Sidhika Goenka is the founder of “Empowering You” an organization that is working towards shaping the self-worth, knowledge, growth and development both for children and adults. After completing her studies in the US, she returned to India with a mission to empower individuals.
Apart from her profession as a psychologist, Sidhika Goenka is also a trainer who takes training classes in schools all over India. She is a Certified Happiness coach, Positive development parent educator, Certified Storyteller, Education consultant and Counsellor who is transforming people’s lives for over 15 years. Read more about the marvellous Sidhika Goenka in this engaging interview with Storiyaan.
Interview
Questions and answers
When did you first realize your calling towards psychology and how did a deeper understanding of the human psyche develop your perspective of the world?
My interest in the human psyche started young as I was intrigued to know more about the reasons behind our thoughts, outlook, opinions and ideas. Understanding the causes of our actions or thoughts is the first step towards self-improvement and those made me choose psychology and it slowly developed my perspective of people and the world.
What led to your decision of initiating “Empowering You” and how did you research to form the prototype of the aims of the platform?
The genesis of “Empowering You” started when I realized that there is a serious dearth of personality development coaches or counsellors both for children and adults despite people wanting to get help for their self-esteem or personality issues and mental illnesses.
My background and experience as a teacher of psychology helped me with the research process along with various visits to schools and colleges to get an insight into the actual problems faced by others.
How did your knowledge and understanding of the human mind help you to build your self-confidence and deal with the challenges that came your way rationally?
When you understand how the mind works, you get a perspective of the areas that you need to work on. This in-depth knowledge about myself and my mind made me identify my problems and acknowledge my thoughts so that I can challenge my weaknesses head-on. Getting better is a continuous process and it might seem exhausting for its sheer duration – that was challenging for me to accept.
When you initially started your venture “Empowering You”, what was the hardest hurdle that you had to overcome and how did those challenges help you develop your confidence?
Among all the challenges of establishing a venture, the biggest one was getting people to open up and be vulnerable to me. I made sure that I was making them feel comfortable and giving them a non-judgmental listening ear – that helped them ease their guard, but these are the bulwarks on which my work stands so that boosted my confidence to be even better at my job.
What do you believe to be your USP and is there any particular work ethic that you have emulated as your own over time?
So, my biggest USP is to make people comfortable with talking about their issues and aiding them to work on their self-esteem and personality.
Empathy and an open mind are key to my work in empowering others so that is a work ethic I live by.
Can you enlighten our readers on when is the right time for one to seek counselling and what are some of your methods to enable your clients to open up to you during the sessions and feel comfortable and safe?
If at any point in your life you feel drained, or under-confident, have difficulties engaging with others and yourself, you should try to seek the help of counselling.
I help my clients in practising positive affirmations in their everyday life. Apart from that, I use Cognitive Behavioural methods, Strength Focus methods and a Positive Approach in helping others clear the hurdles in their daily life.
Can you tell us about one of the incidents when you were touched by the impact you have had on an individual’s life through your knowledge and how did that motivate you further?
Every time a person leaves my sessions with a clearer vision and thought process, I receive positive messages that they are doing better and are navigating their time and emotions more effectively, this encouraging change in their life makes me feel touched and motivates me to help more people in their quest for happiness and contentment.