How I Became 'The Feelings Coach"
I have always been the person people come to when they want to talk about things they don’t want anyone else to hear. I’m not sure what makes my face/presence so welcoming, but it is a gift and a curse. One day, I was wrapping up a 1-hour phone call with an acquaintance when my significant other said to me, ‘You are always on the phone or meeting with people to listen to their problems. You should charge them for that service because what you provide is valuable.” That a-ha moment was the beginning of my Coaching Journey. But let’s take it back a lil bit…
Before founding Green Curve LLC, I held many positions in different fields of work. My first “real job” was teaching. I completed my core early childhood education units and immediately jumped into assistant teaching, substitute teaching, and lead teaching with private preschools and early childhood education centers. I also worked with public centers, like Long Beach City College’s early childhood education program. Pursuing my core ECE units activated a passion for human development and
social-emotional learning within me that I did not know existed. People’s minds and how they think and feel about themselves and the world fascinate me. I carried this fascination through every job I had after preschool teaching, from my next position as a residential property manager, all the way to my last corporate position, as a retail dispensary manager.
Despite the oppressive hamster wheel of capitalism and 40-60 hour work weeks (yes, I was that overworked manager crying in the office at 11 PM because I couldn’t figure out the quarterly reports and I just wanted to go home), I was still able to successfully climb multiple corporate ladders and gain awards and recognition along the way. I thought these awards, bonuses, and titles would satiate me, validate my struggles, or make me feel more accomplished and stable overall as an adult but they did not. Working full-time was beginning to erode my mental and physical health in a way that I would not see until the passing of my best friend in 2018.
After losing my best friend of 18 years, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and osteoarthritis with bone spurs, in the same year. I began to limp at work and had no clue why my joints/muscles were not engaging when I walked up and down stairs or got out of a car. Some days, I was completely bedridden by arthritic flares in my hip joints. My primary care physician assigned me a physical therapist and clinical social worker. She suggested I go to grief counseling or schedule one on one therapy sessions to talk about what I’m going through. In these counseling sessions, I learned that being happy in life is a choice and my fascination with emotion stemmed from my inability to define my own emotions correctly. I was a martyr, a learned behavior I picked up from being the oldest child in a single-parent household. Because I was parentified at such an early age and had so much responsibility placed on my shoulders throughout my life, I carried that belief into the way I work for other businesses and allowed these corporate entities to use me as a martyr as well.
The more I researched the side effects of working a 40-hour work week, the more I discovered that Capitalism is a system modeled after slavery intended to oppress, non-white people and/or blue-collar, low-income people. A lot of people argue that the system is broken but I am a firm believer in systems like capitalism working exactly as they were intended to work. They were not built for BIPOC to feel seen or heard. Even though I was a manager in these businesses, I was still nothing more than a token worker bee who was treated very differently and ostracized often. The multiple layers of micro-aggressions, prejudice, and stress were not only affecting my mental health but causing cortisol to build up in my joints, which was exacerbating my arthritis. Working in corporate America was taking away my ability to walk, sleep, and think correctly. I decided then and there that I needed to work for myself, but how? And doing what?
I spent 2019 (and 2020 because we were all locked down, so why not) diving deep into my self-discovery. Thinking about the beliefs that I have and my relationships with work, play, pleasure, family, self-expression, religion, Blackness/my culture… all the above. I started journaling again, which was something I hadn’t done since I was in college, and I embraced more metaphysical, indigenous wellness practices like Breathwork yoga, meditation, scripting, and affirmations. I also began using cannabis and other healing herbs like lavender and mugwort to aid in my journey, rather than constantly taking painkillers or psych drugs (Note: There is no shame in needing medication to repair, maintain or improve your mental health. My health team watched me closely as I consumed these herbs and we monitored the response of my body to determine that I did not need daily medication to heal from my physical or mental traumas. Please talk to your doctor and decide what is best for you).
I was sharing my journey with a friend one day when they said that I should post my journey to social media and/or share my newfound beliefs with others because they had been very helpful to her. I realized her statement was a confirmation of my significant other’s statement from months prior. I am meant to help people find their way to their version of a good life. That was the confirmation I needed to TRULY start my journey as a life coach.
I was scared y’all! I didn’t know if this was going to work. But I knew that if I kept working for other people, code-switching, crying in the bathroom at work, etc. my anxiety and depression would cause me to end my life. I knew that I wanted to be here. I knew that I wanted to raise my child. I knew that there was a life out there that was meant for me and I was determined to go get it. I began to pray to God and my ancestors for guidance. I asked them to show me the way, make it easy, make it clear. Lastly, I ask myself to do it anyway, even if I was scared.
I filed the paperwork to claim Green Curve LLC in May 2021 and officially began accepting clients in April 2022. I decided to officially open for business on April 1, 2022, in honor of my father who passed in 2013. April 1st was his birthday and he was a substance-abuse counselor and therapist for ex-convicts adjusting to life after prison. I feel that I inherited my human relations skills from him and I know he would be very proud to see me develop and choose my path in life.
I chose the name Green Curve to represent returning to the feelings we hide in our hearts and gaining emotional intelligence. The color green is associated with the heart chakra in yoga and the curve is coming back to the heart and allowing yourself to lean into true discovery and acceptance.
Today, I live in my fullness as a creative, making music under my stage name, TANIQ, and creating content that I enjoy while running my LLC as the founder and Resident Emotional Intelligence Coach. I received my emotional intelligence certification from Transformation Life Coaching Services and I’m currently competing completing my second certification with that program. I fully intend to obtain a minimum of 5 coaching certifications to become a Certified Master Life Coach. I’m also developing my social media presence on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter as ‘The Feelings Coach’.
Every day isn’t easy, but every day is peaceful because I live the way that I choose. Even in moments of struggle, I know that I have a choice and I can always choose to say no or rest and come back to a task, something I was never able to do in corporate settings. Once I decided that the life I wanted wasn’t impossible and that I deserved happiness, my life changed. My only hope for my clients is that they can experience the same and find their true definition of a good life. I look forward to being a positive energy along your journey, every step of the way.
Welcome to Green Curve Coaching & Consulting Services.
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