​Profile

The roots of becoming a life coach can be traced back to my high school days

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A child's role is to live his or her own life, not the life that concerned parents think he or she should live, or the life that serves the purposes of educators. These are the words of Alexander Sutherland Neill, the founder of the Summerhill School, the oldest free school in England. When I was a high school student, I was fascinated by his beliefs, and I was eager to help people live their own lives and to be involved as much as possible at the beginning of their lives, I obtained a kindergarten teacher's license and a nursery teacher's license.

 

However, in reality, in order for preschools to survive due to the declining birthrate, they tended to focus on increasing the number of things children could do, such as arithmetic and musical instruments, rather than valuing their individuality and developing their potential. I couldn't find a place I wanted to work, so I did a complete 180 and went to work for an advertising agency.

 

"I feel as if I lived here 300 years ago. I want to live there again." That's how I felt when I visited New York for the first time for training. Seven years later, this feeling was still growing in my heart. Then, I made a big decision. I moved to New York with the intention of studying there for a year, not being able to speak English and having no guarantee of living there.

 

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My Dream Life in New York, International Marriage and Divorce

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I realized my dream of living in New York, studying English at an English school and ESL at a university, met friends from other countries, met the person I would marry, and realized that dreams can come true if you don't give up. Besides New York, I lived in Ohio, California, and traveled across the United States for six weeks, which was a valuable experience.

 

I worked at a non-profit organization where I planned and ran culture classes for Japanese people living in New York, and at a Japanese real estate company where I provided move-in and move-out support for Japanese expatriates. I also worked in marketing, advertising, and sales support for Japanese IT companies.

 

In my personal life, I have experienced international marriage and divorce in the United States. I am grateful for the American family and culture, as well as the many things and encounters I was able to experience being married to my ex-husband. After the divorce, my friends and family supported me to get back on my feet, and I asked myself, "What was it that I wanted to do, but couldn't during the 11 years of marriage? The answer that came to me was coaching. To be honest, when I moved to the U.S, I mainly spoke in Japanese for Japanese companies. My English was fine for daily conversation, but learning English and Coaching in English was a big challenge.

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Coaching made me realize something important

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After learning coaching, I realized how much I had not taken care of myself in the "real" sense of the word. Due to my painful childhood experiences, I had always believed that I was not very valuable and that in order to be valuable, I had to work hard and be accepted by others.

 

Co-Active Coaching's view of humanity is that people are " naturally creative, resourceful, and whole" that there is nothing lacking in them. This "unshakable faith in human potential" reminded me of the belief of Alexander Sutherland Neill, the founder of Summerhill School, who impressed me when I was in high school. It also reminded me of my passionate desire to help people live their own lives to the fullest, in their own way. Now I want to fulfill that passion as much as I can as a life coach, as the mission I was born with. I have come a long way since I was in high school, but I believe that if everything happens for a reason, it was necessary for me to have the various experiences necessary to fulfill that mission.