Life Coaching - for the TEFL life change

Life coaching for a successful relocation abroad

Life Coaching can help you realise your career-change plan. Many of us at Cactus TEFL have taken the plunge to live and teach English abroad. The reasons for opting for TEFL are extremely varied, though tend to fall into two main categories. Firstly the “Gappers” - those who go abroad for a year or so, either to take time out before embarking on a career or possibly have some time out of working life. Secondly, TEFL is used as an all-important source of income and a stepping stone to permanent change.

It might be that you are currently considering the latter option - ending a successful career in one area to move to into TEFL - an area where you may have precious little experience. If so, we think it’s important to take into account the full implications of making this move.

At Cactus TEFL, we will always be there to encourage you and listen to your projects. We have found that in these circumstances we can do a lot to explain to you what it will mean to teach abroad, how each day might pan out, and what sort of problems and issues you may encounter, and what prospects you may have in the particular country you have in mind.

Clearly though, when you take on something of this magnitude, attending a TEFL course and sourcing work forms only a small part of the whole process of changing your life!

We’ve therefore spoken to Claire Bradford from her Sussex life coaching organisation Straightforward Coaching which coaches clients from all around the UK and US looking to accomplish a wide range of lifestyle moves. Claire has also coached competition winners from Channel 4's A Place in the Sun Magazine as well as being published in a number of living abroad publications. Claire has also first hand experience of leaving a previous job to go and teach English in France!

What did you find the hardest thing about quitting a career to teach English as a Foreign Language? Did you have any regrets?

I’d been working in London in magazines such as Vogue and Harpers & Queen. It was a job that had huge amounts of potential, so I suppose it was the nagging ‘what if..?’ questions - “What if I didn’t like TEFL?” “What if I didn’t get a job?” “What if that golden opportunity came up with a magazine, just after I’d left?…
As it happened, I found out two weeks into my first teaching job in France that my (previously) dream job had come up in the office where I had been working, but by that time I was enjoying myself so much that I didn’t care! Why would I want to be working there when I was living in France, meeting new people, enjoying teaching and generally having a whale of a time?
Of course, there were times when I felt a bit lonely at first, but TEFL gives you the opportunity to meet so many people, I didn’t stay lonely for long. No, I can honestly say that I had no regrets whatsoever about it.

So you’re a life coach now. How does life coaching help people?

Put simply, working with a life coach helps you to achieve your goals faster than you would do on your own. It is a powerful relationship where you set the agenda and the focus is completely on you and what you want to do with your life. As a life coach, I do not give you the answers but, by means of challenging questions, I enable you to find your own ways forward and motivate you to act on them.

What sort of people use a life-coach?

Anyone and everyone who wants to have some kind of direction in their life. It may be a direction away from something (e.g. any job but this one!) or it may be towards something (e.g. teaching English in Tuscany), but it’s not standing still! Coaching is forward focused and proactive. You don’t come to a life coach to have your problems fixed, you come because you want to be in the driving seat of your life.

What advice can you offer to those thinking about taking the TEFL plunge?

I think that the most important thing is to check that TEFL is what you really want to do and isn’t just a convenient escape route from a job or situation you feel trapped in*. TEFL, although extremely rewarding and a lot of fun, is incredibly hard work, and you need to be sure that you are ready for this.

If you have decided that TEFL is what you definitely want to do, then think about where you would like to work, how long you would like to do it for and what additional experiences you would like to have whilst teaching. For example, some people may want to be based in the UK and use their TEFL qualification as a ticket into a new teaching career. Others want to travel the world whilst teaching a succession of short-term contracts. There are many reasons why people want to do a TEFL course, but it is important that you are clear about your own reasons, expectations and aspirations, otherwise it is too easy to get blown off track. Write them down - right now - and you just might surprise yourself with how excited you get about your plans!

* If you do realise that the only reason you wanted to do TEFL was to escape, don’t worry - I can help you too! I coach people contemplating all sorts of life-change situations. You may not end up doing TEFL, but you will get out of the situation you were unhappy with in the first place.

So how can life-coaching ease the huge changes that occur when people make such a radical career change?

By giving you the chance to spend some quality time with yourself - time you can use to check that this change is in line with your beliefs and values, time to visualise what your future life will look like and time to work towards getting to that ideal future.

For example I can coach you towards a decision about TEFL (the course is a big investment of your time and money and you need to be sure it is the right move for you) or I can coach you on your plans post-TEFL course - where you want to be and what you want to do.

If you want to go to Spain, it is easy enough to get yourself there physically - you just buy a plane ticket - but I can help you to get there mentally and emotionally too, so that you arrive knowing that this is 100% what you want to be doing with your life.

Importantly, as a life coach, I’m impartial. Parents, friends and colleagues all have their own agendas and reasons why they might want you to stay where you are. The only agenda I hold is yours.

Life Coaching usually takes place over the phone at a time to suit you and sessions are normally weekly for between four and twelve weeks.

To book a FREE 20-minute taster session, or simply to find out more, visit Claire's life coaching site, or click here to send an email.