Your client shares: “I had a terrific summer! I visited my favorite summer place every weekend and over vacation, enjoying everything to the fullest – including the food. We ate out with friends and family most nights – enjoying some good food with great company. Well, I wish I could say I exercised most days as I did before the summer, but I really enjoyed time relaxing and sitting on the beach! Now it’s hard to imagine getting back to the fitness level I was at before, and losing the “ice cream” bulge.” As a fitness expert it’s easy to be disappointed. You helped your client get to a solid level of fitness and lose 5 pounds over the past few months. You recall the productive conversation you had about strategies for keeping his exercise routine going over the summer. You lament to yourself that many of your clients go off your carefully laid rails from time to time. Then you start to doubt yourself and your impact. What might you learn from the coaching approach? Appreciate the good We are naturally wired to notice first what is wrong, what isn’t working. Then we put on our expert hats and offer up our expert knowledge to fix or solve the problem. Let’s reboot… How about starting by appreciating and savoring the good, with real presence, empathy, and authenticity. Given how hard your client works, including most weekends, allowing himself very little downtime, a first step is to appreciate and celebrate your client’s success in slowing down to relax and enjoy his summer. It’s a great strategy to recharge batteries for the rest of the year, you could note. He has engaged well in getting the downtime he needs, best yet you observe, as you’ve been working with him for a few years. You continue the appreciative approach: I’m impressed that you really unplugged from your over-busy life and enjoyed your summer. Tell me about that. What positive impact did it bring? What gifts are you noticing? How can you bring the vacation “mode” to your life during the year? Next is curiosity Once your client’s positive experiences have been unpacked and harvested, now you can get curious about the mindset that led to setting aside his exercise routine. Your client might share first that he wanted to sleep in. By the time he was up, the heat had descended and it was too warm to walk fast or jog. And, he wanted to be outside, not in a gym, which felt like his usual routine and not a break or fun. Then you ask him to take his awareness deeper: what else happened, you say, which leads your client to explain that he gets too little time outdoors during the year and then has to make up for it over the summer. Then he shares that he really wants to find ways to exercise outside they gym so he doesn’t get so sick of it over the winter. He misses his youth when he had way more time to be outdoors. Next is compassion Now you show genuine empathy for his yearning to be outside more and not relying on the inside gym all winter for his workouts. That’s an interesting insight. How do you feel about this insight? He vents a little more about his frustration of being trapped indoors except in the summer. You sit with him and his frustration for a moment and show you understand how he is feeling until you know he knows that you get what it feels like. What possibilities does that open up, you then ask? His mind opens and he begins to explore some outside activities that he could engage in, certainly in the fall and spring, maybe a little bit in the winter. His energy meter goes up. When you help a client name and experience negative emotions, the power of the negative to deplete the brain’s resources drops a little. Biologically, this step activates the pre-frontal cortex (gaining some distance and objectivity) and reduces the fire alarm response of the amygdala (decreasing overreaction). Teaching your client to take this step can spill over to everyday life, reducing the risk of an emotional hijack that makes him vulnerable to unhealthy choices and behaviors. It also generates emotional agility, so that he can switch to a positive reframe – what can I learn? Time to rekindle motivation and build confidence Now some positive emotions and energy have been generated by appreciating the good that emerged from the downtime, compassion for his frustration, and new ideas and optimism about fall, winter, spring, workouts. It’s a good time to explore where he started your session: how do I get back on track? He isn’t feeling so defeated now. He has more of the curious, creative energy needed to rekindle his motivation and find strategies and build confidence and hope. The challenge doesn’t feel so overwhelming. Now you ask him with a beginner’s mind what’s driving him to get fit and trim this fall; what makes his fitness important to him now? Your client considers how important it is to be a role model for his kids, and connects with his desire to finish the year strong, not with self-doubt and frustration. From here you start a creative brainstorming process where your client comes up with a vision of where he wants to be by the end of the year and specific action steps next week. He leaves the session with a sense that he is back on track.

