5 Reasons Why
Happy May everyone! I love this month mostly because of the promise that "April showers bring May flowers." I feel like May is really a time to bloom. We (hopefully) put the cold, dark winter behind us and move forward into brighter times. Today I'm offering a quick-ish, honest, heart-to-heart. I know you're here reading along for some reason. I'm hoping that reason is that you are thinking of coaching. If you're on the fence, I've got five reasons why you should not be working with a coach. I'm open to any and all counterarguments, but here's what made my list!
1. You want all the answers, right now.
My gramma always did the New York Times crossword puzzle. I remember her sitting in a chair in her living room, murmuring to herself, tapping her feet on the ground, searching for the perfect word to fit in those black boxes. She was good. I assumed. I was too young to know if any of the answers were right. As she got older and when I visited her as an adult, she started losing her memory. That didn’t stop her from doing the crossword puzzle. She spent her final years in assisted living but with that same chair, a rug under her feet worn through by her restless legs, and the newspaper folded up on a small wooden table beside her chair. I picked it up one time. Gibberish. A couple of words here and there, but in general the across and downs were just random combinations of words. She didn’t care and probably didn’t know that what she was putting together wasn't what the NYTimes folks expected.
If you want all the answers immediately to fit in neat little squares, if you're looking to buy the equivalent of the NYTimes crossword solution book (is that a thing?), if you're obsessed with getting it right the first time, coaching probably isn't for you. I'm not an answer key. I'm not even the framework or the clues. I'm more like the worn rug under my gramma's feet or her vintage armchair. I'm here to make you comfortable while you work through the answers that are right for you. If you're ready to get embrace the messy, to define and create your own puzzle, to feel supported and challenged, then yes, let's do it.
2. You think you have all the answers already.
If you come into coaching and decide you already know everything there is to know about yourself, about the world, about your future, then you're not in the right place. Coaching is about being open, honest, and vulnerable. It's about embracing that you can be successful, filled with joy, thriving, and still feel eager to learn, grow and discover more. It's about acknowledging that you might feel stuck at this moment, but that there are possibilities waiting to be uncovered and life is made of moments, none last forever. There's a lot of wonder, curiosity, and imagination involved. Leave your fixed mindset at the door. Get ready!
3. You're looking for a free quick fix.
When I first decided to launch a coaching practice, I scoured the web for benchmarking examples. I subscribed to millions (fine, a dozen) newsletters and I put my email address into so many boxes to get free downloads promising to change my life. I learned about some new resources, I tried some activities, I found hundreds of guides, how-tos, and top tens. But one-on-one coaching is no replacement for DIY worksheets. There’s a reason it’s an investment of your time and money. It's not one size fits all. We are having challenging, exciting, fun conversations. Coaching requires commitment and curiosity. Spending money on yourself is an investment: it's a way to say that living the life you want is a priority.
4. You're looking for advice.
This is a big one. So many clients come looking for advice. We will 100% come up with solutions to meet you wherever you are in your life journey, but I'm not doling out advice. I am happy to share things that work for me, resources that might resonate, or referrals to others who can give advice. But I am not a therapist, nor a mentor, nor a consultant. I'm not in the "fixing" business: I'm in the discovering, growing, learning realm. I'm a member of the International Coaching Federation and I am committed to following their code of ethics. This means I see our relationship as a collaborative, equal partnership. If you need support that I can not provide, I will do everything I can to guide you that way.
5. You don’t want to.
My purpose is to help you discover and create the life you want. If right now, you just don’t want to work with a coach, no problem. The first time I tried coaching I was not ready. I felt forced into it and wasn't willing to be honest about myself, my vision for life, my habits. The experience was a flop and didn't last long. You have to want to work on yourself. In the meantime, I’m honored you’re on this mailing list, even if you're not ready!
If after this you're still wondering whether coaching is right for you, no problem. We can figure that out, together. Wishing you a very beautiful and blossoming start to this new month. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Sending sunshine,
Henna