Are you thinking about getting a coach?

Have you been coached in the past?

Are you a coach and either self-coach or do you have your own coach?

I’d love to hear about your experiences and thoughts on coaching. As a life coach myself I tend to self-coach more often than not however when I have had the chance to be coached by someone else I’ve always come away feeling that I’ve discovered something new and exciting in myself and a renewed sense of direction. Breaking down the unmanageable into the achievable never ceases to amaze me. Coaching also gives you the chance to review and reflect what could have gone better but more importantly what did go well! All too often it’s easier to get wrapped up in the troubles that we have endured rather than celebrating the success and the achievements.

Let me know what are your experiences and results from coaching.

Panic is everywhere. In the newspaper, on the TV and the internet everything seems to be crumbing around our ears. For 5,000 people at Lehman Brothers they must be struggling with so many emotions right now from panic, despair, sorrow, anger and loss.

What on earth do you do with a situation like this?

One thing that people often forget is that they are allowed to go through the grieving process. Google it, look it up and do a bit of research for yourself. By being thrown a curve ball like this your world is suddenly in temporary turmoil.

The important word there is temporary. Important for two reasons:-
1: It’s not permanent, so it WILL end.
2: It’s not instant! Unfortunately it won’t end right away.

So give yourself time to go though the motions and emotions. Allow yourself to be sad and upset, anger often follows but soon after comes strength.

That is when to use the energy, as the anger passes over to clarity.

Now is the time to take a breath and plan your next step.

Just give it time, it will come but make sure you grab the moment with both hands when it does!

Sometimes clients come away from a series of coaching sessions and proudly proclaim that they are no longer stuck in a rut!

So what changed?

Take an example of someone that hates doing presentations and spends most of their energy either trying to avoid them or rush them through so fast in an attempt to shorten the pain. What would happen if they gave themselves the time and breathing space to actually figure out why this was causing them so much anxiety? If they could take a step back and consider what were the blocking issues stopping them from just doing it and doing it to the best of their ability. They could then spend their energy and time on breaking down the hard issues in to more manageable chunks. The next this you know is that you have 10 small easy actions to take rather than just one huge daunting presentation!

As you progress through the coaching sessions you become more adept and agile at this way of thinking and working. It’s at that point that most people have found that they now have the tools to lift themselves out of almost any rut.

2 for FREE!

As you can see from other pages on my website I offer the chance to try a session of coaching for free. As a special summer offer I’m going to offer two sessions for free so you can get a really good idea if coaching with me is right for you.

You’ll need to drop your email and phone number in the box below and I’ll contact you as soon as possible to arrange the two sessions.

Slot are limited and will provided on a first come first served basis. So get in QUICK!

I heard on the radio this morning that today the 21st January is considered the day that most people will suffer from the post Christmas and holiday blues.

I must admit I certainly feel a little bit like I need another holiday. It’s always hard getting back into a routine when you have a break and it can make you feel a little bit down.

However, getting back into a routine is just what you need to snap you back into shape. Consider what you were doing before the holiday period and what you aren’t yet doing today.

For example, I had been going to the gym at 6:45am every Monday - Friday. So felt very pleased with myself that I had been able to go to the gym 5 times per week for almost 3 months. Over the last part of December I let things slip as I wasn’t at work and for the most part wasn’t at home so my local gym was out of reach.

Now that I’m back, it has taken a while to get back into the routine. The more I avoid the routine the more I feel that I’m letting myself down.

So I decided, to stop beating myself up, and just get back into the swing of things. It gives me a sense of structure and knowing that I’m doing what’s good for me. By the end of the week I know my mood will have lifted and I’ll feel better and healthier. That alone has given me something to look forward to!

Congratulations on making it through Christmas/the Holiday period and New Year!

It’s often one of the most stressful times of the year for many people.

People often ask me as a coach what New Year resolutions I have made. I’m afraid to say that I never make them. Let me explain though. Every three to six month I take a sheet of paper and draw a circle. I divide up the circle into 8 sections. In each section I write a part of my life that is important to me, eg Health, Career, Home, etc. I then grade myself in each section and this helps me identify areas that are lacking and need a little extra attention.

Just out side of the circle I write why these are important to me. Then I write down then goal I have for that section.

Finally I write a one line statement for the next step I need to take to move me one day closer to that goal.

Then I put that piece of paper away and don’t look at it for another 3-6 months.

Each time I start a new “Wheel of Life” as it’s called, I review the old one. I’m always amazed that 90-100% of the previous goals I set myself have been achieved or due to a change in direction were no longer a goal of mine.

So I don’t need to make resolutions once a year, as I make then 2-4 times throughout the year. This type of breaking down your goals into smaller chunks makes you far more likely to succeed!

If you would like a copy of a Wheel of Life for yourself, just contact me with your email address and I’d be delighted to send a template over to you straight away.

Oh and Happy 2008!

