Why I Coach - Why Information is not Enough

  • Posted by Pete
  • January 14, 2008

 

Think about the sheer volume of information contained in the internet. Think about the shelves of your local library. In many ways, we have all the information we will ever need to live lives that are satisfying, cohesive, productive, adventurous, collaborative, inspiring and inspired. And yet, despite the books, the videos, the seminars, the blogs(!), most of us wouldn’t use all of those words to describe Life for us.

We are a highly educated society. Yet we still struggle to reach our goals, manage our relationships well and feel satisfied with life.

Before a major life-change in 2004, by profession/education I was a minister of religion (a preacher and counsellor) & a workplace trainer (delivering tertiary education in the workplace).

As a workplace trainer, I watched over and over again as people would pass assessments because they knew the information and could follow the processes, yet I also discovered that most went back to their old (sometimes dangerous) ways of behaviour once the assessment was over.

As a minister, I would (for example) ask people to read books on Boundaries and Love Languages when I knew that was at the root of their difficulties. And they did. And nothing changed. They needed more.

Information is not enough.

That’s why I coach. That’s why I am coached by others.

(Life) coaching does two things:

  1. it massages the knowledge you already have into your “soul” in a way that develops real life-change
  2. it engages the parts of your life which are not intellectual and are just as powerful (e.g. emotions, hopes for the future, talents), enabling you to make improvements “right across the board”.

I invite you to consider life coaching. At the very least, make use of my free 45-minute consultation. People who’ve taken up this offer in the past have always gained value from it personally, have been able to assess whether or not life-coaching is “for them” at this stage in their lives, and have been able to test whether or not I’m a person they’d like to work with further.

Please leave me a message via my CONTACT page to explore this further…

I wish you a success that’s more than wealth, more than just accomplishment and certainly more than the mere acquiring of knowledge.

- Pete Aldin

 

P.S. You can hear me chatting about Life Coaching (and sundry other things) at the latest BadDadRadio podcast at BD-028 - What is a Life Coach?

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January 14th, 2008
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
isabella mori
Posted on:
January 22, 2008 at 4:51 pm

there is tons of information out there. much if it is quite good. and sometimes that’s exactly what we need.

but more often what we need is something to motivate us to action.

thanks for talking about this.

love your career background, by the way!

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
January 22, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Yes, it’s moderately diverse.

Loved your recent post on the two wolves, Isabella. The battle between them has been stronger than I expected today!

:)

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Reed
Posted on:
January 23, 2008 at 6:22 am

Interesting entry. As I read through it I was left thinking about sports and martial arts. Athletes go to practice almost every day for most of there lives to not only improve their game, but to reinforce (keep sharp) the motions there bodies make.

Why should real life be any different. You can read a book, take a seminar, have a coach, etc… But without constant reinforcement you will go back to your lazy inefficient ways.

If I regularly met with somebody, would I balance my books more often, keep my desk organized, etc…

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
January 23, 2008 at 9:00 am

I like the analogy and you’ve asked a great question, Reed. I believe a large part of the value of any form of coaching is that we take a part of our life (or just a dream or goal) more seriously.

For instance, I need to do Pilates exercises regularly for my back. I’m a lifecoach - I can tell myself I “should” be committed and organised enough to just do those exercises. But I will only do them when I’ve booked a course of ten lessons, I’ve something to show up for (that I’ve paid for!), something to kickstart me each week and make me 100 times more likely to do my own exercises in the week between classes.

Thanks for visiting!

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
isabella mori
Posted on:
January 23, 2008 at 6:30 pm

reed, that really was a thoughtful comment. i like the idea of “reinforcing the motions the bodies make”. in bodywork, we speak of “muscle memory”.

what does our emotional “muscle memory” look like? hmmm … i can see a blog post coming … :)

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
January 23, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Take it, Isabella!