Here's what I'm all about

Hey friend,

I'm Marcela Aguirre, an Occupational Medicine Doctor, Ex-Military Medical Officer, & Professional Coach.

I specialise in coaching individuals & groups with a focus on Mental Fitness, Emotional Resilience & Mindset. As I have found out, out mindset & mental health are the ultimate key ingredients to unlocking our truest and highest potential. 

I have dedicated the majority of my life to learning about Mental Health. In my medical work, mental health has been one of my primary focus, treating thousands of patients with mental illness. In the military I was exposed to severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, & a huge variety of mental health problems that are particularly common within the military. I published two papers on mental health in army veterans, the results of which changed the way that the British army conducts its discharge medicals.

I achieved professional certifications in Personal Performance Coaching & have coached dozens of clients over the past 2 years. Clients come to me with a variety of challenges and goals they want to work on. My type of coaching is focused on addressing Mental Heatlh & Fitness, developing Emotional Resilience, & optimising mindset. By focusing on these three key components, clients are able to overcome even the toughest of challenges, and optimise their mental health. 

I have been on the journey of stepping away from medicine for around 10 years! It has been a gradual and long process, one I believe many doctors and other high-flying professionals would closely identify with. 

Deep down I always knew that medicine was not my passion, but I enjoyed it enough to persevere through medical school, always hoping that the next step in my career would bring me that magical feeling of being totally in love with my job and vocation. That feeling never came. Instead, I found myself more and more stressed, dissatisfied, and unhappy in my chosen career. 

I clearly remember how terrifying it felt to even consider that medicine may not be the career I was hoping it would be, and that it was making me unhappy. I fought this feeling for so long, burying my feelings and trying to lie to myself by telling myself that I still loved medicine and that I should continue. 

When I started quietly confiding in others regarding my doubts around medicine, I was sad to come across so much resistance. People in my family in particular were shocked that I would even consider leaving medicine: 'How can you leave, we need more doctors, not less. You are so lucky to have studied medicine, it is a privilege to be a doctor, don't be ungrateful' or: 'Medicine pays really well and it's a safe career. How could you possibly risk all of that for the unknown?' etc etc. Hearing these comments would set me back even more and I would continue to tell myself that medicine was the way forward and that I simply needed to find a specialty that better resonated with me. 

I've practiced medicine for a total of 14 years, of which the last 10 have been a gradual transition to non-clinical medicine, business ventures and other income streams, whilst still supporting myself financially with medical work. I left the NHS in May 2016 and since then, I have had an interesting journey of self discovery, learned about other careers, set up different businesses, and learned what truly makes me happy and fulfilled. This journey has led me to the present day, where I now work as a coach and mentor, mostly online and remotely. I also earn additional passive income through real estate investing. I have set up my life so that I have several revenue streams, and I have total flexibility and control over my work, and most importantly, I really really enjoy what I do. The process of distancing myself from medicine gradually opened my eyes to the myriad of opportunities available in terms of other fulfilling careers, the business world, and other revenue streams. I now have time to pursue my hobbies and I can once again enjoy and explore my creative side. I am writing a book and I now have time to draw, paint, and play the piano - things I had to sacrifice for many years as full time medicine was all consuming.

I look back now and I simply cannot imagine what my life would be like now had I not made the scary but brave decision to quit GP training in 2016, and venturing into a world that I had to carve out for myself. I have made plenty of mistakes (including some very expensive ones), and the route has not always been clear. However, I don't regret it at all and in fact my life is better than I could have ever imagined back then. 

I personally know so many doctors and other high-flying professionals who are struggling in their careers. My mission is to help individuals, i.e, you, reading this right now, to be able to get to a place where you have better work life balance, more career and work enjoyment, more control over your life, more money and less stress. I have managed to achieve all of these things and more, and I would love nothing more than to help other professionals achieve the same. It is definitely possible, and hopefully with guidance and by learning from my mistakes, you can take additional shortcuts and your journey to happiness and freedom may be a lot quicker than mine was. 

I am here to tell you that you can do it, you can be happy and fulfilled in your career, but you have to start prioritising yourself and understand that trying to change a whole system (such as the NHS) is a long and challenging process - there is a lot you can do as an individual in the meantime to get yourself well, re-gain work-life balance, earn money that doesn't solely rely on you working in your current role, and get you to a place where you are happy, empowered and in control.

Whether you want to stay in your career, cut down to part time, or leave altogether, I am here to support you and to tell you that I understand! I truly do. I've been there. 

I sincerely hope the resources offered here are useful to you, and gets you started on the road of better balance and more fulfilment. I offer personalised 1 to 1 Coaching Programmes for those who want to accelerate their results and be guided to a place of clarity and empowerment. Please click here for more information. 

To your fulfilment,

Marcela