People Building
Life Coaching Articles
Here are some articles we have written that you can find published on the web. If you would like to have one of your NLP or hypnotherapy articles published on our site, please submit it to articles@peoplebuilding.co.uk for the attention of Gemma.
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What Can a Life Coach Do For Me?
“Sometimes there are just so many choices it’s difficult to know what it is that you really want or what the right opportunity would look like. Be assured that confusion is your minds way of looking for the answer. All you have to do is relax. The right thing will be there at the right time and a good Life Coach will make sure that you can actually see it.”
Life Coaching is an effective means of establishing where you are in your life, where you want to go, and how you will get there. It can be used to assist a person’s development in many different area’s- from self confidence, to enjoying your work, creating time for yourself or living your dreams. Some people find it difficult to comprehend what life coaching is about or why they would need to pay someone to guide you in this way. What I encourage clients to think about is, if they were to carry on doing things as they have done them, are they going to achieve their goals?
As a coach, I will support and encourage clients either in one to one coaching sessions or over the phone for a short period or a longer one. Everybody’s needs vary, and as a coach it is important to support the client in the way that best suits them.
Life coaching is not about changing yourself but becoming yourself. To be successful can take much more than accepting the life that you have, it can mean that you adapt the world to suit you, to make life work for you.
The more you know about who you are, the easier it will be to achieve what you want and to find what fulfils you.
My Life Coaching program is a combination of different ideas from NLP, Law of Attraction, goal setting and other valuable change techniques. It is my belief that by transferring the skills that I have, others can then, in the future provide coaching for themselves, rather than having to return for further coaching should they then encounter another challenge in the future. (Which life tends to ensure will happen!)
The Life Coaching program covers the following areas of development:
What areas of your life are important to you.
What motivates and influences you.
Positive and negative self beliefs.
Modelling, matching and mirroring success.
Establishing your passions and motivations.
Dealing with failure.
Making plans and changes.
Making commitments.
Improving Interpersonal Skills
If you ever have to communicate with another person, then you are using interpersonal skills. You have been using these skills your whole life already, and with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it is as easy as breathing to gain rapport and get your point across to others. At other times you might be feeling as if you're an alien who has landed from another planet, leaving behind you all of the unconscious indicators that you give off and pick up, that tell others you know what you want to say and that you know how to say it. If the words "awkward", "out of control", or "totally lost" spring to mind when you think of a specific person or context that you currently interact with, then you need to improve your interpersonal skills.
Having good interpersonal skills will be important to you if it is necessary for you to make a good impression, or to sound as if you know what you are talking about, or need to appear confident and powerful or if you want to feel a connection with those you are communicating with.
NLP uses specific techniques that can help you improve your Interpersonal skills. For example:
Matching and mirroring- This is the process by which we use our physiology, voice and words to create a likeness to the person we are communicating with. People like people who are like themselves, and when you watch people who have good rapport with each other, you will notice that they seem to "speak the same language" or move their bodies with congruence. This is completely unconscious, however by learning how these processes work, you can begin to utilise them to your advantage.
Satir categories- These are the physiological poses that you naturally use. You have probably noticed that some people use their hands a great deal when they speak, but what message are your gestures and posture giving to those you are talking to? You can expect others to respond to you in ways that fit in with the unconscious signal you are giving them. For example, if you look aggressive, you can expect that others will be defensive.
Removing any significant emotional events from previous experiences that have damaged your confidence- Sometimes a bad experience from the past can leave a lasting impression on the way that we feel and behave. For example, if you were humiliated by a teacher in school as a child, you may now find yourself becoming nervous around authority figures. This can be a problem if you have to frequently liaise with your boss with a confident attitude. NLP uses techniques that can help you gain new perspectives on old events and therefore change the way you feel about old memories.
The Subtle Changes that can Help You Lose Depression
Lets be honest, everyone feels depressed at some time during their lives. Circumstances and life events can sometimes propel us into this state as if we have little or no control over being there. Here's the thing, there are times when feeling depressed is appropriate, when you should feel glum or grumpy or angry, sometimes it is completely right that you should be there. It begins to become a problem when you spend too much time there- either because you can't shake it off and spend prolonged periods feeling bad, or because you are going there easily and regularly- too regularly, even when your circumstances are generally good.
