My Belief in Coaching- A Message from the Heart

I recently spent some time in the foothills of the Himalayas in India, at a meditation retreat. I’d been to India 15 years prior where I travelled independently for a month. Far from an easy trip that month brought challenge and growth. As the plane touched down in Delhi last month, self-doubt hit. What was I doing here, away from my 5-year-old daughter? But here I was.

As a coach developing deep presence is vital, to hold space and truly witness and support another. Meditation certainly helps with this. But there’s something else that to me is equally important. Courage. Because for me to support others to access personal and professional growth, align with what feels true, and to take charge of their career, I sure as heck better be walking that talk. To do this, I place myself in situations that require me to access my own courage – to learn, feel out of my depth, take action and ultimately collect ‘proof points’ – evidence, that my capability is, and my experience of life can be, SO MUCH MORE.

But who is really in the driving seat of your career and life and why does coaching make a difference?

The first thing I want to share is the importance of sovereignty. Sovereignty is your full ownership and authority over your own life. It’s about learning to trust your own feelings when something doesn’t feel aligned and then act on these feelings. Sovereignty is about developing self-sufficiency, self-trust and personal empowerment. Sovereignty is at the core of coaching. Coaching is built on the premise that you are ultimately the expert of your own career and life. Because you are. Coaching enables you to access your own knowing by providing space and stillness, and to then back up this inner wisdom with action that feels aligned… better… and most definitely like progress. To take a brave look at what feels misaligned and then to discern what action needs to happen to create greater alignment, greater congruency. Because all the self-help books, podcasts and meditation in the world, ultimately won’t fix things if your every day reality includes a job that is no longer serving your growth and happiness. Essentially, you can’t bypass your way out of misalignment by telling yourself that you ‘should’ feel good about things, or to just be grateful for what you have.

Career Coaching provides you with knowledge and expertise, but it is not only about talking, it’s about doing, and creating reference points that empower you to take the most relevant and aligned actions not just for the duration of your coaching sessions, but to set you up with this knowing for life. This is what I am so deeply passionate about - cultivating self-empowerment in others - the opposite of dependency or reliance on others, or external validation. If you see someone else with the type of career or way of working that you want, please know that you are just as capable of that. Coaching supports you to tap into and embody this belief and align your everyday actions with this. 

 So should I just overhaul my life and career so that everything feels aligned?

Sure, if you have the means and inclination to do so, but for most people it’s about defining what progress looks like, rather than striving for perfection. This is where coaching comes in. Coaching helps you define what progress looks like whilst also honouring the most important need/s of the time for you. Coaching can be very goal orientated and visionary, but it’s also got to be grounded in the practical reality and take into account your current priorities in life. So the question then becomes, what is an action you can take today that would start to create some greater alignment to what feels true for you?

It requires courage to take action and when I think of a really good coach, it’s one that empowers you and walks you home to what feels true for you, by your side.  

So what did I learn from India? I was reminded of when we try something new and challenge ourselves, we are often rewarded with unexpected and positive outcomes, often beyond what we can imagine. Also, the joy and fun of doing something entirely new and outside my comfort, with different people. I was also reminded of trusting what feels good and equally, listening to what does not. My trip to India always felt right, and sure the intellect is very useful to listen to, but what feels good at a heart level is just so important to listen to also.

If this speaks to you, I’d love to chat. Reach out today to book a no obligation coaching conversation.

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