Client Scenario: How do I support a client with a mild chronic condition (e.g. diabetes, or asthma) and few symptoms, in being motivated to lead an active lifestyle to prevent the development of more life-altering chronic symptoms? You likely entered this field because you have a natural passion for health and fitness, and the connection between the two. You feel called to help people improve their health conditions and quality of life through exercise, and hopefully delay, minimize, or avoid the bad consequences of a serious medical event. You want your enthusiasm to spill over to your clients. You have a strong, internal motivational urge to move your body and you want to help others discover that strong urge. You encourage, educate, and sometimes cheerlead with enthusiasm to inspire engagement in a fitness lifestyle. Your passion is a wonderful trait – believing in the power of health-giving lifestyles, believing people can get fit, get healthier through a fit lifestyle. It’s invigorating to feel this passion. You are grateful for the work you get to do. While your passion is energizing for your relationship with clients, making it clear that you want to help them, your passion may not always elicit their passion and motivation. Sometimes you are successful and your clients get motivated and jump onto the fitness bandwagon and stay there. Sometimes your passion may be energizing for your clients for a while, or they may engage to please you for a while, but it doesn’t last if they don’t discover their own passion and internal motivation. Sometimes your clients don’t seem to be particularly motivated from the outset. They may not bring a lot of passion to your time together. You are working pretty hard to ignite, motivate and excite them while they are just going through the motions. Following directions. What coaching inquiries might help you to be more successful in generating client motivation? Tell me about your fittest and healthiest time(s) in your life. Let’s start by digging up, appreciating and unpacking your client’s past and best experiences with being healthy and fit. What happened to generate these times for you? What did you learn? What did good health and fitness contribute? What was the impact on your energy, sleeping, stress, mental productivity, creativity, and other life aspects? This appreciative inquiry allows clients to reconnect with a positive past in order to ignite possibilities for a positive future. Describe someone you know and admire who has a chronic condition and has turned it into an opportunity get fitter and healthier. Most human behavior is learned through modeling; from birth we are attuned to the models in our lives for behaviors, ranging from walking to conducting ourselves in social settings. We take our cues from role models and, when they are effective, can adopt the “If he can do it, I can do it!” attitude as a result. There is an important distinction to make here, however. Behavior change is better influenced by role models than by inspirations. An inspiration seems untouchable. Like an Olympian, or an astronaut, or even you as a fitness expert, success of these role models is so far out of reach that it inspires awe, but not confidence. The success of inspirational role models may seem too unlikely for us to believe that we could do it too. A role model is one or more with whom we feel a kinship. We see similarities in their character, in their stories and in their struggles. We see their humanity, along with their success. In other words, we can see ourselves in our role models, and therefore our true potential to be like them. What are you most passionate about, what do you treasure most in your life? Health and fitness is not the end goal for most people, it’s the means to the end that people most desire. Ask, what are you passionate about in your life? What do you treasure most? What do you most enjoy, or look forward to? What do you most want to have happen in your future? Watch for your client’s eyes to sparkle, face to light up, when they discuss what makes life most worth living. This is the energy of their life force, the energy needed to power up positive change. How might a higher level of health and fitness help you live a life you treasure? Now is an opportunity for your clients to connect the dots between their best experience of being fit and healthy and how greater fitness might enable them to have more of what they love most, or more of what they want most for the future. After fully exploring the positive side, you might also ask: what would your life be like if your medical condition got more serious, how would it impact the things you are most passionate about or care about most? What are the most important reasons for you to get fitter and healthier? Humans generally struggle to change behavior if the good reasons to change