What exactly is it that brings plans/thoughts/ideas/wishes to life and provokes change? For me, motivation to get things going is often triggered from outside. This is my story of how and why I decided to take a different career path.

It all started when Emma bumped into my life almost four years ago. Things began to get their own momentum very quickly. I always thought that having a dog in a city like Vienna is not the brightest idea – how wrong I’ve been, but that´s a different story. Back in early 2012 I seriously started to question my career – it´s not that I hated what I was doing (and btw. still do), there was just something missing. But thinking was as far as it got then. No need to rush things, right? So the thoughts and the wish to change „something“ was there and the months passed. In 2013 I decided to take in a foster dog, just for a couple of weeks – after all, how difficult could it be to find a home for a dog? So here she was – bruised and battered and in a very bad health condition. I´m not quite sure when exactly I knew she´d stay forever. On her first day? Within the first hour? When I first saw her? I really can´t tell. This day was a game changer, for all of us. New life, new rules, new responsibilities. We all had to adapt our lives to the new situation. Looking back, that´s what I was waiting for. A reason to start something new. I seriously started to think about what I`d love to do in career terms that includes her as well – this came as a necessity after all, for I couldn´t take her with me to my office, and what I was looking for was a way to simplify my life and make hers better. It took me a while to find out, but one day my plans were clear. Coaching and Psychotherapy. And I took the first steps.

Let´s jump to November 2016.
Level 1 “Coaching” (the short term plan) completed – I love to work as a coach, and as far as today I made very good experiences with including my dog when working with clients (note to myself: maybe a new topic for blogs to come – animals in client focused work settings like coaching or psychotherapy).

waiting for our first client

Emma accompanied me when I met my first client. She was there when we walked through the woods (just have a look at „coaching & walking“), and she was there when we worked in meeting rooms. I founded my own little coaching enterprise in fall 2016.

Level 2 “Psychotherapy” – I`m going to start my internship, which means working with patients for the first time, in December. I do hope I´ll manage to take Emma with me too (depending on my future patients). So this looks promising.

I guess up until now things worked out quite okay. What´s your story – tell me what it was for you that made things „going“!