How coaching can help you
/I don’t need a coach.
Someone said this to me recently and I was genuinely surprised. Because honestly, at some point in their lives EVERYONE can benefit from coaching.
I think perhaps some people hold the view that you have to be stuck or broken to approach a coach. That it is about needing help, having problems and not being able to do things for yourself? It can be but the reality is that coaching is about so much more than that.
Here are five things that coaching provides which I believe everyone benefits from:
Time and space
How often do you stop and prioritise time and headspace to focus on yourself? On what you want, either personally or for your business? To reflect on where you are and where you want to go next? The coaching environment is one focused entirely on you. It is a time to shut out the noise from the outside world and concentrate 100% on yourself. With a coach who is also only focussed on you and your agenda.
Focus and clarity
Some of my clients talk about my ability to unravel their spaghetti brain. To recognise that they have hundreds of thoughts, fears, goals, dreams, beliefs and feelings all jumbled up and contributing to a sense of overwhelm and inertia. Working with a coach helps you find clarity. To zone in on what it is you really want to make happen and to see what is currently stopping you. And with clarity comes relief and a lightness as you can see what needs your attention and what you can put to one side for now. As I often point out to clients - you have the answers you need already but a coach can help you pinpoint and hear them clearly.
Recognising and overcoming obstacles
It Is human nature that when things feel hard we don’t run towards them. Imagine if you were asked to speak in public and the idea terrified you. It would be much easier to just say no and run away from that opportunity than decide to try to understand what it is about public speaking that creates these feelings and work to overcome this fear. Working with a coach is a great way to have someone hold you gently in a place that might feel a little uncomfortable to begin with in order to overcome any obstacles that might be holding you back and limiting you. And as a coach I have many different tools and techniques I can use to do this including NLP, emotional intelligence work, reframing and good old fashioned questioning. It is a very safe space to be honest with yourself about the mental and physical barriers that get in your way (perhaps discovering some together you didn’t even realise were there!) and then working together to remove those limits once and for all.
Being accountable and staying on track
Of course we all make promises to ourselves all the time about things we are going to do but how often do you break this promise to yourself? I’m guilty as charged! Life gets in the way or it feels too hard so we make excuses and another week passes by with these things remaining undone. Working with a coach is a brilliant way to prioritise yourself and stay accountable. Knowing that you have committed to making something happen to someone who only wants the best for you really focuses the mind and creates action. Especially when you know if you don’t get it done there will be some hard questions to answer from your lovely coach!
Safely challenging yourself
Often the most exciting things in life come with an element of challenge and risk. The coaching space gives you a safe space to explore this and someone to support you as you stretch beyond your natural comfort zone. Approaching things with a growth mindset where every experience provides an opportunity to learn, this aspect of coaching can leave you feeling invincible. The power of someone believing in you unconditionally and helping you to believe in yourself is immense.
These 5 reasons you should consider coaching are precisely why I, as a coach, have a coach too. Because yes, growth comes from within us, but a coach provides the space, tools and expertise to access that growth more easily. And who wouldn’t want that.
Emma Jefferys. Life coach and business coach Tunbridge Wells.