The myths about coaching

"I'd find that really helpful" said one delegate on a recent workshop when we spoke about coaching.

I hear this often, and yet very few people turn that desire into action.

I wonder, is that because we think:

• Coaching is something other people do and not us. 
• It's only about emotions.  
• We have to know what we want before we can start. 
• Or know what's stopping us.
• Or have the answers.
• Or attend multiple sessions.
• A quick fix won't solve this.
• We don't want someone else telling me what to do.
• It's only for major life events after all. 
• It's only for those with money to spare.
• I'm not worth it.

I'm glad to tell you these are all myths, because in reality:

• Coaching is something everyone can benefit from. 
• Coaching can cover any or just one aspect of your life - thoughts, feeling, behaviours, actions and can cover physical and mental health, nutrition, fitness, life, finances, relationships, purpose, divorce, bereavement, setting up for own business or even procurement processes. You decide. You just need to find the right coach with experience of the area you're wanting coaching in, and a coaching style that suits you.
• Coaching helps us understand where we are, where we might want to get to, and identify an action plan to get there.
• To discover what's stopping us.
• To ask the powerful questions so you can uncover the answers.
• It can be one powerful and insightful call or a series of face to face meetings - or any mix in-between. 
• Coaching may not be able to "fix" the problem. Coaching can however help you take control over your reaction to the situation, and identify an action plan to change your relationship to it.
• The coach's role is to ask you the questions in order for you to decide for yourself what you want to do.
• Coaching is for any aspect of your life - any area where you'd like something to reduce, change, improve, or transform.  
• Coaching is an investment - it's only you who can determine if that  level of investment is worth the reward of achieving your goal. 
• Everyone is worth it. Everyone.

The first action is accepting you're worth it, and then picking up the phone to explore how a coach might be able to help you. If that coach might be me then do give me a call +44 (0)7770 538159 or email alison@alisonsmith.eu

"Alison is one of the best coaches I have ever had the pleasure of working with (and I've worked with a few!) She has a highly practical nature and combines it with strong intuition and unconventional tools to guide you to find insights and answers to specific challenges. 

She asks powerful thought provoking questions, but it's not just about coming up with answers in your mind; in my session she used various unconventional tools including something called The Transformation Game to help me connect with my intuition to gain new insights and awareness about my situation. Not only that, due to Alison's skill and patience I was able to experience a profound shift in relation to an ongoing challenge that had been holding me back in my life and I left the session with action steps to enable me to progress further.

As with any transformational coaching, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for personal change and get out of your comfort zone to find the answers you need, but Alison makes this easy with her approach.

Whether you're looking for a personal coach or you're looking for a highly skilled executive coach in the workplace for insights, awareness and more importantly a clear idea of the next action to take, if you're ready to try a powerful alternative, I highly recommend you get in touch with Alison."

Mel Sherwood, author of The AuthorityGuide to Pitching Your Business