“Before Your Heart Breaks, Learn to Cheer Yourself On” — Life Coach NOA on Protecting Mental Health

NOA: Born November 23, 1995 | A true Sagittarius and eldest daughter. Active as a life coach and school coach. Currently in her 10th year of coaching. official website HERE.

Ten years ago, when terms like “mental health” and “coaching” weren’t as commonly used as they are today, NOA began exploring these themes as ways to understand herself and support others. She started coaching as a means of self-empowerment. Today, she offers coaching to children and adults alike as a way to help people cheer themselves on. With a unique perspective of “preventing loneliness,” she continues to work closely with those in front of her.

In this interview, we spoke with NOA about how she discovered coaching, the insights she gained through conversations with children, and what she’s learned over a decade of practice.

We Have Tools to Keep Our Bodies Healthy — What About Our Minds?

— What led you to discover coaching?

I was 19 when I stumbled across the word “coaching” on Facebook.

Back in my first year of high school, I went through a period of depression and couldn’t leave the house. Eventually, I dropped out and decided to study abroad. Through that experience, I started to vaguely feel that I wanted to work with people’s hearts and minds.

But at the time, the only method I knew for dealing with mental health was counseling. I wondered if there was a way to support the heart before it broke down, rather than treating it after the fact. I personally couldn’t find a counselor who fit me, and I often felt like, Is this really a long-term solution?

I was looking for a way to help people think for themselves and stand on their own two feet. That’s when I discovered coaching, and something just clicked. I thought, This might be exactly what I’ve been looking for.

— The term “coaching” wasn’t that well-known back then, was it?

I made my debut as a coach in 2015. These days you can find coaching books even in convenience stores, but back then people would ask, “What exactly do coaches teach?”

The terms “coaching” and “mental health” have only really become mainstream in the past five years or so. At the time, not only were there few coaches, but there were also very few people who had ever received coaching.

— Did you face challenges working as a coach when it was still relatively unknown?

I was lucky — the people who needed coaching naturally found their way to me. But among my peers, there were some I felt weren’t doing it for others, but rather to heal themselves.

There was a trend of mixing coaching with spirituality, and I admit I felt a bit frustrated by that direction.

— What Led NOA to Become a Coach?

There are two key reasons. One is my track coach in junior high, who often talked about how much mental strength affects performance. Track is all about numbers, but sometimes your mood can produce times you normally couldn’t run — or cause you to underperform. I became fascinated by the mysterious power of the mind through that experience.

The second was my own experience with depression — the sense that my heart had broken, and I could no longer function or feel like myself. I realized that no one should have to go through that. Instead of treating it after the breakdown, we should be trying to prevent it in the first place.

There are all sorts of tools to maintain physical health — so why not mental health? That simple question sparked my interest in this field.

— Is that when you started coaching school?

Yes. I never had ambitions to make it a big business. I just had a strong desire to become a coach and share coaching with others. I even submitted my business registration form on a whim.

Learning to Ask “What If?” from Different Angles

— What’s the concrete difference between counseling and coaching?

Both involve dialogue, so they seem similar, but their goals are different. The method is the same, but the destination is different.

Counseling aims to solve or heal mental health issues. Coaching doesn’t offer solutions or advice. The only rule in coaching is: Don’t give advice. Instead, you help open up the client’s inner drawers through feedback and questions, guiding them to find their own way toward their goals.

— What’s your coaching work like now?

I work in three main areas: individual coaching, corporate coaching, and coaching for children. My clients range from 6-year-olds to people in their 50s. Rather than focusing on achieving goals, I want to spread coaching as a tool to create environments where people can support themselves and each other. That’s why my personal mission is “to prevent loneliness through coaching.”

— Coaching children is quite rare, isn’t it?

It started from a natural intuition — that life might be easier if kids could learn from a young age to face their emotions and support themselves.

I’d wanted to work with children for a long time, and in the past few years I’ve finally built the foundation and confidence to do it.

— What’s it been like working with kids?

With 6-year-olds, they’re not necessarily talking about problems — they just love having time that’s purely their own. One girl told her mom, “This is my time, so go away!” (laughs). It’s like coaching has become a kind of “third place” for them.

One memorable moment was when a third-grader said, “This happened, so I’d like to think about it together.” Not “What should I do?” but “Let’s think together.” That really captures what coaching is all about.

