Finding My Mission Through Conversation🌟 [Report on Eri Hoshina's Online Session]
Good evening, this is Nakashima.
This time, I'd like to summarize my thoughts on the online session I had with Eri Hoshina last weekend, as it was incredibly enjoyable😊
I really want those who are curious but hesitant, wondering what it's like, to read this. I also think it will be a discovery for those who didn't know such a service existed, so I would be happy if you could read it to the end🪴
Flow
Application → Sending a pre-session questionnaire via LINE → Exchanging messages on LINE → Online session on the day → Receiving a summary report later as data
was the flow.
I inquired via her official LINE, asking, "Are you currently accepting sessions?" and then signed up!
Pre-session Hearing
You answer a simple pre-session questionnaire, and I think most coaching sessions are like, "Thank you for your answers. We look forward to seeing you on the day."
(I did the same when I practiced conducting them, and I have the impression that most people around me do this too.)
However, Eri-san responded to my pre-session questionnaire with empathy and shared her own experiences. She listened so carefully even before the session that it felt like an email session, and I was truly surprised!!
(Writing this makes me anxious that I might make Eri-san feel like she has to keep doing this forever... Please take this as a reference, as it was the case at the time I received the session🙇🏻♀️)
We exchanged many messages on LINE before the session, and I was already satisfied before we even spoke (lol).
On the Day of the Online Session
On the day, we talked for 90 minutes via Google Meet.
Since we had been communicating closely on LINE beforehand, I was able to participate with zero anxiety!
Here is what we talked about during the session:
・The realization that my fear of accepting money for dialogue services is caused by my inner child
・My struggle with my writing becoming too stiff and not being able to show my true self
・Wanting to know what triggered the growth of Eri-san's note
・Feeling conflicted about only posting about being an "introvert"
She listened to me so gently the whole time, and based on what I said, she asked deep-dive questions and shared objective opinions, so I gained far more insights than I would have thinking about it alone!
For example, regarding the issue of not being able to show my true self in writing,
thanks to her saying, "I think the fact that you can write 'I lose confidence when I'm told this' means you are showing your true self," I realized, "Oh, so that counts as showing my true self!"
Regarding note, she suggested, "How about writing your experiences as if you were creating an alter ego?" and thanks to the many ideas she gave me, I had so many things I wanted to write that they were overflowing.
She also said, "I like collecting information, but I'm not good at organizing it, so I think there is demand for data organization techniques too!" which helped me gain confidence that my "love for organizing" could actually be useful to someone else.
I truly gained so many insights!
Also, she gives so much praise and empathy that it is genuinely incredibly fun to talk with her.
She tells me that it's okay if my thoughts aren't organized or if I go off on a tangent, so I feel like I can talk about anything and relax my shoulders.
I had imagined a soft atmosphere from her writing, but when I actually spoke to her, she was so fluffy and angelic that I wondered, 'Is she cotton candy? Will she melt away?' 👼
It was a truly fun and fleeting 90 minutes where I was listened to, praised, empathized with, and affirmed the whole time.
Reflection Sheet
In Eri's first session, she draws a portrait in a design that matches your image, and you can receive a reflection sheet in digital format that summarizes what you talked about, answers to your questions, and feedback from Eri.
I tend to forget what I talked about as time passes, so I am very grateful to have it put into a tangible form as a reflection sheet.
She uses colors and images that suit me for the design, so I'm happy to know, 'Oh, this is the image I have! ✨' and it's like receiving a lovely letter that I can look back on many times to get energized. 😊
Everything I talked about was probably written down, and I wondered how she managed to take notes (lol).
(I think she was writing in a paper notebook, but it's amazing how she kept up with handwriting while talking.)
5 things I was happy about
From here, I will share 5 points that I was particularly happy about after receiving Eri's service.
Happy point 1: Being told my strengths
Things like, 'You are good at explaining your current feelings in an easy-to-understand way,'
'You have more logical thinking and organizational skills than you think,'
'Your ability to gain insights from self-dialogue (self-coaching ability) is amazing!'
'It's amazing that you can share things you think are good!'
'The manual was incredibly easy to understand!'
I was praised so much that I had a new discovery that I was good at these things!
After all, your own strengths are something you can't find on your own.
I am truly grateful to be told them through objective feedback.
Happy point 2: Getting careful answers to my questions
During the session, I asked Eri how she increased her note followers, and she gave me some very helpful advice, which I was so grateful for!
・Focus on publishing first rather than quality
・There is a psychological effect where people tend to like those they see frequently, so I made sure to write even just a tweet like 'Today was no good' even if it was a trivial post
I tend to think, 'I have to write proper sentences' or 'I have to write something useful,' so this will lower the hurdle in a good way!
I get exhausted on days I go to my part-time job and it's hard to write long sentences, so I thought I'd try to use tweets on days I work or am tired, and write note articles on days I have energy! 💭
・I focused on the overall look of my note.
