How Self-Coaching Can Help You Create the Results You Want
I’m a believer in coaching as a way to get past obstacles, redefine your goals and create a plan for getting “unstuck.” It worked for me, and I frequently look to coaching when I face transitions in my business and professional life.
But sometimes, coaching isn’t realistic due to lack of finances, lack of time to dedicate to the process, or a need to see immediate results. In these situations, you may be able to benefit from self-coaching.
Self-coaching is taking control of your own actions through targeted, conscious thought and planning to create the results you want. Dr. Joseph Luciani, clinical psychologist and author of “The Power of Self-Coaching,” explains it like this:
Self-Coaching reduces all conflict (especially anxiety, depression, panic, and relationship struggle) to two words: insecurity and control. … By understanding how, because of habits of insecurity, you’ve gravitated toward a life of control (i.e., worrying, rumination, compulsion, fear, etc.) you’re able to understand exactly what needs to be done to eliminate psychological friction from your life.
My follow-up post goes into specific ways to get started with self-coaching, but let’s start by looking at some of the benefits of self-coaching.
It’s Free
As I mentioned earlier, one unmistakable benefit is that it’s free. Although well worth the expense if you have a coach who effectively pushes you to learn more about yourself and make decisions to support your goals, coaching can be expensive. If you can self-coach to get the results you want, you can avoid some of those costs.
It Can Be Quick
Because you’re not depending on anyone else, you can make the process as quick as you want it to be. The nature of coaching is process-based; it’s a steady progression based on your goals, individual situation and creating an environment of learning about yourself. That takes time, especially when you factor in the important step of getting to know your coach and allowing him/her to get to know you. No one knows you better than you, and self-coaching allows you to take advantage of that.
Plus…
Those aren’t the only reasons why self-coaching can be a great way to make changes in your life and business in order to boost your success or get out of a rut. Here are some others:
- You maintain complete control of your own success.
- You can gain self-confidence, determination and motivation by empowering yourself through self-coaching.
- Self-coaching will eventually become an automatic response to challenges in your life, and can lead to increased success.
- You will learn things about yourself you may not have consciously been aware of before.
- Self-coaching can help you solve problems faster.
- A self-coaching mindset can help you become a better mentor for others.
As good as this sounds, it can be difficult to get started with self-coaching, especially when you’re already in a situation of discord. My next post outlines some steps for getting started.
Do you use self-coaching to get past obstacles? Is it something you do consistently when faced with challenges?
Image credit: vierdrie
