Listen to Mary Beth and Coach Meg here:
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm02049_1.html
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm02049_2.html
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm02049_1.mp3
http://www.wellcoach.com/flash/cm02049_2.mp3
I recently asked coaches in the Wellcoaches community to submit a list of ten ways in which they want to thrive in the upcoming year. The coach who submitted the most compelling ideas would win a series of coaching sessions with me to further develop their ideas and create plans for making it happen. Mary Beth won the coaching sessions and, after our first session, created a list of her top priorities and her wellness vision.
Narrowing the Scope
I encouraged Mary Beth to name her top priorities because she began our conversations with a list of ten. As exciting as her original ten ideas were, it is important to support her in having successes early on. This means moving toward her goals one, small step at a time. Setting too many goals, or goals that are beyond one's level of readiness, can do more harm than good.
Supporting Success
Coaches design conversations that support clients in uncovering the cream of the crop, asking them to identify the most compelling, most important, ideas on which to focus first. This gives clients a manageable starting place from which they can experience the joy of success. Mary Beth identified the following as her top priorities:
- I can barely contain my excitement, because my outward appearance reflects my passion for healthy living!
- I am balancing my work load, volunteer commitments and time with my family and friends.
- My home and garage are well organized and clutter free!
- I have a meaningful spiritual practice that I employ on most days of the week
- I watch a moderate amount of TV.
B.H.A.G.
To connect her top priorities to her larger life goals, I encouraged Mary Beth to craft a Wellness Vision - a compelling statement that captures who she wants to become. The Vision is what the authors of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies famously refer to as the "Big Hairy Audacious Goal" (B.H.A.G.) Here is Mary Beth's big hairy audacious vision:
My ideal version of myself is being a woman who enjoys life to the fullest! My passion is for my family first and then those individuals whom I am blessed to journey with - friends and people I work with and coach with. This ideal version of myself is looking fit, living in an organized and clutter free home, my household responsibilities are up to date, and I'm ready for some fun!
Can You Feel It?
Can you sense the energy? It is almost bursts from the page because Mary Beth is in there. She believes in it because it comes from her innermost self, not from what others think she should be doing, or what she believes she ought to do.
I look forward to future session with Mary Beth as she continues to live into her vision and we design strategies for getting there...
