Posted on Monday,

6 Myths About Life Coaching

I get asked questions all the time about what is a Life Coach?

It is not a magic pill to make everything in your life better and it is not counseling to heal deep seated trauma. But is it is an effective tool to get unstuck when life feels hard. It is a way to supercharge your already successful life. Life coaching is a way to gain clarity and direction to live a life you love. It can give you a sense of control, peace and joy as you take action to live your dreams.

1. A life coach will give you the answer

There is no way that a life coach can give you an answer to the problem. Nobody knows you, your life and circumstances better than you.

What a life coach will do is ask questions to guide you to the AHA moment where the answer becomes clear. A life coach works with countless other clients. He or she has collected experience and tools to help you discover the answer that makes sense to you. The answer that will work in your life. If there was a cookie cutter solution, then you would already have it.

2. Once you hire a life coach, the sessions may go on indefinitely – which will get expensive.

A good life coach will equip you with the right tools and a new mindset for you do use for the rest of your life. It is at your discretion to decide when you have worked through and issue and no longer need assistance. Occasionally, clarity on an issue can come in one visit and no other sessions are needed. The number of sessions needed will depend on the complexity and severity of the issue <<don’t like this word>>

Is my role important enough for a life coach!

3. I am not in a role important enough for a life coach

I am not a business owner or a CEO, so I don’t need a life coach.

What I am doing is not important.

This is a common misconception that can keep people stuck in their habits and mindsets. If you are feeling stuck or overwhelmed, then a life coach can help you get your life back on a track that you are happy with. You only have one life to live. You deserve to design your life that allows you to accomplish your goals. That allows you to take care of everything that is important to you.

4. There are so many life coaches out there, I will never find one that is right for me!

Finding the right coach can be daunting. Different Coaches will focus on different areas. Look for a coach that specializes in the area of life that you are struggling with. It is also important to consider personality, coaching style and how you feel when talking with them. Use your intuition here. Ask yourself, “does this person get me?”

Most coaches offer a free initial session, so you can find the coach that is right for you at no cost to you. If you are not feeling a good connection then don’t feel like you HAVE to sign up with them.

5. I can’t afford a life coach.

This goes hand in hand with not feeling “important enough” for life coaching. You probably already own electronic devices worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Any designer items with a similar price tag? If you are spending income to distract yourself from the frustration of not living the life you deserve, it might be time to reconsider. It is time to get real with yourself and invest in yourself and your future.

Life coaching is designed to lead to growth, breakthroughs and improvements in life that far outweigh the cost of coaching. It can end up saving your time, money, and energy.

6. I can do it on my own

Yes, you can! You are strong and capable. Your skills, determination and hard work have gotten you to the place you are now.

However, we are all limited by what we can’t see about ourselves and our situation. We have ingrained thoughts, perceptions and beliefs that are an invisible fence keeping us from living our best life. Life coaches can help make those thoughts, perceptions and beliefs visible.

We all have areas that we are strong in and areas that are weaker. Typically, we are struggling in areas that we are not as strong. Getting some extra insight into how to tackle a challenge can take a mountain and make it a mole hill.

Why am I not where I want to be?

What I have I been dealing with, dreaming about or avoiding for longer than required?

If you are still reading this article then something I’ve said above has spoken to you. I would like to offer you a free coaching session. There is no obligation to you to do more than the one session. In this session we will work together to

In this session we will work together to

— gain clarity around what is really important to you and

— discover what some of the next steps are to take to move forward in life.

Say yes to yourself! Say yes to see what’s possible.

What have you got to lose? I am looking forward to meeting you!

If you want to learn more about life coaching check out 6 Reasons to Hire a Life Coach. My next blog post will be about the12 Tips to get the most of out Life Coaching. Click here if you want to have my next blog post arrive in your inbox. No spam just the latest posts and information about Dandelion-dreams!

Keep Dream’n

Posted on Monday,

6 Reasons to Hire a Life Coach

In this blog post I will talk about why I hired a life coach and what I learned. I will share the 6 reasons you might want to hire a life coach.

My friend, life does not have to be this hard! I will share some of the reasons you might want to hire a life coach.

Life is hard

Too much to do

Too many choices

Not enough time

Not motivated

When life throws you a curve ball it can feel like all life is falling apart. The routines you had set up to make life easy or at least manageable are all in disarray. This can leave you discouraged and feeling stuck.

Are you feeling stuck?

I was stuck a few years ago. I wanted life to be different, but I didn’t know how to change it. I knew some of the things that I could/should be doing –

self-care

going out with friends or

participating in hobbies

but I just didn’t have the interest or motivation. It just all felt so pointless.

And, I was tired. . . . really tired.

Was life supposed to be this hard?

Then I hired a life coach. Tascha helped me get clear on what I wanted the rest of my life to look like. We talked about the things in my life that I thought “couldn’t” change and I realized that they could change. I took some massive action but in about 2 years, my life was completely different. I was able to step away from the day-to-day management of a business. And throw myself into what I have always wanted to do. The result is this blog and my coaching & speaking business.

A life coach can help you:

1. To help you see what you cannot see

2. To help you find direction

3. To help you reach your potential

4. To keep you focused on what’s important

5. To increase your confidence and motivation

6. To boost your overall well-being

Let’s unpack each of these

To help us see what we cannot see.

Our brains have a filter that allows it to take in everything going on around you. Then sends you the information that is deemed important to you. Neuroscientists call this the Reticular Activating System. It is the part of the brain that takes in all the stimuli that is going on around us. It then filters all the massive information, sending a small amount to the conscious mind. This is important because there is so much going on. If we had to process that overwhelming onslaught of information, our ability to function would be greatly hampered. However, this also means that this system is also creating our perception of reality. Coaches can help us to bring in details we were not considering. Details that got filtered out. This slight change in perception can give us great insight to problems that seem to elude us.

To help us find direction

If you are feeling lost or directionless, you are not alone. Many people drift though life without much of a plan…not really knowing where they are heading. A coach can help us identify what we really want to be doing with our lives. To find our purpose and a way to express that purpose. A coach can then help us to create a plan and overcome the obstacles that will inevitably come up.

To help you reach your potential

It is easy to get bogged down in the minutia of life.

Were you once passionate about accomplishing your goal but have fallen into a funk? Does it feel like wading through molasses?
Do you know you are capable of more, but you just don’t seem to be getting there?

This happens to the best of us, and a coach can come alongside and help you get serious about the success you deserve.

Young businesswoman reading reminders stuck on glass wall

To keep you focused on what’s important

Once you have clarity around your purpose in life. And you know what you want to accomplish. Your coach will help you to develop an action plan and help to keep you focused on what is really important.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by dreams that feel TOO BIG. It is easy in that state of overwhelm to either give up or let mundane distractions keep you stuck. A coach will help you break everything down and get focused on the next important step in the journey.

To increase your confidence and motivation

When you have been struggling by yourself for a while, it is easy to become demotivated. And to even lose confidence in your abilities. The dream can become dim and feel unreachable. A coach can help you get back on the right track and help you stay there. Your confidence and motivation can soar with a few wins leading to momentum towards the goal.

To boost your overall well-being

When working with a coach the main purpose is to put you back in the driver’s seat. To equip you with a roadmap to reach your dreams. You will feel in control of life again. This will make your struggles easier to handle. You will feel happier, supported and more positive about life. You will feel more confident about taking action and pursuing your dreams.

I am offering a free coaching session to the readers of my blog. If any of the above spoke to your heart, then I encourage you to see if life coaching is right for you. You will get to experience what a session is like. You will be able to see at no obligation if we are a good fit for each other. I guarantee that you will come away from our call with clarity about your life and what you want to accomplish! Click here to schedule your Free coaching Session!

My next blog post will be about the 6 Myths of hiring a life coach. Click here if you want to have my next blog post arrive in your inbox. No spam just the latest posts and information about Dandelion-dreams

Keep Dream’n

Posted on Monday,

Struggling To Get Everything Done?

Time Management Ideas

Over the years I have read many time management books in the attempt to try and get everything done. I have had Day-Timers, Franklin Covey Systems, Planner Pads, apps, software and just notepads full of lists. And yet I still find myself feeling behind. Rushing to something that I have forgotten. And feeling guilty about what isn’t done. So here are some things I have learned over the years:

Do the work.

First of all, getting actual work done is the most important thing. I have been known to spend time creating the perfect system when what I was really doing is avoiding actually working. If this is you right now. STOP. Go do what you should be doing. We will wait for you to get done. 🙂

So, using “getting organized” as an excuse to procrastinate is out.

Posted on Monday,

Is Frustration Stealing Your Joy?

A simple solution!

What three things cause you frustration in life?

If these things were different would make life better?

What could you do right now to make it happen?

I had a friend who seemed to go from one crisis to the next crisis. After several years of listening and trying to help her problem-solve her situation. It became clear to me that if she did three things differently. Then, she could avoid most of the chaos that was a constant in her life.

This made me think …hmmm…if there are three things in her life that would make a difference. Are there three things in my life that I cannot see, that would reduce my stress and frustration? Sure enough, I identified the top 3 things that bothered me most and I develop rules for dealing with that issue. These rules became habits. With those habits in place, those annoyances (mostly) went away.

Posted on Thursday,

Strengths: What is your Superpower?

A key to a life you love

What is your superpower?

What do you do naturally, just as a part of your personality that is amazing? What do you do that you get compliments on? What do you accomplish easily that cause your friends to stress out?

Marcus Buckingham, author of “First, Break all the Rules” and “Now Discover Your Strengths” describes strengths as:

A strength is “an activity that makes you feel strong.” It is an activity where the doing of it invigorates you. Before you do it, you find yourself instinctively looking forward to it. While you are doing it you don’t struggle to concentrate, but instead, you become so immersed that time speeds up and you lose yourself in the present moment. And after you are finished doing it, you feel authentic, connected to the best parts of who you really are.

Posted on Friday,

Margin: A key to living a life you love

Creating Margin adds Peace and Joy to Life!

I believe that one of the keys to living a life you love is to have margin built into your life. Margin is also necessary to be able to take action on a dream.

So, what do I mean by margin? I define margin as the extra, intentionally unused space.

On a word processing document, you set the ‘margins’; which is the area your text and illustrations will stay within. Likewise in design, we use the term ‘white space’ or ‘ negative space’ to designate that part of the sign, ad or website that is between visual elements.

This creates balance, increases legibility, higher comprehension and increased attention to important messaging.

Likewise, in life, we need margin to be happy and content. Life happens. Things don’t go according to plan. Kids get sick. Mom calls just to chat. A shipment of a key resource gets delayed. Things always take longer than you think they will. These situations come up and the amount of margin in your life will determine if you can roll with the punches or if you are in a crisis situation. I believe that building margin is important in several key areas of life:

Posted on Friday,

Just getting started

I am trying to set up my website and as you can see it is not going well. If you have the ability to help me then please send me an email at barbara@dandelion-dream.com.

Coming soon . . . is a blog about reaching your dreams. Do you remember being a child and thinking about the adult you would one day be and knowing you were going to do and be something special? And then life happens. . . and more life happens. . .and you survive. I want to start a conversation about remembering those ideas and beliefs. To take all that life has given us and take action today to become the person we always knew we could be.

Come walk this journey with me. There seems to be some rocks in my way currently but soon I will be up and running. 🙂