Why get a coach?

To round off International Coaching Week, I thought I would write a little blog piece about why you would get a coach.

Coaches have been pivotal in my life, from my early years as a gymnast and a swimmer, through to my later years as an entrepreneur and running my own businesses, coaches have been there with me every step of the way.

But why bother with one?

My sister once described it to me like this. When I was younger I had a coached that taught me how swim faster, be more effective in the water and how to prepare for races so I would get the best result and it works, so why not do that for life?

She was absolutely right.

My first experience of life coaching was in 2008. In 2007 I quit my dream career job after the charity changed direction, so I was at a bit of a loss. On strong recommendation I attended a seminar that was all about getting clarity on what it was I wanted to do in life. In that seminar they explained the value of a coach and I was able to meet lots of people that had got very positive results from following a 12 month programme. I figured if I didn’t try it, I’d never know, so I signed up for a 3 month programme to achieve a set goal. I enjoyed the experience very much, and despite getting quite a different positive outcome to the one I was hoping for, I had found a constructive form of personal development that I saw had immense value.

In particular, a coach is very useful for when you have maximised the results that you can achieve on your own, and you need some external input to take yourself, your business, your health or your relationships to the next level. They hold you accountable to your goals and guide and support you along the way.

A great coach will be able to assess your weaknesses and strengths, see where you need information, encouragement, support, someone to celebrate with, connecting to new resources or to let go of old thinking patterns. That coach will then work with you to bring about your common goal – whatever you define that success to be.

Impartial perspective

Anyone that has ever had coaching will tell you that critical to their success was some form of structured and impartial support. Coaches share your vision of success but don’t buy into any of the limiting beliefs that are keeping you stuck. Through a range of approaches and techniques a coach will help you moved beyond your limitations to achieve things often you thought would be impossible. It may be that they coach you to listen to your dreams more, it might be that they coach you to assert your influence more, it might be that they coach you in some relaxation techniques so you can perform better – all the while empowering you as the individual and leaving you with a map, a new toolkit and a greater sense of confidence on what you are about to achieve.

Mind Detox

My role as a Mind Detox Therapist is to help you get clear on what you would like to let go of and what you would like to gain. Together we create a clear picture of what success would look like to you, which is a powerful way of communicating to the Unconscious Brain what you would like more of. Then, through the very clever Mind Detox Method we are able to look for the root cause reason of the problems in your life that stand in the way of you experiencing what you want.

Often we will find their is a key pivotal memory that holds us back and requires to be healed before we can achieve our dreams. This may be something small like a fight with a sibling, or something bigger like the death of a parent or moving to a new area. We then bring our adult perspective to the experience, and from a place of love heal the trauma and embed a new, more health-full thought pattern that will overwrite the old pattern and become your new norm. It really is that simple!

I have used this method for many different experiences such as challenges in the workplace, relationship issues, health conditions, mental health issues, infertility, vulnerability and even money for people in over 10 different countries. Each person has found a relevant and pivotal memory, healed it and left with less stress and a clearer head.

So if you want to reach a goal and you are currently stuck, I would highly recommend you invest in a coach. I all my years of meeting coaches from all kinds of backgrounds, I have yet to meet one that I didn’t like and that didn’t have their clients needs formost at heart. Many coaches are people just like myself that have had their own powerful coaching experiences and wish to make it available to others. There are lots of different forms of coaching and different personalities suit different people. In 2012 the International Coaching Federation estimated there was over 47,500 coaches worldwide, so there is bound to be one that can work with you.

Finally, there is one coach in your life that must not be underestimated or excluded, and that’s you. We all have within us our guru that knows what’s best for us and is there any time we need. Listen to your inner-tuition and there too you will find a whole host of guidance and support to help you reach your goals. And when you align your inner guru with a great coach, well, I just know you’re going achieve incredible things.

So here’s to your success!

 

From the International Coach Federation website:

Benefits of Using a Coach

Professional coaching brings many wonderful benefits: fresh perspectives on personal challenges, enhanced decision-making skills, greater interpersonal effectiveness, and increased confidence. And, the list does not end there. Those who undertake coaching also can expect appreciable improvement in productivity, satisfaction with life and work, and the attainment of relevant goals.

