Hey, I am Dr. Aya Akkari
Once I graduated from dental school, I thought I could slow down and enjoy my success… Instead, I found myself struggling physically and emotionally.
Pursuing 5 years of dental school felt like a harrowing journey. I was sleeping 6 hours a night and had to do my assignments after a full day of clinics. Basically, I lived in the dental school/hospital. It was like running on a treadmill…There was never enough time and as a result, I had to sacrifice my self-care.
I participated in different local and international research competitions and won numerous awards.
Over and over again, I put my career first and my health second. I was malnourished, overwhelmed, and not the woman I wanted to be.
My working life came with its own challenges. On the outside, my life seemed like a dream life. I had a beautiful home, an affluent bank account, I traveled and had a wonderful family that loved me.
Hey, I am Aya Akkari
Once I graduated from dental school, I thought I could slow down and enjoy my success… Instead, I found myself struggling physically and emotionally.
Pursuing 5 years of dental school felt like a harrowing journey. I was sleeping 6 hours a night and had to do my assignments after a full day of clinics. Basically, I lived in the dental school/hospital. It was like running on a treadmill…There was never enough time and as a result, I had to sacrifice my self-care.
I participated in different local and international research competitions and won numerous awards.
Over and over again, I put my career first and my health second. I was malnourished, overwhelmed, and not the woman I wanted to be.
My working life came with its own challenges. On the outside, my life seemed like a dream life. I had a beautiful home, an affluent bank account, I traveled and had a wonderful family that loved me.
Yet I was struggling to the point where I could not enjoy what I had on the inside. My physical health was deteriorating. I felt exhausted, physically run down, and experienced pain every day. I was often irritable, which affected the quality of my relationships. I was disconnected from myself and my surroundings and was emotionally unavailable to my family.
A couple of years later, I was diagnosed with a medical condition partly due to being in a state of constant stress. Quite simply, I had burnt out.
As well as seeking a more holistic approach towards health. I tried changing jobs, changing countries, and moving to an organization with a better culture. Eventually, I realized the only thing I still had to change was me! I needed a new outlook on life.
I had spent most of my life trying to get approval from those around me because deep down I was suffering from the
“I am not good enough”
syndrome
I am grateful to say that I am now connected with my innate well-being, inner peace, and confidence. I operate most of the time from a place of understanding, compassion, and wisdom.
My life has flourished both at the personal and professional levels. I enjoy healthier relationships. I am being true to my vision as I create my legacy one day at a time.
Today, I can have life’s challenges without the challenges having me.
My mission is to
Empower ambitious professionals, executives, and change leaders EXCEL through my “Leadership Mastery System.” A powerful combination of leading-edge leadership development and timeless wisdom. I specialize in assisting leaders in beating burnout, enhancing their performance and productivity, and mastering the art of work-life balance. I will help you increase your influence, better engage your team, take charge of your business, career, health, and relationships, and lead life from a state of wellbeing and wisdom. You learn to lead and communicate more effectively through my 4-step program towards unleashing the power within.
You are just one thought away from tapping into your innate wellbeing and wisdom.
I have coached leaders working in high-performance, high-pressure industries amidst the COVID-19 crisis and helped them recenter themselves and find grounding.
Why leadership coaching?
A resounding question that echoed inside my inner being. It culminated in an epiphany when I partnered with a high-performance coach who used appreciative inquiry to find the answer to my inner dilemma. The following anecdote recounts what unfolded during the process.
“Last night, I was graced with a powerful coaching session of self-discovery. It was emotional and full of tears as well as insight.
I woke up this morning feeling liberated. I performed my dawn prayer and then went for a bike ride. The sun shone brighter than ever, the grass seemed greener, and the birds had a distinctive chirp.
As I was riding through a trail of trees and the irrigation system sprayed out streams of cold pristine water. I got drenched but getting drenched never felt so rejuvenating. I guess the word I am looking for here is catharsis.
As I continued riding each stream of freshwater created its own mini rainbow that seemed to sparkle as it danced in the sunlight. Never in my life did I enjoy the privilege of riding through and being engulfed by a plethora of rainbows. The world seemed alive and dancing with joy. I basked in my renewed sense of presence. Perhaps this marked the dawn of a new more powerful transformation. It is like I am meeting myself for the first time.
I learned many new things about myself, my past, and how powerful an impact my childhood had on me.
I
realized for the first time that my grandfather was a beacon of enlightenment for me and others around me. He was an enlightened teacher who happened to be a successful businessman, as well as an artist. In his free time, he was engaged in making traditional dresses from silver and silk, a craft that he learned since he was a child. Growing up I watched as he designed and crafted the magnificent colorful dresses. And he would go for trips downtown to sell them.
I became cognizant of the fact that my decision to become an emotional resilience and leadership coach and mentor dated back to my childhood
In life, there are givers and takers, and my grandfather was definitely a giver. He helped me find ‘home’. Home is not a place but the space inside. A space of ease and peace. A space that is vast and vacant yet full of potential.
It dawned on me that empowering leaders to lead from their souls through conscious awareness via coaching and mentoring is my legacy. It is my family’s legacy that has been passed down from one generation to the next. You must believe in yourself for others to believe in you. I realized that I had to close myself first.
My mission or rather my passion is to help others find that space within them.
A space that exists within all yet very few are aware of it. Wisdom is a privilege, not a right!
- Are you unsure about how to go about this sublime quest?
- Do you know how to search for the answers within?