Apparently, I DON’T get to just tell people what to do and solve all their problems?
I thought that by becoming a health and wellness coach, I would finally have an outlet to tell people what they should do to be healthy.
FINALLY, I would have the cred to be bossy, and folks would change their lives based on the fantastic advice I have to dole out. Because they CLEARLY hadn’t heard about how to live better from anywhere else, or they would be doing it. Right? They needed more people telling them what to do!
Turns out that’s not how coaching works. And that’s not how change works.
Folks generally know what they need to do to feel better. The harder part is making that change stick.
And coaching is not about pouring more information on people, patting yourself on the back for having a positive impact, and walking away.
So there goes that dream.
One of the first things they taught me at ye ole coach academy is that your job as a coach is to get the client to dig deep and figure out what they want to work on.
Yep, my bossy bubble burst. Like, I don’t even get to suggest to them the changes I think they should make?? Nope.
A coach helps you tap into your deep motivations, values, and strengths so that you can use all of them to help you do what you want to do. Coaches work to help you clearly define how you’ll make that behavior change, but their real value is getting deep into the motivations that lie within you. To help you see WHY you are making the change so that you’re more likely to get there.
And they support you and provide accountability along the way.
Eventually, though, our goal is that you don’t need us anymore. We teach you how to achieve optimal health by tapping into what you already know about yourself. You reach your goals, and you move on.
That’s a little bit different than I had originally thought.
I believe most folks aren’t getting the support they need from our current medical system. Most health solutions are too expensive for most folks to afford (including paying for the service of a coach), too confusing and contradicting, or just unrealistic for most people.
You deserve to know how to feel better. Especially the low-cost options. But to do that, you’re going to need to know how to change your behavior. And those behavior changes may or may not involve a coach, depending on what you prefer and what you can do.
All that said, I hope that this blog will help make behavior change easier so that you can live a happier, healthier life.