Increased Productivity

Professional coaching maximizes potential and, therefore, unlocks latent sources of productivity.

Positive People

Building the self-confidence of employees to face challenges is critical in meeting organizational demands.

Return on Investment

Coaching generates learning and clarity for forward action with a commitment to measurable outcomes.The vast majority of companies (86%) say they at least made their investment back.

Satisfied Clients

Virtually all companies and individuals who hire a coach are satisfied.

More information on benefits of coaching can be found in the ICF Research Portal, including case studies and industry reports.

Source: ICF Global Coaching Client Study was commissioned by the ICF but conducted independently by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

http://www.coachfederation.org/need/landing.cfm?ItemNumber=747&navItemNumber=565

 

June Cornish Detox Retreat

How would you like to get away from it all and boost your health at the same time?

My very good friend Hannah Howard and I offering you just that with a detox retreat in the heart of the beautiful Cornish countryside.

What?

Hannah and I have designed a 4 1/2 day, 5 night fully catered detox retreat packed full of things that will leave you feeling healthy and refreshed and ready to take on the world!

Hannah is a naturopathic nutritionist and excellent chef. This means she recommends natural foods and supplements where necessary, to treat a range of health conditions such as depression, IBS, PMS, eczema, acne and allergies. Hannah will be in charge of what you put in your body and will be inspiring you with her cooking workshops and culinary ideas.

I – Becci, as Mind Detox Therapist, will be in charge of your mental and emotional wellbeing. That means getting clear on your goals in life and then helping you remove the mental and emotional blocks to you achieving those goals.

Mornings will be structured with meditations, yoga, walks, workshops and the chance to have a 1:1 nutrition consultation or Mind Detox. Afternoons are free for you to do your own thing and explore either the local tracks and trails, Cornish coastline, Bodmin Moor or sit down by the river and throwing sticks for Dillon, the resident black lab.

In the evenings we’ll all sit down for a lovely, healthy meal followed by board games, evening workshops, films and quiet time to read or journal – the emphasis being on listening to your body and giving you and it all the help, support and love that it needs.

Where?

The retreat will be at the wonderful Penrose Burden (the view is that image at the top of the page) in North Cornwall. Penrose Burden is perched on the edge of Bodmin Moor and draws its own mineral water from a borehole on the farm. A 10 minute stroll from the cottage is a babbling river, the Camel Trail is at the end of the lane and we are just 20 minutes from the North Coast and some of the most stunning landscape in the UK. I’ve been going there for 5 years now and I’ve fallen in love with the place. It’s where I go to rejuvenate and I know you are going to love it too.

When?

The retreat will run from 4pm Sunday 8th June to 10am Friday 13th June.

Accommodation will be in twin rooms, with double rooms available for couples and single occupancy available for an additional supplement. Spaces are limited to 8 people.

This retreat is perfect for anyone that wants to take time out to support their physical and emotional health and have fun whilst doing it.

Pricing

The cost of the retreat includes:

▪ 5 nights accommodation in 3* holiday cottage
▪ Three nutritious meals a day plus snacks
▪ 1 fruit/vegetable juice a day plus unlimited mineral water and herbal teas
▪ Daily meditations
▪ Fun and engaging nutrition workshops
▪ Nutrition consultation with Hannah (to include a pre-retreat questionnaire)
▪ Mind Detox consultation with Becci

Ensuite twin or double sharing: £425
Single occupancy: £495 

Places are on a first come first served basis and require a non-refundable £100 deposit to secure your space. Full payment is required 6 weeks before the retreat.

To book your space send an contact Becci or call 01892 853518 or 07833 597187.

It’s not just what you think about…

One of my jobs as a Mind Detox Therapist is to help people not only detox the unhelpful thoughts, but help them change the way they relate to their mind or even understand what their mind is.

So who are we if we are not our mind? Well first of all, who/what we are is pure potential – energy that can do and create anything! Some people refer to this energy as God, the universe, our spirits or souls. It’s the fire that lights you up and illuminates you – without which your body is just worm fodder! Your body is your vehicle but the pure potential or energy is WHO you and everyone else is.

