I’ve been a life coach for 15 years now. That is a long time. And, during that time I have witnessed transformations, courage, and deep pain as I supported people through the challenges in their lives.
When people ask what my niche or focus is I feel lost because I work with whatever challenges people bring to me – divorce, career, life threatening illness, restlessness, relationships, stress, simplifying their lives, confidence, self-care, creating something new, etc. You name it and I’ve probably coached it. And, I’ve loved it all.
The truth is – I don’t coach specific problems, I coach people. I believe that the issue isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s what lies beneath that matters.
And ultimately, my work is about providing loving support so my clients can say what they need to say, release what is not serving them, and hear the answers that are written on their hearts. Yes, I may provide tools, perspective, or information, but ultimately my clients already have the answers they are looking for. They just can’t or don’t want to hear them.
Recently, as I was thinking nostalgically about my years of coaching and all of the wonderful clients I have worked with, I realized there IS a theme. All of my most successful clients have listened to and followed their hearts. I am remembering:
- Women who were devastated by divorce, illness, or financial distress whose hearts guided them into rediscovering their true selves and creating more meaningful lives.
- Women who came to me for career or business advice, only to learn they were in the wrong business and then follow their hearts to create the work of their dreams.
- Women in marriages full of discord who listened to their hearts say it’s not about being right and chose to work on communication skills and rediscovering love
- Countless women feeling called to become coaches or be of service to the world in other heartfelt ways.
Each of these women listened within and then followed their hearts. In most cases it took a lot of courage, but ended up being the greatest gifts they could give themselves.
It was rare that they recognized what they were actually doing at the time. Most felt they were just in a swirling mess of fear and indecision, but in retrospect they were in a process that led to heartfelt decisions and honoring themselves.
So, maybe this listening to your heart thing is what is at the core of my coaching.
It is not a specific problem, but a path to solutions and well-being. And if I can help women listen within more, it can serve them throughout their lives, not just with issues that are present now.
So what would it look like? Living a heartfelt life would mean:
Listening:
Learning how to recognize the voice of your heart, deepening your relationship with it, and gaining trust in it’s guidance.
Creating Space:
Clearing out distractions and clutter in your schedule, relationships, and environment. Living simply and enjoying quiet time. Also, letting go of old pain, issues, and misbeliefs that no longer serve you.
Supportive Tools:
Discovering peaceful practices that soothe your soul, finding new methods for tuning into your inner guidance, and knowing how to be sure your heart is what you are really listening to.
So, what do you think? Am I on to something here?
My greatest wish is that each of you give yourself the gift of listening to your heart and letting it guide you. Life will be a lot more meaningful and exciting if you do.
Related Posts:
How to Create a Simple Heartfelt Life
You’re definitely onto something! Recently I’d made a comment on something and was ‘told’ that I was letting my emotions do the talking. But your first advice about listening to your heart, says it so well, that we gain guidance from our heart/emotions. Maybe more people need to let their emotions do the talking (and deciding?).
Yes. Thanks for sharing, Debrah. The heart is a conduit for our inner wisdom. The trick is that sometimes fear, frustration, sexual passion, can sometimes fool us into thinking they are the voice of our heart. The real key with heart/emotions is that the true voice is a calm quiet one and we have this deep knowing that what it says is true. Any voices that try to rush us or sound frantic are impostors.
It’s funny how we can easily let fear lead us in the wrong direction, but struggle when we find that love wants to lead us in another direction. Both are emotions but we sometimes see love as too soft and think it’s “wimpy” to follow it. When in actuality, love is the harder path, but the truer path.
I agree, except that I’m not sure love is the harder path. If we could not let fear control us life would be a lot more meaningful.