Helping to empower others

"We are taught to ask other people what they think we should do with our lives." Johnelle Hoskings

Johnelle Hoskings believes she has found her calling as a selfempowerment coach.

The Palmerston North woman, known to many as a former Manawatu¯ More FM morning show co-host, is following her passion after completing training as a health coach.

Hoskings, now a marketing and communications co-ordinator for BCC, has been juggling work with her self-titled blog and a pool of clients with the aim of helping them grow their self-belief.

‘‘We are not taught to trust ourselves. We are taught to ask other people what they think we should do with our lives,’’ she said.

‘‘For me, self-empowerment is asking yourself and really figuring out what you want and trusting the answers you get. I think it is such a powerful tool that not enough people use. In my mind, that is why so many people are lost.’’

Her path to being a selfempowerment coach started five years ago when she was in Auckland.

‘‘I got really sick one weekend and I felt so crap that I never wanted to feel that way again. I started researching healthy eating and exercising more and lifestyle stuff. Then I got obsessed.

‘‘A friend and I started a website together. That was a healthy eating and lifestyle blog.’’

After a promising start, the blog fell away when she took a radio job in Palmerston North.

‘‘I felt a little bit lost the first year I was here and on reflection, I realised what I had lost was that whole health and wellness aspect of my life. That is when I decided to study to be a health coach, to get that back again.’’

Since then, she has narrowed down her focus to selfempowerment, and she hopes her role will go beyond the website. The signs have already been positive, including being invited to hold a talk at the Feilding Library and run a workshop at a school.