About
You know that what you do matters. And it’s exactly this knowing that gnaws at you: I’ve worked hard to create a meaningful life, so why do I feel like something’s missing?
You’re devoted to making a difference, and you excel at what you do.
Clients. Teams. Patients. Students. Children. Partners. Parents.
You know that what you do matters. And it’s exactly this knowing that gnaws at you: I’ve worked hard to create a meaningful life, so why do I feel like something’s missing?
“Nothing has been more powerful and impactful in my personal growth and momentum, at midlife, than my work with Kirstin Hotelling Zona! Nothing.”
- Tracy
I Can Help You.
"Within just a few sessions I no longer felt like a victim—of circumstance, of other people, of my own choices. Instead, I felt the extraordinary freedom of possibility."
I know how you feel because I’ve been there myself.
For years I felt confined by the very accomplishments I’d worked so hard to create: a twenty-year marriage, two wonderful children, and a coveted career as an award-winning tenured professor and well-published author.
On the outside I seemed to have it all, but on the inside I was dying.
I felt joyless, easily irritated, numb to my sexuality and cut off from my creativity.
I was losing myself. And I feared what I was becoming.
Determined to get to the root of my problem I sought help: Therapy. Antidepressants. Alternative medicine. I delegated duties at work to spend more time at home. I sought new projects and interests in order to jumpstart my creativity.
But I failed to find relief because I’d falsely identified the issue: it wasn’t me that needed fixing, but my mindset.
This insight changed my life, and it’s coaching I have to thank for it.
Exhausted and anxious, I took a leap: despite my skepticism, I followed a close friend’s advice and hired a life coach. It was a big investment—of time, money, and energy. And it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Within just a few sessions I no longer felt like a victim—of circumstance, of other people, of my own choices. Instead, I felt the extraordinary freedom of possibility.
Over time, my resentment and regret gave way to curiosity and compassion. Each encounter became an opportunity to practice self-awareness instead of self-blame. I learned to discern my true desires, and to let go of distractions.
I learned to trust myself and speak my truth.
I learned to walk through—and even welcome—my fears.
I came to believe that I can live a life of full expression without hurting those I love.
“Kirstin helped me reset the course of my life’s journey. She came to every conversation with a sincere desire to listen, understand, and help me develop the skills that I needed. She is loving, patient, and kind beyond measure. She helped me build a practice of meaningful self-care and mindfulness, inspired me to reconnect to my true passions, and connected me to a world of resources I never knew existed. It has been a breakthrough experience!”
- Katinka
Today, I’m living a joyful, vibrant life as an author, professor, speaker, and certified Master Life Coach. As founder of Full Potential Coaching, I lead retreats, teach courses, and coach a select group of private clients in order to help women in the caring professions create expansive, joyous lives anchored in purposeful meaning and compassionate action.
As a coach, I draw heavily upon my 20 years as a tenured university professor and poet, as well as my longtime study of human psychology, sexuality and gender, neuroscience, meditation and yoga, and wellness. With both a doctorate in modern literature from the University of Rochester, and double-certification as a Life Coach through Martha Beck, Inc., and Karen Fagan, International, I bring a wealth of resources to my work that sets me apart from other coaches: literature and philosophy regularly inform my coaching, and I will often introduce concepts and tools by way of a poem, something my clients and students find effective and inspiring. My facility with metaphor and association enables me to translate and customize ideas effectively to a wide range of people. I know intimately the power of the creative process, and bring this experience to bear upon my coaching in concrete, tangible ways.
It’s for just this reason that I love working with people like you—executives, educators, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, healers, and coaches—because you’re driven by a desire to make a difference in this world.
Like you, I’m passionate about making change by helping others, but now I know that when we practice self-denial we hurt those we love at least as much as we hurt ourselves. I want to help you claim and act upon the deep-down truth you already intuit: that it’s only when we commit to living our own best selves that we give others permission to do the same.
Today, I love my life.
I love my life because I’m not afraid—of feeling, of failing, of fear itself.
And even though I still stumble, and worry, and sometimes react, I know how to turn these experiences into opportunities for growth, not evidence of my insufficiency.
I know how to set goals from a place of love, not lack, and therefore how to reach them.
I know how to be vulnerable, and strong.
I know how to manage my mind.
How to feel alive. How to thrive.
And I will teach you to do the same.
