Mirrors and Bridges
Success Tools for an Organized Life
5 Things to Consider Before Partnering With a Life Coach
Is hiring a Life Coach the best decision for you? Consider the purpose, benefits and investment of partnering with a coach.
The purpose of a life coach is to help you create a better life, one where you are actually able to accomplish your goals quicker and over time will develop life changing habits that will pay off in the future.
Many people have raved over the benefits, saying that their life coaches have been the catalyst for them to be able to finally achieve their goals.
If you are thinking of working with a life coach, consider the following points:
- You will have the opportunity to stretch beyond your comfort zone and learn new skills. If your life is the same as it was a few years ago, you’re either not learning new skills or not applying what you’ve learned and wishing will not get you the results you desire.
- Your life coach will get you from what you should be doing and what you want to be doing but can’t quite get yourself to do on your own.
- You get to design a better life and be who you have always wanted to be. Creating new habits takes time and can be overwhelming to try and figure everything out on our own.
- Coaches are great at getting you to choose what you want and can customize action plans that work for your individual learning style and strengths.
- You will develop a vision of a better life. Many of your challenges result from not taking the time to think before making decisions. You may take the first job offered to you or get into relationships that don’t add value. Your boundaries may not be defined or may be too weak.
- A coach will help you overcome these challenges and help you recognize when you are settling for less than the best.
- You will be held accountable. One reason this partnership works is because most of us hate letting other people down. It is easier to cancel an appointment and talk ourselves out of things if we are alone. It is another thing to cancel on someone who we were scheduled to meet.
- A coach will keep you focused on the tasks and will expect you to report your progress.
- You will identify other goals you didn’t even realize you had. Typically, a coach is hired for a specific area or reason. But through the coaching process, you’ll find other things that come up that need to be addressed. A coach will help you focus on other areas of your life and brainstorm ways to achieve your goals.
- A coach will help you unbury hidden dreams and remove obstacles from your past.
Do you recognize yourself in one or more of the points listed above?
Have you been trying to change your life but don’t know how?
If so, a life coach is likely to make a significant impact in your life.
On the other hand, if your life is exactly the way you want it, or you don’t have the time or money to invest into making big changes right now, a life coach might not be what you’re looking for.
Consider your desires and your ability to bring them about on your own.
If you feel you need someone to guide you and hold you accountable, partnering with a life coach might be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.
Contact us today for a free discovery call and speak with a certified life coach.
We can’t wait to meet you and partner with you to help you achieve your goals and dreams.
Choosing Trust over Fear During Crisis Part 2
“Stay near me, so I can protect you”, my husband said to me in the grocery store.
As we were shopping, I became angry and fearful when other people did not adhere to the 6 feet distancing rule. I kept darting around carts and got separated from him during our trip.
Weeks ago, the woman who had reminded her husband to show compassion and grace to others during this national crisis, had completely broken her own rules. I chose fear over trust, anger over kindness and let my emotions get the best of me.
Ever been there? Embarrassed and shocked at how you reacted? It happens to the best of us.
In last month’s blog post, I covered two strategies in Choosing Trust Over Fear During Crisis – Part 1: focus on the goal and believe in the impossible.
This month, I will cover two more strategies.
For us to choose trust over fear, we must remove negative thoughts and walk by faith, not sight.
- Remove negative thoughts from our mind.
I felt so vulnerable and broken that day in the supermarket. I was confused and scared to move.
It’s natural to question why things are happening when the whole world seems like it is falling apart. It’s also natural to be fearful about something we have never faced before, especially when a hug, a touch and kiss could make us sick.
We will all be faced with negative thoughts, we are human. But when they come, they don’t have to be a welcome guest in our house (our mind). It’s the dwelling on thoughts, the ruminating repeatedly on the negative thoughts that keep us discouraged. Recognize it, but let’s not let our thoughts stay there.
We are all faced with many choices. We can ignore what is going or get sucked into fear. The key is to be prepared and have a plan. Our family plan after that day was to stick together and to ask people to move back in a respectful way. We also decided that we could order our groceries online and pick them up if needed to relieve some of the stress.
When we remove negative thoughts, it is easier to choose trust over fear and see beyond our present circumstances. The second strategy is the result of removing negative thoughts; walk by faith, not by sight.
