Finding your true self is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
When you uncover values, beliefs, and goals that are your own, and not what others want for you or for you to believe, you become empowered to live your best life.
Coaching can help you do this.
I’m writing this article to help me answer a question I was asked yesterday. I was in a video call with another coach, and this coach asked me, “Why do you enjoy coaching?”
As any good coaching question does, it gave me pause and space to really think before answering.
I realized that I enjoy coaching so much because it is empowering, for both the client and myself. As a coach, I hold space for the client to do their own difficult thinking, measuring their beliefs and values against their current framework and life. The client is led to make their own decisions, their own choices, and their own action plans (if they want).
Coaching does not prescribe; and it does not direct. The client is their own authority and the expert for their own situation. As a coach, I gently lead the client to their own truth by way of asking good, open-ended questions, and allowing space and room for the client to think.
Coaching helps you explore and firm up your own values and goals.
Our lives are busy. We are pulled from one thing to another. We don’t have time to reflect on who we are. A common refrain from busy people is, “I don’t even have time to think!”
Some of the best coaching sessions I’ve had with clients were successful because the client had 45 minutes or an hour to just be present with themselves and think. One insight, received at the right moment, can be life-changing.
Most insights that have permanence to them have to do with goals and values. Coaching provides you with the space to explore these.
Coaching helps you find your true self.
Many of us are so stressed out and consumed with what we have to do that we don’t know who we really are. If I asked you, “What are your core values?”, you could probably come up with a list.
But if I followed up with, “What evidence do you have in your life that these are your core values?”, you might struggle to answer that question.
Coaching helps you discern the gap between your stated values, your current activities, and your true and deeply-held beliefs. Then, coaching helps you bridge that gap.
Coaching equips you to discover and take care of your own needs.
One of the best things that happened for me in coaching occurred during my training. I learned to be more assertive about my needs. I learned that it was okay for me to speak clearly about what I needed in a situation. This doesn’t mean I always received what I needed, but it was a big win for me to actually speak up in situations where I previously would have remained silent.
Coaching does this. By giving you time to think, process, vision, make plans, and learn about yourself, you uncover your true needs and discover creative and new ways of meeting those needs.
Have you tried coaching? I’d be honoured to walk with you in coaching. When you’re ready, reach out to me, and let’s talk. I’ll block out an hour for us and we’ll do a deep dive where you will leave with at least one insight that will lead you to growth and transformation.
VERY GOOD!!
How was this article helpful? What questions arose for you?