Mastering Life Transitions: Empowering Tales of Resilience and Self-Belief with Christy Nguyen-Ho

Have you ever felt the world crumbling beneath your feet as you face a life-altering transition? 

Meet our guest, Christy, a life transition coach specializing in aiding women through seismic shifts in their lives - be it in relationships, relocation, or career shifts. In this heartfelt discussion, we chat about the dynamics of change and the importance of building a healthy mindset to cope. Often, we are our own harshest critics who limit ourselves. Christy reminds us that we are capable of much more, and that we don’t need anyone's approval to pursue our dreams.

Our conversation then veers towards a tale of resilience shared by a guest who braved a breakup and the loss of a parent. This led to a courageous decision to set up a new life in Spain at the age of 30. We delve into the lessons they learned, the growth they experienced, and the power of hard work and self-belief. We also touch upon the importance of self-worth and the role it plays in overcoming challenges. This episode ends on a powerful note - a reminder to always prioritize self-care, retain a positive outlook, and to believe in our worth and potential, regardless of the adversities we face. This isn't just a podcast episode, it's a journey towards self-discovery and personal growth.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello there, everyone, and welcome back to another wonderful episode of the Overcome Yourself podcast. As you know, my name is Nicole and I'm so excited to be here today with Christy, and Christy is another one of Brooke's amazing clients. Shout out to Brooke. We always give her a shout out when she recommends her clients on my show, and so Christy, take it away. Tell us a little bit about you and all of your awesomeness.

Speaker 2: 0:29

Well, my name is Christy and I live in Sunnyside, spain, with my partner. And a little bit about me. I have a little bit of a background in psychology and then I transitioned to adult education where I got my masters, but in between I got certified as a life coach and so I've been a life transition coach for the past I don't know 10 plus years, and I transitioned to Spain, so that's where I'm living now. A fun fact about me is that I love gelatos, and so everywhere I've traveled, my partner will always say I'm looking for the first place that has gelatos.

Speaker 1: 1:12

That is awesome. That's delicious. So tell me a little bit more about your business and how you help your clients.

Speaker 2: 1:24

Yes, perfect. So what I do is I'm a life transition coach, and so I love supporting women through their transition process, and it's for in various layers, whether it's relationship, going through a different stage in life, moving, changing careers, because it's something that I have personally overcome. So the majority of my clients nowadays is this I help them to transition in all aspects of their lives.

Speaker 1: 1:55

That is amazing and that is so cool, because I remember I think it was like I've gone to like a psychologist's office or something and they've given me a form and they're like have you had, you know, when you're depressed? And they're like have you had any of these major life events? And what are they? They're moving, they're like leaving a relationship, having a baby, getting a new job, and so we know that these are very, very high stress situations and so I think it's really, really cool that you specialize in, really just in that, that key demographic, because it really is so important and often overlooked. So can you tell me a little bit about you know, like the fundamentals? Like what is, you know, one of the biggest tips that a lot of your clients you know? You always, you know, like we have like a certain thing that a lot of clients they comes back up again and again. So what is that for you and how do you navigate that? How do you help with that transition?

Speaker 2: 2:52

So it varies, right, it depends on what type of transition it is. You know, nowadays a big load of my clients is going through a career transition. So in the career career transition, it's depending on what age you are. Most of my clients, as I am in my early 40s, a lot of them are also a little bit older, and not to say that, I also have some, some people that are in their 20s that are trying to figure out what it is that they want to do. So those two types of profiles are very different. They have very different needs.

Speaker 2: 3:29

So I wouldn't say that I have a specific tip for each for for both of them as for one, but I think in each case I think, for example, a woman who is transitioning, who's older, we have a lot of fear because we've developed our career, we've built our career for quite some time and then all of a sudden, it's like I'm not happy anymore, I don't want to do this. And is this all to life? You know, is there more to life? And it's a very scary process to think about beginning again and it depends on who is in their life that is going to impact their decision on transitioning. So I think for this.