When someone is feeling very depressed you can hear it and see it in them, you might even get a vibe from them that something just isn't quite right. There are a number of ways of spotting it- The tone of their voice coupled with the language that they are using, typically will be very negative, plus their bodies will look un enthused, tired and sickly (and they will also probably feel that way.)The danger with being in this state is that like anything in life, the more you practice it, the better you get at it, so every time you revisit that emotional state (if you are going there a lot) you can get into it quicker and experience the feeling to a greater intensity. What is happening is that the neural networks within the nervous system that relate to the state of depression, become stronger. If you think of a motorway as an example, the roads are well traveled and strong, so the traffic can move at speed. If the neural network is the motorway and the cars are the information that tell you to feel depressed, you can see how this becomes greatly enforced and fast. If the happy feelings are like an overgrown country lane, you'll understand that it's less easy for the traffic to travel down that road, but the more and more the traffic does travel on that path instead, the easier that road becomes to be on. The less frequently you use your depression "motorways" the more overgrown and out of use they become. So this is how you begin to do it:
Firstly, use the wheel of life on the "try it you might like it" page of the People Building Website. Use this to identify which areas of your life are giving you the most trouble. It's always a good idea to think of your wheel of life as a bicycle wheel- so if it's not looking very well rounded you can expect to get a bit of a bumpy ride! Then it is time to find yourself a good coach, and preferably someone who can offer you some therapeutic help for the areas of your life that challenge you and to help keep you in a peak state. NLP can be particularly effective for providing you with empowerment, but beware, a good NLP practitioner will not let you blame others for the way you are feeling. The point of feeling empowered is that you start to think about controlling your emotions, instead of having them controlling you. Putting outside influences in charge of the way that you feel doesn't help you to feel empowered and in control. That's not to say that they will not listen or be sympathetic, but their job is to help you create some positive changes and help you stay in a better state, not to keep going over all the reasons why you should be feeling bad.
Here are 3 major things to consider when eliminating depression
1) The mind
Where's you head at? What do you spend most of your time thinking about? day dreaming about? Remembering about? Quality stuff that makes you feel good or bad stuff that- guess what- makes you feel bad.
2) The body
Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating healthy food? Do you get enough sleep? Remember that your body is a lab filled up with chemicals but it doesn't run on its own, you are responsible for maintaining it's equilibrium by eating and drinking the right stuff. Your emotions are created by hormones, hormones are chemicals. It makes sense that you should provide the right chemical intake to keep your lab well stocked with good quality chemical.
3) The spirit
Do you do what makes you feel alive? I meet so many depressed people who I ask "Do you love your job?" and most of them reply "No." You have to do things in your life that make you feel happy in order to be happy. Most of us spend more time at work than we do with the people we love, so it's really got to be a great job. Think about what hobbies make you feel good and just as importantly, take an evaluation of the people you spend your time with. We become like the people we spend most of our time with, so if you're around people who are pessimistic or negative, you can expect to have some of that starting to show up in your own personality.
By Gemma Bailey
Boost Your Creativity
The Encarta dictionary defines creativity as "the ability to use the imagination to develop new and original ideas or things, especially in an artistic context." Creativity and imagination are largely linked with right brain functions, whereas analytic and rationalized thinking are more associated with the left brain.
As individuals, we may tend to be more inclined to naturally use one side of the brain more than the other, which would define the ability we have to tap into our creative talents. Of course, there are influences in our life's as we grow up, that are responsible for either nurturing or stifling our creativity. For example, most of our schooling tends to focus much more on learning via the left brain, encouraging logical and objective learning, as opposed to holistic experiential learning which is related to the right brain.
Creating can lead to a deep sense of satisfaction and there are many different ways that people can express creativity. The common factors tend to be that a great feeling of compulsion to do something. Then throughout the process of doing it, a connection with oneself, or even a feeling of motivation or trance-like experience. If the person remains motivated to continue their project until completion, they will feel a great sense of pride once the process is successfully completed. Just imagine if it was a requirement of your job to feel this good everyday! In fact, those who set up their own business often do so as an extension of a hobby or creative process that they already enjoy.
So if you are not a natural creator, how can you develop this skill to create more wholeness and inspiration?
Here are some tips:
1. Have a few sessions of Life Coaching to help uncover the things you value most in your life and begin shaping your dreams. Motivational techniques can also be applied if a sense of uncertainty prevents you from taking the steps you need to make.
2. Listen to music that makes you feel good and switch off the news! Often the news is depressing and can put you in a bad state.
3. Make lots of notes. You never know when those good ideas will sneak up on you and if you don't jot them down, they may be forgotten.
4. Get inspired. Look at other people's creative work, either in the field you are interested in, or just in the natural environment around you.
