Compass In The News

Life coach helping women “reconnect with themselves’

by Laura Cummings
Article online since July 10th 2008, 14:18
EastOttawa.ca

Better than most, Joan Jesion understands the pressures of the "hustle and bustle" lifestyle most women experience day-to-day.

After spending 18 years in the direct sales field, the Orléans resident recounts how between her chosen profession and focusing on "being my children's mother and my husband's wife" her own identity was lost in the mix.

Now a life coach with Compass – a program targeted at women looking to reclaim balance and personal fulfillment – she says juggling separate worlds like work, family and other commitments is a struggle for many women.

Jesion, who helped host a Compass workshop for local women last month, explains that a large part of what can be gleaned from life coaching is how to pull yourself from the bottom of your own "to do" list and make individual growth and development a priority.

Calling on the example of airline passengers always being cautioned to put on their own oxygen mask first, she says women often allow "our breath to be taken away from us" by placing themselves last.

"(Women need to) focus on the things that are really important to you," Jesion adds.

As for her own foray into the realm of life coaching, she recounts that the move into the personal development field was no accident. Her sales career – spanning almost two decades – acted as a good precursor to coaching, Jesion explains, watching women "blossom" under her tutelage.

"I was always doing the coaching part," she continues, adding that she loved to see the personal growth and transition the women would experience.

After completing programs with Coach U, a global coach-training provider Jesion launched a life coaching company. Coming across Compass' website (MyLifeCompass.com) last year, she says she was intrigued by what it had to offer, even using some of the site's materials for self-study.

"We just eventually connected," Jesion recounts of the program founded by Kim Fulcher, a well-known author and entrepreneur. "I had been circling it (for a while)."

Compass offers "coaching for every woman," she says, with a cost scale and accessibility that fits into most budgets and schedules.

A range of program options are available, Jesion explains, from a self-directed program to twice-monthly phone calls with a coach to in-person group meetings.

It's also an opportunity to convene with other women experiencing identical issues, she continues, whether directly or through the website platform.

"We're all dealing with the same issues," Jesion says, adding that the camaraderie and understanding that can be gained from women in similar situations is often a major help.

Life coaching is fitting for women who feel "‘my life is okay, but something's missing’ … for women still looking for that balance," she explains. And while there's no magic catch-all formula, Jesion continues, finding balance is about determining what works in each individual's life.

"We're all struggling to feel good enough," she adds. "Women need to take time for themselves."