Speaker 2: 4:10

It affects, I think, not only career but also relationships and all the other areas of transitions. There's, you know, the the personal factor and then the external factor that we have to consider. So I tend to help my clients first to kind of analyze that situation, you know, find and really assess what's around them and what it is that's most important for them. Then we go from there. If it's through someone I had a client that was just she just had cancer and she was overcoming her chemotherapy and she had to leave her job for quite some time. So going back into the workforce she was like I am not worth it, no one's going to want me the younger people.

Speaker 2: 5:01

I think, at the end of the day, if I could give one tip to anyone, it would be really the mindset working on that, because we are actually our worst critic and we are so capable to do so much more than we believe that we can. So the limitation all starts within us and also the world around us.

Speaker 1: 5:24

Yeah, that's such a big deal because a lot of people are like everybody talks about mindset, just do it. But if you don't believe that you can do it, then how?

Speaker 2: 5:34

are you?

Speaker 1: 5:34

It's so ingrained in the base of it when you're going through the tough times, because if we know one thing for sure is that there's going to be tough times. We're going to be accomplishing goals and something's going to happen, and so, yeah, you can't. That's where the mindset comes in, because it's in those hard times that you have to keep doing those things, and if you don't have the mindset in place, you just can't.

Speaker 2: 6:05

The guarantee is that there's always going to be problems, and how strong you are and what you know about yourself. To be really self-aware and to also feel like you are worth it of anything that you want in this life, it's completely possible. It's just a matter of knowing your worth and going after it.

Speaker 1: 6:25

Yes, you don't have to ask for permission. There's no one that's going to give you permission. That's it.

Speaker 1: 6:32

Do anything and sometimes, yeah, it's like we're waiting around and it's like, well, somebody's going to come and give me permission to post more on social media or someone's going to come and give me permission to charge more, but really like there's no that person. And so we have to really step in and be like I want to show up more, I want to make more, I want to do more and then work those habits. So my book is all about gratitude learning. I had to learn to adjust my perspective by practicing gratitude and then applying tiny habits right, because I couldn't convince myself to do like a whole project, but I could do one tiny little thing, and one tiny little thing done over and over and over compounds into great things. So can you talk to me a little bit about does gratitude? Do you find that gratitude Like? Do you help your clients with that as well? How do you feel about gratitude?

Speaker 2: 7:25

Actually, it's funny that you say that, because this is the same client that I was telling you about with that was overcoming cancer. You know, she, after being out for so long, she was feeling really bad about herself and so she created this huge list of things to do and she was really stressed because every single day she was like I need to do this, I need to do that. You know, and I said, why don't you create a list of gratitude every day and why don't you start with that? You know, this is what I have, and you know. And so every day, at the end of the day, look again at that list and, instead of checking off your to do list or stressing about what you haven't done, look at what you do have. You know, because it shifts your mindset.

Speaker 2: 8:16

And the other thing that you mentioned I really love and it's actually something that I also really, really believe in through all of my transitions is that little habit or that little thing that you have to do every single day.

Speaker 2: 8:29

But you know it consistently, because that's what it is, that's what mindset is, that is what setting goal is.

Speaker 2: 8:36

You know, if you, when you say something to yourself I know they talk a lot about looking usually yourself in the mirror and say I'm pretty or say I'm worth it, you know, and it feels super uncomfortable.

Speaker 2: 8:48

So it's just like that when you're starting out of business or when you're making some changes in your life. But if you actually just start doing it for so long, for so much, you know so much of it, you actually start to believe it and that's what shifts. And that's the shift that happens when you do things consistently and feeling really good about the little things that you do, because those little things are going to become the big things. You know, oftentimes, when we are going through a change or whatever is going through our life, we always want something that is, you know, much bigger than what's attainable, and so then it becomes impossible for us because it's like I'm never going to get there, it's never going to happen for me. But if you just you know it's just something as simple as I'm going to wake up today and decide I'm going to take this one step, I'm going to do this one step for myself or for my business, you know, and just that in itself is going to change your life.

