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At the beginning of the year I asked coaches in the Wellcoaches community to submit a list of ten ways in which they want to thrive in 2009. Diane is dealing with some challenging health issues and asked me for a series of coaching sessions to work on her health and life satisfaction.
Diane’s Motivation
In our first coaching session, Diane created a forward-looking statement to describe her motivation for moving toward wellness: “To be in a state of health with sufficient energy and vitality that enables me to support myself in all realms – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial – and that enables me to explore and pursue my life’s mission.” In our second session, it was time to get clear about what this visionary statement would look like applied to the real world.
Getting Clear
We began with a useful tool for reflection called a “ruler.” Simply put, I asked her to tell me how she would rate how close she is to the vision on a scale from 0-10, 10 being the closest. This is a clear and simple way to quantify something subjective. When asked, Diane rated herself a 3.5 out of 10 and described that her first wish is to have more physical energy.
Empowering
We really infused the energy when we decided to aim for a 90-day window to get moving! Note, it was Diane choosing this time frame, not me, the “expert” suggesting what she ought to do or when. This kind of self-direction is key to anyone’s success. With a clear goal date in mind, it was important to avoid creating a sense of overwhelm by choosing too many goals, too soon.
Playing with Strategy
With this in mind, ideas like eliminating the pleasurable activity of eliminating “nips” from her snacking habits, became a playful possibility to consider rather than a daunting requirement. The goal in fact was not to create deprivation, but hope. We continually considered what would lead Diane to her wellness vision in a way that creates energy, rather than keeping her stuck. What would support her in gaining momentum? After all, we can’t change when we’re standing still.
Next week, I’ll share Diane’s reflections on our conversation and the goals that she committed to…
Margaret Moore, also known as “Coach Meg,” is CEO and founder of Wellcoaches Corp. in Wellesley, MA and can be reached by email at:
coachmeg[at]wellcoaches.com
http://www.coachmeg.com
http://www.wellcoaches.com
http://www.harvardcoaching.org