When I Finally Believed My Own Story

Harvard 2024.

Today marks one year since I crossed off one of those bucket-list dreams I’d carried with me for years.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a nerd: instead of wanting to go skydiving, I’d always dreamed of having an academic experience at Harvard.

When I decided to fully commit to earning my coaching certification, I researched programs and, in addition to studying with the #HealthCoachInstitute, I found Harvard’s Leadership Coaching Strategies program at #HarvardDCE.
I gave it my all — even broke my piggy bank — and enrolled.

The moment that marked me

One afternoon in class, as I was taking notes, my instructor Madeline McNeely said something that made me sit up straight:

“...this is inspired by the work of Fernando Flores.”

I felt a chill run down my spine.
Had I heard that right? Was I dreaming?

That name instantly transported me back to my 20s in Chile.
As an Industrial Engineering student, I had spent two years in the Fundación Mercator workshops led by Flores.
That’s where I first learned about “Conversations for Action” — the powerful idea that language doesn’t just communicate, it creates realities.

In that moment at Harvard, I realized nothing in my journey had been random.
The path I had once walked “in parallel” came back full circle, showing me that coaching was, in fact, my true place.

 It was as if all the puzzle pieces finally clicked together.

The moment I doubted myself

That certainty grew even stronger shortly after.
Another instructor, Clara Angelina Díaz-Anderson, asked for a volunteer to be coached in front of the entire class.

My heart started pounding like I was running a marathon.
The insecure voice inside me chimed in right away:
✦ “Don’t do it, Sofía… you’ll expose yourself too much.”
✦ “What if you’re not good enough?”
✦ “What if you embarrass yourself in front of everyone?”

For a few seconds — which felt like forever — I was frozen in that inner battle.

But then I remembered something I had been practicing through a #PositiveIntelligence program at the time:
I recognized that voice wasn’t “the truth”; it was my Judge and saboteurs trying to “keep me safe.”
What was really behind it wasn’t incapacity — it was fear of the new and unknown.

I chose to lean on the powers of my inner Sage:
✦ Explore: stay curious and ask, “What can I learn from this experience?” instead of assuming the worst.
✦ Navigate: fast-forward in my mind and ask, “Will I regret, years from now, not taking this opportunity?”
✦ Activate: acknowledge the fear, recognize the saboteurs, and take the step anyway — toward what I truly wanted.

That mix of curiosity, perspective, and action pulled me out of the block and made me say to myself:
☞ “Now or never.”

I took a deep breath, raised my hand, and stepped forward.

The coaching conversation with Clara was direct, honest, and profoundly liberating.
She guided me to face my doubts, acknowledge them, and release the armor I had built years earlier when I left my stable career at the Ministry of Economy of Chile.

Back then, I’d left behind a secure job, the prestige of the title, and a big part of my professional identity to focus on my family — first my eldest daughter, who was born with health challenges that left me sleepless for nearly a year and led to postpartum depression; then my two other children. All without close support from my mom who was not living in Chile, and with my dear mother-in-law often unavailable. It was a difficult time and I had much less support than I needed.

Later, I returned to occasional consulting, but it never felt the same as the stability and recognition I’d once had.
My inner Hyper-Achiever reminded me of that every day, chipping away at my self-confidence.
It’s heavy when we tie our self-worth to external factors: titles, recognition, or others’ opinions.

At Harvard, standing in front of everyone, trembling inside and gripping a fidget toy to steady my nerves, I discovered something essential:
Coaching isn’t about having all the answers.
It’s about asking the right questions.

 It’s about creating space — with humility and courage — for vulnerability and transformation.

A new beginning

That was the day I finally believed my own story.
I understood that coaching wasn’t a hobby or a side interest; it was at the heart of what I had always wanted to do.

Since then, connecting the dots —as Steve Jobs would say—, having experienced the power of coaching firsthand (first in my twenties and, more recently, over the past year) and having spent 2025 accompanying many others as a Health & Life Coach, I’ve come to realize something essential: I am exactly where I want to be.

I feel like a fish in water — not as a “master coach,” but as a passionate learner who honors the beginner’s mindset: eager to keep practicing, learning, and growing.

Looking back, I’m deeply grateful: those workshops in my 20s were the seeds that, decades later, finally blossomed — right on time.

Reflection

Life often invites us to take small steps guided only by curiosity — even when we don’t have the full map.
We don’t always see the meaning at first…
until one day, like my moment at Harvard, everything connects.

☞ Certainty doesn’t come before you act.
It shows up after you dare to take the leap.

✎ If you’re in a season of doubt and searching for clarity, maybe it’s time to believe your own story, too.
And if you need support on that journey, I’d be honored to walk alongside you — send me a message.

#Leadership #Storytelling #CoachingJourney #ConversacionesParaLaAcción #VidaCoach #Purpose #Courage #AuthenticLeadership