Tragic loss. Generations of heart disease. Fear of the future. Elizabeth Vivanco’s life was marked by these three towering pillars for most of her life.
In 2020, Elizabeth found herself at a crossroads, her dreams seemingly out of reach. Recognizing the need for change, she turned her focus toward personal development as a path forward. That’s when she began her coaching sessions with ICF credentialed coach Camila Valenzuela, PCC.
Elizabeth Vivanco’s Coaching Story
When Elizabeth was diagnosed with congenital cardiomyopathy at just 19 years old, her intangible fears of her family history repeating itself became a reality.
With the responsibility and pressure of mothering a four-year-old son, Elizabeth recalls her diagnosis leaving an incredible mark on her approach to everything. She wondered how much time she had left with her son, and if she’d ever be able to work. Fear of the future haunted her.
Life After a Heart Transplant
Even after receiving a heart transplant and becoming the first person in her family to survive the congenital cardiomyopathy diagnosis — the fear still lingered. It just looked a little different.
“Before the surgery, I always thought I was going to die, so it became a very big challenge to consider life through goals and objectives,” she explains. “After the transplant, I had to learn a new way of living with my new abilities and discover what it would be like to be a person living with a transplant and what my new limitations or possibilities were.”
Suddenly, she found her life extending beyond an age she never thought she would experience. She needed to give herself permission to dream about what her future could hold.
Elizabeth had already learned that overcoming limiting beliefs wasn’t an easy task. But soon, it wouldn’t be one that she’d have to tackle alone.
Surviving Trauma…Now What?
Fast forward to 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left Elizabeth in a season of even more uncertainty and serious concerns for her health and longevity. Fear of contracting the virus was present in her life every day. She found herself in isolation — and began searching for support.
“Once again, the fears hovered close, and that is when I decided to use part of that time to start working on my personal development,” she says.
How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs: Transform Your Perspective with Coaching
For Elizabeth, that personal development began with coaching. She completed four sessions with Camila and began unpacking and understanding the words she used to describe herself, her situation, and her abilities. And her life began to change as a result.
For the first time, Elizabeth had access to an outsider’s perspective on her own inner world, a benefit she says is the first step in recovering from a negative mindset.
“What impacted me the most, and continues to be the most useful, is the relevance of language, of words, that I tell myself daily regarding any topic that creates my reality,” says Elizabeth. “I have realized my words have been a powerful key to changing my reality, and now I am aware that I can be the protagonist of my life based on what I repeat to myself and believe.”
Flipping the Script
Prior to coaching, Elizabeth referred to herself as a “sick person who needed a transplant,” and she says that some of the very fears she was living came from the vocabulary she used to describe herself. So much so that making life projections or plans for the future was nearly impossible.
“Camila helped me change my way of thinking…I was not sick, but rather, I had a health condition that required certain care and discipline,” she says. “It completely sparked a light in the way I saw myself, and from that moment on, I changed that perception to being a healthy and well person.”
Paying it Forward: The Unexpected Results of Coaching
Elizabeth explains that through coaching, she experienced changes on both a personal and professional level. As a consultant, she could use the coaching skills she learned with her own clients — a dividend she didn’t expect.
“I am deeply grateful to Camila, because…the way I see myself is completely different. I am more secure because I am standing in a very different place where I feel like I’m the determiner of my changes, with a vision of the future that I never had,” she says.
To those considering coaching, Elizabeth affirms that coaching is both a “fabulous path of self-knowledge,” as well as a useful tool that can create a big impact. Elizabeth’s life and her ability to hope for a future are forever changed.
Because of her new perspective on life, she pursued work as a consultant, planned her first trip to Europe, and studied other disciplines she found interest in. She accomplished this by having the tools she needed to evaluate her health risks, which left her feeling more secure and able to manage the fears that had controlled every inch of her life for so long.
“I am no longer afraid,” she says. “Because I know I can do everything I set my mind to.”
Elizabeth’s experience is not uncommon. Countless individuals have discovered the transformative power of coaching, using it to navigate life’s most daunting challenges and emerge stronger on the other side. Are you ready to shift your mindset, overcome your limiting beliefs, rediscover your dreams, and transform your life? Find a coach who can help you rewrite your narrative using the ICF Credentialed Coach Finder tool.
