After finishing the mentoring process of my life coaching training earlier this month, I’ve passed all the requirements to become a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach. Or as some people call us, “Wayfinders.”

During my Wayfinder training, some things I’m proud of include…

• Being one of the youngest people EVER to be certified as a Martha Beck Wayfinder Coach
• Accumulating DOUBLE the practicum hours required by my training program, and doing so several months before the training ended.
• Becoming one of the first coaches to be certified in my 2020-2021 cohort.

As you’ve probably seen, I’m a huge advocate of celebrating wins, and even though it’s been two weeks already, I’m choosing to celebrate AGAIN thanks to a pep talk from one of my closest friends.

To celebrate, I had takeout butter chicken last night, and this morning I took myself to the grocery store and bought a yellow rose to put on my desk while I work. And let me tell you, it really does feel brighter over here.

If you’ve accomplished something you’re proud of recently, or not so recently, I dare you to celebrate it just a little more. It might feel awkward at first, taking yourself to do something that will brighten your day just a little bit, but why the heck not?

Do it, seriously.

What is a Wayfinder?

I know this word sounds funny, but over the last year it has become really significant to me. Why? Because throughout my work with clients over the last few months, I’ve heard dozens of people say “I want to make the right choice,” “I want to find the right thing to do,” or “I want to do this the right way.”

And that’s one of many ways we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves.

Being a Wayfinder involves knowing that no-one has to find THE right way to accomplish anything. We just have to find A way.

You don’t have to know the right way to overcome whatever challenge you’re facing. You only have to find a way to overcome it.

When we’re laser focused on finding the “right way” to do anything, we cut ourselves off from our own creativity.

Therefore, we cut ourselves off from “ways” forward and other options that are available to us. We miss opportunities and end up feeling trapped.

Wayfinder coaches are meant to help people locate their own way out of that mess.

And I am so passionate about creating that experience for people.

My “way” to becoming a coach has been different than other coaches, and that’s part of what has made this process so wonderful (and also challenging!). But without living that Wayfinder mindset, I would not have made it this far, let alone have set myself confidently on a trajectory to creating a life I love.

Words cannot describe the feeling I get from knowing I am exactly where I want to be. And that I got here “the right way,” which was “my way.”

“You’re certified? What does that mean?”

By definition, it means that I’ve demonstrated competency in the skills outlined by the International Coaching Federation’s Core Competencies (The ICF is the gold standard of the coaching world).

Professionally, it means I am trained to facilitate the development of my client’s personal, professional or business goals AND to help them develop a strategy/plan for achieving those goals.

Personally, it means I get to serve others in the best way I can imagine: by being exactly what they need. A trusted teammate, a listening ear, a friend who never fails to show up with patience, with openness, with transparency, with empathy, with compassion.

And although there is much more to do to build my business into what I know it can be, I’m absolutely committed to finding a way to make it happen. My way.

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Did this post resonate with you? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me a message to share your thoughts. For more uplifting content, check out some other posts on my blog, follow me on instagram @morgan_barbret, or sign up for the Self Love Atlas Newsletter!

Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret