Michaela Horan Coaching

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A recommendation from a mutual friend got me thinking about coaching. I had a very strong sense that things were in transition, that opportunities were on the horizon and that I wanted to grab on to all of that and run with it! In a busy and hectic life, I wanted the opportunity of taking an hour every week to think about myself and then have the time to explore those thoughts.

During and between sessions I experienced clarity. Many a-ha moments. Surprise. But also the sense that I do know what I am and what I can do and what I can be, but that I needed a nudge - and the tools - to reconnect with all of that. Also, a building sense of what I was moving towards, with every week that passed. Moments of real emotion also. Realising how important it is that I be true to myself so I set the example I want for my young daughter. And of course the compromises I can’t allow myself to accept. Big stuff.

I learned again how to walk my own path. I regained the self-confidence to realise that I can follow my own way rather than trying to fit in with others. Being brave! Being adventurous! Daring to dare again! Planing the life that I dreamed of. I remember sitting in a London cafe and talking to Michaela on the phone, and writing out what it should look like. And it’s happened.

You’re in safe, trusting and soothing hands with Michaela. She guides, she asks great questions, she challenges but never in a forced way. I felt like she could see what my possibilities were and had confidence in my ability to fulfil them. She’s also very good at clarifying and summarising what I told her and making great sense out of things. Michaela’s great. She’s a lovely person. She knows about real life - juggling work with children and changing careers and managing a relationship and all the other big stuff in life - and that comes through in her approach. I’d highly recommend her as a coach.
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“Michaela is bright, perceptive and has a rare ability to tease out of you the answers that were always lying within you but you couldn’t quite find on your own. For me, my starting point was ‘I don’t feel that I’m fulfilling my potential’. It was a feeling I had tried to explore many times before, both on my own and with friends, but I always felt like I was going round in circles, asking the same old questions and failing to get satisfying answers. Thanks to Michaela’s fantastic coaching skills, I have finally identified what I really mean by that statement and what I want to do to fulfil that potential. She enabled me to let go of certain things and focus on others. She concentrated my mind on what really drives me, what energises me, what I want to achieve and what I want my future to look like. Everyone needs a Michaela at certain points in their lives.”

“I was quite sceptical about coaching when a friend mentioned it in passing. At the time I felt that I was shouldering a lot of ‘stuff’ both work and personal, that I perhaps wasn’t dealing with as well as I could. I wondered if coaching would help me be the best me.

The first thing I experienced after booking my first session was nervousness! I was worried that I would be judged and felt very unsure of myself. Within the first few seconds of my first session these concerns disappeared as Michaela instantly put me at ease and helped me relax. It felt very much like a natural conversion with a friend and at no point did I feel ‘coached’. My misconceptions quickly disappeared….I thought it would be full of wishy-washy lingo and dare I say it, a little pretentious for me. I feel embarrassed about just how wrong I was.

Michaela gave me the ability to create visual representations of my emotions and play out various outcomes which allowed me to come up with answers/actions myself. This was something else I was not expecting…I imagined you would give me the answers which I would then have to go away and implement.

The biggest thing I learnt was to be able to quickly understand what is really important in my life and therefore prioritise, process things more clearly and act accordingly. It is easy to get caught up in ‘life’ with all the responsibilities, jobs and errands but my coaching helped me take a step back and implement cognitive reasoning to situations, which allowed me to determine what outcome I wanted and what was required to make that a reality. The best part of this is that I find myself doing this now without thinking about it, it’s such a natural habit.

Just do it. No mucking about, just dive straight in and you will not be disappointed. I make no apologies about how cliché this may sound as it is 100% true: I am a happier, more focused person since Michaela’s coaching sessions (and that really isn’t a ‘me’ thing to say!).”

“I was beginning to feel less confident about my role at work with a lot of self doubt creeping in. At the same time, I was questioning my parenting abilities. I wanted to take a closer look at why I was feeling so vulnerable and unable to take decisions without doubting my myself

During the sessions I felt safe and calm and valued the opportunity to stop rushing around and take stock of my thoughts and feelings. Through discussion and reflection I began to understand that my “I’m not good enough” feelings were connected to vulnerability is not necessarily a negative thing. In between sessions, I always had a task to complete. I gained immense energy from hearing the “saboteur voice” and the difference I felt when I started to work on the voice of certainty. It was remarkable to hear myself saying things out loud and starting to take risks on purpose which led to a more confident and happier me.

I am able to recognise when I am going down the road of self criticism and how undermining that is for my sense of welling being both at home and at work. I am able to put myself forward believing that I have a positive contribution to make (step into the arena!) . When I see vulnerability in friends and family, where they are feeling disconnected, I feel better equipped to help them to be kinder to themselves.

I felt safe and contained with Michaela from the start to the finish of the coaching. A few months on, I am still thinking about opportunities to shine rather than hide my light under a bushel and I have a much more positive sense of self and feel I have a contribution to make. Go for it!”

“I was actually in a space where I wanted business coaching having started up my own freelance consultancy. I was already with a Therapist so did not want the life coaching element or at least I thought. There was something compelling about Michaela and her approach so I decided to keep it up once she was clear that this was life coaching.

Michaela was excellent at both deep and authentic listening and helping me reframe problems in fundamental ways. Each session went somewhere unexpected, and I felt that I was being heard. She is good at spotting the gremlins and restrictions that I place on myself, and helping me live a more open and expansive life. Michaela was quick to work with me, from where I was. My sessions were highly visual, and have built lasting way markers for the nearing future I desire more than anything I have ever desired.

A different perspective on challenges and broadening of the choices that are available to me. So many of the choices I make are the result of operating in the half-pipe that has been carved into my psych through time and experience. There is very little choice in them at all. Michaela helped to plane some of these grooves to a smoother surface from which different options present themselves.

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“I hadn’t considered coaching before a friend mentioned it to me. If I’m honest, I didn’t really know if it would benefit me – but I knew that I needed some help making some changes in my life.

My sessions with Michaela took place via Skype and they were fantastic. Most sessions focussed around exploratory questions, reflective discussion and useful visualisations – amongst other things. I found myself being able to analyse and explore my feelings, experiences and values in a completely new light. Over the course of our sessions I found myself becoming increasingly confident to make changes in my life – in a way that I just couldn’t before. Between sessions Michaela gave me tasks to work on and report back on. Having ‘homework’ between sessions helped me to keep on track and helped to ensure that I continued to progress outside of the sessions themselves.

I don’t want to sound over the top, but the benefits have been huge. I have found that I now approach perceived problems or obstacles in a different way. With Michaela’s help I have made some small, but big impact, changes in my life – and I now spend less time worrying about what I ought to be doing and more time doing the things that I love. I can honestly say that I feel more fulfilled and satisfied with my life than I did only a few months ago :-)

Do it! Regardless of whether you think whatever you are struggling with is big or small – in my opinion everybody could benefit from coaching. ”