Coaching Blog

Positive Psychology Coaching: How the Solar Eclipse Can Transform You

Posted by Julia Stewart

Solar Eclipse by Tim Ebbs.jpg

If you live in North America, you know today is the day of the coast-to-coast solar eclipse. And if you're in the path of the totality, that's pretty exciting. Since ancient times, the eclipse of the sun has been seen as harbinger of change. Whether that be turmoil, doom and gloom, or lasting peace, the eclipse is when big things were supposed to happen. Today, we know what to expect from above AND we can CHOOSE what to change down below. How?

Positive psychology offers clues on how the total solar eclipse can help transform us. Where ever you are, follow these coaching tips to use today's eclipse of the sun to begin all over again.

3 Ways the Solar Eclipse Can Spark Your Transformation:

1. AWE. According to positive psychology researcher, Dacher Keltner, the experience of awe changes us, immediately. Awe occurs when we're confronted by something incomprehensibly huge, something incredibly beautiful, or something terrifying. A total solar eclipse can be all three. It's the direct experience of three massive celestial bodies (the ones that matter most to life on Earth) behaving bizarrely, by blotting out the Sun's rays, without which, all life on Earth will die.

No biggy, right? You know the Sun's coming back in a minute. But that won't stop your fight-or-flight response from kicking in during totality. The hair on the back of your neck may stand up as you experience what your intuition says is all wrong. Your brain's error detection system will tell you something BIG is out of order, and if you're within hearing distance, the howling of dogs, and other disturbed Earthlings, will confirm your worst fears. But at the same time, it's so BEAUTIFUL: stars come out; planets may be visible, you might even notice a 360 degree "sunset" on the horizon. People who travel across the world to see eclipses, called "shadow chasers", say the total eclipse of the sun is the most awe-inspiring experience a human being can have.

How does awe change us? According to research, people who've just experienced awe behave differently. They are kinder and more generous to strangers, and feel closer to loved ones, perhaps because they realize how small each of us is and that we're all in this thing called, life, together. That's nice for others, but may matter much, much more to you: because when you're kinder and more generous, without expecting anything in return, you start enjoying more happiness and good things come seem to come to you more easily. A minute or two of creepy darkness, and awe-inspiring celestial alignment, may well be worth the extra happiness and success you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

Even though kindness may seem commonplace (if you've been fortunate), it's one of the most powerfully transformative tools for creating greater joy, wellbeing, success, and good health for yourself, and since happiness is contagious, you'll be helping others be happier, just by your presence. 

Coaching Tip: Later in the day, when you're alone, spend up to 30 seconds recreating the emotions you experienced during and after the eclipse. Use all your senses as you remember the details of your experience. Called "savoring", this technique helps strengthen the neural connections that make transformation sustainable. Do this everyday for a month to maximize the effect and intentionally increase your kindness and generosity to others. Your life will transform.

2. PEAK EXPERIENCE: Similar to awe, the peak experience is intense and transformative. Some people try to induce it via extreme sports, because wildly dangerous experiences help them feel fully alive. But peak experiences are helpful another way: They shake up your sense of "me-ness" and push you out of your usual conditioned responses, if only for a few moments. That's scary, but also exhilarating. In the moments that follow, people often solve problems that have vexed them and come up with innovative ideas. If you're a business owner, artist, or anyone who needs creative solutions to life, peak experiences are everything. You can induce one by jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, but fortunately, the total eclipse provides us with a similarly mind-bending, awe-inspiring, frighteningly overwhelming event without actually threatening our lives.

Coaching Tip: Got a big problem or need a huge idea for your business? Right after the total eclipse may be the perfect time for you to discover the solutions, while your brain is temporarily scrambled  from that super weird experience.

Ask yourself these questions immediately after the totality: What needs to change from now on? What's one way you'll be different from this moment forward? What's the first step you'll take, to make that real, within the next 24 hours? Or sit down as soon as you can, with pen and paper, and brainstorm new ideas. Get crazy (that'll be easier than usual). You may just discover the answers you need. Don't forget to act on them to make them real!

3. GRATITUDE: After two minutes of irrational fear, you'll be GLAD when the sun comes back out. Notice how everyone laughs and giggles with relief. Thank the Universe that this was "just a test". The Sun's not really going away; it'll be back tomorrow, as usual.

Coaching Tip: Just after the eclipse, chat with the folks around you about how thankful you are for Nature and that you just got to experience this relatively rare event. Or when you're alone, list 3-10 things you appreciate most about Nature and for each one, spend 10 seconds savoring your gratitude. It's important to really feel it. You don't have to do this every day, but it's a good idea to spend some time once per week, or so, thinking and feeling what you're grateful for on a deep, heartfelt level.

And if you need help, get out into Nature regularly, because it's incredible even on "normal" days. In fact, psychologists theorize that the current rise in depression is largely caused by our addiction to screens and our artificial lifestyles. We evolved to experience Nature everyday and we literally need it. Perhaps the greatest boon from the eclipse is that it gets millions of us outside.

