Life Coaching 101

What is life coaching? 

Way back in 2007, I was struggling with a difficult decision that felt impossible to make.  Deep down, I knew the decision that was best for my life at that moment, but I was paralyzed with fear, anxiety, trepidation and a whole host of other emotions that were holding me back from walking in a new direction.  I went through all kinds of mental gymnastics to analyze the decision.  My brain was working in overdrive, trying to guess what the future would look like if I could just make the decision.  I lived in rumination – a constant if, then battle in my head.  If I did this, then what about that? If I did that, what would happen if … and my poor body was keeping score.  I was not well.  I was depressed, losing weight, not sleeping, and constantly on edge.  

Enter Martha Beck.  Martha garnered national attention as Oprah’s life coach, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show where she would frequently coach on the spot.  She wrote columns in O Magazine, and beyond that, is a multiple New York TImes best selling author.  I hunted her down like she held all the answers to my life.  I read everything she wrote.  And one weekend, I found myself sitting in her presence during a small weekend retreat.  I left that weekend armed with skills and tools to move the needle on my current misery.  Two days later, I was sitting with my fellowship director telling her that I could not finish my training.  And my life changed at that moment. I was free, lighter and suddenly more at peace than I had been in the entire 1.5 years prior.  

I continue to use her tools to this day and was so impacted by her work that I completed her “Wayfinder” life coach training course many years later.  So what is a life coach?  Martha writes on her blog “A life coach is a professionally trained guide whose job is to help you find the answers you’ve been seeking and navigate into the life you were meant to live.”  

We all have inner wisdom.  It may be buried deep in the archives, but it is there and ready to be unearthed.  Finding purpose and joy in life is not just possible but essential to your health and well-being.  Midlife offers abundant opportunities for self-improvement and guidance via coaching.  Shifting perspective, finding clarity, setting realistic goals while overcoming obstacles, setting boundaries and working on accountability are common themes encountered with coaching.  

So what is holding you back from living your best life?  Don’t know where to begin, where to go or how to get there?

Let’s Chat.  

In good health,

Steph