The Coaching Principle - The Story Can Always Be Rewritten

Its been quite a few years for me as coach now almost 20 years in this business and I have seen a lot of changes come and go.  The biggest change now is that everyone calls themselves a coach.  When I first started it was difficult to discuss and tell people what a coach did.

I stumbled around saying I could make a difference in how you viewed your business or personal life and that with a few simple ways of changing in thinking you could have the life or the business you wanted.  To me it was a simple thing.  Live in integrity, get out of your own way and make a difference by making key decisions that move you towards your goal.

In the old days we thought we all needed to take personal responsibility for what it was we were doing with our lives.  Today however there is a real reluctance on the part of individuals to accept that responsibility.   Its still just as simple, it just means doing the work to get closer to who you are and living your life so that it is meaningful to you and to those around you.

So what's up with everyone being a coach.  Most people think that its a simple thing to tell others how they should live their life and with a few strokes of the pen, your common sense will improve, you will be able to jump off the side of that mountain or you will be able to find the job you want.  With the permission of your coach you will be able to further understand yourself and the reason why you have only been employed for approximately 14 days at the last four jobs you have had.

Coaching in general is really not that simple.  Life is actually really simple and yet pretty complex.  Its simple because it all operates directly in the way you see things through your own perception.  Its complex because you need to know that you will always be in conflict with what is and what your ego says what is.  

What is, is usually the reality of the situation, but the ego has a way of turning that into a lot of things.  Fear, drama, lack of understanding, frustration, anger, greed, .. it just keeps throwing emotions at you until you attach yourself to the one that gives you the greatest pleasure and the best story at the moment and why? 

Well the why is that  it that feels good, then you hold onto it and don't let go since its a safe place to be and you don't need to make any real life altering decisions because  you can  just keep adding to the story until it does not feel so good.

So in hiring a coach, interview a few and get a better understanding as to the process the coach uses to help you manage your story.  Its not just about having a casual conversation on the telephone, getting together for coffee, its about knowledge of your how they can help you find out more about who you are and where you are in your story.  

The best place to be is at the beginning which means you need to remove the past, accept the present for what it is and then you need to decide to make the shifts and commitments you need that will let you grow within you own story.    These shifts can be assisted by a professional coach that has been there before with clients like you and your story or stories.

The simple part of the story is you can rewrite it at any time you want as long has you have the ability to see that the story can change and with it so can you.  Coaching is a complex and very rewarding profession and I am not saying there are not lots of good coaches in the world.  However what you need is to ensure that the coach you decide to hire, can help you rewrite the story and provide the guidance and support so that there is a much more happier ending.  They need to have the skills, the insight the knowledge and the experience to help you see that yes there is a end to your current story and yes there is even a better and brighter story will be available in the future. 

The process takes time and since its your story, you will need to decide what the main character is going to do and the steps that will need to be taken for the story and the situation to change.  A coach can help get you there and help you through those changes and help you correct your grammar and spelling along the way.