MY LIFE COACHING JOURNEY - Anon

Week One

It's been a bit difficult trying to be non specific about my personal problems but I've tried to do it in a way that most can relate it to their own life.

Glynis Kozma, from Aspire Coaching is a qualified, experienced Life Coach with a Diploma in Life Coaching, and a Member of the Association for Coaching. Her coach training was developed by one of the UK's most respected coaches, and is one of the very few coaching courses recognised by a national awarding organisation.

I was introduced to Glynis through Relentlessly Positive. I've had a rough time over the past year or so, and felt that my life was lacking focus and motivation.

I felt that after our initial 'getting to know you' chat before we started working together, our first proper coaching session went well enough, but I have to confess that I've had a few concerns since we spoke, and these haveintruded into my thoughts daily. I'll give you an open honest opinion with no holds barred - and this is purely my opinion!

Preparations

On the Tuesday evening before we spoke, I thought about how it would go. I wasn't particularly anxious but just a bit perturbed at what it would all entail.

Glynis had given me a lot of forms to fill in asking for information and background history and my expectations of the life coaching. I found this quite hard going at times and I had to look deep into my life experiences and how these have affected my present situation. It also brought t my recent difficulties into sharp focus, and made me think about why I was doing this. It was quite daunting as it focused on the negativity of my situation and it felt a bit depressing.

I made sure that interruptions would be minimal, and Glynis phoned right on time. I switched off my mobile and planned not to answer the door. You do have to put some effort into getting ready for the call, I even made sure that I had a cup of coffee and had been to the loo so I could give her my full concentration!

Major issues

Glynis started by discussing some of the major issues that she felt had affected me, one of those in particular I strongly disagreed with but did not say as it would not have been appropriate at the time and I didn't really want to focus our discussions just on that problem. We looked at some of the things I was finding difficult and she broke them down into smaller portions which were much more manageable.

She suggested taking very small steps in the areas that I had difficulties, perhaps setting a timetable to keep to to ensure I did actually carry things through. I thought this was helpful as it gave me the responsibility to carry things through rather than saying "I will do it later" as we all tend to do.

Monitoring progress

She suggested that I keep a diary to monitor my progress which will be helpful but to be honest I have not been able to set it up yet as I have had a very time consuming few days. Perhaps I should put that on my list on the timetable!
We also talked about creating a structure to formalise my life as it is a bit chaotic at present, and this certainly gave me food for thought.

She also suggested rewarding any achievement with a small treat such as chocolate or a special treat - we can't say no to that, can we?

I had a few concerns and feel I should air them as the thoughts have pervaded my thoughts in the last few days.

1. I felt a bit irritated and patronised by what I felt were very basic comments but I suppose Glynis has to start at that level to make it reasonably simple for people to understand.
2. It was very difficult for me not to delve any deeper on particular areas but it is only a 45 minute telephone call, possibly these will be addressed as time goes on.
3. As I have said above, I was very annoyed about how she approached one particular subject area and feel that perhaps Glynis does not have the full knowledge of the subject concerned. I felt a more discreet response would have been more helpful.

In summary, some was helpful to me, some not so, but perhaps it will get better as time goes on. Watch this space...!