Nature as our coach

As Purchasing Coach I use many different tools to facilitate insight for coaching clients.

Coaching has many different objectives, and the tool used will be determined by the goal the client has on that day.

For example, to get from A To B we need to:

1. Understand where we are currently - A
2. Know where we want to get to - B
3. Understand what we might be stopping us getting from A to B 
4. Deal with that's holding us back
5. Have an action plan to get from A to B
6. Take action
7. Celebrate progress
8. Review progress, and amend direction of travel as necessary
9. Get to B, C or an improved A

Coaching can provide support at any or all parts of that journey. Which means a coaching session might include asking powerful question to help and support you to:

1. Understand your current situation, and understand why its not where you want to be
2. Identify your goal/vision or mission, and understand why it's where you do want to be 
3. Explore the potential barriers, blocks, hurdles, fears that might be holding you back
4. Release the blocks and barriers to making progress
5. Identify a plan of how to achieve your goal
6. Take action every day towards your goal 
7. Remind you to celebrate your successes however small 
8. Review where you are, whether you still want to get to B, and what needs to happen to stay on track or alter your journey
9. Achieve your goals

There are many tools and techniques available to help you along the way. 

For example I recently attended a friend's, Caroline Johnstone, book launch Dare to be Happier: an Introduction to the magic of journaling to transform your life. Hearing her talk reminded me of the power of reflection, journaling and gratitude to help us to move through the 9 steps above.

In my Advent series of posts I introduced 24 unconventional tools in my coaching toolkit that I have available to support people on their journey.

One of those tools - Landscaping Your Life - has it's own book launch coming up very soon. Can't see the wood for the trees by Alison Smith is published here in the UK - although it's already available on Kindle and also in paperback in the US.

Landscaping Your Life uses nature as a coach - with questions being asked in the form of elements of landscapes rather than words. 

These 2 videos help explain it a little more:

Coaching Question from Nature: How can you blow away the clouds or even rise above them so you can appreciate and accept your essence and light in the world?

Coaching Question from Nature: How can you ensure you connect with all that you have in common, rather than what divides and separates you from others?

I've also written many a post here in this blog on the more conventional tools I use in coaching I do. This index of posts includes a number of these - including exploring goal setting, understanding your values, increasing confidence, watching your language to name just a few.  

If you'd like to know more about coaching available from me or nature do please drop me a line alison@alisonsmith.eu or give me a call +44 (0)7770 538159. 

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Inspiring change - inside and out

If you can't see the wood for the trees, are stuck in a rut, up a creek without a paddle, are treading water, or out on a limb, or perhaps feel like a fish out of water the recently published Can't see the wood for the trees offers coaching advice from the very landscapes contained within these sayings.

Which means if you're stuck in a rut - the rut will have the answer, if you can't see the wood for the trees it suggests the wood will have much to say - after all as David Wagoner in his poem Lost suggests "The wood and the trees ... are not lost .... you must let it find you."

More on stockists of the book here.