The ‘In’ Thing?

[box type=\”shadow\”]\”When you say \’yes\’ to others, make sure you are not saying \’no\’ to yourself.\”

– Paula Coehlo.
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It may have escaped the notice of many people but South Africa recently played host to the global coaching convention that aimed to build the profession of coaching and the global community.

There\’s no question that coaching (be it personal/life, executive or business coaching) has become something of an \’in thing\’ around the world over the past ten years or so.

What is it that makes coaching so popular?

To my mind – and you\’ll pardon my play on words – it has everything to do with the fact that coaching manages, very effectively, to harness the often overlooked and always underestimated power of that which is within.

Societal focus on \’external learning\’

Society has placed huge emphasis on the importance of education – and rightly so, of course. But the formal instruction we receive at school and then, if we are fortunate enough, at college or university, is almost entirely focused on what I call \’external learning\’.

In other words, we are taught from an early age, to find answers in the external environment, by reading, listening to others, exposing ourselves to the media, using search engines and, nowadays, a variety of social media and networks. As they say, \”The answer is out there, it\’s just a matter of finding it\”.

Leaving many of us frustrated

The problem with an almost exclusively externalized approach to learning is that it can leave many of us frustrated, exhausted and feeling inferior in the belief that there are so many other people that know so much more than we do and that we are just scratching the surface of the vast body of knowledge and capability that exists \’out there\’.

What percentage of your formal education (before or during employment) has focused on helping you to understand, appreciate and trust the real you and what you are here to do? How much time has been devoted to learning how to access your own innate strengths and capabilities?

A refreshing new perspective

Coaching – specifically life coaching – offers a refreshing new perspective on the search for solutions to the hurly burly world we live in. It operates from the premise that we are all uniquely well equipped to carry out our chosen purposes – which we intuitively know. All we need to do to live a fulfilled and meaningful life is to look within and work with the amazing gifts that we have been given.

Most of us, however, fall short of being able to harness the inner power that we possess. We have been so indoctrinated to believe that someone or something else holds the key to our dream life that we give up trying before we start. It seems much easier to sit back and blame the media, the economy, the politicians, the authorities, the weather, global warming or even our friends and families.

Help, guidance and nurturing

Life coaching recognizes that many years of developing limiting beliefs caused by an external focus cannot easily be undone without help, guidance, nurturing and a suitable toolset.

With a life coach, never expect to be handed a solution. Expect to be shown how to create your own by eliminating the unhelpful and destructive thinking and behavioural patterns in your life and building new positive and empowering ones. All of that within a supportive, caring and inspirational environment.

If you\’d like to try the \’in\’ thing, I recommend you start with a visit to our life coach directory http://www.life-coach-directory.co.za where you\’ll find some very accomplished coaches.

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