Speaker 1: 9:46

Yes, so I love what you said.

Speaker 1: 9:49

I'm a big believer in tracking things, so writing down gratitude I have several journals on Amazon because it really did it changed everything and I fought it for a really long time.

Speaker 1: 10:01

One of the podcast episodes I talk about how I was fighting gratitude because it seems so small, so simple. It's like too simple, like just writing down three things that you're grateful for. You're like, yeah, but I need, I need, like you know, like a big chapter book that's going to tell me this. And then you start doing it and, little by little, the feeling pretty, the feeling strong those are byproducts of what you're focusing on, right, so maybe you don't look in the mirror and think, oh, I'm so pretty. But maybe, instead of berating yourself because that's what I used to do and be like, ah, like this is wrong, this is wrong, what if we started like you know what I'm so grateful for my eyes, I'm grateful for my eyelashes, I'm grateful for this skin that you know is like my billboard, like this is how people see me, and start maybe finding tiny things that we can be grateful for. I love my mouth because it lets me cake.

Speaker 2: 10:55

I don't know whatever.

Speaker 1: 10:56

You know whatever it is, we make it fun, and then that starts adjusting our perspectives. And then all of a sudden you pass by the mirror and you're like well, you look hot today. And you're like who is that? Oh, my God am I talking to me, and yes, because it's a byproduct of the. You know it's the overflow of the things we're talking about. I love that. Can you tell me a little bit about your story and how you became a like a life transition coach?

Speaker 2: 11:25

Sure. So, um, well, it's quite a story, but I will try to condense it. Um, I have been through many transitions in my life, but I think that sometimes it doesn't you know, when it rain, it pours, and that's the expression, I suppose. But it literally happened to me, and so my first transition started as I was finishing up my master's degree. Um, I, uh, my partner of 13 years, um, cheated on me and gotten another one pregnant, and at that point I was at the brink of turning 30. So that was, you know, when you spend a decade with someone, it's kind of like oh my God, what just happened?

Speaker 2: 12:09

You know, um, but that was the start of everything, and then, at the same time, my father was diagnosed with cancer and soon after, actually, he passed away. So I thought that I had all the time in the world to you know, kind of deal with these kind of things, but I didn't. So those two transitions happen at once and because of that I was trying to. I was living in Austin, texas, at the time, and I decided to move back to Atlanta, which is where my home is, and so that was the transition, one of the transitions that I was going through. And then, um, I got the job of my dreams and I decided because my father had passed away and I was trying to heal from everything I went to Spain just for a trip to heal myself.

Speaker 2: 13:02

It was like a month trip, and when I came here, I received only kindness from the people here and during this trip as I have always been the one who helps people in my life I was actually helped by an older man when I was lost, and that day that he helped me, I was like I don't know how to thank you, and it's something as simple as helping me, find directions or bringing me to the place I needed to. I never received that kind of help. So I asked him. I was like how can I thank you? And he told me it was like nothing. You know, enjoy my country, love my country and come back.

Speaker 2: 13:46

And you know, I really felt my father in that moment when I met this older man. And so I, although I got the job my dreams in Atlanta and I was back home with my mom and my siblings, my heart wasn't there. So I decided to come to Spain and start over again At 30,. You know most people would be like what are you doing? Because you know you just got a great job, a great pay. You worked so hard for this you know low date, go do something else.

Speaker 2: 14:20

Why are you moving countries, you know, but it's what.

