Carine Hajjar Dannawi is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her love towards humanity. Her coaching is more than just a profession, she actually wants to help people attain fulfillment in their life. Her approach is always following the latest science and she is continuously learning new cutting edge methods that can help. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Carine Hajjar Dannawi:

Name: Carine Hajjar Dannawi
Pillar: The Spirit
Who is this coach for: For anyone who wants to get to know themselves better, reach a big goal and find fulfillment.
How they can help: By using various scientific methods and tools like graphs, wheels, imagination, projections, and metaphors, just to name a few.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?

My husband, 2 kids, and I moved to Dubai during the pandemic. We are healthy, adapting, and coping well with the situation, and our stress and fear levels are relatively low.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

The pandemic affected everyone!

In regards to the sector of life coaching, we witnessed a surge and higher demand for coaching, whether from individuals, companies, schools, magazines… It’s exploding!

The pandemic increased the awareness of people to nurture their minds and souls. Spending time alone allowed people to connect with their inner selves, with their emotions, what they really want.

When we slowed down, we all started to ask ourselves and others: ”How are you feeling?” not just “How are you doing?”

I personally have more clients interested in discovering themselves, their values, their small moments of joy, their fears, what is blocking their fulfillment…

Also after the pandemic, I have more clients struggling with social anxiety, general anxiety, academic motivation (students). More clients now need support in how to deal with change and adapt, how to accept grief…

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the pandemic is to have a flexible mind and know that there is no constant, except the openness for change.

I learned not to get overly attached to plans, or to manage every aspect of my day and try to control everything. Now I just embrace what life hands me, and adapt.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

Actually, I started with my coaching career by coincidence.

I was chatting with a friend about hobbies and passions and I shared with her that I don’t have any, and that I would love to have one.

I knew that having something fulfilling to do is so rewarding and brings joy, and I was aware that I miss this in my life.

She insisted that I look into life coaching as she knows my character well and thinks that I will love this journey. And I did… and still loving it every day, that makes me so grateful.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

The biggest obstacle in my life was moving countries with my husband and family, but I believe family should stick together when they have the chance.

The moves affected my career as I didn’t have the chance to grow and to have continuity in my home country.

Then again when I think about it, this obstacle was a blessing as it lead me to be an ICF (International Coaching Federation) accredited life coach, where I can practice my passion everywhere in the world. I reside now in Dubai where I am gladly practicing my calling by helping as many people as possible.

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

Scientific research and development are ongoing, and new facts and discoveries should be accounted for when valid. That’s why I am on a constant learning journey. I am constantly growing, applying for new certifications, attending workshops, podcasts…

The joy of learning new insights and applying them with clients is very rewarding because I witness how new tools, based on science, along with human interaction and trust, work miracles on clients. Furthermore, a tool that works for you might not work for me, that’s why coaches need a variety of methods, insight, and Innovation.

This plays a big role in the process of finding what works with every client so they can benefit personally and be motivated to reach their meaningful goal.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

Because I am also a certified youth coach, my approach is unique, very comfortable, nonformal, nonjudgmental, creating an atmosphere of trust, while being focused, and introducing awareness and growth to clients.

My clients experience a mix of emotions during our sessions, it’s like having a taste of life. They laugh, get emotional, get inspired, discover their fears, deep feelings, and thoughts…

I believe life coaching is a partnership, a connection, and a bond between my client and me.

The love and trust I share with humanity is unlimited. I know that each one of us can reach unlimited goals when having the right mindset and system.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

The most important benefit clients get out of our sessions is the new perspective they have for life after the self discovery and the self awareness they gain.

This enables them to experience more fulfillment in life.

Fulfillment is mainly what we all long for but don’t know how and where to find it. Some clients approach me to reach more success, more happiness, more inner peace, but the value added is so much more.

No one knows beforehand the treasures they will discover during this journey. They end up discovering meaningful and fulfilling thoughts, dreams, and values… Because life coaching is a self discovery journey, clients’ self confidence and self love increase. After all, how can you love someone if you don’t know them well?! The same theory applies to oneself.

Know yourself to love yourself more.

The other and direct benefit is, of course, clients reaching their main goal, the one they approached me for at the first pace.

Whether it is changing a bad habit, creating new ones, finding a passion, acceptance, having higher grades or a promotion, taking a difficult decision, managing impulsive emotions and anger, bullying, social anxiety, and fears…

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

Actually, I work with many tools in life coaching, but I create for each client a personalized bundle, that helps them move forward.

Tools I use include exercises, graphs, wheels, imagination, projections, metaphors… Other tools I constantly use are empathetic open ended questions that help clients dig deep and discover their personality and values.

I also use silence a lot as a way to let the client self reflect.

Notably, the mere fact that I believe in my clients, is a priceless tool. It pushes them to believe in themselves and know that they can do it.

Finally and sincerely, many coaches have many tools, but the bond and click the client and coach feel is a great factor in the success of their agreement.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

I would shout out with the conviction that every person should be his own coach or have a life coach.

If all humanity is coached the world will be a better place with less anger, less anxiety, less sadness, more hope, more love, more empathy, and more success…

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

I used to be an overthinker, my mind and thoughts wandered involuntarily to the past and the future always projecting negative scenarios (what if…) or dwelling on unsuccessful experiences, overly stressing…

Then, gradually I learned the greatest lesson in life.

I am now aware of my thoughts and body and I am more self present. I believe in a holistic approach to life now.

I introduced yoga and meditation into my routine, 2 years ago, and I am being coached by a colleague life coach and a health coach in parallel.

The healthy holistic combination made me so much calmer, happier, in tune with my feelings and body parts, fulfilled, more forgiving, and projecting positive energy.

Your final thoughts?

Be true to yourself, know yourself, love yourself, take care of yourself.

We are living in a fast paced world, running around searching for happiness or fulfillment, doing much effort, but sometimes with no success. We invest with private coaches in sports, hobbies, diets… which is amazing, but let us not forget to give time and energy to our mental health and state, which is our most precious asset.

Where Can You Find Carine Hajjar Dannawi?

If you resonated with this interview and you would like to connect directly with coach Carine, you can follow her Facebook page or Instagram where she shares valuable pieces of knowledge. If you have a burning question, you can also connect with her on LinkedIn.

She is active on Instagram and she is making valuable videos that will help you improve the quality of your life and you can watch them here. It was an honor having this interview with her.