There is still a lot of confusion about what life coaches do. Even coaches have trouble explaining it. And, everyone seems to be a coach these days. How confusing is that?
In general, a professionally qualified life coach will listen carefully and provide support, perspective, guidance, tools, motivation, accountability, and champion you in creating what you want in life.
Most clients work with a life coach because they: Continue reading
While most of my coaching happens with clients over a period of time, there are some things that can be handled more quickly. You may have specific questions, be unable to afford ongoing coaching, or just want an hour of compassionate support.
I want to be able to serve you, too.
There was a time in my life when I felt like I couldn’t even remember who I was. After years where I survived scary things as a child, was in an abusive relationship, grieved a man I loved and pushed myself to the limits as a single mom I was exhausted. I just put one foot in front of the other and never even considered there might be more to life.
As a coach, I talk to women experiencing the same thing almost every day. Sometimes it’s a life transition like menopause or an empty nest that helps them realize there are better things than what they are experiencing. And sometimes their soul calls out to them asking for change. Whatever the catalyst is, they begin to realize that there is hope, they can make choices and in order to thrive they need to listen to the calling of their heart.
As we enter the month of September, I am anticipating the transition from summer to fall. When I lived in California there was little evidence of seasons changing and I was not tuned into these cycles of nature. Now that I have moved to Missouri, I live by them.
Recently, I was having dinner with my family when something said triggered a memory and I started crying. Everyone was surprised, especially me. The last time my family saw me cry was 6 years ago when I thought I lost my cat while moving. These tears seemed out of the blue.
I like to believe that I have resolved and healed the experiences from my past, and mostly I have. The time and energy I have put into healing and evolving has paid off, but I doubt anyone ever does it perfectly. There are different angles, remnants and nuances that can still be triggered and set off our emotions. Not as many, but there are usually some.
I’ve been at this life coaching thing for awhile. Twenty years to be exact. And, in that time I have experienced many amazing moments, witnessed miracles and felt sure I was doing what I am meant to do.
My life has been blessed by this career choice in many ways. My work is flexible and supports me well. It transitioned easily when I moved cross country and because most of my sessions are by phone, I can work from anywhere, wearing whatever I want.
Being a Life Coach has allowed me to study a variety of interesting subjects each year and call it working. It doesn’t hurt that they can be claimed as tax deductions too. My studies have taken me from emotional healing, brain hacks, fearless living, quieting the mind, shifting limiting beliefs, and more. The high point was a master’s program in spiritual psychology. Along the way I met many amazing people traveling a similar path as mine who continue to be my friends today.
We can let our next year happen and just accept our default experiences or we can work toward intentionally creating a year that we will love.
While this may sound like resolutions, it is a bit different. Resolutions have fixed outcomes and if you don’t reach them you feel like you have failed. Intentions move you forward the direction you want to go without expectations of a specific outcome. They leave room for shifts in direction or moving toward new opportunities when they arise.
Intentions are a more gentle and graceful way to follow your heart and become the person you want to be.
I love garage sales and the picture above is of one of my recent finds. As I hung it on the wall, I reflected on the message of kindness. Yes. Kindness truly does matter and it’s something I work to integrate into my life. Like many of you I can be very kind to others, but sometimes it’s a bit harder to remember to be kind to myself.
Each of us has an inner bully, a voice in our head that belittles us and makes us feel bad. Many of us give it free rein and believe what it says even though it’s messages aren’t true. The strange thing is that we would go to great lengths to protect a child who was being bullied, but then let our own inner bully beat us up day in and day out.
I’ve been a little hard on myself lately. Since I moved to Missouri, I have learned to respect the seasons and the sometimes short windows of opportunity for outdoor upgrades and home maintenance. I start each spring with to do lists and somehow they never seems to get done.
Your life is a work of art and you are the artist creating it. It can be big, bold, and full of color or simply shades of gray. You get to decide.
Art can take on many different forms and styles, but ultimately, the goal is to create something beautiful or thought provoking.
My clients often come to me feeling they need to make big changes in their lives in order to feel peaceful or happy.
While they may be excited, they tend to also feel a bit stuck or overwhelmed. If they seem to be rushing things, it is likely that fear is driving them to run away from something instead of their simply moving toward their dreams.
Years ago when I was having a hard time at my job I looked for ways that would help me stay more positive. And, in integrity. I was upset about things that were happening and could feel myself being pulled in the direction of talking behind someone’s back.
I’ve noticed lately that when I have trouble going to sleep it’s usually because my mind is very active. It’s as if a thought or story has triggered it into a hyper state that keeps me from relaxing enough to fall asleep.
As I became more aware of this pattern, I could actually feel the moment my mind clicked in and grabbed onto something that would take it, and me, down the rabbit hole.
I decided to practice letting go of the thoughts in that moment and not let them become fully engaged. It’s working really well.
There is something stirring in the women around me. I hear it in my conversations with clients and friends. They describe feeling like they are on the edge of something new. Something that is calling to their hearts. Some know what it is and others are still waiting for the voice to become more clear.
One of the things I loved about my friend Sybil while she was on this earth was her joy in bringing people together for food and stimulating conversation. She loved to listen and bask in the warmth of being surrounded by interesting friends.
As she was losing her ability to speak, she started writing letters to us. I came across a few of them recently and they were full of amusing observations and appreciation for the people around her. I could almost here her chuckling between the lines. Continue reading
“I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no” – Mick Jagger
I’ve been feeling a bit like Mick Jagger lately and it’s my own fault. I’ve somehow slipped into a state of feeling unsatisfied with things in my life.
As most of you know, I recently adopted a little Beagle mix dog named Daisy. In many ways she is the perfect little girl. She adapted to crate training quickly, hasn’t chewed anything to death, got over her fear of cats, and seldom barks. She loves to cuddle, too.
But, Daisy has a couple little quirks that have caused me to spend my evenings watching Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) on TV at night. Continue reading
I’ve been to a lot of seminars over the years. Some were great, some were okay, and some of them made me feel uncomfortable. The ones I didn’t like usually involved pressure to buy, sell, or do something out of your comfort zone in order to be accepted.
It’s interesting to watch these charismatic seminar leaders in action. They make a lot of money doing this and are experts at building momentum and get people fired up.
They create a sense of urgency, use peer pressure, and sometimes shaming language: Continue reading
The concept of forgiving is very noble and we are told it is the right thing to do, but sometimes it is not so easy.
Even when we know that forgiving is not saying the other person was right we may still crave completion, an apology, a way to prevent it from happening to someone else, retribution, or even just understanding what happened. Continue reading
We are taught that we are living out our life in a line. A life line that is full of twists, turns, and maybe even corkscrews. As we follow this path we encounter experiences that can block us, throw us off track, or bring us up or down. Sometimes they even set us back so that we have to start over. It’s a perspective that can leave you feeling battered and powerless over time. Continue reading