding strategy—now serving as her "North Star." She feels clear about her career trajectory within the company and shares this vision openly.
Chapters
I was reflecting over the week at parts, but really like sat down this morning and started writing my notes. And I was looking back at all the, the notes that we have taken, that I take, that I have taken. Very different person. Very different. So I made a huge long list of wins and new learning.
Let's walk through those wins. Let's walk through those amazing wins.
Okay. Um, in no particular order. I went from feeling really small at the beginning of our relationship to feeling right-sized. And what I like about that and not feeling like I'm big and this massive being, I feel like I'm so happy right where I am, right? Like, I don't want to be anything else. I don't want to do anything. Like, what this is is awesome. And so I just feel right-sized.
Oh, so proud of you.
Right. Thank you. Because I was, I was reflecting back on— I'm going to get emotional because I'm— it's crazy. I feel like I have this innate confidence now. You know, I've always had confidence. I'll be confidently saying that I've always had confidence. It just exudes a little bit more, which is nice. My connection with my kids has leveled up immensely. So I think at the beginning of our conversation, we did a lot of work, or you suggested Daring Greatly, right, by Brené Brown. And that was a transformational book for me. I used that for myself. I use that with my family dynamic. I use it with my son still and my daughter. So one of the things that does play in my brain a lot, and it has, but not as much anymore, is my, my parents' soundtrack, like what my parents have delivered to me. And taking the time to be aware of that throughout the last, like, 6 months. I mean, I've always known it was there, but I feel more empowered for my own story versus my parents, right? We're in a— and this comes a lot with like the learning that I'm doing around like the new generation that's coming up. Like, there's stark differences with generations, and my parents, I'm sure, were very different than their parents, and they wanted to be too. And so it's a natural feeling for me to not want to be like them necessarily, but like there's more awareness out there now. There's more learnings. There's— I can't stand when people are like, well, I turned out— if I did this, I turned out fine. I'm like, we're not fine. No one's fine. Like, everyone's struggling, right? Don't tell me that. So it just, you know, can we cope with things? And who's coping with things the best, right? Kind of thing. Um, separating that perfectionism, that obsessiveness, is going to be really interesting. So I'm going in with a very open mind, like, okay, I need to protect my energy while I'm going on this trip. I don't have to be buttoned up every moment of my life. So that feels like a really cool win.
I want to, I want to call that out. You don't have to be buttoned up all the time in every part of your life.
No.
So that perfectionism is waning a little bit.
It totally is. And I feel like I have confidence because I have my own family and we're doing great.
So has your quality of life improved because of all this?
I would absolutely say so. Yeah. And in the same, like, up into the right type of direction, it was— I got more confident in my job because it wasn't as new anymore. I was getting positive feedback all around. So together, I think, really just helped me get my footing. And what was so funny is I was going through some of my notes I was cleaning out my OneNote and I found a note that I made in 2020 that was my HR notes, you know, so official. And it was literally, I wanna work with employees to help guide the strategy of the company, to be an advocate of culture, developing strategies of the business with the people in mind. So I've never wavered from that. Like that, I would probably write it a little more eloquently, but I would, I was in 2020, it was 3 years ago. And that's still the same drum I'm beating in a different format. So it was really exciting to like ground myself in that North Star, that sense of purpose. I'm also really clear on my career development and where I want to go within the company. I say it to everyone so everyone knows. And I say, you know, Carolyn, whoever this woman is, Carolyn's my North Star. I'm going to take some stops here and there. I don't know how long they'll be, but I'm gonna take my stops. But like, right now, that is where my train's going. And so that— I've never been more clear about what I want to do.