2. Walk by Faith, not by sight.
This strategy is based on a biblical scripture from II Corinthians 5:7 – Amplified version. It says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises).
When I was getting angry at people who were not social distancing, I was focusing my attention on the circumstances around me. I took my focus off the promises that God can protect me and heal me. Trust and faith cannot happen when I am judging other people and afraid of getting sick. I can only control my own emotions and not let what I see around me affect my believing. My husband prayed with me in the middle of the produce section. Then, I was able to extend compassion to others and myself. That is walking by faith, not by sight.
If we remove negative thinking from our lives, then positive thoughts like hope and trust can get in. Hope is seeing a better future way beyond what we see with our eyes. Trust is a result of removing negative thoughts and firmly believing in the reliability, ability or strength of someone or something.
How we react is a choice. What we believe is also a choice.
Let’s choose trust over fear during times of crisis and any other times negative thoughts comes our way.
Have there been times in your life when you got distracted by things going on around you?
What strategies have you tried that have worked for you in the past?
If you would like to continue to get more faith building strategies and tools to repurpose your life, follow my blog or connect to my Mirrors and Bridges training and coaching business page: https://www.facebook.com/mirrorsandbridges/
Choosing Trust Over Fear During Crisis Part 1
Photo by Danka & Peter on Unsplash
And he said, “Come.”
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Matthew 14:29 King James Version
Trust is believing that water will hold us when our mind says it is impossible to do without sinking. Peter did and he was human, just like us. Trust is choosing to walk when we are scared, and our world is falling apart all around us. It is clinging to heaven’s promise of protection and surrendering our life to a God we cannot see.
In Celebration of National Poetry Month, I am including an excerpt from a poem called “Meet Me on the Water”, From the heart of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Meet me on the water in the deep part of the sea
Meet me on the water, that is where you will get to know Me.
You can stay in your comfort zone
There you can stand on your own.
But in the deep part of the sea,
You’ll live in victory….”
There are four strategies that are designed to help us trust instead of staying fearful in the storms of life. Today we are covering two of them. Next month I will reveal two more strategies.
- Focus on the goal.
Don’t look at the storm around us or the water beneath us. We keep our focus on what we want to accomplish. For me, it is publishing a book I started writing last year. It keeps my focus on something I can control and what God had inspired me to do right now, in the middle of a crisis. There will never be a “perfect” time to write a book, open a business or have a child. I know many writers who wrote in the middle of sickness, one who finished her book right after her husband’s death because it was his wish for her to do it. Another author wrote their book in the early hours of the morning way before their newborn twins were up, fueled with coffee and lack of sleep.
The last two stanzas of the poem go on to say,
“The storms of life of course, they will come,
But like a shelter to you, I will be.
Nothing is a storm to Me
For I have always walked in victory.
As we walk hand in hand,
You’ll do what’s impossible for man.
Come with me to your promised land.”
We first learned to keep our eyes on our goal in order to not let fear paralyze us and trust God during crisis. Next, we must believe and do what seems impossible.
2. Believe in the impossible.
Do you know that it is physically impossible for a human to walk on water? But that is exactly what we must do in order to choose trust over fear. We must believe and do impossible things. We stay up late, get up early in order to feed our family, finish writing the book or learn new skills. We pay someone to help us bring our business online so that we can put food on the table. Choosing to trust God when life seems uncertain and unstable can feel impossible. We push through because someone is depending on us. Our family, community, work, yourself, needs us to trust in God and achieve our impossible dreams.
This excerpt was taken from a poetry book titled: Angel Ink: Inspirational Messages From the Heart of God written by Judy Fryling Dube. She is an author at the first ever non-profit publishing company, Change Her Story. You can find more information about Judy and how to purchase a copy of her book at https://changeherstory.org/products/angelink
For more personal growth, leadership development and inspirational messages, join my e-mail list. For a chance to win a copy of my first book, follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelonieABenjamins
While you are checking out Judy’s book, grab a cool journal too and write down your ideas and thoughts.
What keeps coming up or pulling on your heart during this “Divine Pause” season?
What is God inspiring you do to?
What do you need to let go of so that you can believe in the impossible and stay focused?