Breaking myths and redefining myself

Breaking myths and redefining myself

Like many of us, the memories of my childhood echo the conflict between my true identity and fulfilling expectations to fit in. I lived as a non-resident individual aka an expatriate since the age of 3, which added layers of borrowed identities, that created speed-breakers in my road to self-discovery. I played the expected part of fitting in pretty well as an A-grade student, earning degrees from well-known educational institutions, climbing up the corporate ladder and making more and more money in the process, which should have equated to happiness and content. 

Shouldn’t $$$ = Success in life? 

It did not feel so. I disliked the person I had become. I felt ashamed and like a failure. There was a huge void inside, which all the assets I had acquired so far, could not fill. So, in 2017, at the age of 38, I left it all behind and embarked on a path of search mode to fill it. A sabbatical of 2 years, a response to a Mindvalley Facebook campaign (I come from a Brand/Advertising background, so I’m not a gullible consumer - kudos to the marketing messaging!), and following a voice from inside – “Click on this Anika – walk through this door”, gave me the raft support in the unfamiliar, unknown ocean of non-clarity in my life at the time.

I went through a personal transformation journey 2018-2022, peeling off the layers of my borrowed identities, discovering and redefining my true identity, that gave birth to a new version of Anika – every aspect of my world transformed with the intent to be a better version of myself with each passing year, month and day. Then, came around Evercoach. My brain lit up, though I had never thought of being a Coach. In fact, I struggled with a deep limiting belief that I could (or, perhaps would) never be anything in the realm of guidance or teaching. This was driven by conflicting views from my childhood, when I felt pressured in the 14 years at school, under the shadow of the credibility of my mother who was a respectable and highly-revered teacher at the same institution. Her stature created expectations by everyone from the staff to the Leadership for the 'Top A-grade student daughter' which became my identity at the time. 

This old layer in my new mould was severely challenged, and proven a MYTH, thanks to the empowerment I gained through CLC, in my continued redefinition of who I am and who I want to be:

 - While I had transformed many aspects of my old self and overcome several limiting beliefs, I still struggled with self-doubt on the new career and professional world that I have been weaving last few years - I changed my process, my clients, my methodology, my approach, kinda breaking the conform, but it was unfamiliar and scary. This self-doubt is now replaced with confidence and self-esteem, by defining my purpose as serving the world to be a better place, which I do through my work as a Research/Strategy specialist to companies, and as a Transformational Coach to individuals. The pieces fit and the circle is complete now!
 - I used to believe in the mandate to please everyone, so I would feel loved and needed, but this invited toxicity and abuse into my personal and professional world. The negativity is now replaced with self-love and taking a stand for my values, that enable me to give myself permission to create boundaries that attract healthy relationships. These new relationships are nurtured and bring colors of growth and positivity to both mine and others' worlds. 
 - My self-inflicting limitations of worthiness, abilities and capabilities of being anything in the realm of teaching were absolutely shattered during the course of this 4-month journey. 2 months into the program I was approached by a large startup accelerator to serve as a Mentor to their startup founder international community, which I would have found every excuse in the world to shy away from, had it not been for the transformation that I was going through on the CLC program. With great apprehension, I showed up, was fully present, and mentored 10 founders over 2 hours, getting me a permanent spot on the mentors panel - one of the most gratifying experiences that I have ever had, which will have a special spot in my memory bank for a long time. This was only because of being at a new stage of abundance, unlimited potential and an empowered set of beliefs thanks to CLC.

Thank you Coaches Ajit, Siddharth, Fran, Fio, and my wonderful tribe of beautiful empowered courageous souls from Evercoach, for enabling me to discover parts of my desired, ideal self, which is a constant #WOA, one that I now nurture every day with the seeds of support that I am able to plant in the transformational journeys of others.

Thank you for one of the most cherished gifts that I have ever received, helping me become a Certified Life Coach, which I never imagined or believed in, and so didn’t even seek, but to my biggest surprise of life – I absolutely love and comes naturally to me (Who knew?!). :)

I am at the happiest state of self that I have ever been, embracing my new identity – Coach Anika is a jacket that fits like a well-tailored piece to me.

This achievement is dedicated to Coach Ajit and Coach Sid, along with the entire support staff at Evercoach and Mindvalley for bringing this empowering opportunity to so many of us worldwide. My humble gratitude and best wishes for the continued efforts that each of you puts in to create a more positive, compassionate, conscious world.