Picture the following scenes...
Scenario One
Halfway through a conversation with a member of your existing support network, a friend or partner maybe, that you hope will make the difference you are after, it dawns on you that this hope is to be dashed on the rocks of disappointment. After the conversation has concluded, you look to the sky and plead for a conversation that possesses the qualities and characteristics you need.
Sign one that you need to talk to a life coach.
Scenario Two
Sitting at home or work, you tot up the days you have felt stressed/anxious/depressed* (*delete as appropriate). A precise number eludes you, but you know it is more than 21. Determined to understand why your emotional state is persistently problematic, you begin a journey of exploration – that leads to a dead end. You sit on an imaginary bench hoping for respite, but your emotional state continues deteriorating. You conclude that you have no idea why you feel the way you do.
Sign two that you need to talk to a life coach.
Scenario Three
“Why do you keep doing that?” asks a colleague. “Doing what?” you ask. “Being so self-critical? You never have a good word to say about yourself.” “Don’t I?” you reply. On the way home, you reflect on your colleague’s observation and whether other patterns (thought, behaviour, feeling or relating) in your life suggest you are, however unwittingly, undermining yourself. By the time you arrive home, you have a mental list of several examples.
Sign three that you need to talk to a life coach.
Scenario Four
One day, on your daily commute, you are listening to your favourite podcast on personal and professional development when the host says something that triggers a profound reaction. They ask, “Do you fully accept yourself as someone with potential?” As you absorb the import of the podcaster’s question, a memory surfaces of a former manager telling you you are more talented than you think. Your eyes fill with tears. How many more years are to pass before you accept yourself as someone with potential?
Sign four that you need to talk to a life coach.
Scenario Five
It is January 1st, and on a screen in front of you are your New Year’s Resolutions from last year, each unachieved. Determined that the next twelve months will be different, you engage in a spot of time-travelling and journey back to the times when your Resolutions individually started to unravel. Why did they prove too challenging, you ask yourself? What is it about challenge that gets the better of you? As you reflect, a theme emerges: you had zero support. When you needed an arm around the shoulder and words of encouragement, your friends and family were found wanting.
Sign five that you need to talk to a life coach.
Scenario Six
You listen over a drink with a friend as they talk about setting up their own business, excitement writ large over their face. Animatedly, they summarise who will be involved, what the company will provide, where it will be based, when it will launch, why now is the right time, and how the strategy will unfold in the first few months. Finally, they visualise their exit strategy: selling the business.
“A journey of transformation headed for a destination of transformation,” you comment.
“Yes!” they exclaim. “That’s it precisely.”
“I need them, too,” you reply.
“Then what’s stopping you?” says your friend.
Sign four that you need to talk to a life coach.
What did you discover?
If you didn’t identify with any of the six scenarios, then it could be that life coaching is not for you at this time. However, if you did connect with one or more of our examples and recognise that things can’t remain as they are in your life, then consider seeing a life coach. Start from the perspective of being selfish in a good way. Prioritise your personal or professional circumstances. Ask yourself, ‘What is good for me? How can I best serve myself?’
What should you do next?
If you can relate to the events and issues raised in this article, and you are perhaps feeling a bit stuck, then it’s probably the case that you might benefit from working with us here at Conversations With Impact, and in doing so, you’ll learn about how to use The IMPACT Model to Transform yourself. Please follow the links to take the next steps: