Life Coach and Life Coaching Articles

Observation

SABOTAGING SELF? How are you sabotaging yourself? "If you play it safe in life you've decided that you don't want to grow any more." -- Shirley Hufstedler How are you sabotaging you’re potential for change? We unconsciously use defense mechanisms to shield us from situations we perceive to be scary or painful. A part of you may want to grow and change, but another part may be resisting because change always moves you into new territory in your thinking and emotions.

I think I was about 10 years old when I saw the word Epicurean. I had no clue what it meant, but I liked the sound of it. I underlined it and promised myself to refer to the dictionary and find its meaning. As any 10 year old, I forgot to do that as other more pressing things such as playing ...

As a business owner running the many different facets of your business, it’s not uncommon for you to feel as though you’re operating everything “out of your own head.” So when the answers you are seeking won’t appear you’ll often reach out to others around you for a fresh perspective. You can be positively (or negatively) influenced by talking through a variety of areas of your business with your business friends, networking contacts and other professional connections you meet along the way.

At this time of year many of us begin a process of reflecting on the past year and creating intentions for the coming new year. It’s a natural process based on our innate desire to become who we are meant to be in this life. As I begin this process, it strikes me that we are in a constant state of creating, evaluating, re-creating throughout our entire life.

If you suspect that you have a prescription drug problem, don’t stop taking the medication cold turkey. You may end up feeling sick and either going right back to taking it, or wind up in the hospital. Instead, there is a process in quitting prescription drugs. Before you start the process though, make sure you really do have a prescription drug problem. Do you have the signs of prescription drug abuse? • Taking prescription drugs belonging to someone else • Stealing or forging prescriptions for drugs • Taking higher doses of drugs than prescribedr

Haven you given much thought to where to plant your organic vegetable garden? It’s a very important first step. You don’t want to go through the hard work of creating a garden designed to grow healthy organic food only to find out that there is some toxic substance (such as lead dust, paint chips, stain, or some other toxic product) that was scraped, sanded or power washed off your home and now sits in your soil. First, let’s define what it means to grow organically.

Most of us have had to set some kind of goals for our lives. Goals that are not met or seem to be absolutely out of touch usually leave us with the feeling that things just may not ever work or we replace the goal with yet another unrealistic goal. I have found that most goals that did not ...

Here's a dirty little secret for you. The answer is: not always. nnAt least not at first. In fact, sometimes coaching can be downright painful and disruptive!. You may find yourself doing everything possible to keep from working on what you hired your coach to help you achieve. You may spend a lot of time dipping your toe in the water. nnBut if you are going really deep, you should know it can get ugly. Sometimes that's exactly how you know it's working. nnThat may not be

Almost every news story over the last several days has to do with a potential pandemic, terrorism, or if there will be an economic recovery. These stories play on your fears of illness, death, and bankruptcy. While all 3 can, and do, happen everyday, it is important to keep your fears in check ...

Around this time each year I've found it helpful to spend some time writing out the intentions I have for the upcoming year. Sometimes I use them in an almost daily, structured way to create the results I want; while other years I write them once and tuck them away with only an occasional glance later on. Both methods have worked for me at different times. You've probably read a lot of self improvement advice - perhaps even at Inspiring-Self-Improvement.com about the topic of intentions.

A man I know had an accident one autumn as he was working in the woods. The leaves had fallen to the ground and the rain had fallen on the leaves. Wet leaves are very slippery, and this man knew that, but on a slope he lost control, fell and broke his right leg. He was lucky to have ...

Whether or not you realize it, you have a lizard that lives inside your brain and rules your world. The most primitive part of our brain is called the amygdala. We share this part of our brain with our lizard pals. The amygdala broadcasts survival-related fears to keep lizards alive in the world. These survival-related fears fall into two categories: lack and attack. A lizard’s lack fears help him ensure he’ll search for food if it seems to be in short supply.

How to build trust I am often asked how I manage to build trust with my clients so quickly and easily. For me it is a vital component of successful client relationship management. In my experience clients will only conduct business with people they trust. This blog will give you tips on: How to build trust and trusting client relationships.

