A few days ago, I sat for my ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) exam.
To be honest, I walked out feeling confident. I genuinely expected that I had passed.
When my results came back, I was surprised.
I scored a 640.
The passing score was 650.
Just ten points. Ouch. I felt a sting of disappointment.
After all the studying, preparation, and practice, I missed it by a hair.
But after sitting with it for a while, I realized this experience had given me something even more valuable than a passing score.
It gave me another opportunity to practice overcoming setbacks and apply what I coach others to do every day. This lesson was exactly for me.
Lessons on Overcoming Setbacks and Staying Humble
One of the easiest traps we can fall into is believing that our worth rises and falls with our latest result.
A promotion.
A business launch.
A relationship.
An exam.
When things go well, we feel confident. Like we’re on top of the world.
When they don’t, we start questioning ourselves. The voice of doubt becomes louder.
I’ve seen this pattern in many of the people I’ve coached, and if I’m honest, I caught myself doing it too.
For a brief moment, my mind wanted to turn one result into a story about who I was.
Thankfully, life has already taught me that lesson once before.
More than a decade ago, I survived a catastrophic car accident that left me in a 10-day coma. My recovery wasn’t a straight line. There were victories, setbacks, moments of frustration, and moments where I had to accept that progress often comes slower than we like.
Looking back, none of those setbacks defined me.
They shaped me.
This exam is no different.
It reminded me that growth has never been about getting everything right the first time.
It’s about remaining teachable.
It’s about staying curious.
It’s about having enough humility to recognize that there is always another level to grow into. Growth can’t stop.
As coaches, we often encourage our clients to separate who they are from what has happened to them.
You are not your layoff.
You are not your divorce.
You are not your business failure.
You are not one difficult season.
And you’re certainly not one exam result.
So instead of asking myself, “Why didn’t I pass?”
I asked a better question.
“What can I learn from this?”
The answer was simple.
I can become a better coach.
Not because I passed an exam.
But because I’m committed to continually learning, improving, and challenging myself.
The ACC credential is still important to me, and I already rescheduled my next attempt. But I don’t want my confidence to come from a certificate hanging on the wall.
I want it to come from the person I’m continually becoming.
That’s the heart behind my coaching and why I coach under Become Again Coaching.
I believe every one of us reaches moments where we’ve outgrown an old version of ourselves. Sometimes those moments are created by unexpected setbacks. Sometimes they’re created by success. Either way, we’re invited to grow into someone new rather than cling to who we used to be. Life changes and that is part of the journey of life.
That’s why my mission is simple:
Helping people who have outgrown their old life become themselves again.
Ironically, missing this exam by just ten points reminded me that becoming isn’t about perfection.
It’s about progress.
It’s about humility.
It’s about continuing forward when it would be easier to let one disappointing moment define you.
I’m grateful for the lesson.
And if you’re in a season where you’re questioning yourself because life didn’t go according to plan, I hope you’ll remember this:
One result doesn’t define your future.
One setback doesn’t erase your progress.
Sometimes, the lessons that shape us the most come from the moments that humble us.
If you’d like to learn more about my coaching approach or explore whether coaching is right for you, I’d love to connect. You can learn more at Become Again Coaching where I share resources and information for people who are ready to step into their next chapter with greater clarity and confidence.