Other kids have said things like, “Because I have time with NOA-chan, I can now think of different maybes about my problems.” One letter I got said, “Thanks to you, I’ve gained more options in how I think.” That made me feel like the seeds I’m planting are slowly taking root.

— Having a safe space outside of home and school is important, isn’t it?

Yes, absolutely. Whether online or in person, you can never have too many of those places.

— You also speak out on topics like body positivity. That takes courage. What drives you?

I started posting about body positivity from a coaching perspective: If you change how you see your insecurities, maybe you can bring out more of your strengths. Yes, exposing my body was scary. But my desire to do it outweighed my fear.

I thought, Maybe someone will relate. Maybe someone’s heart will feel lighter after seeing this. That possibility was enough. I think I also had a desire for my anger to be heard — that was another motivation.

— Anger can be a driving force too?

It sounds cheesy, but I think anger stems from love. It holds expectations, so it’s wrapped in love. My anger says, “This world can be better,” or “We’re not done yet.” That kind of hope-fueled anger gives me power.

It’s Not Just About Coping — It’s About Handling

— How has coaching changed you personally?

Honestly, everything has changed. I see coaching as a skill to cheer on yourself and those you care about. The ability to keep supporting yourself is so important.

I’ve become better at looking at painful experiences from different angles, so I don’t get swallowed by negative emotions. I’ve gotten better at organizing my own feelings. I’ve gained more ways to interpret and process my emotions — and that makes me feel freer.

— So it’s less about “coping” and more about knowing how to hold it?

Exactly. I’ve gotten better at handling emotions, not just reacting. I used to struggle with communication, especially with family and in relationships. I would keep everything inside and not say what mattered.

But now I can ask myself, “Why am I afraid to say this? What am I scared will happen if I do?” Breaking it down helped me realize it’s okay to say, “I’m feeling this and this.” That’s when your relationships start to shift — and you start to think, Wow, I’m evolving.

— Do you have habits that help you relax mentally or physically?

I don’t really try to avoid feeling down. If I fall, I fall — that’s okay. I don’t try to maintain perfect mental health. But I do regularly write in a journal and practice self-coaching. Also, I sleep a lot!

I love music, so I go to a live show at least once a month. Seeing performers deliver powerful messages through their attitude empowers me too.

Spreading Coaching to Others

— What’s the most rewarding part of working as a coach?

Coaching can be combined with so many things. You can integrate it into your own interests, so it never gets boring. I’m glad I chose this path.

It’s also great to see how people are becoming more open about mental health. That’s something I’ve really felt over these past 10 years — the importance of continuing.

— This year marks 10 years. Any insights from a decade of coaching?

If I had to pick one word, it would be continuity. Not because I forced myself to keep going, but because there’s something you only see when you stick with it. Things happen that you once thought impossible. Honestly, it’s not so much that I kept going, but more that I didn’t quit.

— Do you have plans for the next 10 years?

I want to go back to my roots and focus on spreading coaching. Of course, I’ll still coach people myself, but I want to focus on increasing the number of people who can coach others. Teaching, communicating, and sharing coaching — that’s where my vision lies now.

— What inspired that shift?

Over the past two years, I’ve been focusing on coaching kids. And I realized — maybe it’s faster and more impactful to grow the number of people who can coach, not just do it myself.

Workshops are great, but when kids return home or to school, the feeling they had can fade. What matters is helping that feeling stick. That’s why training more coaches is the next step.

Right now, I’m developing my own course to teach the basics of coaching. (We’ve launched “Living Coaching: The Basics of Coaching to Support Yourself and Loved Ones and Cultivate Mental Health.”) I’m also exploring ways to share coaching as a tool for mental health through writing, audio, and other forms of expression.

— Final Message to Readers

Lately, I’ve been feeling uneasy — even angry — about how important words like “mental health,” “self-love,” and “body positivity” are being used as trendy buzzwords, or treated as one-size-fits-all solutions.

When you’re struggling mentally, you often end up hurting yourself with your own internal dialogue. That’s why I want people to be aware of the words they say to themselves.

You don’t need to change anything immediately. But just pausing to ask, Is this really okay? can lead to new insights.

Taking care of your emotions — coaching is a really effective entry point for that. If you get the chance, I hope you give it a try.