Speaker 2: 14:24

I did and it was super scary. And so when I came here, I found I started working as a coach for many multinational companies and, although I was helping them with in their business, I realized that what I was coaching them through was also they were trying to shift in their careers, and then they were. They were having multiple changes in their life, in personal and professional. So I, you know, I was like maybe this is something that I was meant to do because I had gone through so much. But I think that you know, through the breakup, I had to learn a lot about myself. I think that was probably one of the most difficult transitions, because it wasn't just dealing with the external world, but also looking at myself and who I was, and finding myself again, you know, and so and finding my worth.

Speaker 2: 15:18

So that translated to so many areas of my life and I, you know I always blamed it on culture and you know where I'm living. But it's not. It all had to do. It started with me. It started with why did I deal? Why was I putting up with all that situation?

Speaker 1: 15:35

You know why did I?

Speaker 2: 15:36

allow things to happen the way it did. So it's, and so nowadays I love what I do and I love making an impact on other people, and you know, seeing that change in their life is so beautiful for me, because I've been there.

Speaker 1: 15:51

Yes, that is amazing. You know, I'm actually hosting a summit this week and one of the things that we were talking about this morning was how uncomfortable is where the magic usually happens. Not painful, not painful, but uncomfortable. Right, because we, that's where you know, that's where the magic happens. When we get out of that comfort zone, when we're working out and we're like, oh, this is so annoying, that's where all the magic is happening. You can't stop there.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Yes, yes, yes you know, and in our business, when things are just like like this week with the, with the summit I haven't talked about this yet, but you know we're doing a lot of stuff I wake up. Last week, I had like a huge knot in my back, I couldn't move. My partner went to a dog. Disappointment came home. The bat, the car died, went to work, the scooter died, and so we ended up having to like, replace all of these things. We were stuck in the house for two days, but it's uncomfortable, but that's where the magic was happening, and so we practice a lot of gratitude, be like, well, at least. You know there's a lot of things that could have happened and they didn't. It happened here. You know we can get everything, but it's in those moments where, like, are you just going to like, well, forget this, this is so uncomfortable, or are you going to be like? You know, of course, so let's just keep going. So I love your story, though, of resilience, of how you just literally picked up and went.

Speaker 1: 17:19

You follow your heart and that's exactly what I was talking about not needing permission, like sometimes you could have waited around and been like, well, I can wait until so and so invites me, or until I save up enough money or when it makes more sense, and you are like, no, let's do it. And a lot of times, when we follow those intuitions right, we're taking. We're taking that inspired action in perfect action. Yeah, beautiful things happen you know I love it. What part of Atlanta did you live in?

Speaker 2: 17:54

I live into cap county and I asked you that you're in Florida because I grew up in Miami. I don't know.

Speaker 1: 18:03

I was asking because I also lived in New Nen and usually people don't know where that is.

Speaker 2: 18:07

And so I say Atlanta.

Speaker 1: 18:08

So I was like, okay, but where in Atlanta? Yes, yes, that's awesome Small world. Yes, you have a connection. Yes, yes. So what part of Miami? What did? Where did you live around here?

Speaker 2: 18:21

I was in Kendall. I was near the falls. Yeah, Okay down south.

Speaker 1: 18:25

Okay, I'm by, I'm by the hospital. So, like you and Jackson, yeah. I'm part of our work there, so we're like towards the downtown area.

Speaker 2: 18:33

So that's awesome. My brother was born at Jackson.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Oh, that is amazing. Yes, yes, small, small world, and now you're all the way in Spain. That is amazing. So, um, wrapping up, christie, I've loved everything. I love your teaching, I love, I love that transition. Like I said, it's just such, it's so smart. It's just like that need that's out there and you need the solution. So tell me a little bit about how we can follow you on social media, like where can we find you? How can we connect with you so we can get more of your awesomeness?

Speaker 2: 19:09

Perfect. Well, first of all, I wanted to thank you so much, nicole, for having me. And it's where to find me. I have Instagram and I think I believe Brooks had sent you the. The username yes, and also there in the comments yes, so I also have my website.

