What is a Life Coach?
A Professional Life Coach is someone who is trained to help you get the absolute most out of your life. He or she believes in the power of positive thinking, in minimizing negative thoughts and emotions, and harnessing your individual strengths so you can be happier. A good coach will help you become aware of what you are really good at, what holds you back, what gives your life meaning and what makes you feel joyful. He or she will help you feel confident and empowered, will show you what positive changes you can make and support you as you move forward with them. A life coach will help you identify your deeper purpose and support you and keep you on track as you move forward toward your goals. For more please go to Coaching
Why choose a Coach over some other kind of therapy?
There are many good solutions out there. I am a great believer in helping individuals find the method that best suits them. That is why I suggest, and offer a free call, so you can get a feel for coaching and the person first. The main difference between coaching and other forms of therapy is that coaching tends not to spend time digging deeply in to the ‘whys’ of an issue, and past perceived ‘failures’ but focuses more on where you are today, what works well for you, and how to leverage that in different ways to get you unstuck and happier. Coaching is very much based in the present, in offering you new choices and opening up possibilities for the future. You should find it a very positive, energizing and supportive experience.
Coaches keep talking about the importance
of a positive mindset, why?
There is overwhelming evidence from multiple different sources that seeing things in a positive way helps you in every aspect of your life. You feel happier more consistently and can revert more easily to that state. Your immune system is improved, you sleep better, your brain works better, your memory is improved as is your life expectancy. Unfortunately we humans are wired by default (some of us more than others) to see the negative, to notice where we ‘fail’ or fall short, to pick up on what doesn’t go right. A coach can train your mind to seek out positives, to challenge negativity, to build daily landmarks of joy in to your life, and to feel gratitude and happiness over loss and fear. It isn’t just we can learn to see things in a more positive way, we actually change them in to a positive force.
What do I mean by Transition Coach?
A Transition Coach is just a fancy way of saying a coach who specializes in helping people through life changes. In a way it is unnecessary to specify as life is always changing. But someone who calls themselves a Transition Coach should be experienced and good at helping individuals move successfully and happily through those big life transitions for example changing jobs, divorce, menopause, empty-nesters, midlife crisis, moving countries, re-entry in to the workforce, retirement.
There are so many books and articles out there,
why would I choose to work with a Coach?
If reading the books and articles out there is solving your issues and helping you lead a happier life that is great! Go for it! If however you are like most of people you find yourself circling around the same issues repeatedly despite your best efforts. If that is the case you might want to try something different. When you get to a point where you consciously decide make a really meaningful change in your life, or you are fed up hitting a wall, or you simply just find yourself more ‘down’ than ‘up’ coaching has been proven time and again to be the most effective solution. For more please go to Coaching Works.
Why is it so hard making changes?
That is a complicated one to answer. Making meaningful, sustainable changes in your life is very hard to do alone. Research shows that only 1 in 7 people could change their habits even when their lives depended on it (reference Robert Kegan’s “Immunity to Change”. For more please go to Coaching Works and Health, Weight and Exercise.
Is Coaching worth the money? How will I know?
Great question. It is a big decision to invest in yourself. I guess the way I look at it is if you want to get the most out of your time on earth, you might want to figure out what that means for you and how best to do it. And the sooner you do that, the more you will get out of life…starting tomorrow. If you wanted to say improve at tennis, you might be able to do so on your own, but a good coach will make sure you have great technique and mindset in a shorter space of time, keep you on track and support you going forward. Living your happiest life is worth a great deal. Whatever method you choose to support you moving forward you are worth it, and when you look back in 1yr, 5yrs, 10yrs time you will most likely see it as the best investment you have ever made. And because I respect your money I offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on each session.
How many areas of my life can I focus on?
As many or as few as you like. In our initial session we will get to define more clearly what you want to get from the coaching. It may be something specific, or it may be broader. Clients often find that by beginning somewhere other areas may shift for the better in ways that they had not even imagined was possible.
