What My First Month of Life Coaching Has Taught Me…

For the past five weeks, I’ve been seeing a life coach.

Why did I choose a life coach?
I’ve thought for some time about hiring someone to talk to.  Therapy didn’t seem quite right, because I didn’t think I wanted to rehash all the stories about when I was 7 and how it felt to be on a diet as a kid… That doesn’t sound like why I need at all.

Instead, I hired a life coach because I wanted some new tools to deal with the NOW, and some new tools to help me achieve my dreams!  So, far, I think it’s been an incredible investment.  If your health/well being/happiness isn’t worthy of spending money, I don’t know what is…

How did I find my life coach?
Sometimes I think the Universe whispers in your ear something that you need to hear, and this time, it came in the form of one of my yoga instructors.  When I took Katie’s blindfolded yoga class earlier this year, she told me about a friend of hers that had a site that might be of interest to me called Find Food Peace.

I subscribed to Betsy’s newsletter, but it wasn’t until last month that I dug into the details of her practice.  Her primary focus is helping women find freedom from food issues, to be well, and to find peace.  I absolutely loved that mission, and having just gone through my weight loss journey…. I knew she could help me.

An email and a phone call later, we were matched up and ready to begin!

So… what have I learned?
My learnings have been pretty profound over the past few weeks, and I’ve found it incredibly empowering.  To me, it feels like I am returning to be the person that I am… and I can literally feel my soul breathing a sigh of relief as I return home.

So… what the heck does that mean?
While I don’t talk about it here too much, I feel like I’ve let some of the harder parts of life hang over me like a dark cloud for the past year.  While my life seems pretty lovely I’m sure, I’m haunted like many others by those ghoulish nuisances known as fear, doubt, and loneliness.

Interestingly, Betsy and I haven’t even begun talking about my weight loss, emotional eating, or any of the challenges I often share here on NTTC… but we’ve been working more on the power that is associated with CREATING the best day EVERY SINGLE DAY.

TRYING OUT NEW TOOLS

I shared the technique that I use daily now to “Choose a Word” that will be my focus of the day.  Today, as I write this post, my word is FUN, and I truly can’t wait to see what the day brings.  Great fun, surely!

Implementing a new tool can really just shift your mindset.  Another tool that she introduced me to was asking the question “How is this situation perfect for me right now?”  I’ve tried using it in the best of situations (vacationing at Montelucia,) and I also plan on using during my challenging times as well.

RE-GAINING PERSPECTIVE

I’m also remembering (quite literally) that I absolutely CAN have it all!  Creating wonderful days, and seeing the world in a renewed light has helped me compartmentalize that I am not those things that do not serve me.

[pinterest]This is the breath of fresh air that I needed.  I can’t even describe it.

HOLDING BETTER CONVERSATIONS

Holy crap… when things are bad, that tends to be what you talk about, right?  My wonderful dear friends have listened to me try to navigate through it.  What a buzzkill that must have been

I feel like I’m having better conversations and have un-burdened them with all of this, and feel like I’m becoming a better friend, sister, etc to all of them.  We can enjoy chatting about the things that connect us, rather than the things that broke me.  THANK GOODNESS!

MOST OF ALL, I’M DREAMING AGAIN

For just a hot second, I lost hope.  I looked everywhere I could, but I just couldn’t find her.  And, without HOPE, I felt stuck.

I’m hopeful again, I’m truly optimistic, and I’m happy to say… I’m dreaming again.

Am I done with this process?

No, I’m not.  I’d say, I’m just getting started.  Why I wanted to share this experience with you guys was that I wanted to tell you that it’s ok to ask for help sometimes.  INCREDIBLE things can come from it… and there’s way too many wonderful things out there for us not DREAM and to go after them.

I know I am going to have some amazing things to write about as this process continues… I can just feel it!

Special thanks to Betsy for all she’s doing to remind me of how to chase these dreams!  xoxo