Is it just me, or have we picked up a belief somewhere along the Transformation Trail that working hard means something is wrong?
The relationship between coaches and work can be …complicated.
On one hand, you can feel a deep call to contribute. To serve. To give.
On the other hand, many coaches have left careers based in a culture of “get more done with fewer resources.” You may be tired of working hard and looking for a way to contribute that does not suck you dry.
Having these two dynamics operating can keep you from moving forward: You want to do the work of being a coach, of adding coaching-based revenue streams, but you refuse to put yourself back into a daily grind.
In addition to the impact of your personal history and preferences, consider the influence of cultural messages.
One message accompanying the rise of the coaching profession says: Hire a coach and stop working too hard. Become a coach and show others how to do this.
From the personal transformation/spiritual evolution movement comes this message: Once you achieve a certain level of consciousness, you will create with your thoughts and intentions and no longer need to work hard.
These messages, while valid and useful, can have you thinking you are doing it wrong if you’re working hard as a coach, especially when your outcomes aren’t what you want them to be. It can feel as if you are spinning your wheels and never getting the traction you want with your business.
It’s no wonder if you feel ambivalent, confused or even judgmental about “working hard” as a coach – especially if you thought coaching was the Promised Land.
Because – in some ways it is.
Remember what it’s like when you move outside of time in a transcendent coaching interaction? You know the place. It’s where you remember:
1) You ARE a spiritual being and
2) We ARE all connected, and part of Something Much Larger, and
3) Being present with another’s growth feeds your heart and soul, and
4) This way of connecting and growing and caring for each other IS a big part of who you are.
This is home for you. Sacred home that lifts you and allows you to feel the beauty of yourself and all of life.
And if that is not Paradise, I don’t know what is.
Isn’t this a big part of why you coach?
Is living in this space, from this space, more often, more deeply – is this “worth” hard work?
Let me ask this a different way:
What if you replace the phrase “hard work” with different language? (Words like discipline and diligence come to mind.)
What happens when you change your internal conversation about the time and energy you invest in your coaching?
I’ll leave you for now with these questions as prompts for reflection. Stay tuned for more on what contributes to the sense of difficulty or hard work, for coaches.
And if this topic resonates for you, be sure to join me for the September Heart and Soul of Coaching conversation on September 20th, where we’ll expand the conversation on coaching and hard work.
Hugs,
Lyn