don’t clearly outweigh the good reasons to not change. In today’s world where we often feel overwhelmed, and have no time to pause and reflect more deeply, our self-awareness may be shallow. Have your client develop a list of all of the good things that would likely happen if s/he was to get fitter and healthier. Get out of sales and into fishing, as motivational interviewing trainer Robert Rhode says. Dig deeper, what else would happen? What would that be like? What would you be like? What is good about that? What source of motivation will help you most in moments of planning and decisions, choosing between a healthy and less healthy option? Your clients are faced with dozens of decisions daily that impact their fitness and health, take the stairs or not, eat the apple and not the cookie, and on and on. Ask your client to explore and prioritize their most potent source or sources of motivation, the ones that are most likely to generate a health-giving choice when brought to mind in the moment of making a plan or decision. Your client’s best kind of motivation is the one that works best and reliably in the many moments of daily life when she/he plans and makes decisions. Then explore: how could you pause to wake up out of automatic pilot and notice that this is one of those health-generating moments, and then bring your best motivation, summon a good intention into mind just as the moment of choice arrives? Originally published in ACSM Certified News Coaching Column

A few years ago I sat with Richard Boyatzis in his office at Case Western. Richard presented at our 2011 and 2012 conferences; our members can access the video of his terrific 2011 presentation. We discussed how coaches might approach the topic of neuroscience and coaching. Richard’s wisdom has endured: Neuroscience discoveries are flooding in and yet our understanding of how the brain works is in its infancy. For example, the main scanning tools that show brain activity do not distinguish between pathways of up-regulation and down-regulation. The state of neuroscientific tools and studies is primitive relative to the richness, complexity, diversity, and messiness of human experience and change. When the media reports on a cool, new brain science study, we forget that the results are preliminary, haven’t been replicated and could easily be overturned in the future. Neuroscience is one scientific domain that can inform and inspire coaches, and it is one of many. Beware of over-emphasizing its impact. Seek insights from a wide array of human endeavors. Don’t get attached to a particular coaching model and it’s underpinnings. Get curious about new scientific discoveries. Be ever ready to let go of coaching models that you relied upon. Invent and adopt new ones when new discoveries emerge. What I love about the impact of neuroscience today is that it evokes intense curiosity. How the heck DOES my brain work? What is my mind? Where is my mind right now? How do I change my mind or mindset? What do my emotions do to my mind and brain? What most enhances my creativity? What gives me more brain energy? It also offers lots of new ideas and metaphors around topics like attention, focus, mindfulness, agility, self-regulation, impulsivity and neuroplasticity. In case you missed it, Vago and Silbersweig at Brigham and Women’s Hospital published an interesting framework for mindfulness in 2012 relevant to coaching titled Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self transcendance (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. The S-ART model aligns nicely with the coaching process – raising awareness, self-regulating a change process of mindset and behavior in order to transcend current limitations. What are your favorite neuroscience resources and studies? Please share! Coach Meg Republished from HTTP://WWW.INSTITUTEOFCOACHING.ORG/INDEX.CFM?PAGE=2015JULYAUGUSTCOACHINGREPORT

This story originally appeared in the NOVEMBER 2015 ISSUE OF DR. OZ THE GOOD LIFE.​ The New Slim-Down Secrets? A growing army of health ‘coaches’ could bring success — or waste your money. What to know now. By Kristen Dold Slim-Down Secrets Way back when, the idea of a life coach seemed bizarre. Paying someone to cheer you on to professional and personal success? Wasn’t that what friends did absolutely free? Then smart people all around you decided to see one (a few probably became one) and the life coaching industry was born. So what’s the hot new hired helper? A health coach. Sort of a cross between a personal trainer and a “Yay, you!” cheerleader, these experts monitor your meals, workouts, and daily habits, helping you figure out how to change unhealthy behaviors. Imagine a BFF who actually cares about your cookie addiction and expertly guides you toward better choices. That’s a health coach — if you find a good one. While the specialty has existed