Saturday, February 28, 2009

Should I Hire That Personal Coach?


Because I certainly think I could use one. I’ve reached this point in my life where there are a few things I haven’t accomplished, that I would really like to see through to being a reality.


I have, in the past, written several articles on personal and business coaching. And always thought, as I was writing, how perhaps I should consider the possibility. But I’ve never pursued that thought any further.


One stumbling block being the money. When you’re not gushing in money it’s hard to justify paying someone to motivate you and help get your life back on the tracks. I always just flamboozle myself by saying “oh, just read some motivational articles and you’ll get it”.


Have I gotten it? Nope.


Second stumbling block: Will I find the right coach for me?

There are a lot of coaches out there. How do I choose? Someone locally so I actually see them? Or one by phone, two or three sessions to guide me with my choices in life so I get results?


Or…do I just call my sister…and then my mother…and then my strong and amazing friend Alice…go over my life goals with them, have them tell me that I CAN do all that and more??

My problem is that I’m stuck in this space and frustrated with being stuck and don’t know how to break through some of the barriers in my way. I finally have localized my dreams and goals and know what I want to do. And my timeline for reaching that point where I am living those dreams and goals is three years. Short time line, but one thing I don’t need any coach tell me is that I NEED to give myself deadlines…or it all flat lines and nothing gets done. And where I once would beat myself up when things didn’t get accomplished, I now can quite nicely get into a Zen state where it really doesn’t matter…I’m cool with it…yeah, whatever, next time I’ll try harder.


Rhonda Britten, the founder of the Fearless Living Institute.and a life coach for over 12 years, says that most clients are between 35 to 55 years of age and “at a crossroads, must make a decision and is sick of choosing out of safety and fear."


Understood. Many of my decisions are made out of fear for my financial security, such as my current ghostwriting project that forces me to write quality articles at the speed of a demon looking for that next tower of fire, articles that I would love to use for myself. I write so much in one week I barely have time to focus on anything else. But I keep telling myself it’s a short-term contract and the end result is a padded savings account that makes me feel secure every time I check the balance.


But is this a good decision for me? It’s definitely taking time away from writing my own articles that I NEED to write in order to prove my worth as a freelance writer.


Time management and procrastination. If I had to pin down two of the issues that prevent me from getting things accomplished, those would be it. I am unable to time manage. At work, at the job that I go to five days a week to pay the bills, I manage well. I’m getting paid by someone to do a job. It all falls apart when I get home. I need to make myself really understand that what I want, to write full time, is just as important and deserves to have quality time expended on it.

If procrastination were an art, I would have perfected it. If you fall into the procrastination category, you get it, and I don’t need to elaborate on it. If you’re not a procrastinator, you’ll never get it. To you, all us procrastinators are just a bunch of lazy time wasters. Reluctantly agreed.


I will seriously make the time this weekend to talk to myself about coaching, about how much I want to write and get paid for it, with no other jobs on the side that zap my energy.

Another motivating quote by Rhonda Britten, “Intention is living in the present, actively choosing the future while being aware that in each moment your state of mind is up to you”.


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for posting over on my blog (Banal Leakage) and my post that talked about how much I want to be a writer, but having too many distractions. I think the idea of a coach is one to consider. Granted, as you mentioned above, the cost may be a small deterrence, but it's a step towards the goal of being a full time writer. Good luck to you in this goal.

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