Is there ever a right time for working with a coach?
We often wait until things get nearly unbearable before we feel that we can justify the required investment of time, effort, and money.
Sometimes we wait for permission. Sometimes we need to try all the quick fixes ourselves or get supremely frustrated with our thoughts and behaviours before we seek help.
If you’re torn between scheduling a call with a coach and waiting until the time is ripe(r)/ mercury is in retrograde/ you’ve tried manifesting the life you want, it might be useful to see whether any of the scenarios below resonate with you.
1. You have a specific goal or challenge to tackle, but no actionable plan.
This is a coaching classic and there are plenty of coaches specialising in dealing with this kind of challenge, from accent coaches via interior design coaches to weight loss coaches - plus everything in between and beyond. Name your goal and I guarantee you that there is a coach for it. The upside is that a highly specialised coach, if experienced, knows what the common challenges are. They know the patterns and can get to the bottom of the matter quite quickly, which makes the process more efficient for you. Depending on the niche, these coaches might provide guidance, not just space to think. If they do, you should make sure that they are indeed qualified to advise on the topic in question.
2. You are struggling to start, quit, or fix a habit.
Maybe you’ve been trying to quit smoking for a decade or you’re annoyed with yourself because every time you pick up your phone, you reply to your work emails, even if you just wanted to check the weather forecast or insta-stalk your favourite band. Maybe missing one workout or having one biscuit leads to the abortion of the whole New Year, New Me mission. If you struggle with a habit you find difficult to kick or develop, coaching can provide accountability as well as useful exploration of the underlying issues that come between you and your new routine. You might find that the biscuit isn’t the problem and that your perfectionist streak is impacting your whole life, not just your new exercise routine.
3. You know exactly what you need to do, but you’re not doing it.
This is probably the most frustrating situation to be in. You know what you want to achieve, you know what you need to do to get there. And yet there is this bottomless void between knowing and doing. Think trying to pay off your credit card debt while refusing to open the letters from your bank. Signing up for a 10K, then hitting snooze instead of getting your running shoes on. Coaching can help you with this - provided you are generally willing to make changes. You get a chance to explore your levels of motivation and see to what extent your goal is aligned with your values. Depending on the coaching style you’re looking for, you might get called out on your self-limiting beliefs.
4. You feel discontent, but you can’t put your finger on what’s wrong.
It might start with a slight niggle at the back of your mind. You feel a little down at heel, mentally. Maybe you’ve been doom-scrolling late at night or you experienced a pique of envy when you saw your cousin Tracey’s manager’s friend’s instagram post. The world as a whole might feel a bit bleak. These are trying times we live in. Thinking out loud about what is going on for you can help. It can create a bit of distance between you and your thoughts, give you some space. You might get a better idea of what has knocked your mood off kilter and how to go about addressing that, if you so wish. The way forward might or might not include coaching - and that is 100% your decision.
5. You are going through a transition period and it scares the heck out of you.
Whether it’s a milestone life event, a career change, your child leaving the nest,… change is not for the faint of heart. Even if we’re not that comfortable where we are, we often prefer the status quo to an unknown situation, however much promise it might hold. It’s worse still when we did not initiate said change and feel that this is happening to us, maybe even against our will. Coaching can help you download the thoughts and emotions swirling around in your head so that you can think more clearly again. Which makes it so much easier to engage with the transition, come up with a game plan, and start to believe that whatever life might throw at you, you will find a way to deal with it.
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