My Life Story
How was I inspired to become a life coach? 

I was born in The Netherlands, and I have studied Psychology in – the most exciting city of NL – Amsterdam. I have always been very interested in human behavior. Coming from a town in the east of the Netherlands, I loved to set up shop in Amsterdam and meet all these new people. Friendships I already had and new friendships I cherished them all, as having friends is very important to me.

My life has been influenced by 2 major life events, which have emphasized the importance of closeness of other people in my life and have challenged my coping capabilities. The first life event was a car accident in 1999 (I was 20 years old), which required quite a long period of rehabilitation. It was a life-altering experience that I could not have managed without the support of my parents, brother, and my friends. Then 4 years later when I was living in Bangkok with a close friend and my parents were visiting us, I received a call in the middle of the night by a police officer from the Netherlands who told me my brother died in a motorcycle accident.. My world shattered..
Careerwise I managed to plow through, focusing on work was a way for life to seem normal again. I was inspired by a great professor at the university and worked on my PhD at the Department of Neuropsychology, focusing on the effects of physical activity on cognition and behaviour. I was on this academic path, getting my PhD, doing post-docs, and became an assistant professor. I enjoyed working with students and my colleagues, but I was not thinking about whether this was really what I wanted to do. When I realized my passion was just not in academics, I switched it up and started working in a commercial setting. In this company for specialized medical nutrition I learned a lot, worked with great people, and.. found the love of my life. After a couple of years however I realized I was still sitting behind the laptop a lot, and I missed more direct impact on people’s lives. Again.. I had not found what I really wanted to do. 

During these years, I tried to deal with the loss of my brother. After some time, when I was ready, I started working actively on the process, with a psychologist, a small bereavement therapy group and some sessions together with my parents. Sharing experiences, communicating, and feeling connection to other people was key in my coping. Dealing with the loss of my brother has become better, and it is still continuing.
Workwise, after struggling and soul searching, my partner and I took a big leap and moved to Hong Kong, as mentioned before living abroad has always been one of my big wishes. It was a change in environment that really empowered me to think about what I wanted to do. Living in Hong Kong, a city that is known for its international allure and self-empowerment, invited me to dive deeper. I always wanted to work directly with people, have them overcome struggles, have them live the life they want, feeling positive and courageous. Now I have started my coaching business and am part of different kinds of communities making the entrepreneurship even more social and inspiring. I can tell you, I am a Happy Camper ☺

Everyone has their own struggles in life. I believe in people’s resilience and different ways of coping and together we can activate your inner strengths, overcome barriers. and live the life that you desire.