Is having coaching on your bucket list of things to do before you die?

There are a few things in life that I believe are essential; I think every child should learn how to swim, as it could save their life. I also think every adult should learn to drive. Aged 17 the call of independence and freedom was huge. Being able to get in the car and go anywhere was so liberating. I could do things I never ordinarily would’ve been able to do. Learning to drive for me was a game changer.

The newest “must” to add to my list is everybody should experience coaching. The most successful people in society have been availing of coaching for years. Top executives have coaching to hone their performance, athletes have coaching to give them the best chance of winning the race, footballers have coaches to ensure peak performance.

Coaching is not just an elite luxury. Coaching improve performance and success rate. To have a professional that is focused on supporting you to achieve your goal and do your best is the most amazing experience.

I decided to offer coaching as a service when I launched Brain Train Me in September 2018. I had become aware of a lot of people I was seeing for counselling feeling a sense of failure for seeking therapeutic support. I was hearing things like “I feel so bad not being able to deal with this on my own” or “I never thought I’d end up in counselling” or “I should be able to manage for myself”. It made me sad hearing from client’s that seeking support was seen as a weakness instead of a strength.

One of the defining features of human beings is that we are social. We have survived over millions of years because the fact we support and help each other, in tribes, families, communities and groups. Reaching out for support is one of the most natural things you can do.  It taps into our survival instinct, it prevents us from falling so far behind that we’re unable to progress grow and ultimately thrive and develop.

As a coach I have the pleasure of working with individuals to achieve their goals. The art of coaching is that the goal, the answers, the plans, the steps to achieve, come from the individual not the coach. You know yourself how annoying it can be if somebody tells you what you should do (like learnt to swim or drive a car!!).  It is much more empowering for you to decide for yourself to do something, create a plan and implement it.

Coaching will help you clarify your goal. Sometimes people tell me what they want to do but after some probing we discover their original goal is not really what they want to do.

Coaching will bring to the forefront of your mind your goal and ensures that it is a priority, rather than having at the back of your head with a heap of other things. Coaching makes you focus.

Coaching creates momentum and ensures action is taken. This is especially good for people who procrastinate. In a coaching session you will talk about what you will do before the next session to take steps towards achieving your goal. Knowing the coach is going to ask about progress means you’ll be held to account, which puts a little positive pressure to ensure that you act.

Having a coach is like having your own cheerleader, somebody that really want you to do well. It’s great to get support from friends and family but that support can sometimes be coloured by underlying motives. The unconditional support you get from the coach is “pure” It is focused. The coach doesn’t just want you to succeed, they help you break down the steps to ensure success.

A couple of coaching clients I’ve had recently talk about the simplicity of the coaching experience as being something that has really helped; A smoker wanting to quit has use coaching to make a robust plan, to think through what will help him succeed this time round and feel more confident and committed in setting a quick date; An executive has been seconded to a new role for six months has used coaching to think through what needs to change both at home and at work to ensure her secondment is successful.

These people could have entered their situations head first with plenty of gusto to succeed, however the coaching experience has allowed them to take time to explore the potential road blocks, to better understand themselves – for example discover what their learning style is or how they naturally respond to conflict, and to make plans, take actions to move towards their goals.

So if you have never had the pleasure of having a coach I would recommend you add it to your bucket list. The coaching experience is uplifting, insightful, motivating and empowering

Get in touch today to explore how I can help you thrive and live your best life!