At Brilliant Read Media, it is our constant endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. As part of this, we invited Viraja Maganti for an interview with Brilliant Read Media. To say further, Viraja is a Mentor, Emotional Intelligence & Parenting Coach, Life Coach and Speaker. Let’s learn more about her background, her inspiring journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Viraja:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
I had an inclination towards teaching and always got along well with kids even when I was a teenager. My first step towards teaching began when I took up a job after completing a course in Montessori Teachers Training after doing my Masters in Commerce.
I then ran my own preschool with a well-experienced preschool teacher for a few years, moved residence and then went on to get a Diploma in Early Child Care & Education from IGNOU. I worked with a leading school and a couple of private kindergarten schools. Working with children led me to discover the concept of Emotional Intelligence.
I got certified in Emotional Intelligence, further got certified as an Emotional Intelligence Educator from 6 Seconds India, Parenting Coach, Life Coach, NLP practitioner, Mindfulness, and Certificate in Counselling.
Currently, I am a guest Faculty in a leading fashion academy wherein I facilitate sessions in Emotional Intelligence & Communication Skills. I also Facilitate sessions in EI, Parenting one-on-one and in groups. I am a speaker and a mentor too. These opportunities help me explore all aspects of EI and helps me touch more lives to spread the fragrance of EI.
How did you transition from your previous profession to becoming a coach specializing in emotional intelligence?
While working at a Kindergarten cum daycare, I witnessed various intense emotions in children which were evoked due to long hours of separation from their parents, I saw their reactions, behaviours due to these emotions and felt the intense need to help them manage it but didn’t know how.
It was then that my mentor introduced me to the concept of Emotional Intelligence, and guided me to take up this course. It was during the 5-day intensive course on EI, that I realized that this is what I want to do all my life, that this is where my passion lies!
It helped me get in touch with myself and empowered me with the realization that I had the power to choose my thoughts and my feelings!
What was one of the most challenging moments in your life, and how did emotional intelligence play a role in overcoming it?
EI has and continues to play a significant role in overcoming and managing a challenging health issue that I was diagnosed with more than a decade ago, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Multiple Sclerosis.
When Life is going great and your health takes an unexpected turn, you are then diagnosed with a disease that has no cure. restricting your mobility, it can have a devastating effect on one’s mental health.
EI helped me accept, and validate my intense chaotic feelings and manage it well by responding to the situation in a more accepting and positive way.
Self-awareness, self-empathy, and intrinsic motivation – some of the few skills of EI is helping me look at the challenges linked to my health that I face everyday with a pinch of humour and deal with it.
What do you think is the most common misconception people have about emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is not about being positive all the time, or never getting vulnerable or losing your patience. Ei is about how you navigate your thoughts and feelings when faced with an adverse situation or unpleasant feelings.
Can you share a story where you helped someone overcome a major emotional intelligence challenge?
A parent of a student appearing for her 12th boards and JEE exams with intense anxiety and negative thoughts approached me for guidance.
The student and me first worked on identifying and naming the unpleasant feelings. Accepting it, validating it. Then tools of managing it were shared with her, including visualization and affirmations. We worked around her hectic time schedule, managing it.
Practising the tools given. We worked on her negative thoughts on how to counter it with positive ones, she managed to overcome this emotional hurdle and today is in her final year of engineering in a reputed college looking forward to a successful and fulfilling career!
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Success is ongoing.
1) Failure is success in progress
2) Consistency in working towards building a career or relationships
3) Humor – make humour a part of your life even when things do not go the way you want.
4) Communication – keeping the communication channels open within you and with others.
5) Growth mindset
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Follow your passion. If you don’t know what it is yet then find out yourself. Choose a career that will make you happy. Even if life makes you choose a career that you are forced to choose due to financial responsibilities, never give up on your dreams, make time for your hobbies and consistently look out for a path that you would love to tread on. Once you love what you are doing, work will not seem like work, success and accolades will follow you.
Be consistent and passionate about your work. Keep adding new skills related to it or something that you want to learn.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
Getting great feedback from those who have been inspired through my social media content, through my coaching sessions/programs amps up my energy to deliver more value to them. Seeing shifts in them and in their journey makes it satisfying because I see their success as my success and their breakthroughs as mine.
Seeing tears of gratitude in the eyes of a parent when they see that their child has overcome and now can independently manage their intense feelings, reiterates that I am on the right path and inspires and motivates me to give more. Gratitude and humility fill my heart when I see their happiness.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
