The Extraordinary Story of how an ordinary teacher reinvented herself…
I am Vijii Bose, a certified Coach in Arfeen Khan’s team of global coaches — — a Podcaster and Blogger and the co-author of TRANSFORMUSINGS, a book about our transformational journey, by 32 Incredible Coaches of Kolkata — — written and published in 7 days and released with great fanfare at a mega event in March 2020 at Sahara Star, Mumbai, when the whole world was shutting down due to the spread of Covid 19 like wildfire — — and all this I have achieved in the last two years at age 70, post retirement after a successful 42 year professional teaching career.
HOW? BY PIVOTING MY MIND…my way at looking at things
I have been teaching the senior classes of a well- known school in Kolkata, India, for 36 years, and before that worked in 5 other top schools in the city in shorter stints. During this long and eventful journey, I have impacted the lives of countless children and mentored them to become powerful speakers, confident and accomplished leaders in their respective domain of future work, be it academia or as corporate executives, in the banking. IT, or other sectors.
But the irony was that in my mind, I was limited by my fears of trying out new things and missed out on a golden opportunity for advancement. I had been taught never ‘to look a gift horse in the mouth’ in my English class on proverbs in Loreto Convent , Shillong, during my schooldays, but I did just that.
When I had been offered the plum post of being the Principal of my school two decades back in time, a flood of negative questions kept me back.
Can I do this?
Will I be able to manage?
Am I enough?
What will others think of me if I make a mess of it?
Do I have the necessary knowledge or skills for it?
My little voice. Trying to protect me from the ignominy of failure stopped me in my tracks.
However, I justified my decision in turning down the offer on the altruistic grounds of taking care of my daughter, which was not entirely true, as I was then living in a joint family and my mother- in- law and sister- in- law were taking extremely good care of her in my absence during the day.
So, what was the REAL REASON?
Well! The real reason was that I was supremely settled in my comfort zone of working in a nine to four job, loved teaching that became my passion and purpose over time, with ample time to enjoy my other social and cultural activities, knowing very well that I would have to cut down on them once I took up the administrative responsibility of running a school with nearly 4000 children from Kinder garden to Plus 2.
So I continued doing the things I loved till I retired in 2010 and beyond that on extension till 5th May 2020, when like lakhs of other employees, all over the world , who lost their jobs, during the Pandemic, I too received a jolt when a terse e mail informed me that my contract for professional service was not being renewed.
I was not ready to hang up my boots just yet and decided to fully focus on launching my coaching career, having been trained and certified for Arfeen Khan’s Incredible You Program.
Today, I am part of Arfeen Khan’s global team of worldwide coaches, on a mission to impact a million lives through his tried and tested system, that has been accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Today I know the tools to reframe my negative thinking into powerful, empowering questions, which had I known 25 years earlier, my life would have taken a completely different trajectory altogether. Today I can move forwards without fear or guilt,
I am an upcoming author… My book, PIVOT IN CONFIDENCE…. Mind, Body and Spirit will be ready for release in early April this year. I will share my experiential learning, the valuable insights I gained from powerful mentors like Tony Robbins, Lisa Nicholls, Dev Gadhvi, Vishen Lakhani, Ajit Nawalkha of Mindvalley fame, and other great Coaches along with real life cases of women, who took the decision to change their health, mindset or financial condition by taking the right action at the right time.
My reading and training has now given me the knowledge and skills to expand my work to the wider world, beyond the classroom through my Program, Harness your Mind Power to LIVE FREE without fear or guilt… become invincible, unstoppable and flourish in abundance,
Its for women between 30 and 60 years, who like me once upon a time, are unable to step out of their comfort zone or are diffident by nature and are afraid to speak out their mind, suppress their desires or recast them to align with those of their husbands, or children. Outwardly very successful, in all walks of life, I have seen such women under physical and mental stress, suffering in silence and feeling small, without ever letting their family or co-workers know their real feelings.
My coaching Practice, Mindscape Solutions… Crafting a Thriver Mindset with Emotional Grit, is committed to help such women rise above their fears or guilt, in wanting to pursue their own dreams and aspirations, to be the Complete and Intrepid Woman, the Real You.
My mission is to act as a facilitator, to propel them to step into their power, consciously build their self-esteem, grow in confidence to accomplish their goals and realize their potential for success.
You may empower yourself by listening to my Podcast series, Face Everything and Rise that has as of now, two podcasts on Rise above Fear and Powerful Self Beliefs on anchor.fm and engage with me by asking questions or giving your suggestions.
In my next blog, I will share with you how you can empower yourself with powerful mental codes.
Looking forward to engaging with you!
Vijji Bose
MPower Coach
mindscapesolutions2020@gmail.com