When Manifestation Turns Into Reality
For the longest time, this lived quietly in my mind, “Someday, I’ll pursue ICF coach training.”
For nearly three years, it stayed as a thought and a desire. I did all the research, explored different providers, but mentally parked it for 2026. Clearly, manifestation had other plans.. Thanks to my incredibly supportive leadership team at Freshworks, I found myself stepping into this journey much earlier than I had planned. It felt like a reminder, hey, if you choose to make it happen, time, situations, and the right people will find their way into your life!
When I started, I was very clear about why I wanted this. I wanted the executive coaching certification to coach leadership teams and eventually make this a full-time pursuit.
But once I got into it, something shifted. It made me pause, slow down & reflect.
And this thought kept coming back to me: “You have a long way to go. Take it one step at a time.”
Each session has honestly felt like a space of discovery. I kept asking myself what do I really have in me to become a coach?
The weekly reflections from the facilitator really helped here. They made me think beyond “doing coaching right” to how do I want to show up as a coach?
One big realization for me was around listening. I’ve always seen it as my strength. But this journey made me look at it differently.
Listening alone isn’t enough. Paraphrasing with clarity and intent, that’s one of the ICF core competencies where I see a lot of growth for myself.
And for the first time, I feel like I have a clearer path on what to actually work on.
This journey is also a lot about unlearning. I’m consciously trying to let go of:
Focusing too much on myself as a coach: Am I doing this right? What should I ask next? Should I paraphrase or hold space for silence?
That subtle need to “perform” in a coaching conversation
Instead, shift towards being more client-centric, where the space is truly about the coachee, not me. Instead of focusing on how I’m doing, I’m reflecting more on, what does the person in front of me really need right now? Through peer coaching conversations, one thing I keep thinking after completing almost every session is: “What could I have done differently? Not in a critical way, just reflecting, learning, tweaking and honestly, I’m learning a lot about myself through this process… and it feels really gratifying.
By the way, I’m big on planning, so I usually like having plans mapped out. But even with personal commitments, I find myself choosing to show up every Saturday for this, not out of obligation, but because I genuinely want to. A lot of my work now revolves around this ICF coach training and learning experience, and I’m slowly getting a hang of integrating different facets of life. While it did feel overwhelming at the start, it’s been really gratifying as I progress through this journey and somewhere along the way, I’ve started feeling – I belong in this space.
If I had to sum up what’s stayed with me after these 6 weeks, it’s this: Being 100% present in conversations, not thinking ahead & most importantly not preparing the next question.
Just… being there. One step at a time. My reflection doesn’t end here. Expressing vulnerability has always been a challenge for me, or maybe a conscious choice to hold back.
But as a coachee, just picking topics and having open conversations around them, honestly that’s a major milestone for me!
When I was first asked to write this blog 3 weeks ago, I recall telling the facilitator “What can I even write? It’s too early! I don’t have anything to contribute.”
and now… Oh man, I can’t seem to take my fingers off the keyboard!
A big thank you to Coach to Transformation for stitching together such a thoughtful and meaningful program.
Author: Varsha Balakrishnan
