Ashlee R.

Life Purpose Statement

I am a loyal, growing force, resiliently dancing through.

As you progressed through the coaching journey, how did it change things for you?

I became more aware – and more accepting – of the fact that my emotions are my own and are not something to be feared but rather explored. I became more willing to look at what was behind the way I was feeling in certain situations in order to move forward and overcome situations I found myself in rather than just standing in those emotions, assuming I was powerless, and being a victim to them.

What strengths do you feel you have deepened an understanding of from the experience of coaching?

Self-awareness, resilience/ability to overcome situations, the ability to impact a situation and people around me, and, while not a strength yet, I developed an ability to look at a situation from multiple perspectives. I am continuing to practice this regularly when I find myself hanging out in the victim place.

What new strategies have you developed as a result of coaching?

Spontaneous positive feedback, recognizing and quieting my gremlins, and channeling my captain, especially when in a new or intimidating situation. And, while this wasn’t a tactic directly covered in coaching, because of your passionate and positive example, I will occasionally catch myself and think “what would Mara do” when experiencing a more pessimistic reaction to certain situations and this serves as a reminder to both utilize some of my coaching strategies but also channel a more positive outlook on the situation. I now possess an ability to think “learn from it” rather than begrudge it.

How did you surprise yourself through coaching?

I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be able to open myself up to coaching and allow myself to fully disclose some of what I felt throughout our coaching. Being able to do so surprised me. I also hadn’t realized how much my Restless saboteur was keeping me from being present to the experiences I was having, and I was surprised by how I was able to address that in so many areas of my life, especially on the personal relationship side, upon discovering it. I was surprised by how I was able to take certain concepts from coaching and teach them to some of my team members for their development as well.

What do you see as the major insights or breakthroughs you made through coaching?

My biggest insight was recognizing the Restless saboteur and my 2nd greatest insight was finding that there is a place for emotions and vulnerability, even in the workplace, and I should not hide from that. Also, leaning on an advocate in more difficult situations has been extremely helpful and, overall, made me less afraid of constructive feedback when realizing it’s in service of me.

What was the thing you benefited from the most in coaching?

Recognizing and controlling my restless saboteur – I now enjoy the moment so much more, know how to recognize when I’m not, and take active steps to overcome that. I’ve been significantly more fulfilled in my relationships because of this and don’t miss as many opportunities to make the most out of a situation the way I definitely did pre-coaching.

What will you now do differently?

I will share how I’m feeling, especially at work, rather than stewing or remaining in the victim place. I will focus on the moment I am in instead of only focusing on and expecting future things to bring happiness. I also take more active steps to identify what is behind a heavy emotion instead of just bringing them recklessly into my relationships and expecting others to fix how I’m feeling.

You know my life’s purpose is to radiantly illuminate passionate possibilities for you to live empowered. How was I radiant?

Your enthusiasm for my success and well-being shined and created a safe place for me to really step into where I was at and move forward from there. After just a session or 2, rather than dreading that our sessions may be emotional, I looked forward to what we could accomplish in just an hour and for what I would learn to be able to tackle work and relationship woes with success, moving forward instead of letting myself get bogged down by certain negative emotions. Your passion allowed me to see what was possible for myself and then be willing to take the steps to get there through our sessions.

What was illuminated?

How I was operating and interacting with the people and situations in my day to day was illuminated and allowed me to realize that I was embracing complacency in the absence of restlessness rather than all things that are possible as the alternative to restlessness. Additionally, the image of who I want to grow to become as a person is now more fully outlined, defined, and clarified so I have something clear to be working towards rather than a blurry concept or unrecognizable idea.

Where did you connect to passion? Where did you see me connecting to passion?

I connected to passion in the excitement I felt over getting somewhere in our coaching and experiencing or realizing a perspective I hadn’t previously considered, usually resulting in my overall progress. I saw you connect to passion everywhere. I don’t mean that as a cop out answer either; I never felt like I was a chore or like our sessions were just something that you had to do during your day, but instead that spending that time with me might be the brightest spot of it. I think that, underneath everything, most of us are just trying to find people who care to really get to know and understand them, at their core, and I believe you are one of those people who is willing to really dive in and peel back layers rather than settling for what a person shows on the immediate surface. You possess a selfless passion and excitement for connectedness that I do not believe a lot of people strive for all the time. Because of this, I felt safe sharing and, for one of the first times I’ve experienced, felt comfortable leaning into trust rather than holding on to certain things until further investigation of you and our relationship.

What’s possible because of coaching with me?

Having a fulfilling, happy life right now and not only after certain things have happened, I’m living in a certain place, and/or working in a certain career, and I am able to recognize when I’ve stepped away from that realization and into more victim-type or restless thinking in order to bring myself back.

What does living empowered mean to you?

Remembering that I’m worth it and taking the steps necessary to feel that for myself rather than expecting it to come from someone else or tolerating/making room for something or someone that makes me feel unworthy.

What 3 adjectives would you use to describe Mara?

unapologetically passionate, impactfully full of positive life, exemplary

It was incredibly difficult to pick just 3 which is why you get some statements rather than single words.

What would you say to people thinking of working with me?

Do it! You will discover things about yourself you didn’t even know, and it will impact your life in ways that you won’t know or maybe even fully understand going in but that you will look back on and be eternally grateful for having had the experience.

Any other comments?

Only thank you. I do not feel that anything I could write for the questions above can truly explain the impact you’ve had on me, and I will carry these lessons with me forever. I also appreciate that, out of the experience, I’ve gained a wonderful friend too. I am not sure that everyone comes out so lucky so I am very grateful that I have gotten that from our time together as well.