I Promise it Won’t Hurt!

People who are considering hiring a coach sometimes fear that we’ll be mean or judgmental. Ouch!

In fact it’s quite the opposite. Certified coaches go through hours of training in order to learn how to curb the judgments and empower our clients using positive energy, encouragement, and support.

Perhaps it is a bit of the residual stereotyping that happens when people hear the word “Coach.” Maybe you had one of those mean coaches in pee-wee softball who sent you to the bench with a few disparaging comments, like “you throw like a girl!”—I am a girl! Or maybe you had previously hired one of those old world trainer/consultant types who happened to be a former marine drill sergeant and was having a hard time getting out of the habit of telling his charges what to do and how many times to do it.

Years ago, I was a time management and personal productivity coach, an associate in a network of Priority Management Systems coaches. When I would visit my clients in their offices, I would identify myself as Laura Scott from Priority Management Systems, but to my dismay some receptionists would use the acronym. It pains me still as I recall the times the receptionist or secretary would announce my arrival by buzzing the client’s office and announcing, “The PMS lady is here!”

Ouch!

Flickr Photo by Bionicteaching

Stop the Advice!

I am reading a chapter a day of Wayne Dyer's book Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. It's a mediation on the chinese philosopher/teacher Lao-Tzu's writings called the Tao Te Ching or The Great Way and at the end of each chapter Dr. Dyer presents a invitation to practice "the Tao Now."

This is what I read this morning:

Do The Tao Now Spend an hour, a day, a week, or a month practicing not giving unsolicited advice. Stop yourself for an instant and call upon your silent knowing. Ask a question, rather than giving advice or citing an example from your life, and then just listen to yourself and the other person. As Lao-tzu would like you to know, that's "the highest state of man."

Or woman ;-). As coaches we strive to do just that, every day. It's not easy. It's sometimes very tempting to just jump in while a client is talking and provide a quickie solution or a nugget of advice. But the best process for change and the best advice and wisdom comes from the client's own process of discovery and discernment. Coaches are simply the facilitators in this process. We ask the questions. You provide the answers.

Lessons from the Easter Bunny

As the U.S. President and First Lady host the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House today, I am reminded of a popular email that is shared this time of year that invites us all to learn from the Easter Bunny, no matter what belief system we subscribe to.

Here's an excerpt:
All I need to know
I learned from the Easter Bunny!
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
There's no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.
Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

Flickr Photo by stevendepolo

No Fear!

No Fear! I see this bumper sticker a lot. I wonder why this person defaces their cool looking car or truck with a sticker. What fear lives there that this bumper is designed to ward off?

Fear of death? Fear of injury? Fear of failure? Fear of judgment?

What about fear of life?

If we really embraced life and all the experiences life brought to us, would we fear anything?

Which reminds me of a another bumper sticker: It's all Good! Or, It's all God!

Flickr Photo by Yaelbeeri