“I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling, looking for something, what can it be?” – Joni Mitchell
I’ll be honest, I’m not crazy about the term ‘life coach’. As a tennis pro/coach, I used to help people learn the grips, technique and footwork required to play better tennis. But how do you coach people to learn how to be happier, more successful, or break free of negative patterns/behaviors?
That’s the cool part about this work; I don’t teach, as much as gently guide you towards your own unique ‘sweet spot’ in life; where you can access your own natural abilities to express personal power in healthy, satisfying and fruitful ways; you can gain access to parts of yourself, your talents, abilities and self-confidence, you never knew existed. I can speak from direct experience, this is what can and does happen with coaching.
Learning to overcome a noisy, negative mind can result in clarity and inner peace, and with that comes an incredible amount of personal power.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t want to positively transform something about themselves or their lives — health, career, relationships, self-esteem, fulfillment, family, etc.? Who isn’t stuck in some self-defeating pattern or circumstance?
Assuming your answer is a ‘no’ let’s start with a simple question: Do you believe powerful change is possible in your life? Can you FEEL the change, right now? If so, then you can LIVE it out in daily reality, too. I’ve experienced this first-hand, so I can speak with authority on this. Sure, it takes some work, practice, inquiry and diligence to change old patterns and beliefs, but it can be done. This work instigates and fuels that natural transformation.
So much of this work is about slowing down long enough to get in touch with your truth, gently confronting your resistance and negative patterns by taking a closer look at them.
Looking back, I sure wish I had been able to work with a life coach who could have helped me align with my goals, and authentic self. But in lieu of that option, I learned and assimilated most of these tools on my own – it just took a lot longer
Coaching is ultimately about inquiry, in the here and now, and taking responsibility for your feelings. Exploring questions like: Have I felt inferior all this time, for a lie, for someone else’s benefit? Did I accept someone else’s definition of me as fact, when in truth, I outgrew that label long ago? This list of possibilities here is endless, and yet highly personal to you. Get to the deepest, most personal core for you, and challenge whatever negative belief you discover.
After being a professional writer for more than 20 years, I’ve learned how to communicate ideas, concepts and stories to others; for me, this work is a natural extension of that communication, and it’s tremendously gratifying to use this skill to help others.
For more information, go to my Coaching Guidelines page.
Or just contact me HERE. Or check out my BLOG (updated often!) for random musings on transformation and empowerment (or totally unrelated topics that might inspire and interest you!).
Mitch Rustad 