Why Coaching?
Many people are passively living their lives day-to-day and only take action when reacting to something life has thrown at them. I believe in taking a more active role in one’s life and being proactive. Similar to one’s health. The more active and proactive a person is in their health, typically, the more healthy they are. Our well-being and mental health are no different. Our fulfillment and happiness in life are no different. We must be active participants and take action to be healthy in any aspect of life.
For me, being active in life comes in many forms: gratitude, meditation, physical fitness, reading, etc. However, I tend to use positive psychology and resilience methods in my outlook on life and in coaching. I don’t want to treat the symptoms, I want to treat the problem. I want to help you take action in your life so that symptoms resolve on their own because the problem that brought you here has been resolved.
I chose to focus on life mapping, resilience, and veteran development because I know that the results you get from working in these fields with me will be life-changing.
I have been using the life mapping technique or something similar for as long as I can remember. You see I’m a planner, I like to take charge of my life and not just let life happen to me. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy going with the flow, but I also enjoy having a plan and knowing what I’m supposed to be doing or working on. Life mapping can be used in all aspects of one’s life. I have personally used it for educational purposes, career planning, life transitions; such as moving, marriage, and divorce; personal development, and plain ‘ol mundane goal setting.
HI, MY NAME IS KRISTYNE THOMAS AND I AM THE OWNER OF LIGHTPEAK COACHING LLC.
As an Army National Guard veteran who served as a weekend warrior with active duty time under my belt, I was introduced to resilience. As far back as I can remember I had this internal fight with myself; not to care what others thought, that I was good enough, that I was loved, that I was accepted. Easier said than done. As I sat there in my twice-yearly resilience class for the 100th time, something clicked. Anyone who has served will likely know this phrase, “hunt the good stuff”. Every day, hunt the good stuff, and find something to be thankful for. All these years of fighting myself and pretending to be happy while looking for acceptance and meaningful relationships - looking for external validations to make me happy. I had been doing it wrong. I needed to look within myself and acknowledge the good things already around me and in my life. Resilience is so much more than hunting the good stuff and showing gratitude, it's what opened the door for me to find happiness within myself.
Enter my passion for veteran development. The Army is really great at teaching you how to be a soldier and preparing you for war. How to march, move and shoot, clear buildings, follow orders, lead troops, and how to manage expectations for the sandbox. That’s how my era of soldiers refers to the Middle East deployments. All this training to prepare you for being away from your loved ones and getting the job done, but no training on reintegration when you return. Leadership and a transition team tell you to expect things to be different and to have patience. They try to give adequate training in the limited time they have, if you’re lucky, but it's not nearly enough. Fast forward to transitioning out of the military and into civilian life, again very little to no training. Some service members get enough training or transition to veteran status fairly seamlessly. Others, not so much. Civilian life is different. The way you speak to colleagues and your interactions with leadership is different. Some are creating budgets or resumes for the first time. Some are overwhelmed with the freedom of time. Some are shutting down over the number of choices and decisions in front of them for the first time in a long time. I’m here for all of it.
Let me clarify, I am not a licensed psychologist or mental health professional. I am not here to provide counseling or therapy. I’m here to guide you and to help you find the answers within you as a coach.
I have been “coaching” in some way or form since my teenage years. I was always the one friends came to for advice or help with school, family, and relationship problems. I even mentored struggling youth (peers at the time) at a local non-profit after school and on weekends. I joined the Army National Guard when I was 17 and soon fell into another mentor/leader role with other recruits while in the Recruit Sustainment Program during drill weekends. Through my military career as a paralegal, I mentored and trained other soldiers in different aspects of their lives. However, if this was going on a resume I’d say I mentored and trained soldiers in professional development.
I separated from the service after serving 7 years. I went back to school and finished my degree in psychology. While in college I held a few different positions to help pay my way. I worked in retail, did ABA therapy for a bit, and did office administration. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, I worked for a local non-profit organization that worked with veterans. While in this job I wore many hats and did many things, among them coaching. I coached veterans on transitioning to civilian life, career changes and advancement, education goals, budgets, and work-life balance. All of which I consider part of veteran development.
Through my job at this local non-profit, I also started working with veterans on resilience. We partnered with a local outdoor expeditions business and created a veterans sea kayaking and resilience training program. I went through the pilot program as a participant and was invited back to be a veteran mentor. I was then invited back to be the resilience coach.
Through these many experiences, I continued to fall in love with coaching and helping others realize their potential and dreams and working with them to achieve their goals. Trying to take my own advice and accept compliments when given, I finally heard what everyone around me and everything in me had been saying. My calling is to help people; coaching is the path to get me there. So after many years of denial and fear of putting myself out there, I created a coaching business. This coaching business, LightPeak Coaching LLC.
So here we are. You and I, taking action in our lives. Being active participants. Drawing our own maps and making our own roads. Let's do it together.
Extras
I didn’t tell my mom that I was joining the military and just drove her to the recruiting office when I was 17.
I fell in love with psychology in elementary school.
I have two dogs and one cat.
I love coffee and novelty office supplies.
I enjoy kayaking and hiking.
I’ve completed the Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, and other mud runs/obstacle courses.
I’m terrible at trivia but love to play.
Love exploring locally and when away.
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Communications
Certified Leadership & Resilience Coach
Certified Life Mapping Coach
Certified Veteran Development Coach
Certified in Career Coaching and Case Management
Fun Facts about me
Education & Certifications
Psst... you can view my media appearance and social engagements on my personal website.
Let's talk
Listening to your feedback and reading your comments makes me very happy. Contact me if you have any questions, comments, information, or to request a quote. I will get back to you shortly. You can write to my email: hello@lightpeakcoaching.com