・For now, I made it visually cute, like by unifying the magazine images!
・I wanted the top page of my note to be like a cozy, soft cafe... Simply put, it makes me feel comfortable and motivated when I open my note (lol).
It's true, Eri-san's note page mostly consists of illustrations you drew yourself or photos of cafes, so I felt it had a great sense of unity and really expressed Eri-san's unique worldview.
My current page makes me feel restless, so I decided to first create a page that makes me feel calm when I open it! Lol
Happy point #3: Being told the difference between the impression of my writing/icon and the impression of actually talking to me
This is because I asked to be told in advance, but since I was feeling uneasy thinking, "My writing feels stiff" or "Maybe my image is different from my icon," I asked her to tell me the impression she got from actually talking to me!
Nakashima-san, as you appear on screen, you have a natural aura like pale green; you seem neat and clean, but with a hidden power inside! You have a peppermint-like image, lol. People who come to Nakashima-san's service will surely find it easy to consult about their feelings calmly without having to pretend to be energetic, right?◎
You really don't know your own impression, do you?
I was truly grateful to have Eri-san, who has a high ability to perceive things, look at me and give me feedback.
Regarding the icon, I also received feedback that it was a bit different from my image. Since I had "just had a portrait drawn on Coconala, but it felt a bit off... but I paid for it, so..." and left it as is, I decided I want to go on a journey to find an icon that feels right to me!🛫
Happy point #4: Being told about "things I like" that I don't notice myself
In Nakashima-san's case, the fact that you pay money for self-understanding, strengths, or inner child counseling (even if it's expensive)... I feel that it is just that important to you, and something you want to explore.
When she said that, I realized that I have indeed spent a lot of money on my own exploration, such as paying over 300,000 yen for a service to finish finding what I want to do (a self-understanding program), taking the StrengthsFinder without hesitation, and paying tens of thousands of yen for inner child counseling, and that I have a very strong interest in it.
I belong to a community related to self-understanding, so for better or worse, everyone around me is a self-understanding geek (lol).
It's fun because we have a lot in common, but because everyone is like that, I had started to think that I wasn't a big deal.
But I haven't met many people in reality who pay that much for self-understanding, so this means I have a very strong interest and it's a field I like.
It was a huge help to have that pointed out from an objective perspective!
Happy point #5: What I should do (my mission) became clear
Before talking to Eri-san, I had a lot of worries like "What should I do about my dialogue service?" or "What should I do about my note policy?" and my thoughts were a mess. But after talking, it became simple: "What I should do now is write about my past experiences on note and create many versions of myself!" and I felt very refreshed.
Furthermore, I was able to brush up on what I want to do into a form that feels even more right!
The things I want to do that I brushed up are,
To increase the number of people who can live with confidence by sharing my learning and experiences related to self-understanding in a down-to-earth way
Things I like: Self-understanding
Things I'm good at: Sharing learning and experiences in a down-to-earth way
Value I want to deliver through work: Confidence
By exchanging messages with Eri-san on LINE and talking with her in the session, things became clear, and I realized that my mission is to share my authentic self, including the struggles and challenges I've overcome so far!🌟
Whether you have a clear idea of what you want to do or are still searching, in Eri-san's session, she gently explores the direction that suits you best by saying things like, 'This is what's amazing about you,' 'You're interested in this, aren't you?' or 'How about trying this?' I'm sure you'll find the next step you want to take.✨
Recommended for people like this!
These are the people I feel would benefit from Eri-san's services!
・Those who are unsure about their work style
・Those who are uncomfortable with overbearing people and want someone to listen to them gently
・Those who want ideas that suit them
・Those who want to know their strengths and talents
Since Eri-san herself is someone who is exploring a comfortable way of working that suits her, I highly recommend her to anyone who is struggling with their work style, such as those who can't work five days a week, find full-time work difficult, or want to start their own service but don't know where to begin.
Because she has gone through so much trial and error and has experienced so many things, she is very empathetic when talking about exploring work styles, and she shares her own experiences, which is incredibly helpful.
Also, as I mentioned before, Eri-san is a person with a gentle and soft atmosphere who is truly free of any 'pressure,' so even if you find it draining to be given blunt advice or struggle to answer questions quickly, you can feel at ease receiving her sessions.◎
You might think 'coaching' is generally unfamiliar or sounds difficult, but Eri-san even says she feels uncomfortable calling her sessions 'coaching.' It's more like having a fun conversation where you realize you've gained insights or found a direction before you know it, so even if you've never had coaching before, you can talk in a relaxed way.☺️
▼Click here for Eri Sena's note
▼The session I received this time was the initial 90-minute session.🫧
In closing
I was surprised to find I had written over 5,000 characters, but I'm really glad I took the session and I definitely want others to experience it too, so I hope I've managed to convey even a little bit of how great it is!
Thank you for reading until the end!