We invest in the latest technology to help us keep our lives ‘efficient.’
We invest in comfortable bedding to help us get good rest at night.
We invest in gym memberships or team sports to help us stay active.
We invest in good foods to help us stay healthy.
We invest in vacations to help us make memories.
We invest in so much. We give of ourselves constantly to ensure those around us feel uplifted, happy, supported.
These are all great things, things we should continue to do and be proud to do – they’re signs that we are working hard to live our very ‘best lives.’
Why, though, when we start to talk about our professional lives, do we shy away from investing in ourselves? Is it that we believe we should be able to do it on our own? Are we not giving the same considerations to our professional selves as we do our personal side?
Perhaps the most significant inhibitor from investing in ourselves professionally is fear of the unknown. Something I totally understand. It took some time for me to get to a point where living outside of my comfort zone became my driving force. Even still, after years of challenging limits and pushing boundaries, I found myself resistant to coaching.
When I began to notice roadblocks in my professional life, I was determined to handle them myself. Hesitant to invest in a coach because I thought I needed to be focusing my budget elsewhere. Thought that if I admitted to needing a coach, then I was also confirming I wasn’t “cut out for this.” How wrong I was. I’ve since opened myself up to working and collaborating with a coach who truly ‘gets me’ and now, I can’t imagine trying to navigate the big goals I have without them.
Through my own work as a coach and my time spent as a ‘mentee’ I’ve learned some unique lessons about why coaching works, and I want to share those tips with you!
Accountability: This is a big one – accountability is a significant factor for success in many, many of life’s challenges. As entrepreneurs or self-driven professionals, it can sometimes be all too easy or tempting, even, to fall into a pattern of “tomorrow.” Having a coach ensures that the temptation to push it all to ‘tomorrow’ is intercepted by the reminder to focus on today, on your plan, and your ‘why.’
Not Having ‘to-go-it’ Alone: This one is pretty self-explanatory, but let’s jump into an example. If we look to professional sports, say, boxing – we immediately envision the coach, standing in the corner, cheering on the athlete, making sure they remain focused, reminding them of how far they’ve come, encouraging them to meet the finish line. This is what having a coach brings to your daily struggles, to your roadblocks, and it’s truly empowering – helping you to overcome when you just want to give up.
Cut Through the Clutter: Working with a coach isn’t just about defining your “why” or determining your version of success, a coach is also the person who will help you to identify any habits that are holding you back, inhibiting you from achieving the way you should be, clearing this clutter WILL get you ahead much more quickly.
Get to the Goal, Faster: Not only will a coach help you to define what success means to you, but they will also stretch you, push you beyond the limits you’ve imposed on yourself helping you to achieve your goals faster. And finally,
Navigate the Lows for more Highs: It’s all too easy to get bogged down by the ‘lows.’ But working with a coach will help you to use these experiences to your advantage, as learning lessons, to grow and develop beyond the roadblock to ensure you have far more ‘highs’ on your path to your goals.
All in all, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about why coaching works is simply because of YOU. Because once you’ve committed, once you’ve made the decision to invest in you and have declared a mind-set of ‘I’m worth it,’ you become an unstoppable force – with a partner who has seen (almost) everything and WILL help you through it.
Finding the RIGHT coach for you is a critical element in the process, and I invite you to take advantage of my FREE Insight Call to see if this is the right fit for you.
Email: success@keyelement.ca to learn more!
