The best things in life aren't things

One of the things I do every day, just for a few moments, is lose myself in thought about gratitude and being grateful for everything I have in my life. It’s kind of turned into a conscious habit over the years so that I now do it without thinking (not that this was always the case), but a combination of practice and really tuning into what’s going on around you, or being present and paying attention to what you notice - your awareness - you can learn to make small changes in the ways that you experience the world. 

That’s not to say that every day is wonderful, but every day does have some element of wonder in it if you learn how to look for it. 

Freedom is one of those things that I hold dear because it symbolises the work that coaches are lucky enough to do with clients, where they can think and talk about anything that is an issue for them. The process that unfolds in those moments leads to new thinking which in turn creates an excitement, a sense of anticipation and a newfound impetus to move on from whatever it was that was diminishing their own sense of freedom. Yes, at times, this takes courage, but for those that do, the rewards can be quite simply life-changing, all in the safety of a coaching relationship.          

Where am I going with all of this you may well be asking!? Well as I reflect on the work that coaches do, I think there is absolute truth in the idea that the best things in life aren’t things at all, they are our experiences. Our family, our personal and professional relationships and of course our own personal journey in life. 

And so, at the heart of coaching is a desire to help clients create their own sense of freedom so that they can look back and think that the best things in their lives were, and indeed are their experiences.  And when they do that, they’ll know too that the best things in life aren’t things at all.