When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible. ~ Author Unknown Passion is defined as “powerful emotion” and “boundless enthusiasm”. When you bring emotion and enthusiasm to your lifework, negatives don’t matter. All things become possible. Your commitment to your passion will lead you to Wisdom in pursuing your dream. Have you ever heard of “the passion of Christ”? Do you really understand why they describe his persecution and death as His Passion?

A parcel to accomplish with it truly is definitely plausible as component of the method course must be anxious about not actually are worried all across the vacations every 12 months mainly because they are really not seriously in a position for further particulars on require likely to generally be the a period of time are very sick and tired,well ought to not going to get have the money after which it for a multi functional commute. When we be on the lookout at the good reas

Finding Love and Happiness I’ve been on a personal search and assisting clients and friends to find love and happiness for a long time now, and last month I believe I finally found the key. We have all heard the old adage that happiness comes from within and that you have to love yourself ...

TOP TEN REASONS I USE From my friend Patrick Meninga at “Spiritual River”, I want to share this article with you. If you see yourself in it, you need to talk with someone before you become a statistic! The Top 10 Excuses that Addicts and Alcoholics Use to Justify Their Addiction – and Why it is All BS Excuse #1: “I have to drink/use drugs in order to work or continue to be successful.” Oh really? Is that why you…. Perhaps the real truth of the matter is….rn…your career actually suffers due to your addiction, rather than being empowered by your drinking or drug use.r

Adjusting Boundaries as a Cure for Stress Some people say there is good stress and bad stress. Would you say that getting married is good stress and getting divorced is bad stress?

What’s holding you back from having the life or career you want? The answer for over 50% of my clients is overcoming fear. This can show up in a variety of ways from doubt, worry, and anxiety. Maybe you’ve been told negative, put-downs over and over again by other people. Or perhaps you’ve tried reaching a goal before and failed at it. It’s completely normal to be afraid in some circumstances, but you have a choice in how you let those thoughts shape your actions.

This article looks at how a model of how people make changes proposed by the psychologists James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente can be used by life coaches as a framework for structuring coaching intervention, particularly in situations where a client is seeking to break away from a habitual form of behaviour which is creating repeated problems for them. Prochaska and DiClemente’s model has been applied to working with a range of habitual problems, including: - Smoking or misuse of alcohol - Difficulties in relationships where there are repeating patternsrn- Lack of assertivenessr

Many people are looking for that one thing that will make them happy, whether it be wealth, a relationship, a new career, etc. At the same time many people have gotten what they thought they wanted, only to find out it wasn't what they wanted at all. They search endlessly for something outside of themselves to fulfill them and give them a sense of purpose in life.

Remember that fantastic old David Bowie tune called, “Crashing in the Same Car?” The track was about living a life where you keep repeating patterns that bring about catastrophes. If this sounds familiar to how you life is going, even if you feel “this time it will be different” you then need to learn about life coaching. That is simply because learning about life coaching may also help expose what helps make you tick and just how you may be subconsciously sabotaging your att

HOLISTIC HEALTH/BALANCE “Health is wholeness and balance, an inner resilience that allows you to meet the demands of living without being overwhelmed.”rn— Andrew Weil, MD Health is wholeness, and health is multi-faceted. When major areas of health are addressed, balance results. With an MD such as Dr. Weil, physical health is of primary importance. Keys are proper eating, exercise and rest and all in moderation. To co-creatively ensure your physical well being, regular check-ups are a key.

Being a good listener starts with paying attention to yourself—your own inner dialogue. We all talk to ourselves, but how many of us really listen? Sometimes the inner dialogue doesn’t even shape itself into words. It’s a song that’s been running through your head for a couple of days, or that ...

How’s your energy right now? Do you feel “charged up and ready to go, or do you feel “drained”? If you’re feeling weighted down, tired, or unenthusiastic, you’re probably experiencing an energy leak. Something is draining the energy from your living battery – your body. Things that sap your energy can take many forms. Some are blatantly obvious such as encountering boring or needy people or doing work you dislike. Some are more sneaky and subtle, such as things in your environment that are broken and need fixing or objects such as clothing or tools that you don’t use, but keep anyway.

