Sasha came to coaching as she was finding it difficult to get motivated. She was nearing the end of a diploma but found herself unable to tackle her final assignments. She was also struggling with establishing a routine around her exercise, eating and self-care. She wasn’t sure what the resistance was, she just knew it all felt too hard.
Values
We started our coaching sessions by looking at Sasha’s values. Up to now, Sasha had always thought of values as attached to organisations and not anything to do with her personally. We unpacked key events that were important to Sasha (both good and challenging) to uncover the values beneath the stories. It is always an honour to witness others’ lives. But with experiences that truly matter, that resonate at a heart level, it is especially rewarding to see people expanding in front of you, sitting up a little straighter, their tone more confident and grounded. Sasha’s values included: connection, beauty, authenticity, simplicity, and living fully in your senses.
Perspectives
We then played with perspectives around self-care, exploring why it felt so difficult to establish a routine. There is a simple Co-Active Coaching technique that uses free association to come up with different perspectives. It’s fun, creative, and highly effective. It surprises people into viewing their topic afresh. It reminds us we get to choose a perspective; it is not pre-set. After exploring several points of view, Sasha decided to approach her self-care from a perspective of abundance, comfort, and having lots to give rather than one of duty and self-criticism.
Inner Critic
Finally, we looked at the stories we tell ourselves, how they can hold us back or free us up. We spent time with Sasha’s inner critic, working to shift her relationship with that inner voice. We all have an inner critic. And we all know how punishing it can feel. But what if your inner critic was just trying to keep you safe? What if you personified it, name it, thanked it? What if you could let them know you’d got this, they can relax, they didn’t need to be on high alert anymore?
Sasha completed her studies on schedule and soon after started a new role. She continues to use the techniques we worked with, returning to her values in key decision moments and being kinder to herself and her inner critic. A recent win saw Sasha saying yes to higher duties at work when her inner critic was urging her to say no. She’s done such a great job she’s been asked to continue acting in the role.
Life Coaching
If you’d like to find out more about life coaching reach out using the link below.