Self-Coaching in 10 Steps

Something has happened to change your life. It may be an injury, illness, surgery, or other loss of health. It may be a change in lifestyle, career, or the role you play in the family. Or maybe it was the death of a loved one, end of a relationship, or loss of a dream that kept you going. Now what?

Transitions in life are often difficult and energy draining. Our brain can get stuck on what has happened even though life continues to move on all around us. How can we take care of our need for processing all the emotions and still prepare to recharge our batteries and re-enter “real life” as it is now? Coaching can help.

A coach is someone who can help you focus on what you are going through – all parts of it including the good, the bad, and the ugly. But a good coach will not let you sit in that state forever so they also nudge you to find the best ways that work for YOU to deal with the challenges ahead. If you ever wondered what it’s like to work with a coach, how about trying it out on yourself first?

Here are 10 of the most basic and commonly asked questions used in my coaching practice – just to give you a taste without all the commitment. Spend a few moments to think of ONE challenge that you are currently facing. Then ask yourself these questions and spend a fair amount of time on the answers. Be HONEST with yourself, nobody else is looking and it’s all about YOU right now:

What happened?
What led up to this?
What is going on inside you during this time of challenge?
How have other challenging situations in the past affected you?
How have you responded to them?
What is the best possible outcome?
What values do you hold that will influence your response to this?
What are 3 options you could choose to tackle this challenge?
What WILL you do?
When?

So… how was that for you? Did it feel good to be able to spend some time on your own thoughts without having to come up with the “right” answer to please someone else? Or was it uncomfortable spending time on yourself like that? If so, ask yourself what makes it so uncomfortable. You might be surprised by the answer.