When your job is made redundant, it’s all to easy to see it as a disaster - as though you’re unwanted, unloved and you’ve been assigned to the scrap heap. Even if you’re quite happy to leave the job you’re in, and move on, you may go through a period of ‘mou ing’, of feeling rejected and ...

You have a boss who’s narcissistic, mean, incompetent, and just plain unlovable. But instead of letting your boss’s unpleasant behavior affect your productivity and happiness in the workplace, why not turn it to your advantage? It is almost impossible that you will ever love your boss’s bad behavior, but then again, you can’t just let it get the best of you. There are things you can learn from his or her bad behavior, actually. Read on to find out how. 1. You can look smart

Self respect = Self esteemr Last week I had the opportunity to talk with you a little bit about the meaning of RESPECT. Ultimately, in the addiction world, we have to add SELF into the equation. How important is self respect/self esteem and have I got it?I have had the opportunity to interface with multiple thousands of people who have addiction issues or have been directly impacted by addiction. I have worked individually with hundreds. Let me make a bold statement: “I have never met an active addicted person who has good self esteem (or self respect)”. Chew on that one.

When I decided to leave the Midwest and return to my home state of Oregon I was heart broke and expecting my oldest daughter. My mother insisted that I come home. Even at twenty one I let her make many decisions for me, especially regarding the relationship between my daughter and her father. ...

When is the right time to begin something new, to break your routine and begin a new adventure? It could be a new business endeavor, moving, or a change in relationship status. It could be a spiritual practice. It might even be taking a vacation for an extended period of time giving you a chance to create a new paradigm for your life. Think about what goes into getting away. You have to block out a period of time and you have conce s that while you're gone, things will fall apart without you or you'll miss out on that big opportunity.

Have you ever had a moment that you needed to be forgiven? I have had many along the way. There is something healing within that process, when it is genuinely given or received. Forgiveness is not forgiveness if we seek it or gives it from a negative place, or to show we are better than, or to be socially/politically correct. Regardless if you are the giver or receiver of forgiveness, if you are still mad, pissed off, or have negative feeling toward the other person; you most likely did not have a real encounter with forgiveness in that particular moment.

There are two ways to live your life - one as though nothing is a miracle, the other as though everything is a miracle. -- Albert Einstein Is it just a random event that the Earth rotates perfectly on it’s axis and orbits perfectly around the sun? Is it just a coincidence that the planet maintains it’s atmosphere and temperature perfectly to sustain human life? Is it really out of your control that you couldn’t find a parking spot close to the mall?

Do you feel a compulsion to act in a certain way? Do you abuse food, cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol? Do you feel depressed, down, low on energy? Do you have a constant struggle with your health? Most people would choose to improve their lives, improve their health, improve their abundance ...

We’ve all been there. You’re sailing through your day feeling great and then out of nowhere, you are hit with an email, phone call, or conversation that knocks you off balance. Or maybe, you go through the workday with a constant weight on your shoulders. You could be stressed out at a job you hate or have negative coworkers that drain your energy. Did you know that 75-90% of all doctors visits is due to stress? It sounds shocking, but when you think about it you see that it makes complete sense. Increased stress lowers our body’s ability to fight infection and disease.

A questio I am asked all the time is, "How can I possibly take better care of myself when there is so much else I have to do?" My busy clients tell me all the time that they have too much going on to exercise or eat right or to take time to relax or pursue their passion. They are operating from the belief that they will be unable to take better care of themselves until their life calms down or stops requiring so much from them. They ARE busy, but that isn't what's stopping them. What's stopping them is their mindset.

Managers are generally authoritative, daring leaders. On the other hand, shy people are likely to hold back, be reserved in conversations, and even avoid social interactions. A very interesting question now is whether or not shy people can be effective leaders. If you are a shy type and you happen to be promoted as a manager, there is no doubt that you will be facing some serious challenges. To be successful, it will take conscious effort on your part to work on your leadership skills every single day.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is not safer in the long run than exposure.” Helen Keller. I have always loved this quote, well to be honest I have always loved the first bit. I have never seen the whole of it and when you do it makes it even more powerful. It came to me at the end of my meditation and somehow resonated deeply. What also resonated was it is my choice. Am I going to continue to choose the daring adventure? Are you?

