I am Life coach, facilitator and Social worker. If you stay in your comfort zone, you'll never know what you're really capable of. Let me push you out of your comfort zone.

Find out more about Asanda

• When did you start your personal development journey? What motivated this choice?

  My journey started after finishing my degree in Social Work in 2016. I am from the Eastern Cape, South Africa, I grew up in an environment where there was a lack of access to support, and opportunities for one to develop the right mindset to succeed in life. Personal development was not something spoken about, our education focussed only on the hard skills that one needs in order to get employed, not so much on the soft skills or personal development tools that help one be adaptable, to be resourceful, to have a growth mindset and succeed in their craft. After university I decided that I needed to show up for myself, I needed to be brave and take ownership of my life.I started by putting myself in uncomfortable spaces with a goal of learning, I agreed to join a company that hosted team building events for youth in my area after participating in their workshops, I couldn't speak proper English but I wanted to learn. I met a lot of people in that space, I asked them questions about their journeys and I have always been curious but not confident and the need to be confident motivated me to explore things that were not familiar to me, to travel and interact with people from different backgrounds and learn from their experiences.

• Describe your own understanding of "personal development" and what it can bring in the short and long term?

  Personal development is a lifelong process, it's something we work on until we die, something that we don't stop improving. Personal development is important because it helps you grow,become happy, healthy and wealthy, and wise. Because of personal development, you become more understanding and kind, and you value relationships with people. Personal development helps you understand yourself, build on your own capacities and reach your potential. In the short term, it can bring a confident person who is not held back by fear and self doubt and long term, a successful person in whichever field one wants to be in, either financially successful or whichever way one defines success for themselves.

• Could you share some practical tips to help improve self-confidence?

  Knowing your weaknesses and strengths through reflecting on your daily experiences, with a focus on what went well and what you can do better
  Building meaningful relationships with people who inspire you
  Volunteering, helping others makes us feel good about ourselves
  Giving ourselves a challenge (for example, exercising 3x a week)
  Celebrating our small efforts (it can be making your bed in the morning) or finishing a task and giving yourself an apple or lollipop, it doesn't have to be a big thing.
  Listening to talks on topics that you find interesting and engaging in conversations with other people about them to hear their views
  Reading books that make you feel alive.

• Do you think a teacher can learn from his or her students? Have you experienced this?

  Yes, a teacher can learn from their students. I see my coaching sessions as a two way street, I dont act like an expert, I know that my clients are whole and resourceful beings who know the answers to their problems and who just need a safe space to vent out, reflect and learn from their experiences. I have been growing from my clients journey. I am a life coach that loves to speak less, give my clients an opportunity to think out loud, and experience that AHA moment. This process allows me to learn other ways of dealing with things and from their action steps. I often learn new ways of handling certain challenges in my own life and I also find it powerful to acknowledge that they have taught me something.

• Which people represent personal and professional success in your opinion?

  People who show the willingness to learn, not wanting to be right all the time but people who remain teachable. Having a positive attitude towards situations, or good problem solving skills, problem solving for me is really important as I learn how to solve problems but it also gives me so much confidence in myself. The ability to have difficult conversations with those around, challenging your own biases or assumptions about other people, the ability to learn how to remain calm under pressure and lastly, being a resourceful person by being able to find opportunities and make use of them in a way that it will help you grow personally and professionally.

• What are your hobbies and how do they affect your energy and morale?

  I love running/jogging, meditating, listening to other people's stories, podcasts or youtube videos. Reading self help and fiction books and journaling. These hobbies help me become more focused and become action- oriented and I believe that the more physically strong I am, the more mentally strong I will be.

• Which audiences are your classes geared towards? Could they be open to all?

  I see myself as a holistic life coach, who finds it important to focus on every aspect of my client's lives, it that be their personal, professional and their social life (friends and family) This way I am able to work with my clients to tackle issues at hand instead of working on a niched program that might restrict my clients from bringing their whole selves. I work with everyone, I am currently coaching high school, university students and self employed and employed individuals and I am learning from this process that each client is different and they need different tools and techniques, which we build together.

• Being a Superprof requires some adaptability. Could you tell us how you adapt your approach based on your assessment of the student's needs?

  As mentioned above that I am a holistic coach, my approach focuses on my clients individuality. Individuality is one of my core values and I truly embrace and celebrate it in my sessions. Each client gets assessed through a questionnaire that gives them the space to share their goals, challenges and limitations and we use this assessment or questionnaire to build and work together, to know where the client is in their life and where they would like to be and we also use it as a way to measure our coaching progress. Should any challenges rise, we pivot together, learn new ways of adapting to the new circumstance.