Will the Real Health Coach Please Stand Up?

Hi, I���m Angelle Batten, IIN Class of 2005 (Live Program) and 2012 (Distance Learning Program), and founder of AngelleBatten.com, where I teach moms to feed their family healthier one manageable step at a time.  Along with health coaching, you���ll find me hanging out with my husband, three kids, and big black dog Oliver.  I have been known to travel for days just to eat at a real foods restaurant and I collect more recipes than I could ever possibly use. You can connect with me on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

I remember that even as I was on the phone enrolling at IIN back in 2004, I was questioning my sanity.  ���Me�Ķa Health Coach? Really?  I already have my Masters in Education and I actually love teaching.  This is crazy.���

But I also remember the buzz I felt inside every time I read about IIN���s Health Coach Training Program ��� the guest teachers, the curriculum�Ķthe way graduates were so passionate about helping other people.

When I tuned into my gut, it was a no-brainer.  Sign-up. Don���t overthink it.  Because when I started to think too much about whether I could actually be a REAL Health Coach, the self-doubt didn���t just creep in.  It jumped in and took over.

���Can I really help people?���  (Even though I was already doing that for free.)

���Can I keep up with all the learning when I have three kids under five?��� (Even though I was already squeezing in hours a week of reading about nutrition and health on my own already.)

���Can I handle what my friends and family are going to think about me becoming a Health Coach?��� (Even though they already thought I was a health nut.)

And the very practical question�Ķ

���Can I afford to do this, not to mention make money doing it?���

It���s been almost eight years since I decided to listen to my gut and go with that little buzz I felt when I imagined myself becoming a Health Coach.  So what���s happened since?  That one door has opened up and I���ve created opportunities and experiences I never imagined (or would have felt confident enough to pursue) when I enrolled at IIN.  I���ve coached and taught thousands of parents and children; I partnered with a physician and created an online business; I co-founded a national non-profit and launched it with the actress Selma Blair; I���ve connected with leaders in the field like Dr. Mercola, Sally Fallon-Morrell and Dr. Josh Axe.

And you know what?  In the midst of all these accomplishments, some days I feel like a game show host with perfect hair and a smooth voice is going to walk in and ask, ���Will the real Health Coach please stand up?���  And, for a minute or two I will be looking around to see who she is�Ķonly to realize she is me.

Every time I���ve talked with another Health Coach about not having the confidence to do this work, they describe feeling that same self-doubt.  It���s normal, and actually a bit healthy.  This little bit of ���I���m not sure I can really do this��� helps keep us grounded and authentic. 

What I���ve learned is that the confidence and certainty you want to feel about being a Health Coach, whether you���re just thinking about enrolling at IIN or you���ve been coaching for years, doesn���t just fall into your lap.  You can���t wait for the day you have total confidence before you step into this path. You don���t find confidence and no one gives it to you.  You create confidence. One. Manageable. Step. At. A. Time.

This past month I launched my first virtual program. Talk about having some self-doubt.  Despite all the coaching experience and the knowledge I have, I almost didn���t push the ���go��� button on this project.  I almost let self-doubt stop me. But the Universe gifted me with 70 people who signed up.  Seventy people who trusted me �Ķ the real Health Coach. 

Talk about nervous.  But, one manageable step at a time, sometimes barely feeling like I was a step ahead of where I needed to be, I rolled out the program.  And, with every action I took in this new adventure, I created more confidence.  The feedback from the moms has been so positive.  And they are asking me for more coaching support. 

I wish there were a magic smoothie recipe I could give you and you would have the confidence to step into your dreams as a Health Coach.  Instead, what I want to tell you is that you just have to take the first step�Ķand then the second step�Ķand one step at a time you create that confidence you so want to feel.  With each person you coach into living a healthier happier life, you realize this decision was the best decision you could have ever made for yourself.