We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sonali Kukreja a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sonali , appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Everything happens for a reason. The job I was in, didn’t fulfill me. I knew I was not doing justice to it, and I had to get out of it. What happens then? Covid hit and all of us got furloughed. That was it. That was the moment, and I knew it was my sign. I didn’t know then what I was supposed to do next, but I knew that was the end of that chapter.

After some months of staying at home and reflecting, something hit me like a lightning bolt and I got myself a certification in Relationship and Life Coaching. The Universe brought me back to Psychology. I’m glad it did because it transformed my personal and professional life tremendously. I said God gave me this gift for a purpose and I will honor it. I made my mission to help others in their personal relationships with my insights, knowledge, thoughts, and actions via my coaching.

I made full use of the challenging time of the pandemic that led to my authentic passion for helping people lead their best romantic, fulfilling, and healthy lives. I picked up things that I was making excuses for. It is never too late to do anything that you love to do. This time is not going to come back. Make the best of it.

Sonali , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I studied Psychology in India and while I was doing my Master’s, Counseling struck my fancy. And for some reason, I leaned toward studying marital relationships. I didn’t like whenever I used to see couples having conflicts. And that’s exactly why I picked the topic of marital adjustment for my Ph.D. research also. But after moving to the US, I never pursued Psychology professionally.

The thing is, we reinvent ourselves from time to time to grow and progress in life.

After 16 years of marriage, I discovered a lot about myself when I got into the dating world in my mid-life. It opened me up to a whole new world. But I struggled to navigate it and date mindfully. The challenges in marriage and dating made me curious to learn, and that strong desire to better myself made me immerse myself in studying relationships. I became obsessed and buried myself in books and various courses that I took from relationship and dating experts.

I knew by then Relationship is my niche. So you can say this passion was born out of personal life experiences. As a Relationship Coach, I assist you to talk in a safe and non-judgmental space.

I give guidance to:
– Establish a loving, fulfilling and successful relationship.
– Learn effective communication skills.
– Build confidence and self-esteem.
– Overcome trust issues.
– Date Mindfully/Consciously without fear, with a fully open heart and clear mind.
– Experience better intimacy (emotional, physical, sexual, and spiritual).
– And much more . . .
And as a result
• Your dating and relationship experiences change.
• You have a better relationship with yourself and your partner.
• You are empowered and free of fear to truly express yourself.
• You are more confident and insightful.
• Your ability to trust yourself and others is rebuilt.
• You have the tools to Resolve Conflicts.
• Your needs are met using effective Communication Skills.
• You are able to break old Cycles/Patterns.
• You are overcoming Relationship Anxiety.
• You have techniques for how to manage Anger.
• Your love is rekindled.

Being born and raised in India and now living in the US gives me a better understanding of both worlds. It gives me the versatility to tailor my approach and coach people from different cultural backgrounds.
I work with people who are not yet in a relationship, who have a history of troubled relationships, who have difficulty knowing what they want in a relationship or just want to stay on track with their plan to find a deeper connection with their partner/spouse.

I am also an Ordained Minister with Universal Life Church. I enjoy bringing light into other peoples’ lives by officiating weddings and renewing vows. Ceremonies can be fully customized per the unique beliefs and traditions of each couple, their culture, race, or religion or to bring out some dramatic flair to the ceremony.

I am very proud of my clients who make a genuine effort to work on themselves so that they can have a better relationship with their partners and then they make sure that I know how much I made a difference in their relationships and life in general. It makes me feel that I have accomplished my mission.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Defining success can be tricky because it’s so subjective.

Regardless of what field you are in, your persistence, determination, belief in your service/product, patience, the drive, the fire in the belly, passion is very important because all businesses take time to take off.

It takes time to build trust with your audience. So if you are authentic in your mission of helping others and efforts, others will see it.

I had to constantly remind myself that I had to be out there more and more otherwise how would people know that I exist especially when one is starting out new.

I could easily give up when I didn’t have enough clients or no clients. That is the time one needs to keep the chin up and keep going. But I remember I did have moments when I asked myself, “Am I on the right path” but then reminded myself, “Never ever doubt yourself. This is my purpose, this gives me joy.”

I did not let myself be consumed when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. There were also moments when I got distracted looking at other coaches’ success on social media. Again, positive self-talk helps. I told myself, I could do it too. Instead of feeling frustrated, learn, educate yourself, keep growing and keep moving forward.

I took action on my attainable goals. I could easily make excuses and put the blame on the circumstances because it’s the easiest thing to do when things are not going your way.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I don’t know if I have learned to be resilient, or if it comes naturally to me. Either way, it is a blessing.
Like in the beginning I mentioned that during Covid when I was home unemployed, I discovered my purpose of helping others to have a healthy and fulfilling romantic relationship since I believe that relationships are such an important part of our lives and they are not given enough attention. The urge was so compelling that I took action and dived into it 100%. I got a very good response but then it slowed down. Not to make things easier for me, my resources started going down, and my health started falling apart. One person can only do so much. So my morale was up and down.

However, my faith, my motto- “I can, and I will” kept me going. I keep my focus on growth and do not let adverse experiences deter my spirit. I keep my focus on how much I have learned over this time. How far I have come from where I was. How much wealth of knowledge I have gained. How much I have bettered myself. I bounce back very quickly every time I feel hopeless. I give a good meaning to every event that occurs rather than saying why it is happening to me. I choose to rise every time I fall.

And that makes me enjoy my journey. There have been many endings and new beginnings in the last five years in my professional and personal life. I am always curious and excited about what is next.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lovelifecoachxo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach.sonali.kukreja/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonalikukreja/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8qhBHnyxFX__WlpN2g_LKg