How I Launched a Midlife Career Revolution
By: Debra Woods
Tags: Life, Entrepreneurship, Work, Careers, Wellness

From CPA to Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach

Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels

Last year, I completed the rigorous graduate-level training and practice hours required to become a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach.

While some have wondered how I ended up in such a profession given my work history, I do not. I was born to do this work, and while such a career did not exist when I graduated from college, it is now a viable career path with a bright future that feels like the perfect match for me.

My earlier professional endeavors included working as an accountant (I still maintain my CPA license), a writer, and a public school educator. After struggling with burnout as a 6th-grade public school teacher at a Title I school, my husband and I agreed that I would take some time off to regroup and figure out how best to go forward.

During that time off, I became increasingly interested in the subject of self-care and how maybe the best way to avoid extreme burnout due to depletion is to actively and consistently be mindful of replenishing.

Prioritizing Self-Care Unlocked the Door to My Dream Career

With that in mind, I began to eat healthier and exercise more and started to feel better than I had in years. I didn’t know exactly how I would go forward professionally, but I knew that I wanted to support others in prioritizing self-care, maybe through my writing. While doing some online research about the subject, I stumbled across the wellness coach training program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I was intrigued and wanted to know more.

The more I learned, the more interested I became. And pretty soon, I could not stop thinking about wellness coaching as a profession and how it combined so many things I love (engaging with people, learning about health and wellness from the best in the field, supporting others in living vibrant and satisfying lives, and so much more). The bonus to such a profession, I decided, would be the inherent obligation to walk the talk in taking better care of myself.

And so, while many around me did not understand why I would pivot at midlife to pursue a career in health and wellness, I no longer understood why I would not. During the onsite and online training at Mayo Clinic, I felt like a sea sponge who had finally found her perfect sea. I was in my element and soaking it all in. Yes, the coursework was demanding, but I loved working to acquire the knowledge and evidence-based skills and strategies I needed to help individuals make positive changes for their health and well-being.

Once I earned my Mayo Clinic certification, I launched my wellness coaching practice (www.woodswellnesscoaching.com), working with clients around the U.S., including online, in person, and by phone. I even worked with an American abroad in India. The time difference was a little tricky to navigate, but we had fun!

Growing my practice is taking some time, especially since wellness coaching is a relatively new profession, and people often aren’t quite sure what it is. I usually explain with something like, “health and wellness coaching is a personalized and powerful process for helping clients to make positive and sustainable changes for their health and well-being.”

I believed in this work when I trained at Mayo Clinic, but I know now from solid experience what a powerful difference it can make. I’ve seen it with a New England retiree who wanted to create a satisfying Plan B for retirement when Plan A didn’t pan out. I’ve witnessed it with a 24-year-old striving to build the habits and routines she needs for greater personal and professional success. And I’ve experienced it with a client in her fifties who is taking charge of her health as never before, including working to reverse diabetes through healthy eating, regular exercise, and weight loss.

My Future as a Pioneer in Wellness

When I first considered a career in wellness, I never envisioned coaching during something like the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, in the midst of it, I recognize that support for self-care and well-being is needed more than ever before. It feels good to help people (individuals and groups) reduce stress, sleep better, eat healthier, and navigate this time as well as possible.

I love envisioning the possibilities for how I might go forward in this profession (in the online and in-person realms). I will continue to speak and present on health and wellness and provide one-on-one coaching services. I will also add more group coaching services where I harness the energy and power of group dynamics to help people make changes for the better.

I’m especially interested in speaking to and working with groups who share something in common, such as a home, workplace, profession, or stage of life. I want to foster a culture of wellness within families, organizations, companies, and communities.

Over time, I hope to work with educators, business executives, healthcare professionals, lawyers, professional sports teams, young moms, retirees, and others. After all, who supports these individuals and groups in a whole-person and personalized approach to their health and well-being?

Last spring, I passed the national exam to become a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (nbhwc.org). I was in the fifth group to ever take the exam, an exam administered by the same board that licenses physicians (NBME). I never imagined being on the leading edge of such a profession at midlife.

If someone were to ask me how it feels to be trailblazing in a relatively new and rapidly growing profession, I would tell them that I’m having the time of my life doing something I love that changes people’s lives for the better. And that is the key to living my very best life at midlife and likely well beyond.

You can find Debra Woods’ blog posts at woodswellnesscoaching.com