on the fringes for decades, health coaching only recently exploded in popularity. The National Consortium for Credentialing Health & Wellness Coaches (NCCHWC) estimates that of the roughly 30,000 practicing coaches in the U.S. right now, 10,000 have become certified in the past five years. “It’s one of the fastest growing professions in the health and wellness industry,” says Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, co-president of the National Wellness Institute. Unsurprisingly, coaches are frequently hired to help clients lose weight, though they often work with you to exercise, reduce stress, and more. There’s a key reason for the surge: Health coaches can pick up where other pros in your life leave off. “A doctor might hand you a pamphlet, but it’s usually not knowledge people lack,” says Janelle Coughlin, PhD, associate director of the Center for Behavior and Health at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “It’s support, accountability, and feedback — things a physician may not have the time or training to provide.” Regina Camplin, 40, of Winter Park, FL, for instance, wanted to work out consistently and lose 35 pounds of pregnancy weight she’d gained a few years ago. She doubted that a personal trainer session once or twice a week would do the trick. Instead, she wanted someone who could help her determine how to fit gym visits into her busy days (she’s part owner of an advertising agency) and avoid the self-sabotage of high-calorie convenience foods. “I needed to rethink how I fueled myself as I got stronger,” she says. So she chose a coach who’s also a trainer, and they came up with ideas that didn’t require major life overhauls, like eating better before and after workouts. Camplin wasn’t handed a list of foods; her coach helped her pick what she’d actually buy, pack, and eat on the run. Their plan helped her drop the weight in about six months and keep it off. That’s a typical success story, but don’t Google “hire a health coach” just yet. Having your hand held or your progress monitored isn’t right for everyone. And as with many emerging fields, coaching is totally unregulated. Some people undergo years of training; others take shortcuts. Anyone can complete a quickie course, create a website, call herself a coach, and ask for about $75 to $100 a session (some even charge $500). Read on for the insider info you need before you sign on with any coach, plus a realistic picture of what even the best of them can and can’t do for you. Doubtful? Wary? We get it, so we’ve pulled together coaches’ top change-making secrets to try for yourself. The Right Mentor for Your Money Coaches might learn similar techniques, but the chasm between top-notch certifications and those from a coach mill is so wide, even the industry is concerned. To ensure that coaches master certain basics, the NCCHWC will begin rolling out its own national certification program next year. Until it starts minting coaches, though (and even after that point), use these strategies to home in on someone who does more than just collect your cash. Check her schooling Ask where a prospective health coach got her training; the answers range from short online courses to rigorous two-year options. Programs may be specialized: Some are geared to fitness professionals who want to study behavior change and add health coaching to their repertoire. (The reputable American Council on Exercise [ACE] offers one.) Others provide advanced instruction, often for people who already have health care degrees, such as nurses, physical therapists, or even MD’s (Duke Integrative Health Coaching, for example). Watch out for coaches with zero bona fides other than that they really “love nutrition and fitness.” Make sure they have actual schooling, then go to that program’s website and eyeball the curriculum. Be skeptical if the primary focus is on how students can market themselves or how “easy” it is to become a coach and earn big money. Beware those selling you a detox program… or supplements, shakes, or bars. Good coaches may point you to healthier food choices, but if purchases are part of the deal, don’t bite. Same with coaches who aren’t registered dietitians but who offer detailed eating plans — they’re not trained for that, says certified dietitian and culinary nutritionist Stefanie Sacks, CNS. Also stay away from those pushing extreme eating plans — they may not be medically appropriate for you. Make sure they’re not getting everything from a box Some programs give graduates templates and to-do lists, so that all the coach has to do is print handouts and parrot encouraging messages. Ask a coach to tell you about her greatest successes. If it sounds like she tends to take the same steps and offer the same advice to everyone, move on. You won’t get the tailoring you need (and pay for). Your coach can boast impeccable