5. Do some brainstorming around your chosen idea. This will move it from pie in the sky to the specific steps you will need to make.
6. Read books. Books are great for expanding ideas and are "healthier" for your brain than watching the tell all the darn time!
7. Keep your brain fit by doing crosswords, quizzes and participating in creative and intelligent conversations.
8. Be healthy in your body. Your mind and your body are linked so you need to look after both. Feed them healthy food and exercise them both.
9. Write a list about how you will feel and how your life will be affected by expressing your creativity. What will it mean to you?
10. When you get an idea, do something about it, before someone else beats you to it!
By Gemma Bailey
Steps to Success in Life Coaching
What is the best way to move forward when you are stuck? When every area of you life seems to be deficient in some way, who can help you find the way forward? A good Life coach may be able to help. Ideally choose someone who has a number of credentials so that there are many different ways that they can assist you in achieving change. Always pick somebody that you feel comfortable with- it's crazy to think that with so many people out there calling themselves Life Coaches, that I still meet people who have been to see a coach who makes them feels ill at ease. I actively go out of my way to build up good rapport with my patients throughout their consultation, before they have even parted with any money.
Reasons to have Life Coaching
Life coaching is a technique to enable you to assess yourself, your situation or problem and to develop the skills you already have to tackle the situation or problem by increasing your motivation and willingness to do so.
By setting clear and realistic goals the therapist is able to work with you on a regular basis to aid and motivate achievement.
It is a must for corporate companies with teams of people who have various levels of motivation, stress and productivity.
It is especially useful for ensuring that peak ability and standard is obtained and maintained for an important performance or event.
What to expect
Expect a free consultation and some kind of manual or text which you can work through in each session. This is a good way of monitoring your progress.
You should also expect to cover the following areas: Wheel of Life, Emotional Values, Beliefs, Communication and Rapport Building, SMART Goals and some hypnotherapy and NLP Techniques as required.
Why Choose Life Coaching instead of a cheaper therapy or self health book?
The benefits of Life Coaching above Hypnotherapy for example, (I'm a qualified hypnotherapist so trust that I'm giving you an honest and genuine explanation) is that When you come for Life Coaching it's as if every area of your life is spring cleaned and improved. This is because Life Coaching focuses on the patient as a whole, rather than a specific area of their life. For example, for someone who has a problem with confidence, hypnotherapy and some specific NLP Techniques can work really well. But if a patient feels that all areas of their life need improvement then Life Coaching provides a much more global change.
Self help book obviously have a wonderful use too; though remember that a book will always tend to be quite generic and not necessarily tailored to your individual needs.
On the whole Life Coaching is a powerful and effective way of rising above problems, finding solutions and moving forward. Overall it will improve all areas of life, help you to find your direction and set you up for achieving the goal in life that are really worth while and meaningful to you. If you are interested in receiving Life Coaching and are based in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire or London then visit the link below to find a suitable practitioner.
Life Coaching
Life Coaching is an effective means of establishing where you are currently in your life, where you going, and how it is you will get there by focusing on specific areas- from self confidence, to enjoying your work, creating time for yourself or living your dreams. Some people find it difficult to comprehend what life coaching is about or why you would need to pay someone to guide you in this way. What you need to ask yourself is, if you were to carry on doing things as you have been them, are you going to achieve your goals?
Life coaching is not about changing yourself but becoming yourself. To be successful can take much more than accepting the life that you have, it can mean that you adapt the world to suit you, to make life work for you.The more you know about who you are, the easier it will be to achieve what you want and to find what fulfils you.
Life Coaching in the St Albans areas is a valuable way to redirect, or find direction in your life. I always say that life coaching is most beneficial when several areas of life need to be worked on simultaneously.
Life coaching is also a really flexible way of achieving change. For example, in my practice near St Albans, I can see someone for as many or as few sessions as they need. It can be carried out over the phone or face to face.
You will be provided with a Life Coaching Manual. This will ask questions and set tasks in a variety of areas in your life. Changing one thing can make a person successful, but global change creates massive success. You can work through the manual at your own speed, with or without my input. I will fit in with whatever is the right way for you.
In the same way that one person sees a glass half full and another sees it half empty, some people see something that they hadn't anticipated as a problem whilst another may see it as a challenge. In order to gain control of your life, you can take on responsibility for the things that are within your control and really work to improve them. As for the things you can not control- move on and let go. You can regain your feelings of control by looking for something positive in a situation that you had always viewed as damaging or hurtful.