What can I expect from a session?
I now work mostly on the phone or Skype. A session is one-on-one and lasts around 50 minutes. An average session will include any number of things including deep listening to what is going on beneath the surface, exercises, tools and techniques, strategies and accountability. And most probably some humour and fun thrown in. Work needn’t have to feel heavy to be effective. Each session will address what you need today, but will also keep you on track with your broader objectives as agreed when we start working together.
What are the benefits of phone coaching?
Both in person and over the phone coaching are highly effective and powerful. As part of my training, and throughout the years, I found that when I used a coach I always seemed to choose one who worked over the phone, despite my initial preference for ‘in person’. It wasn’t a conscious choice at all. It just seemed to be the coach I was most drawn to lived out of town, or worked on the phone. I discovered that phone coaching is a great way of working together. There are the obvious benefits of convenience and no travel time, and you can have a session in Pjs in the comfort of your favourite chair at home, or in a lunch break at the office. It is a very personal, intimate way of working, listening as you do straight in to your ear or headphone with no distractions. You get to choose your space, and the positive work we do will be anchored in to that space, reinforcing it whenever you go there. It also means that it is completely portable so you can stay on track wherever you are. I also love to coach in person if you are in the Montreal area.
What exactly is Hypnosis?
There seems to be some mystique surrounding hypnosis. And a lot of misunderstanding. Firstly the stuff you see on TV might be very entertaining, but it does not resemble hypnosis when used to help people in a therapeutic context. You will not be quacking like a duck when I snap my fingers! Hypnosis is simply an altered state of awareness. You will have experienced it already many times, most likely not realizing it. It is so great to work with because our unconscious mind is ahead of our conscious mind so you are really connecting with your whole self at the point of source. This means that much of our behaviour is automatic, we do it without even thinking about it consciously. So it follows that if you want to change something getting to the unconscious (or subconscious if you prefer) is much more effective. In that altered state you will feel deeply relaxed, you will be more in ‘control’ and in touch with yourself, and you will find new, more effective ways forward that will be fine-tuned (by yourself) to work with your individual personality (For more please see Hypnosis).
What if I don’t believe I can be hypnotized?
Hypnosis is one of the tools I offer. There is absolutely no need to use it if you would prefer not to. In my experience the people who do feel resistance to hypnosis, for whatever reason, when they end up deciding to try it become the biggest converts. If you find yourself unsure but want to dip your toe in the water I suggest the best way is to have your first introduction to it simply for deep relaxation, like a spa for the mind (or a cheat’s way of getting to that wonderful meditative state!).
What kinds of issues are best suited to Hypnosis?
It can be used for anything, but in my experience areas in which it is especially suited are stress and anxiety reduction, phobias, habits you want to change, addictions, healthy eating, exercise, weight loss and unfolding your life purpose
How will I know if we are a good fit
for working together?
Try a sample coaching call and trust your instincts. Email me and we can set something up. After the call you will have a good idea of what coaching is like, and if working with me would be a good fit.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no one solution fits everyone. I do suggest that as a new client you might consider committing to the process for a period of time, say 3 months, as that mindset of commitment will help to fuel your success. For some clients it is a particular breakthrough they are after and we might work together for a fixed period of time. For others it becomes a supportive part of their personal growth and life experience and they will stay in the coaching relationship for many years. Whatever you choose I believe you will get value from each and every session, as such I offer a money-back guarantee. Email me to set up your free consultation and get a sense of what works best for your needs.
How will Coaching change my life for the better?
In so many ways. But then I would say that! Let me try and boil it down to a couple of the key ones. There are two big variables that I find affect how people experience their lives. One is what their day to day mindset is, and the other is how comfortable they can get navigating change. Coaching can help you fundamentally improve your life by showing you how you can maximize these two things. It can change your life for the better because it teaches you how to consistently see and therefore experience things in a more positive way. And coaching can prove to you, and maximize how resourceful you truly are, and that you can harness changes rather than struggle with them.