Speaker 1: 19:27

Perfect, okay, so all of those links are going to be in the comments and do you have any like, do you have an offer that you've got going on right now that you want to let our, our listeners know about, like how can we work with you if we want to transition and we need some help?

Speaker 2: 19:42

So it depends on everyone right, depending on what transition and how much time they need. So right now I mean I do have a 30 minute free consultation.

Speaker 2: 19:52

So, if a client, if anyone is interested. You know I'd love to connect with your listeners. So if anyone's interested, please feel free to contact me and I would be more than happy to start speaking to you to see if coaching is right for you Awesome. Something that I do want to kind of leave with is that I recently heard this, this guide. He's very popular, his name is Jay Shetty and he mentioned that self worth starts with hard work, and I think we find our worth when we're going through something difficult, not something easy. So when you're talking about being uncomfortable and you know having gratitude through the process, you know taking those small little steps. If I could encourage anyone, transitions, as difficult as it may seem, is completely worth it. And you know, regardless of what it is, it's, it's going to be uncomfortable, super uncomfortable through any transition, but at the end of it, if you have something that you're working towards, it's definitely going to be worthwhile.

Speaker 1: 21:00

Yes, that is so true. And you know what, like, even when I left my job and I was like I'm doing this, I staked my flag in the ground. I was like I'm not going back. That was really scary and there was really uncomfortable times and I remember not being able to buy food on Christmas, and I remember those times. But I also remember the rewards where now, like around the holidays now, we like sponsor other families and so, yes, it is so, so, so worth it. When it's scary, yes, but it is amazing. And when you have a coach, when you have someone on your side, because that's really what we need, we probably already know a lot of the things that we need to do. I find that, with my clients Like I'm not giving you any revolutionary information Like these are fundamentals. They're essentials that we're teaching it's implementing and doing the day to day and sticking to it when shit stops.

Speaker 2: 22:06

And just anyway, right, exactly, and I think it's the you know and also knowing that you are worth whatever it is that you want. It's completely possible. A lot of people think that it's impossible, you know, and that's the thing it's not. It all starts with you. When you really believe in that and when you really get to that point in your mind and know what's blocking you from obtaining what you want, I think that's when the magic happens.

Speaker 1: 22:32

Yes, it's such a testament because something I've been talking about a lot this month is I remember when I was praying for meeting people like you, you know, and I was like. I was like, okay, so my vibrations are off because the people around me are. These are not, like you know, the five people that I want to be around. I don't want to be like this before.

Speaker 1: 22:52

And so you know how do I do that, and I was like I got to raise my vibrations and so I just wanted to say I am living proof that it all starts with your mindset. You raise your vibrations and people aren't going to come to you. You know like situations, like different things happen, and so, yes, it's all in the mindset. So any final tips, kristi, before we sign off.

Speaker 2: 23:15

No, I think that the final tip I would highly advise everyone, anyone who's listening to this is, first and foremost, to just be kind to yourself. I think through in this moment. You know, after we've gotten out of the pandemic, a lot of crazy stuff happening in the world, you know, and maybe in your own personal lives, but just don't forget to be kind to yourself. I think that's so, so, so important, because we are often, you know, we can't control what's outside, but we can't control what's inside. So just be kind to yourself. I think that's my greatest advice.

Speaker 1: 23:53

Yes, would you allow someone else to talk to you the way you talk to you? And if the answer is no, you've got to. It's time to start thinking about what you're thinking about and start making those changes, and it starts with recognizing oh, this is not a good thought. Why am I thinking, oh, there's another one. And so, before you even try to change it, just start recognizing them and you will be surprised at how many there are in there.

Speaker 1: 24:22

And then you can start cleaning them out Exactly. Yes, Yay, okay, this has been so wonderful, Kristi. We will see you next time on the Overcome Yourself podcast.

Speaker 2: 24:33

Thanks for being here, thank you so much, Nicole.

Speaker 1: 24:35

Have a good one, Thanks. Thanks you too. Bye.