Gratitude, like kindness, is one of the most potent ingredients in a flourishing life. You can experience it any time you want. When you do, happiness becomes your default, while anger, sadness, blame, and judgment all evaporate. Practice gratitude on a heartfelt level whenever you can and your life will be more peaceful and serene. And people who appreciate their lives always seem to get more of what they appreciate!

So get ready for a life-altering event. And make the intention to transform your life, and perhaps the lives of others, using the eclipse and a few easy tools.

And if living a life of joy and transformation is what you're built for, why not become a positive psychology coach? The Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program gives you tools to upgrade your life and business and the power to help others do the same. Plus, starting this Fall, The Fully Alive with Positive Psychology Program is included, at no extra charge. You'll have tools like the ones in this post to help your clients flourish. And if you join by the end of this month, you can save on the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program and still get the Fully Alive program in the Fall. Win-win-win.

 

Go here for information about the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program:

 

Become a Certified Positive Psychology Coach

 

Topics: gratitude, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, Positive Psychology, transformative conversations, Fully Alive, positive psychology coach

Still the Best and Fastest Way to Fill a Coaching Practice

Posted by Julia Stewart

Crocky the Coach 'I don't want to market, I just want to coach.'

You too? I've heard this refrain from hundreds of coaches and I am soooo sympathetic. Building a coaching business from scratch can truly feel overwhelming. Of course, you don't know how to do it - yet.

But I'll let you in on a little secret.

THE best marketing strategy is to coach, coach and then go coach some more. Is there a problem here that I'm missing? I don't think so!  

Here are 10 ways to fill your coaching business by coaching:

1. To reach the moon, shoot for the stars. What's a way bigger goal than filling your coaching businesess? Shoot for that and fill your business in the process. One fantastic way to do this is to coach many more people than you think you need to.

2.  Get a system. All a business is, is a system for making money. Systemize your coaching and create a business out of it. Coach a lot of people in a systematic process that provides value to others and build your business abilities at the same time. Everything will get easier.

3. Experiment. Millions are made by 'gurus' who claim to have 'fool-proof' systems for making a killing. Usually it's only the gurus making the killing. To find your own best system, experiment and expect some failures. Every successful coach fails some of the time and then learns from each failure.

4. Track your progress. Set goals for yourself along the way (you can call them intentions, if you prefer). Watch how you're doing over time. You should be improving. If not, tweak your system. Make it fun by making a game out of it.

5. Remember it's not about you. Get your focus off yourself and your needs and focus on assisting your potential clents. If you need to get a side job, go for it! Most new coaches have a side income in the beginning.

6. Build relationships. You'd be surprised how many people will HELP you build your business if you give them a chance. Some of them may become your clients; some of them may just tell everyone they know about you. But remember to be assisting them, too.

7. Learn to cement relationships. Recognize when someone wants to work with you (they may be shy about showing it) and when they just need an invitation from you. In sales parlay this is known as 'closing the deal'. You do NOT need to be salesy to do it. In fact, salesy-ness can kill relationships.

8. Transform lives in minutes. Fantastic coaching practically sells itself. If you give a complimentary session to someone, solve their problem, and they don't buy your coaching package, you didn't give fantastic coaching. Get ongoing feedback on your coaching and you'll become a fantastic coach faster.

9. Collect outcomes, results, testimonials and referrals. The more great coaching you do, the more attractive your track record becomes. People need to see your track record, so don't be shy about sharing it.

10. Stop boo-hoo-ing. Crocky the Coach (above) gets to cry you-know-what-kind-of-tears, but you don't, because you're not a cartoon!

Isn't it marvelously perfect that the best way to build a successful coaching business is by doing a lot of coaching?

If you're not sure how to begin, the new free Coach 100 eBook will help you. We also have a system for filling your coaching business that makes it easy to shoot for the stars, experiment, track and tweak everything, so you can get your focus off you and onto building and cementing relationships, having transformative conversations and collecting great testimonials, referrals and clients. We even have a community of coaches who are going through the same process. They've become the experts on this and they're even sympathetic to the occasional crockodile tear. But start with the ebook.

Coach 100 eBook

 

Get the Coach 100 eBook here.

 

Topics: coaching business, Coaching, become a coach, coach, sales training for new coaches, getting clients, transformative conversations

Coaching for Non-Coaches: Career Czar Podcast

Posted by Julia Stewart

Career CzarIf you are interested in coaching, but don't want to become a "coachpreneur", the world has caught up with you.

You don't have to call yourself a coach in order to get paid to have transformative conversations, anymore. People in all kinds of professions and industries, from education, to healthcare, to the travel industry, are bringing coaching skills to work with them.

Can you imagine a world where everyone gets coached everyday, at work or at school? I can and I'm liking it!

This is one way you can increase your employ-ability and your promot-ability and love your job more. 

I had a chance to talk with Paul Bruno, the Career Czar(R), about coaching for non-coaches in his weekly alltalkradio.net show.  This short show will give you a few things to think about, as far as becoming a "a coach who doesn't call yourself a coach".

And if you think now is a good time to beef up your coaching skills and your resume, check out our Coach Launch program. It's designed for non-coaches who want to coach. 


Topics: Coaching, Career, coaching skills, coachpreneur, transformative conversations

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