***Part I: Susan Isn’t a “Survivor”

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written by Coach Meg

Susan isn’t a survivor; Susan is a thriver. And, she thanks God for it every day.

Susan’s Introduction

I met Susan at the Harvard Conference on Coaching in Leadership and Medicine in September 2009. At the end of a session, Susan stood up in a room packed with 300 people and introduced herself to the audience. Susan is not a coach, however. She came to the conference in a desperate state, looking for answers. After being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer a few months earlier, Susan was in what she describes as a “downward spiral.” Feeling overwhelmed by stress, loss, and fear, she hoped to find techniques for coaching herself. And she longed to find a new purpose for her life. Her plea generated an outpouring of support from dozens of conference attendees. Susan knew she was in the right company.

Susan Begins Coaching

Shortly after the conference, Susan and I begin our coaching partnership. Our first session focused on those things that are already working in her life. We explored what makes her thrive, including the importance of her deep connections with friends. Because she has been blessed by several intimate and reciprocal relationships, Susan has learned much about the way she wants to engage with others in the world; she wants to increase her own capacity for empathetic listening and collaborative communication so that she may better serve others.

Susan and Synchronicity

A few months later, on January 4, the 10-year anniversary of my first sitting down to found Wellcoaches, facing a blank sheet of paper, health and wellness coaching were prominently featured in the Boston Globe in the article: “When a coach may help: An alternative to traditional therapy focuses more on the potential of the future than the problems of the past.” Susan’s photo and story of how coaching had saved her life were featured in the article.

Next week, I’ll share Susan’s reflections on our first coaching session and her journey…

Listen to Susan and Coach Meg here:

http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm110301_1.html
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm110301_2.html
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm110301_1.mp3
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm110301_2.mp3