• I’m too busy
• Who would look after the kids?
• I can’t afford it
• It’s too risky
• My partner wouldn’t approve
• I’ve never done it before
• I don’t know how
• I failed last time
• Christmas is here and I’m too busy

There are always lots of reasons why you didn’t do something you promised you would. These are called barriers or blocks. The great thing about coaching is that its goal focused. So although we may look at why you haven’t done things, we won’t focus on what went wrong but how we can overcome these problems and barriers the next time. As we break down each block you’ll become aware of how easy your goal really is and that the only thing that was truely getting in your way was YOU!

Often I work with clients that are incredibly talented at speaking negativity. When we first start working together it never ceases to amaze me how clients can put a negative spin on almost anything.

Teaching my clients to rephrase sentences in a positive way is often the first step to self improvement. Allowing yourself to work towards something positive rather than away from something negative.

One way to refocus your attention in a positive way is to consider first what will you gain from working towards and achieving your goal.

“I want to stop smoking” becomes “I’m going to be more healthy and smoke free”
“I want to loose 10lbs” becomes “In ten weeks I’ll be able to fit into my expensive jeans again”

This type of rephrasing takes time. Most people have been negatively phrasing things for years and it’s not possible to just flick a switch. Becoming aware of it is the first step, learning to rephrase is the second. Finally you’ll find it becomes automatic.

Practise makes perfect!

Time flies when you’re having fun!

A watched kettle never boils.

More speed less haste.

How to make time!

Clients often tell me how they just don’t have enough time to do everything they need to do. They make great big long lists and at the end of the day they feel that they have achieved little or nothing that was on their list of things to do.

After coaching clients for several sessions, I’ve noticed that they find two ways to change this.

1: Frequently the people that say they don’t have time are morning people, yet they spend their evenings and nights trying to catch up on what they didn’t do that day. Some even work late into the night to gain some leeway. Then in the morning they feel almost hungover and under perform for the rest of the day. The cycle continues over and over. For morning people the first thing they do would be to get a good nights sleep! Take a break and give yourself the evening off. Do something nice for yourself to help you relax and unwind. Have a bath, watch a movie or cook your favourite meal. Clients like to set themselves the goal of doing this once a week at first to help them break the cycle. That night they set their alarm clock an hour earlier and they go to bed at a reasonable time that will allow them 6-8 hours of sleep. This all requires a little planning in advance so be prepared. In the morning throw away your old list of actions and create a new one. It’s a brand new day, so it deserves a band new list!

2: Schedule things but leave room for a change in plans. If you really have to do something, how to you make sure it happens? Like dentist appointments, birthdays or other infrequent activities that you simply cannot miss. Clients soon realise after a few coaching sessions that “me” time is one of their most important times. Think of all the things you’d like to do but just can’t seem to find the time. For women this is often a relaxing bath with candles, a good book and a glass of wine. For men this is more like playing a musical instrument, meeting up with friends or going to gigs or the cinema. Some of these can take just a few minutes to a couple of hours. Plan in your diary when you could allocate the time. You’ll be amazed at how soon you can spare the time once you actually check your diary. For these activities remind yourself why this is important to you. What will you get from taking this time out? What could you do to prepare and make sure that it happens? Who else needs to know that this is important to you?

Breaking the cycle of a bad daily routine and scheduling “me” time are consistently the two areas that clients find a great deal of benefit from. Some clients just do one or the other where as other people may do both.

Why is it that some things you do, you have no problem in motivating yourself? Yet other things get continually put off.

In this website I have a coaching appraisal survey that allows people to find out the types of questions that a coach will ask and allows people to take some time and actually think about what is important to them.

A very high percentage of people state that they want to be more motivated. However, 80% of these people don’t actually complete the survey!

Now of course this could be for a whole host of reasons, from being interrupted to thinking that the survey was asking silly or even awkward questions that the person wasn’t really keen on answering.

I firmly believe that if a client isn’t motivated then they aren’t aiming for the right goals. Often I’ll be working with a client one week and they are committed to completing an action over the next 7 days. When I speak to them a week later, they tell me that they have disappointed themselves as they haven’t completed the task that they set.

Contrary to what people think, this is a GOOD THING! This shows us that the original goal that the client was focusing on has changed or isn’t what they first thought it was. This type of inaction is a classic example of someone that hasn’t yet clearly identified what is really important to them. This is why one coaching session isn’t really enough to achieve your goals and make some serious improvements in your life. Over the course of several sessions you will find yourself changing direction a few times until you find out what really matters to you.

It’s this learning process and re-defining of your goals that makes coaching so powerful. That is why I offer a Free Trial session. It really is a trial run and shouldn’t be thought of as a one hit wonder. It all takes time.

Just like completing the survey on this website takes time. Even though there are only about 8 questions; they will make you think, so give yourself time to complete it.

Once you have completed the survey, why not book up a free trial session and experience a taste of what coaching could do for you.