I get asked this question all the time. My dear friend and coach @analiakim has the best analogy I know of to explain it. We're in a car, you and I... it's your car. We're going for a drive together... a little road trip, if you will. You are in the driver's seat, I am on the passenger's side. You may feel stuck and are not sure which is the best direction for you. I am helping you navigate. I listen deeply to why you believe you wish to go a certain direction, will ask you some questions about what it is you are saying and what it is you maybe are not, will help you check in with your Internal GPS (the real driver), and together we will continue along this road, in the direction that you really want to go. Every so often, we may hit a pothole, or an obstacle may cross our path. I will point them out and we will navigate them - together. Sometimes, we will be able to steer around the obstruction quite easily, and at other times we may have to move it completely out of the way in order to continue more smoothly in the direction of your most beautiful, joy-full, peace-full destination. We may go on one road trip together, and we may go on many. I will never TELL you which direction to take, you are the driver after all - I am there to help you get to the destination you are seeking.
There have been many times in my life that I have needed a little direction... have YOU? Times when I have needed to look at my life, the quality of my life, from outside of my life - does that make sense? Ask yourself this question: What is one positive feeling and one negative feeling that you have regularly? Write them down. Just being asked this question takes you outside of your life and makes you look in for a moment - as the "observer" of your life. It is so important to understand our feelings, as our feelings cause us to behave - to act -the way that we do. If we can see this, that our feelings are causing our behaviours, then, we must find the cause of these feelings - what is the cause of our feelings? Our thoughts. This is where life coaching comes in. It can help you to find those thoughts that are causing you to feel the way you feel. Life coaching takes you outside of your life, outside of your mind, helps you to step back and see these thoughts from the outside - and the damage they may be causing in your life, if they are negative. If your regular FEELINGS are those of anxiety, stress, worry, fear, sadness, frustration, helplessness, hopelessness, confusion, anger, upset - to name a few... how are they going to be affecting you? How will you be FEELING? BEHAVING? What is the result on the overall quality of your day, your week, your month, your year - your life? And so, we start with the thought. And our thoughts are within our control. We can change them. We can dissolve them completely. We can reframe them, and go forward in our lives with a new thought, that causes a new feeling, that causes new behaviours, and thus, new results, new situations, and a better overall quality to our days, our years and perhaps our lives.
We are not taught to look inside of ourselves - or even to ourselves at all - for the reasons we may find ourselves in a particular situation - sometimes over and over again, find ourselves feeling stuck, or like we just can't figure something out or get to that next level, to get out of a funk! We are experts, however, at blaming people and situations outside of ourselves for the reasons we can't get ahead, are stuck, or unhappy, or even just unsettled somehow... for, this is what we've been taught. The reality is: if we wish to expand the quality of our lives, if we wish to evolve in our lives, if we wish to have joy and peace and freedom (insert the feelings you wish to feel here) - then we must find what brings us feelings of joy and peace and freedom - and CREATE more of that, create more of these FEELINGS by creating more THOUGHTS that create these FEELINGS. Do you see the cycle?
This is one of so many areas where Life Coaching can help. This is where I can help. It's like a reset for your mind, and hence, a reset for your life. Think of me as a personal trainer for your mind :) You see, I cannot tell you what to do, which direction to take, or what the answers are to living YOUR best life. I do not have this information, I do not have answers about your life. Only you have these. You are the only expert on your life. I can help you find and access them, I can help you navigate in the direction of your best life, but only YOU can act on it, only YOU can CHOOSE the right direction for you. This work is beautiful, rewarding, transformational work - AND it works! If I have piqued your interest, please reach out!
lori ann xo
A road trip …. A perfect analogy.