Emotional Fitness® Listening Coach in training, BA,
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Natalie Fougère
coach in training
Hello! My name is Natalie Fougère. I live in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada where I am surrounded by my amazing family & great friends.
In January, 2021, Michelle, a great friend of mine, talked to me about the Emotional Fitness® approach. It resonated with me very much. Michelle, who has known me for over 20 years, was well aware of what kind of person I am. With that foreknowledge, she believed in the many skills I had to offer and how this listening approach would be beneficial to me.
I have always been passionate about human development and studied psychology while at university. However, I felt I needed to be in a place where I could directly help people move forward in their lives and at the time, I was not ready.
When I started taking my coach training course, little did I know how powerful this would be in my own life! I am discovering so many things about myself- things that 'help me be a better me'. Now, I know that while listening to others around me, not only can I do this without taking anything on my shoulders, but each time, I always receive 'food for thought' which helps me learn new things about myself.
Emotional Fitness® life is about working together to become stronger, supporting others while feeling supported, trusting myself through every process knowing I can be authentic no matter what, connecting to my past to better connect to my future, regularly evaluating the balance between my satisfactions and frustrations, and much more!
What I love about Emotional Fitness® Life is that even if I live my own individual journey, I am never alone getting through it. One step at a time, I am moving forward and I take advantage of every opportunity I can to grow.
My Story
MY EMOTIONAL FITNESS ONGOING JOURNEY
For quite some time, I have been reflecting on what having an Emotional Fitness life means to me.
Being blind since birth, I am no stranger to facing challenges throughout my life: constantly navigating through familiar and unfamiliar areas using proper safety measures, working extra hard to prove myself and my abilities in various situations, dealing with people who, without knowing who I really am, assume what I can and can not do, and the list goes on.
I grew up in a wonderful family with amazing parents who still support me fully today, which helped me get through many of those challenges. However, our family was so focused on helping others and being 'that rock when times are hard' that I quickly registered being part of that mold in my mind at a very young age. This also meant that I had been programmed to not put myself first, that I needed to always be kind, helpful and polite, which are, don’t get me wrong, excellent qualities I am blessed to have.
The problem is that, by being the person I thought I needed to be, I did not always listen to myself and I was often forgetting that I needed to be supported as well. I was investing so much time in helping and listening to others that I often felt completely drained, exhausted and absorbed in other people’s stories. I was carrying so much weight on my shoulders and I always thought I needed to be 'super woman' and 'solve everyone’s problems'. As long as people around me were happy, I needed to be happy, because that’s all that mattered.
Why did I still feel like something was missing in my life? Why did I feel as if the same situations were happening to me and that I was feeling so stuck? It took me many years to figure out that the one key element that was missing was "taking time to listen to myself' so I can change the narrative, the unserving beliefs, the strong feelings & emotions. Theone key element was 'the amazing Emotional Fitness® tools'.
Now that I am working on becoming a licensed Emotional Fitness® Practitioner and part of the Emotional Fitness® Life Team, I know I am exactly where I want to be.