Graduate Spotlight: Kim Kimball on Becoming a Life Coach

Kim Kimball is a Somatic Leadership Coach. Learn more about her at KimKimballCoaching.com

What were the specific worries that you had about what other people might think of you becoming a coach?

When I became a coach I was transitioning from being a Doctor of Physical Therapy. As a DPT there is a certain level of intellectual elitism that occurs within the field that made me worry what others would think when I made the switch: would they think I was taking a huge step back in my career? Would they think I’d lost my mind and having a life crisis? Would they look down on me? 

Were you more worried about what your job would think, or what your friends and family would think, or what random strangers would think?

I was more concerned with what my job and co-workers were thinking because of an internal pressure I felt to make my career as a Doctor of Physical Therapy a lifelong one (as most people in the field do) after such a long educational track and so much student loan debt to have that career. 

I felt supported by my friends and family, but coworkers and bosses did occasionally make outright snide comments about me being a life coach. 

How did you move through these worries, specifically? What actionable strategies did you use? 

When I worried about what bosses and coworkers were thinking, I used it as a cue to return to *my own thoughts and beliefs* about making a career transition to being a coach and why I was making that choice in the first place. 

I reminded myself that I did not like being a DPT and was not thriving in the work itself or with the work schedule. And I reminded myself of how I came alive when coaching, and how it felt as natural as breathing to me, in a way that physical therapy never did. 

In short, I grounded myself in my own choices (in both my body and mind) and allowed them to carry more weight than others opinions. 

I also practiced learning to be with the somatic discomfort that came up knowing that others didn’t agree with me and had their own less than supportive thoughts and feelings about this change. 

By practicing being with that discomfort somatically, it no longer made me spin out unconsciously or made me reflexively avoid stepping into my own truth based on that discomfort. 

What have you learned about how to handle it when you worry what other people think, since? 

At this point I recognize that everyone is going to have opinions-and they get to have them. 

I don’t have to spend time convincing them or proving myself. 

My truth just is. There is no defense necessary. 

Their opinions are formulated through their own values, experiences, and worldview, and have no bearing on my own choices. 

It feels so freeing to be able to somatically and cognitively allow others the freedom to think and say what they wish, and continue on the path that I know is meant for me.