I don’t know why I didn’t know this. Looking back, I can see that it’s one of the most important things I coulda-shoulda-woulda done … if I’d known. Unfortunately, I didn’t really comprehend it for about two decades. We seem to think that a college (or high school) diploma represents the end of learning. After we get that all-important piece of paper, we pack up the books, get a J-O-B, and get on with living our lives. There’s nothing more to learn, after all. Yeah, there might be some specific job-related skills we need to know.

"Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you." - Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804-1864 A concept I often hear from people who are struggling to connect to a greater sense of happiness in their lives, is that they believe they would be much happier if it weren’t for the actions and attitudes of other people.

"Do not confuse peace of mind with spaced-out insensitivity. A truly peaceful mind is very sensitive, very aware." - Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama) The busier more and more chaotic our lives get the more likely we are to let our unconscious mind do all our thinking for us. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that we will experience an ‘outside-in’ version of the world, i.e. we mistakenly believe that it is what is happening to us on the outside that is responsible for how we feel on the inside.

How do you verbally express or demonstrate by your actions how you feel about yourself? Is your speech peppered with negative talk, self doubt and your behaviors sabotaging? If so, you will remain stuck and in a constant state of “overwhelm”, confusion, stress. When you use words ...

I’m so confused; it just doesn’t make sense; something doesn’t add up. These phrases, or ones similar to them, are ones which I hear often. Whether I’m working with colleagues, chatting with friends, conversing with my family or just being in the vicinity of a conversation in a restaurant, at some point someone, somewhere is bound to utter these words. Why is that? Well, here’s my take on it, after observing and experiencing a wide variety of confusing scenarios over the years

Investing in your retirement we usually talk about money, but well in advance and more importantly we need to invest some time to plan ahead, to give yourself a second chance to figure out what you should really be doing with your life. Pre-retirement is a good time to invest in useful guidance, ...

If you are serious about becoming a better and happier person, what’s important is that you keep your focus on your main goal, which is to be happy. Once you find your own happiness, you will instantly be a better person in every aspect of the word.

Warren Buffet is without a doubt one of the most successful investors in the history. He is known for his savvy investments that have earned him billions of dollars. Although he literally has got nothing to worry about in terms of his finances, because he’s got lots of money, he must be very preoccupied also taking care of his huge investments. So many of us would wonder how he manages his life considering the huge amounts of money at risk.

As soon as we commit to making our personal growth and development a priority it can seem as if all our old patterns and limiting beliefs come out of the woodwork in their attempts to maintain the status quo. The voices in our head get louder and it can feel like an all out battle is going on in our minds. Thoughts like: "I can't do that!" "What makes me think I can have this?" "I don't deserve to be happy, rich, thin. That's for other people, not me!" "I'm not smart enough, attractive enough, experienced enough . . . I'm not enough." But here's the thing: They are not true!

THE IMPORTANCE OF RESPECT in RECOVERY Quotes about respectr When I was asked to do an article on respect, my thoughts immediately flashed to Aretha Franklin’s 1967 theme for the feminist movement- “R.E.S.P.E.C.T”.- which upon examination of the lyrics, tells us that she will do anything in return for respect. Respect is very important to each of us! (I was surprised to learn the song was written and first recorded by a man-Brook Benton in 1965.) That the song was recognized as the “anthem” for major social change emphasizes how important respect is to living an abundant life.r

A NIGHT OF HOPE Every now and again, we can all use a “shot” of hope. Last night was a great one for me. With all the stats that I keep seeing on addiction recovery, the exploits of people like Lindsay Lohan and the “name” athletes and celebs we are bombarded with and the tough times we are going through, it is easy to have feelings of “hope” dimmed. Last night, I had the opportunity to drive down to Toronto and take part is a special evening, one that left me full of hope.r

At one point or another, you will meet a very rich and seemingly successful person. It can range from real estate brokers, salesmen, executives, business owners. They seem have the power to have all the vacations they want, stuff and investments. Good life isn't it? But as you dig deeper, you will find that most of them if not all enter a life coaching program. Now do not get me wrong here; it is not because they can afford it, It is because they seek a result: a fulfilling experience in life that their money cannot buy or they can not seem to achieve.