credentials and a long roster of happy clients, but none of that matters if you don’t have good chemistry together. You should feel that she genuinely understands and cares about your situation, says Margaret Moore, co-founder of Wellcoaches Corporation, a training program connected to the American College of Sports Medicine. Coaches who aren’t willing to speak with you for 20 minutes for free, says ACE-certified health coach Lee Jordan, “likely don’t have the caring spirit necessary to give excellent support.” When you hang up the phone, check that you feel energized, not obligated. Because if a health coach is what you’re after, there are thousands more to choose from. Slim-Down Secrets 1. Raise Your Awareness “A lot of us are disconnected from what goes into our mouths. We’re sitting there and all of a sudden a whole sleeve of cookies is gone,” says American Council on Exercise-certified coach Lee Jordan. To help his clients be more self-aware, he has them text him a picture of every single thing they eat — healthy or not. Then, he helps them react constructively when the photos show slipups. Mapping out the rest of the good choices you can make in a day keeps you from dwelling on regret, says Jordan, who has coached numerous clients through losing more than 100 pounds. Try the photo trick for yourself. Review the snapshots at least once a day to find meal, snack, or “just one more” habits you can tweak. 2. Set Goals the Right Way Health coaches, like personal trainers and sports coaches, generally guide you to set SMART goals (stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, meaning you give yourself a deadline). Say you want to be healthier. You have to identify exactly what that means at this moment (exercising more, for example); determine the times (you’ll get on the elliptical Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the Today show and take a brisk, after-dinner dog walk each night, for example); set benchmarks (work up to 15- minute sessions on the elliptical and 15- minute walks); and designate a deadline (you’ll be able to complete that 5K charity walk next spring). Don’t just keep goals in your head. Research has shown that writing them down helps make them happen. 3. Uncover What Motivates You Using a technique known as motivational interviewing, coaches ask open-ended questions (not granular ones, like “How much weight do you want to lose?”) to pinpoint what really lights a fire under you. Try asking yourself these coach favorites: What about weight loss is important to me? What obstacles are in my way? How might I remove them? What healthy changes could I realistically make this week? How ready am I to make the changes I want, and what could take me one step closer to seeing that they really happen? Try not to judge yourself as you answer. If the only step you can take today is a small one, don’t criticize it, just do it.

I started working at a gym in a culturally diverse neighborhood and I am really looking forward to the experience. However, I grew up in a small town without much diversity, and I want to be aware of how my perspectives and experiences could impact my client relationships.” The coaching perspective and skills are invaluable in helping you work well with clients of diverse backgrounds, especially when your client’s race, gender, cultural, or religious background differs a lot from your own. Of course, coaches bring a beginner’s mind to all clients: no judgment or expectations, combined with a large dose of genuine curiosity. Coaches know they often benefit as much as clients from the coaching experience. When clients have backgrounds that are different from yours, the need for a beginner’s mind and the opportunities to learn are especially important. Seek to learn about other cultural traditions In North America, most people are familiar with mainstream Christian cultural traditions, and much less aware of other cultural traditions and major holidays, such as Yom Kippur in the Jewish tradition, or Eid al-Fitr in the Muslim tradition. Seeking knowledge and awareness of cultural traditions outside of one’s own is not only important for scheduling and logistics, but allows you to better appreciate important cultural events and traditions in the lives of your clients. Not all cultures have the same perspective on setting and achieving goals. For example, while some cultures place a high value on the pursuit of individual goal achievement, others place a high value on group contribution and collaborative achievement. Some cultures encourage people to cultivate a sense of personal pride around achievement, while other cultures encourage humility more than pride. Cultural norms influence the why, what, and how a client wishes to set and pursue goals. Connect Be present, open, authentic, and warm, greeting your client with a welcoming smile and real