So what is the mind? Well the mind is a tool between that pure potential and your physical body. Our mind is a creative tool that through its thoughts creates your physical reality. Really? Yes, really – life doesn’t just happen – you (mostly unconsciously) thought yourself into existence. In reality your thoughts are electrical impulses through the brain. These result in chemical reactions – some cause cell growth, others regulate body processes, others direct movement and behaviour – all of which happens in your unconscious mind. How do I know this? If I asked you to sit down you’d probably do so quite easily without “thinking” about it right? Well actually, you were thinking about it, but pretty much all of that thinking were going on in your unconscious mind so you didn’t ‘hear’ any of it. The same thing happens when you go running and your breathing and heart rate go up and when you get a bill in the post and you go into overdrive about how you can’t pay it.

In our childhood years we lay down our patterns of behaviour, which is why most of the Mind Detox’s I do go back to a memory in the first 12 years of a person’s life. In those early years we are laying down our future neural patterns – the automatic thought processes that become our ingrained future habits unless we challenge them.

What’s this got to do with the relationship with your mind? Many people don’t realise that our minds are meant to be something we use when we need and have in the off position when we don’t. That’s right – that constant internal dialogue and chatty mind wasn’t how we were designed to function! The chances after, if you have a constant internal “chatter” your mind has taken control of you and not vice versa. If that is the only thing you take from this blog, that it’s ok to switch your mind off from time to time, then great!

If your mind gets to take control of you and not vice versa then the chances are you’ve taken that internal dialogue to be who you are at lost yourself at some point. Ekhart Tolle has a fantastic book The Power of Now explaining that you are not your mind. If the idea that you are something other than the dialogue in your head is a new concept it can take a while to settle in, but something I definitely encourage you to play with, because to do so is to explore freedom.

For some people their childhood experiences were pretty positive so their internal chatter is positive too – great – lucky you. But for those of us that grew up in an environment where things were labelled good or bad, right or wrong and those “bad” things were resisted – we might behave that way too. At our pure potential level we’re not able to judge things, things either are or they aren’t – it is only the mind that can judge and label things, deciding whether they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and categorising them as a ‘thing’ rather than experiencing them as an ‘experience’.

You know when your mind has got control of you because you find yourself judging yourself and others. You might say things like I am unloveable because I am not in a relationship, I am worthless because I am undervalued in my job, I’m not good enough because I haven’t got/done/x y z. All these statements are mind based statements and they can creep into your day and make you feel uncomfortable without you noticing. (You feel uncomfortable incidentally because they’re not true) We can judge others too – and that makes us even more mind based and separate from our true reality also.

So my point is this – listen to your internal chatter, and when you hear it and you know it’s not serving you do something that brings you back to your whole being. Some people like to focus on the breath or how the body feels, some like to meditate with a mantra or one idea I’ve been given is to focus on the tip of your nose. Do what ever works for you. In doing so you break the association with your mind and become more ‘conscious’ of what is going on. You don’t actually have to change the content of your mind, you can just observe it and that’ll take all the power out of it’s sails. I’m human and I can find myself spiralling sometimes into a negative spin and I have to stop and take stock of myself. It’s harder too, I admit, when the people around you still live in a ‘mental’ world, but entirely do-able.

This is what becoming conscious is. This is what monks sit for hours and do to free themselves from their mental constraints, because to do so is to be free from unhelpful thinking, but also to be open to wonderful things and helpful opportunities. You don’t have to be a monk to benefit from all this; 10mins on the train every morning, 10 minutes of eating consciously at lunchtime and 10 mins before bed isn’t so hard to fit in. And worth it. Take back who you are from your mind and only turn it on when you need it!

If all this sounds too difficult to do, then find and join a meditation group. In a meditation group there will be a leader that will support you through the process of learning about the nature of the mind. Mind Detox Tunbridge Wells runs a lovely meditation group on Tuesday’s – you can find out more at our website here: www.minddetoxtunbridgewells.co.uk/meditation.