My UAE: Life coach Sara Al ­Zaidi offers choices not answers

We speak to one of the first Emiratis to build a career as a trained life coach.

Sara Al Zaidi, who quit her public-relations job to pursue life coaching. Delores Johnson / The National

At school, Sara Al ­Zaidi was always the girl whom friends turned to for advice when they had a problem.

“I’d give answers, because I would think that I knew the best solution for them,” says Al Zaidi, 33. “It became clear to me that I have this skill.”

Nowadays, Al Zaidi uses that skill on a daily basis, as one of the first Emiratis to forge a career as a life coach.

Al Zaidi says she wouldn’t be where she is today without a love of reading. And much of the credit for that lies with one teacher at the women’s Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, where she studied computer science.

“When I was at school, I really struggled with English, and when I went to college, I found it very difficult suddenly having to read and write in English,” she says. “My teacher, Ruth Dobson, who was from the UK, would say to me: ‘Sara, just start to read.’ She took me to the library and showed me some really interesting stories. She seemed to know the right buttons to push me. I picked one novel, and she told me to write a short summary about what I’d learnt. The first 20 pages were really tricky, and I had to use a dictionary a lot to help me, but I really wanted to find out how the story would unfold. From that moment on, I started to read book after book – with my teacher’s help. Reading has helped me in so many other aspects of my life, not just passing English ­exams.”

After graduating with a degree in computer science in 2011, Al Zaidi worked in public relations for the Emirates Red Crescent. “I didn’t find myself in that role,” she admits. “I wanted to focus more on something that is my passion. I started to see myself as a coach, and I liked it.”

Al Zaidi had been taking free online workshops since 2011 with the Kuwait-based International Academy of Personal Development, and also received training from professionals in the UAE. She began practising as a life coach in 2014.

However, life coaching is still a new concept in Emirati society. “I often have to explain to women what it means,” Al Zaidi says. She adds that for her, life coaching is about helping women to discover their inner selves.

“When women are experiencing relationship problems, they tend to think somebody else is the reason why they feel sad,” she says. “But the truth is it’s something inside us. I try to help them see what’s on the inside. It’s like turning a light on inside them.”

Al Zaidi says she doesn’t provide answers, but choices. “Often, women come to me with marriage problems and assume there is only one choice open to them – divorce. But after talking with me, they realise they have many other options.”

In the future, Al Zaidi hopes to be able to open her own self-­healing centre in Abu Dhabi – “a consultation office with a gym, and a beauty salon for massages to help with energy flow.” For now, she meets her clients in cafes and public spaces. ­“Sometimes we walk outside. If my client is talking about something really private, she might be worried that someone else will overhear. So I take her somewhere she can talk freely. The deeper she goes, the more I can help her.”

At first, when Al Zaidi returned to her house in Shahamah each evening to spend time with her husband and three children, ages 9, 7 and 5, it was a challenge not to take her clients’ problems home with her. “Every story would break my heart, and I’d be asking myself why people act in such tough ways to people close to them,” she explains. “But I started to make a distinction – home is for home, and coaching is for coaching. I have a journal where I write all the details and when I close the journal, everything closes with it. I get my life back.”

Like the teacher who influenced her, Al Zaidi now has a life-­changing impact on others. “Women sometimes call me to say that something really changed inside of them and they see things differently now. Sometimes I receive gifts like chocolates or perfume. But for me it’s not about the gift – I’m just glad to see that they’re happy.”

Which animal are you most like?

A butterfly, because they’re colourful and have a sense of freedom. They go through a transformation in life.

Where do you like to go in Abu Dhabi to unwind?

I love the beach. It gives me a sense of peace, calm and relaxation.

What’s your ideal holiday destination?

Switzerland. I love the weather, the greenery, the beaches and the peace and quiet. I like Swiss people and I plan to study German. Many Emiratis like Switzerland. It’s such a contrast to the UAE, especially in the summer. Usually, we spend one month there in July or August.

What’s your all-time favourite movie moment?

I saw the children’s movie The BFG four times at the cinema. I love the moment when the BFG is asked to show on a map where he lives, and he points his finger outside the map. I love the concept of somewhere outside of time and space. I think that moment really inspires children to wonder what’s out there.

What’s your favourite food?

Anything with rice, chicken or fish that’s cooked the Arabic way. It reminds me of my mother’s cooking.

Which books have changed your life?

You Can Heal Your Life by the Australian author Louise Hay. Another is Frederick Dodson’s Levels of Energy. This book should be taught in schools because it gives insightful information about levels of thinking and emotions.

If you had Dh10 million, what would you spend it on?

As well as building a self-healing centre, I’d bring famous coaches to the UAE to talk. Another Dh2 to Dh3 million would be for orphanages – not in the UAE, maybe in Africa; Dh2 million would be for my family.

Is there a great need for life coaching right now in the UAE?

Yes, we need more coaches. I also recommend that we open reading clubs specifically for ladies in the UAE, with Emirati coaches as the leaders.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

To play more, read more and sleep more. I watched too much late-night TV when I was a child.

How do you encourage your children to read?

I work with their father at home to explain to them that there is a time for iPads, a time for reading, a time for studying, a time to talk to each other and to eat. We control the use of technology. I also encourage my sisters and friends to read – we use the hashtag #UAEreads.