'What Is Coaching REALLY?'

by David Wood

Create a Life You Love Newsletter, July 2002

Today I called a woman back who had enquired about coaching
and she said: "Thanks for calling me back so quickly. It helps
to keep the momentum going". And what coaching REALLY is
became crystal clear!

Impulses for Change

From time to time, we get impulses for change. It might be
because we get inspired. We might see someone else with
what we want. A new possibility might occur to you. A flash
of insight? A friend or colleague challenges you. Most often
it's because something has gotten worse than we're willing to
tolerate, and we say: "I've had enough!"

Whatever the reason, this impulse for change comes along at
certain intervals in our life. However, we all know the impulse
rarely lasts. Last week I had an impulse to exercise (again).
However, it's not particularly consistent, and doesn't always
come at times when it's convenient for me to exercise.
You may have thought: "You know - my relationship really
could be better. Surely this isn't as good as it gets?" And
the next day the impulse is gone. Or "What would it take to
double my profits? I'm really going to make some changes in
this business when I get less busy". A few days later your focus
is on something else.

OR, are you the kind of person who takes on new projects
with gusto, to find out that a few weeks or months later it
feels old hat, and you follow a familiar pattern of switching
to something else?

So IMPULSES FOR CHANGE DO NOT LAST. This is why we
human beings do not make so many of the changes that are
possible in our lives.

Without coaching - without a STRUCTURE - our natural
tendency is to keep our patterns. Go to work. Make money.
Keep the same relationships. Keep the same barriers. Want
the same things to change. But don't change them. Feel an
impulse for change - lose the impulse for change. Staying the
same is the natural outcome.

But Do We Need to Change?

No. But wouldn't it be wise? These impulses for change are
the signals telling you what is next for you in life. They are
your intuition letting you know that you are missing
opportunities. They are messages (sometimes subtle) about
what you would ~really~ like to do in your life, what your
business needs, the perfect job, who you should be with right
now.

If I may get a little deep for just a moment - they are not only
the signals that will help us achieve the goals we are striving
for, but the signals that are telling us how to evolve as people.
If we ignore these impulses, we'll feel restless at a very deep
level - knowing something is wrong, but not sure what.
Not understanding this restlessness, we must seek ways to
quieten it - TV, movies, alchohol, smoking, over-reading etc.

OK - I'm getting a little off track but I think you get my point. It's important that these impulses do not get left by the way side.
You want the secret to achieving your goals and having an
amazing life?

FIND A WAY TO HARNESS THESE IMPULSES.

The Coaching Structure

At it's simplest, coaching may be described as a structure.
Coaching harnesses the energy for change; those impulses
that last from a moment to a few weeks. If you feel an
impulse to exercise more you may exercise once - until the
next impulse. But if you join a gym for a year and hire a
personal trainer, you ~will~ be fit! In fact it would be very
hard to avoid it having set up this structure.

Coaching is a similar structure, for any goal that's important
to you. You make a commitment to your goals, and to working
for a certain time frame with a coach. This is often 3 months
or 6 months, usually with one or more review points to assess
progress. Normally once a week you have a conversation with
your coach, and you commit to specific actions to move you
forward. Within a coaching structure, your natural tendency
is to pursue your goals and achieve them. It's ~hard~, in
fact very hard to keep your patterns and your life the same
when you focus so much consistent attention on what you
really want, and make promises to a third party.

With a coach, the man who feels an impulse to change careers
isn't still thinking about it in three months time. He's hired a
coach, he's found a new career possibility which inspires him,
he's got a new resume and ten interviews lined up.

With a coach, the woman who wants to organise her business
so that she has time for herself isn't still complaining about
it in six months time. She's hired a coach, created an empowering
time allocation, set her boundaries, hired an assistant, looks
obviously happier and is therefore attracting more clients.

So here's the key:

Without a coach, the path of least resistance is to keep your
life the same. Impulses for change often do not last long enough
to act upon.

With a coach, the path of least resistance is to achieve your
goals! Impulses for change are converted to momentum.

Summary

So would coaching be a smart investment for you right now?
Are you the kind of person who could benefit?

You decide. I say it's for people who recognize that coaching
is a powerful structure for harnessing your energy for change,
and to help you move forward. If you're content for the next
five years to be similar to the last five years, then you don't
need any input or help from anyone. However, aren't you
curious to know what your life could be like in five years time
if you harnessed your impulses for change, carried them
through, and had fun while doing it?

By David Wood
SolutionBox™
www.lifecoachingresource.com

Copyright 2002-2004 SolutionBox™
Maybe distributed freely providing attribution and copyright information remain intact, and the article is unaltered.

Invitation

If something in the above article appealed to you, then I invite
you to contact me to take this to the next level. Click here to apply for a complimentary consultation.

Regards,