eye contact. This is the place to start. How you connect in the first few seconds sends the message that you are all here, accepting, curious, and that you respect your client and you care. Cultivate and sustain a calm, warm, patient, and respectful tone of voice throughout your time together. Be mindful and adjust if you notice that you are straying from a calm and respectful tone, or internal biases come to mind. Warm connection, rapport, and respect serve as a universal language for human relationships. Slow down If you and your client don’t share a common language in terms of background and circumstances, it’s important to slow down your thinking and speech to be sure that you are communicating well. Be thoughtful, intentional, and clear about each word you choose and how you deliver your questions, reflections, and messages. Check frequently that you and your client understand each other, and you are on the same page. Reflect what you heard, choosing your words carefully, to be sure you “got it.” Ask your client to confirm his/her understanding and listen carefully to be sure you keep getting each other. Avoid slang While your cultural slang and metaphors work fine with clients who have similar backgrounds, they can be confusing to someone who is not familiar with your “dialect.” Appreciate that phrases such as “six-pack abs” or “getting ripped” or “clean bill of health” may not be familiar or meaningful.  Interestingly, there is no direct translation for the word “mindfulness” in Spanish. Many everyday concepts may not be understood, so check on your client’s understanding. Then clearly define the word, concept, or message as needed. Pause to be sure your explanation has been well translated and well understood. Be Curious Accept that you are a novice in learning not just about your client’s culture and traditions, but also about your client’s inside world—his/her perspectives, circumstances, history, desires, and ideal path forward. Of course, even if your clients all looked the same on the outside, their inside worlds would be unique.  Diverse backgrounds add even more domains of uniqueness that call you to be ever learning, working hard to understand and appreciate diversity. Keep your questions simple and open. What would be important for me to know about you? What brings you to this fitness project today? What do you hope will happen? How can I best help you? What has worked for you in the past? What concerns do you have about my ability to help you? What will success look like for you? Working with clients who bring cultural backgrounds and experiences that differ from your own is a welcome challenge. They call you to be more present, respectful, purposeful, and engaged, ever mindful of your own internal assumptions, biases, and judgments toward other cultures and perspectives. These experiences take you a step closer to becoming a global citizen, someone who is at home wherever you go and with whomever you meet. Republished from ACSM’s Certified News: HTTP://CERTIFICATION.ACSM.ORG/FILES/FILE/ACSM%C2%B9S%20CERTIFIED%20NEWS_25-1.PDF

In HAPPINESS FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT, Jeremy McCarthy asks the question “Whose responsibility is happiness?”  If we believe that the source of happiness is solely from within, we have only ourselves to blame when we feel unhappy. Conversely, if happiness is driven only from external sources, we have no responsibility for improvement or the pursuit of happiness. In coaching, we value the Constructionist Principle – the belief that positive energy and emotion come from positive conversations AND interactions. In other words, it is our beliefs about the environment and the environment itself that shape us. A powerful coaching conversation examines the real frameworks, and the imagined ones, to uncover strategies for increasing happiness. Coaching inquiries: What “truths” have you invented? What in your environment supports your well-being? How could your environment shift to better support well-being?

As our clients near the end of the first month of the new year, perhaps establishing new habits, or feeling critical of themselves for habits they have not yet begun, self-compassion is an excellent practice. In MEDITATION: BE GOOD TO YOURSELF, Kristin Neff reminds us of the value of empathy in the practice of self-compassion. This form of empathy begins with the acknowledgement of suffering; allowing one to notice, name and experience the pain of the negative emotions. The very act of naming the emotion reduces its intensity – Dr. Dan Siegel calls this “name it to tame it.” Coaches will benefit clients by supporting them in identifying the emotions they are experiencing, perhaps utilizing the FEELINGS LISTS from Compassionate Communication, as a first step in untangling the emotion to allow the light of self-compassion in.

