Simon Kolderie

Simon Kolderie

Life Coach, Simon Kolderie Coaching

Alumni: Sydney 2015

In our 11069NAT Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing we always talk about the ripple effect; starting with self and creating a ripple out there in the world - whatever that may mean for each person.

In this interview, one of our Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing graduate shares his completely life-changing experience of the course, and how it set him up to start his own successful business as a life coach!

What drew you to complete the Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing?

I had been introduced to the world of Positive Psychology as part of a corporate training initiative in my Supply Chain job about five years ago and it really intrigued me. It wasn’t until about two years later that I decided to formally study Positive Psychology. I was also very interested in personal coaching and could see the potential in combining these two powerful topics.

The push to start the DPP came about in 2015 after experiencing two very personal traumatic life events the year before. I had lost my Mum in March 2014, aged 66, and I had a kidney cancer diagnosis nine months later. To say my world had been turned upside down was an understatement. I had been in my corporate role for over 16 years and after surgery in early 2015 to treat cancer I decided, along with my families blessing, that it was time to leave the corporate world, train to be a Life Coach and study the DPP.

I was married, had two young children aged five and two and now was the time to pursue this new chapter of my life. I had discovered the Langley Group DPP through searching online and the format and content of the Diploma was something I couldn’t pass up as I was looking for formally recognised training at the time.

What was your experience during the Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing?

My experience of the DPP was greater than I could’ve imagined. The depth and breadth of the body of knowledge and research were amazing. As much as I was taking this course to learn how I could combine Positive Psychology with Coaching to help others, I found that this course was like therapy for myself.

From the moment I walked in the door to the class, I felt at home. With the amazing teachers and a cohort of like-minded people, all with their hearts and minds wide open, it was something I hadn’t experienced before.

There were many ah-ha moments and the six-day face to face learning was both emotionally energising and emotionally raw. It was my first exposure to mindfulness and meditation and I found this element of the learning to be very enlightening and a practice that I continue to develop to this day.

The biggest challenge was being open to learning new things about myself. One of the most emotionally charged topics for myself was learning about Post Traumatic Growth. When I saw this theory illustrated on the screen it was a representation of the past 12 months of my life on a single page. It rocked me to my core but at the same time was completely affirming of the new direction I had taken in life.

How are you spreading your positive ripples, and how has the Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing helped you achieve this?

My goal from the beginning was to combine my learnings of Coaching and Positive Psychology so that I could start my own business as a Life Coach. As a result of completing both these areas of study I have been able to realise this major achievement and have been operating Simon Kolderie Coaching since Feb 2016.

I have been able to successfully coach and support clients in career management, goal setting and achievement, personal strengths discovery and development, and growth mindset development.

I have also developed my own signature coaching program called “Empowering Your Inner Phoenix” which aims to guide and support individuals in transforming their adversity into an adventure. This was a major milestone in my business and the content of the program draws heavily on the positive psychology body of knowledge, leveraged via the delivery of a positive coaching focus.

The feeling of being able to help and support others in discovering and realising positive change in their life is amazing, almost indescribable. Albeit to say it fills my cup!

Undertaking the DPP has been life-changing. It sounds cliché yet it’s true. When I left my corporate life in July 2015 I would never have known that the journey over the next two to three years would have been so amazing, scary, enriching, empowering and purposeful. I am not the same person I was three years ago. I am so much more! And for that, I am eternally grateful. Grateful to Sue Langley and her amazing team, to the people and friendships that have grown along the way, and to my family for allowing me to undertake such an amazing adventure.

The future ahead is bright and I look forward to the next exciting chapter in my life in which I can continue to apply and learn from my experience of the DPP.

Here’s to an Adventurous Life!