Six months ago, I thought that I had a good idea as to what life coaching is all about. On occasion, I had informal contact with a few successful local coaches via my networking circle, and have shared some great conversations with them about life and professional goals in general. Sometimes I felt inspired by what we discussed.
Sometimes the takeaway from our conversations was even more substantial, and made me realize things that I had not thought of before. I would definitely say that my experience was overall very positive. Interestingly, since I have always had a personal interest in self-development and growth, I believed that my personal pursuit of knowledge in this area was supplying me with pretty good strategies for achieving my life goals. As such, I did not feel that most people absolutely needed a coach to progress in their lives long-term.
Well, that belief was changed by the serendipity of events that have provided me with an opportunity to personally experience the world of professional coaching from a completely different angle. Enrolling in coach training with the world’s leading coaching school, Erickson Coaching International, provided that wonderful serendipity. As it turned out, coaching is much more than I thought before. My training started in January 2015, when Erickson was launching its newest cutting-edge online training delivery. This meant that I was a part of the pilot program that offered the best of what online coach training has to offer, worldwide. Needless to say this doubled my excitement!
When you enjoy what you are doing, time flies! Doing my coach training online twice a week, while interacting and doing practical coaching exercises with fellow students was truly enjoyable.
Although my coaching journey has just begun, I thought that writing about my personal experience could help those who are wondering whether coach training is for them, and what it actually takes to become a coach.
Taking just one module of Solution-Focused coaching has given me 3 fresh perspectives on daily life that have been helpful already:
1. Not all listening is created equal. Someone can try their best to listen to you, and yet not hear what you are really saying. You can change the way you listen and help others to listen to you, when you understand what’s involved in active listening.
2. Decisions that we make on a daily basis are founded in the interaction between our subconscious and conscious brains, and it is completely in our power to optimize this process for positive results.
3. We all have the same capacity and inner resources for positive change. Once we have developed our own set of tools for developing solutions to life challenges, our whole life undergoes a permanent transformation that brings us closer to the desirable level of satisfaction and purposeful state of being.
“The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
I am definitely very ready to explore the world of unlimited possibilities that we’re all destined to experience but forget how to do so somewhere along the way. Using this knowledge to help others to produce solutions, and enjoy fuller and more engaging lives makes it that much more rewarding.