One of our favorite thought leaders, BRIAN JOHNSON, recently wrote about the concept smallifying. In LITTLE BETS, author Peter Sims says, “The key is to take a larger project or goal and break it down into smaller problems to be solved, constraining the scope of work to solving a key problem, and then another key problem.  This strategy, of breaking a project down into discrete, relatively small problems to be resolved, is what Bing Gordon, a cofounder and the former chief creative officer of the video game company Electronic Arts, calls smallifying.” Of course, smallifying is exactly what a coach does when they support a client to dream a big dream and then break down the “how-to’s” into manageable parts.  Creating a Vision statement is exciting, exhilarating, and invigorating…until it feels overwhelming, unreachable, and unrealistic. When a client moves from the “I really want this!” stage to the “I don’t know how to get it!” stage, it is though goal setting, or smallifying, that confidence is built. “I can do it!” comes from the careful design of short-term (three-month) and near-term (weekly) plans that consider: 1. The motivation behind the goal (a strong and personal connection to the Vision) 2. The elements that need to be in place to increase success (supportive people, habits, support systems) 3.  A clear behavioral plan (how, when, who, where, how often?) 4. A high level of confidence (“I know I am ready, willing and able to do this!”) 5. A growth-mindset (a willingness to experiment, learn and try again) So, go small to grow BIG! “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now” – Alan Lakein

We’ve been asked, “If I become a ‘Wellcoach’, how do I define ‘well-being?’ Interesting question indeed! In fact, there is an entire journal dedicated to this topic – The INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WELL-BEING. Among its many perspectives on the topic, ONE ARTICLE DEFINED WELLBEING as “the balance point between an individual’s resource pool and the challenges faced.”  Of course, coaches also understand this to be similar to the definition of “flow”. A RECENT ARTICLE IN WEBMD  explored a similar question, asking, “Has wellness become just a buzzword with no real substance behind it?”  The article traces the evolution of the wellness revolution from the 70’s (the hurry to get fit) to today (the journey to be well). We see a continued, and necessary, expansion of the understanding of well-being to include what makes one thrive and flourish. Following MARTIN SELIGMAN’S PERMA MODEL, this includes: Positive emotions – feeling good Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities Relationships – being authentically connected to others Meaning – a purposeful existence Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and success This, of course, requires a reach beyond inquires around what a client is eating and how much they are exercising. Behavior change is a holistic proposition, best done when deeply rooted in meaning and purpose, including conversations about one’s whole life.

Business Insider (Jan 2016) 72% OF PEOPLE GET THEIR BEST IDEAS IN THE SHOWER – HERE’S WHY This article highlights RESEARCH from Scott Barry Kaufman, a cognitive scientist and co-author of “WIRED TO CREATE“, examining the importance of relaxation in accessing creativity. How might this be connected to the environment you create for coaching? How do you create the warm, refreshing space necessary for clients to tap into their creative parts?

In this episode, KATYA INTERVIEWS MARGARET MOORE about healthy habits, behavioral change, and health coaching. Wellness and Health Coaching is a new occupation, that is playing a more and more significant role in the Health Care Industry. They also discuss how everyday habits can transform your life and how to get back on track after setbacks.

A recent ARTICLE IN STONE HEARTH NEWSLETTERS reinforced the importance of intentional presence in dispelling myths about multitasking. One myth is believing that we can focus on two mental activities at once.  While it is true that we can engage in unconscious activities (like brushing teeth) while thinking about something else, we cannot successfully focus on two activities that require conscious focus. For example, if reading an email during a coaching conversation, we would not be able to process the information in either well. In other words, multitasking leads to mindlessness. And mindlessness is the antithesis of powerful coaching. A second myth is believing we can go back and forth between mental activities and stay on top of both of them.  In fact, when we regularly multi-task we are more likely to have a decrease in our ability to regulate emotion and a decrease in our ability to control our impulses. Instead, in ORGANIZE YOUR MIND, Margaret Moore suggests that an agile mind will let go of one task fully, allowing a pause for the emptying of the prefrontal cortex, before intentionally shifting to the next task.  Transitioning to the next task is most successful with a connection to the intention: What’s my goal? Why does this next task matter? What’s my higher purpose?  This can even be applied when moving from one coaching conversation to the next, asking “What do I need now to fully focus on this client?” and then fully devoting all of your brain’s resources to that conversation. In the past 24 hours, how often have you shifted your attention fully from one activity to another, not thinking about the last task or anything else?