Coaching update

So I've had 2 coaching lessons since the last time I blogged about a lesson. The first was on goal-setting and the next was on generative moments, or the 'meat' of a coaching session (one that's not the initial session) that leads to brainstorming. (I guess the generative moment stuff in an initial session would be the vision-building). The goal setting is pretty much the same for initial and non-initial sessions, though. As I mentioned before, I've been focusing on career-related stuff for my own goals. (We have to submit wellness visions and goals for ourselves as part of our certification to prove our authenticity as coaches). Is it really authentic of me to ignore other health-related issues? I've been pondering that, thinking that career improvement / fulfillment would take care of the health stuff. But I think I'm going to do some things directly related to my health because I'm not 100% confident that it will be taken care of and I also want to enhance my knowledge of certain issues so I can better help other people. It's just weird that the issues I have are pretty much the opposite of most people. Most people in the world are trying to lose weight. And it's not easy to be surrounded by that all the time. But I'm going to figure out how to help myself AND them.

There will only be 3 more lessons after the one this Sunday. The one this Sunday (on goal review and measuring progress) is the last one we'll need before we can start working with practice clients. So right now I'm getting all my stuff together to review and prepare for that. We have to submit documentation of at least 4 sessions with a practice client as another part of our certification. (The other 2 parts are the written exam and the practical where we conduct a mock session with the examiner role-playing as the client). So it's a lot of stuff. But I'm up for it. I also need to give notice at my job soon. And then start the process of getting myself work in my field, at last! I'm so glad things are picking up :)

Random thoughts about work and future work

I still don't know when my job is going to end, they've kept me and 1 or 2 of the other temps past the new year due to losing some people and still having some stuff for us to do. But now I'm on automatic pilot, not really having to think about what I'm doing. I do like getting to take breaks whenever I want and getting to work pretty independently, which makes me think 'why did I always hate / dread office work before?' Maybe I wasn't kept busy enough at previous office jobs, I don't know. Bottom line is that I've discovered it's not so bad. But I'm not wrong to be seeking more. To be aspiring to really make a difference somewhere. Because while the office work can be comfortable at times, there isn't really growth attached to it. You can't let yourself get comfortable. 

In my last learning partner practice for wellness coaching, I mentioned to my partner that I had sort of a paradigm shift over recent years. I used to think when I was growing up that any high-earning job would be boring and that if you didn't have a boring job, you'd probably make very little while pursuing fun stuff (the arts). It'd be a trade-off. Money vs enjoyment. But it isn't always the case. Why did I think the arts were more fun? Well, I valued creativity and being able to make people think or see the world differently. And I wanted to leave a legacy, make some kind of mark, be remembered. Along the way I realized I could still make people think / help people if I were focusing directly on what made them happy and healthy (rather than telling stories or acting...which can also contribute to happiness and health, but hey). In my own life, that's what I ended up focusing on anyway. What makes you happy and healthy? As I've mentioned before, I think it has a lot to do with your state of flow, having something you're kept busy and challenged by, etc. I guess there are other things that can contribute too, but that's such a big one, I think. So in aiming to be a coach, I'd kinda like to help people figure out what they might want to do in life / what their passion is (if they don't already know). Could I ever (and would I want to) help people with eating disorder issues? Wouldn't I want to help people dealing with stuff I personally dealt with? Maybe I only dealt with it a little, which is why I don't claim to be an expert on it; but it's one of those things I feel a connection to, and something I feel like I learn more about with time and experience. So we'll see. I think it's all kind of related, though.