Why work with a coach?

An analogy for the value of coaching.

Why bother - you could do it on your own. Self-talk, motivational quotes, routine, habits.

What can a coach bring to your equation when you already have all the right items in motion? Perhaps you’ve got a plan, a vision, a self-imposed timeline.

Truly, what do we need when it comes to support in prioritizing what feels most important to us? And why do we so often delay action behind the inner voice telling us to get started on doing exactly what we already know we need to do, yet haven’t begun? Why do we sometimes sense a pivot is necessary, but feel unsure on how to make it?

There isn’t one reason for working with a coach. They are varied, depending on where you are, now. Coaching is rather an opportunity to enhance how you navigate your present, with a partner in the passenger seat of your ride. Professional, or personal.

A coach helps you take inventory of where you are, sit in the questions and thoughts that are tugging at you, and build on a plan for the now and forward.

If we lean into the driving analogy, I’d say, your coach is a supportive passenger, your partner holding your map - not a GPS, nor a tour guide (we’ll leave that to the consultants). You don’t know which road to take, the destination, or what gear to set? You’ll sit in that exploration with a coach, perhaps parked up on the side, or maybe, while taking a scenic route. Out of fuel? That happens, too. Stuck on the sights in the rearview mirror - unpacking the past is for your therapist.

Maybe you reached the destination set years ago, and now you need to shift how you navigate new territory. So, how?

Maybe the path your past self chose, is one you’ve graduated from. So, what next?

Maybe you know exactly what you want, just not sure where to start.

In the midst of the hustle of life’s moving ride, how often do we take a stop to effectively reflect on the path? What if, you had someone, purposely dedicated to making sure you checked the engine, to guide your reflections on why you don’t take certain exits, question your fears. And ultimately, hold you accountable (softly, unless you’re up for the push on your gears) to go for it.

Coaching is a partnership, focused on present needs, future goals, wherein holding space for reflection is matched with crafting a path for momentum.

Besides, don’t we all love a good roadtrip? I’m absolutely biased, and I’d say, it’s worth buckling up for.

Originally published on The Coaching Light's Substack.