Life Coach

The life coach took a while to open her suburban door.  She stood behind it and composed herself before opening it to the stranger on the doorstep.  Dressed to the nines she showed a toothy grin, shook the stranger’s hand and led the way into the house.

The stranger sat at the glass table whilst the life coach made herself a calming cup of tea.  They exchanged pleasantries about the quietness of the street and a cool breeze circled around the seating area from the open doors that led into the garden.

‘Did you manage to fill out the life values sheet?’  ‘No.  I kept changing my mind.’ ‘Oh.  Not to worry there are other things we can do.’

The life coach asked probing questions and scribbled down onto paper as the stranger (now promoted to client) opened up their heartfelt desires.  The life coach asked if the client was aware of the power of attraction and in turn the client asked if she was aware of scanner personality types and the sub divisions of those types and whether or not she was aware of Myers-Brigg personality tests.  The life coach asked what a scanner personality was and the client tried to describe it in brief as time was money.

‘Have you ever heard of a mood board?’  ‘Yes’.  She showed the client a pin board covered in clippings of images from magazines.  ‘I would like you to collect images and words from magazines that appeal to you and pin them to a board.’  ‘Does it have to be a big notice board?’  ‘No it can be as big or small as you like or even in a book.’  The client nodded.  The client could do this.  The client had been doing this for years.

The session started to veer towards counselling rather than coaching and the life coach told the client that she was passionate about her work and that this was a new career for her after returning to work.  She had suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from a job she had done previously.  The client observed how the life coach power dressed in high heels and had carefully coiffured hair.

The client poured out a couple of decades of problems and unhappiness right there at the glass table.  The client hated glass tables.  Glass table and cream shag pile carpet that could be seen beneath gave a very ‘80’s vibe.  The client felt dirty as though thoughts shouldn’t be shared out loud in a private dwelling.  It felt wrong.

At the end of the session the client was given some homework.  Every negative thought was to be changed with ‘How can I make this thought or feeling into a better thought or feeling’ and to start collecting images from magazines for the mood board.

 

The client was glad that she had visited the life coach.  She had learned a valuable lesson.  The answer to life’s purpose wasn’t going to come from an outsider.  The answers to her life’s purpose lay buried deep within.