Okay, so I thought I’d add this section in this week to answer some of the questions I have been receiving over the last few months about my life & performance practise that I started just over a year ago.

Looking back now, it was always going to happen and having worked with clients for the last year, and helping them to be better at life as well as work though various of life’s challenges has been one of the most fulfilling and humbling things I have ever done.

In the next few weeks I will record a podcast on my journey from studying psychology many years ago and how life then just kept hinting at me that working was people was always going to be in my future, but for now I’m going to share the basics of what I do and what life & performance coaching is.

In order to get the most out of life and to live a life that is both fulfilling and meaningful, there are three things you need to pay attention to. They are:

• Mental health
• Physical health
• Performance

When you pay attention to those three aspects and approach is with dual mindset of fixing what’s broken as well extracting more value from what’s working you will be setting yourself for an amazing life.

And that, in a nutshell, is what I do as a life & performance coach.

Now, imagine of you will a continuum that goes from -5 to 5.

The red area, from -5 to 0, represents things that needs to be fixed of personal challenges you might be facing. This could include anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship of career challenges or other mental or physical conditions that need to be worked on.

The blue area, from 0 to 5, represents domains of your life that you want to be better at and improve such as goal getting, purpose, meaning and other positive traits you want to expand or create.

Historically, according to the disease model, it was believed that if you fix in the red zone that was, for example, at -3, that it would turn it into a positive and make it a 3.

This is not the case.

For example, if you suffer from anxiety and you then, through various exercises and protocols, start fixing your anxiety it will not make you happy and fulfilled. When you fix a negative it doesn’t automatically make it a positive. It takes it to zero on our timeline above.

You have to then do a different kind of work and different exercises and protocols in order to go from a 0 to a positive. Keep in mind that this will apply to mental health, physical health and performance.

This means that, at any point in time and for pretty much all of us, you will more than likely have two different focuses in your life. One focused on fixing and the other focused on making better.

These to approaches, red and blue, are not mutually exclusive and should be seen as two processes that runs at the same time.

Yes, depending on where you are in life and what challenges you might be facing the focus will shift as needed, but every one of us needs to focus on both and in a coaching relationship move into and out of these areas as and when life requires us to.

Right, with that all said, the coaching I do and which is rooted in my education in both psychology and various coaching modalities and real life experience means I is aimed at, working together with my client, identify desired outcomes, challenges and domains of life that need attention and look at, keeping it simple for now, whether it will be a red focus or a blue focus and then plan out ‘attack’ from there.

During an initial 30 minute discovery session we then discuss how I can support you on your journey, explore your goals, challenges, and limiting beliefs, and determine the best course of action.

During this session, the client can also then ask any questions they may have and we can discuss how we can work together to achieve your goals and affect lasting, positive change in both the red and blue zones mentioned above.

Should we decide to work together we then decide on a time frame – packages range from 5 weeks to one year – and we then get stuck in from there.

Make sense so far?

Now even though the entire coaching process is aimed affecting change, no two sessions are ever the same and there are two different coaching approaches that I might use.

Two different coaching approaches

Transactional coaching and transformational coaching are the two different approaches to the life & performance coaching I do with my clients.

• Transactional coaching is focused on helping individuals achieve specific goals and objectives, such as improving a specific skill or behavior and is often situational. This type of coaching is generally short-term and results-oriented, and as the coach I then typically provides guidance and support in order to help the client achieve these goals.
• Transformational coaching, on the other hand, is focused on helping individuals make fundamental changes to their lives and achieve long-term growth and development. This type of coaching is often more holistic and may involve exploring a person’s values, beliefs, and life purpose. I might may also help the client to develop self-awareness, overcome limiting beliefs, and tap into their inner wisdom.

During the course of a coaching relationship both of these approaches will be used but generally speaking, the shorter the relationship the more it tends to lend itself to transactional coaching and longer coaching relationships seem to eventually be more transformational.

Depending on the session, and whether working on red or blue domains, most sessions will end with some or other homework exercise that the client has to work on before there next session.

All the exercises, worksheets and protocols I use are research-backed and has an application within both psychology and coaching.

No two sessions are ever alike and the domains we focus on will depend largely in where the client is at and what challenges and goals we might be working on.

The exercises, approaches and frameworks I use during sessions, and when preparing for sessions, normally come from various different themes and coaching pathways and these get included into the arc or a person’s coaching journey as and when needed.

Now during the last year I have been doing a lot of studying and pretty intensive research in order to create a number of coaching pathways which I can use a part of working with a client or to build an entire journey for a client.

Coaching pathways

Coaching pathways refer to the different routes or approaches that I can deploy when working with a client. These pathways can vary based on the client’s goals and needs..

For example, some coaching pathways may focus on career development and can help clients to improve their job performance, advance their careers, or explore new job opportunities.

Other pathways may focus on personal growth and development, and can help clients to improve their relationships, reduce stress and anxiety, or achieve greater balance, purpose and fulfilment in their lives.

Ultimately, the right coaching pathway will depend on the client’s individual needs and goals and where we might be in their journey.

Having done a deep dive into various domains and themes we all encounter in our lives, I start this year with the following coaching pathways in my toolbox.

Every single one of those pathways include between 12 and 17 exercises, worksheets and protocols, focused on the specific theme, which I pull from as and when needed during and after sessions with clients.

From this year I will be offering these 15 pathways as stand alone packages to clients who want to double down on a specific area of their life.

So, let me try and summarise.

• I work with people to bring positive, purposeful change.
• I use transformational and transactional coaching as and when needed.
• Coaching journeys range from 5 weeks to a year.
• 15 new coaching pathways can laser focus on a specific theme

Now combine that with my ‘promise’ on my website.

“As a life & performance coach, my goal is to help individuals who are feeling frustrated and anxious about not living up to their full potential and to perform better at life.

Through virtual coaching sessions, online courses and keynote presentations, I will guide and support you as they work towards becoming the best version of you!

Whether you are seeking to improve your mental or physical health, relationship, career or overall well-being, I am here to help you make positive changes, build resilience, find your passion and achieve your goals.

Together, we will identify areas for growth and create a personalised action plan to help you reach your full potential and purpose.”

Yeah, so that’s about it. 😊

In a nutshell, that’s what I do and that’s what the life & performance coaching I do entails.

And to think… I get to do this, something that sets my soul on fire, and then travel to stunning places and create amazing experiences for my Wild Eye guests. #BeyondGrateful

If you have any further questions, get in touch and I’d be happy to assist and answer any questions you might have. ✌🏼

---