A Space to Think..

October 6th, 2008 by Nicky Spode

Coaching can be described as finding a space to do your best thinking. Taking personal responsibility for getting off the metaphorical train that rushes past stations in your life, and finding yourself a place to think about how life could be different and how you might make that happen. Are you the sort of person who likes a plan? You know where you are, you know your ambition and you need a hand working out how to get there in manageable steps? Or maybe you like to leave your options open and explore along the way? A coach will work with you in a way thats most effective for you, helping you to acknowledge your key strengths and define what success means for you. The theory goes that if we identify our signature strengths and weave them into the fabric of our everyday lives, we will increase our overall happiness and well being (Seligman, Authentic Happiness). Indeed scientific research on this subject concludes that cheerfulness and optimism directly correlate with longer and happier lives. If youre interested to know more, take a look at the VIA Strengths Survey at www.authentichappiness.org.

Throughout our lives and often very early on, we are capable of developing some significant negative beliefs which limit our success in life and stop us from reaching out to take the prize thats ours for the taking. Some of these beliefs can be deep-seated to the extent that we know them to be true despite the fact that they are unsubstantiated. A coach can help you to break down personal barriers in a supportive environment and together you can experiment with new ways of thinking and being in the world. Your coach can help you to discover that theres more than one way of looking at the world and that whilst certain elements of it may be beyond your control you do have choices about the way you see it a bit like a photographer deciding which lens to use!

Such a diverse range of people come to coaching business owners who want a better work/life balance, private individuals looking to increase their personal effectiveness, young adults who need focus around career and people who are contemplating a career or life change further down the line, and many more. A coach will work to your agenda which means that you talk about what you want to talk about and not what the coach thinks youd like to be talking about. A non-directive coach doesn't tell people what they think they ought to do, instead they enable them to tap into their inner resources and help them to create sustainable solutions for themselves.

Try getting off your express train and sample some of the stations along the way - there's a whole new world out there waiting to be discovered!