Giving Extreme Attention to Your Personal Life Is… Not Crazy.
Professionally, we obsessively reflect and plan. We spend a fraction of that effort on our personal lives. Let’s flip that.
During my years in the corporate world and startup environments, every single employee was expected to carve out a notable amount of time for reflection, goal setting, and troubleshooting roadblocks. From the CEO to the intern, no one was exempted from this process.
Each week in 1:1s my employees would consolidate and share with me what’s going well and what are areas that need support. We would dedicate time to exploring, experimenting, or removing barriers to forward progress. They would share updates on short-term and long-term projects. Often, we would calibrate to ensure that all these projects support the bigger goals for our department and company this quarter. I did the same with my manager, and they did with theirs.
Each quarter departments come up with new goals, share status updates cross-departmentally, to investors, and board members. Department leaders come together to reflect and plan.
Yearly, we have overarching goals that unite our efforts cross-departmentally and define our north star. We define what measures we will use to prioritize projects, how our values inform those decisions, creatively explore where we can work more effectively cross-departmentally, and ensure the team is effectively resourced to do the work. Many 1:1s leading up to these annual kick-off meetings, retreats, or staff all-hands meetings are dedicated to thinking about reflection and planning.
This is not new or surprising to business people.
What does surprise us is that we spend so much time and energy on this for our businesses, but very few people spend the same level of time and attention on their personal lives.
We look back and think, “wow… i spent all that time thinking of my team, my department, my company or employer… but I didn't stop to think about what I really want.”
I coach because…
I believe your personal life deserves that kind of attention, too.
I believe work is a ‘part’ of our life (not the ‘whole’). It’s crazy not to consider the ‘whole.’
I believe your life’s legacy is still being written, and you have power to influence it now.
I believe that if you don’t advocate for your personal reflection time, other projects/people/priorities will expand to fill that space. Coaching helps protect that space and keep it a priority.
I believe you are worthy of being seen and heard.
I believe everyone’s life deserves this attention.
What is Life Coaching
Life coaching is where you get to tend to what really matters. It could present as a professional issue, but there’s always personal stuff under the hood to consider. And let’s be real, it’s all interconnected.
Coaching is facilitated introspection that helps you gaze upon the contents of your life, dream bigger, and create new paths forward.
It’s a non-judgmental space where you tend to the juicy stuff that matters most — your relationship with yourself, your kids, your coworkers, your boss, your partner.
It’s a series of confidential conversations designed to bring you closer to where you want to go. Where you get to think about the life you really want to live, and how you want to live it. And the legacy you want to leave behind for future generations. How do you want to be remembered when you die?
What Life Coaching is *Not*
I am a professionally-trained coach, but I am not the expert of your life. You are! (And I will help you remember/believe that, if you’ve forgotten). I believe you already have the answers within you, though sometimes they are hard to see.
To that end, I will not tell you what to do. Instead, I help you see things from a different perspective. Get clarity on that which is not yet clear. Move towards making empowered choices that get you closer to you.
The process is not linear. But if you fully show up to coaching, the power of the container will surprise you.
Some things to remember:
I’m not going to psychoanalyze your past (go get that in therapy and counseling).
I’m not going to set your goals for you (go get that from your manager or consultant).
I will teach you a few new frameworks and ways of exploring and listening to your inner landscape.
I will help you explore questions like “what do I want?” “what’s actually important to me?” “How do I want to be remembered?”
Coaching is a great idea if you…
Want to make faster progress toward your goals
Want to show up differently in this world - to yourself/partner/family/kids/friends
Want to talk through issues with someone who is unbiased, nonjudgmental, and will ask questions that bring clarity and action
Want to reignite your spark, or develop new habits
Are feeling stuck in aspects of your personal or professional life
I recommend you *wait* to start coaching if you…
Have deep-rooted trauma that you have not yet processed in counseling, or are experiencing severe mental instability or illness. I recommend you work with a licensed clinical professional first. Coaching is not a replacement for psychotherapy.
While I have completed some trauma-informed training, I am not a licensed trauma-informed coach. Coaching could be a fantastic option for you, after you have worked directly on your healing with a trauma-informed provider. That’s an important step. I coach with integrity and deep reverence for mental health, and I will not coach someone that presents with unprocessed trauma. See a medical professional first.
Summary
Professionally, we expect to take time to reflect and plan to achieve our goals. I believe our personal lives deserve thoughtful attention, too. This is why I coach.
Coaching is a judgement-free container, where my clients are encouraged to experiment, speculate, and dream wild. That helps them access new perspectives on goals, patterns, memories, emotions, feelings, situations, and relationships.
My coaching is designed to help people:
Gain clarity around their desired path,
Identify what holds them back,
Find options for moving forward that feel safe and attainable, and
Move towards empowered choices.
Are you ready to give your personal life some much-needed attention? I hope so.
If my approach resonates, please do yourself a favor and redeem your gift — a free 1:1 coaching session with Jen. Experience coaching yourself. Give your life the attention it deserves.