confidence | self-care
I would always compare myself to other people and felt like they were ahead of me, and that I was behind.
Originally from London, UK and now living in Dubai, I am a qualified life coach, and certified NLP and Thetahealing practitioner, an entrepreneur, speaker, trainer and podcast host. I studied Biomedical Science as my undergraduate degree and then completed my Master’s in Public Health at King’s College London. I quickly worked my way up the career ladder, being promoted after 6 months of starting my public health career, and then another 6 months after that, landing a role as a senior member of my team in a national organisation aged 24.
Although on paper I had my dream job, one that I had studied and worked so hard for, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.
Although I knew that somewhere along the line I was making a difference, I wanted to feel like I was having more of an impact on a daily basis. I also asked myself the question of ‘can I really see myself doing this for the next 10, 20 years?’ and when the answer was no, I knew something had to change. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do and so I did a lot of self-reflecting into my values, what I enjoy, and what it is that I am interested in.
I completed my life coaching and NLP training and started my business on the side whilst working full time. What I truly felt passionate about was helping others to develop confidence within themselves. Why?
Because my whole life changed when I started to believe in myself. When I lacked confidence in myself I would shy away from opportunities, I never saw myself as someone who could be successful, someone who could speak in front of large audiences or someone who could ever run their own business.
I learnt that you have two choices. You can either be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. You can either choose to be kind, compassionate towards yourself, and your own cheerleader or you can be self-critical, disempower and hold yourself back. The one you choose will have a huge impact on the outcomes in your life.
Working with a coach absolutely changed my life. Coaching enabled me to create a vision for myself, one that I had never envisioned for myself before, and break down my big goals into smaller, more achievable steps to prevent me from becoming overwhelmed and enable me to feel more motivated. I realized that I had blind spots and my coach helped to hold a mirror up to me and show me what I hadn’t been able to see.
My own journey of coaching and healing has enabled me to shed so many of the layers that I had built up around myself, which involved putting everyone else above myself, feeling like I always had to prove myself, and that I couldn’t truly communicate my thoughts and feelings because I was too worried about judgment and how it would be received. This only led to me having poor boundaries which people would continuously take advantage of, being overly critical towards myself, and not having faith that I could achieve great things in my life.
I had to unlearn so many stories that I had created for myself and reprogram my thoughts in order to create a new reality for myself. No, it hasn’t been easy, but has it been worth it? Absolutely. YOU get to decide who you want to be in this world, you just have to give yourself permission to do so.
Working with a coach absolutely changed my life.
I was lucky enough to have a manager who saw in me what I was unable to see in myself at the time. She encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and chair meetings, present in front of large audiences (200+
people!) and show up as a leader. After learning how to value and start showing up for myself, I was able to see what I couldn’t see before. I started to say yes to opportunities and no to what was no longer serving me. The profound impact her coaching had on me inspired me to have the same impact on others. To also be someone who is able to hold a mirror up to women who are right now unaware that deep down they are capable of SO much more. And once they make that realization and feel safe enough to take that first step, the possibilities are endless!
Fast forward a few months, once my business started to pick up I made the decision to go fully in and dedicate myself to expanding and making a success of it. “If it doesn’t work out it’s fine, I can always go back to my career” is what I told myself at the time. I knew I could do it alone but I also knew that by hiring a coach I would be able to achieve my goals so much quicker and with a lot more clarity than if I tried to figure everything out by myself and make more mistakes along the way than I needed to.
get to know me
So back to my story, I started my business in London, working with professionals in the city, helping them in becoming more bold and having more of a presence at work, to start valuing themselves enough to go for what they deserve. I started running workshops in London and then created my first online group coaching programme, with a new topic each week to enhance their self-confidence. As I was able to work remotely, I decided to visit my family in Abu Dhabi for 3 months and work from the UAE. I had no previous intention of doing so, but while I was out here and without knowing anyone, decided to run a confidence workshop. I advertised it on Instagram and hoped for the best.
When I first moved to the UAE I had a lot of conversations with people, who when I told them about my business, told me that there weren’t any opportunities for what I do here because women in this region wouldn’t be interested in what I do, and that personal development isn’t something that is seen as worth investing in. Instead of taking this advice and making it my own reality, I decided to challenge it instead.
I ran my first workshop and to my surprise a whole room showed up and absolutely LOVED the event, asking when the next one will be!
After that event, I began working with clients 1:1 from all around the globe and running workshops every month on topics including confidence, self-love, self-awareness, relationships. One year later I moved to Dubai and created another community in this city, supporting one another on their goals and journey of self-love. I am now one of the leading life coaches in the UAE, working 1:1 with CEOs, public figures, celebrities, professors, lawyers, medical professionals, and have run training sessions for employees of ADNOC, Ministry of Education, Emirates Foundation and First Abu Dhabi Bank. I have gone from being someone who used to absolutely hate public speaking and even shake whenever I had to give presentations, to now running my own events and being hired to speak by organisations…. AND loving it!
And that’s the beauty of this journey. There are so many incredible opportunities that are waiting for you. All you have to do is decide that it’s time for you to open the door and begin this journey.
What are you waiting for?
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Success Stories
I can’t describe my journey with Aliya. I went from feeling in the dark to finding my passion. I realised that I am enough and now that it is the time to start. The sessions with Aliya completely changed my life and who I was back then compared to who I am now is completely different. I now know who I am, I’m comfortable in my skin and what it is that I want to do with my life.
Bayan, Life Coach
I discovered Coach Aliya’s account 2 years ago when I was in a self-development journey, I attended a workshop and I really enjoyed it. Since then I saw myself growing with every workshop or challenge I took with Aliya. My self-love and self-confidence improved.
I became aware of setting boundaries and felt more confident in making decisions, which improved my relationships. I learned how to watch my thoughts and my self-talk, which at the time was mostly negative. I learned how to set goals monthly and work to achieve them. I became more gentle with myself and not give myself a hard time if things didn’t go as planned.
I learned how to put myself first and prioritize myself and my desires.
I am really grateful that I met you and learned so much from you.
Ahlam, Founder of Healthy and Vegan