By Christine Kniffen, MSW, LCSW
Coaching For Personal Growth
So, you have a few things you want to improve about yourself, but you aren’t sure how to make that happen. Do you struggle with setting boundaries? Are you uncomfortable saying “no” and speaking your mind? Do you find yourself struggling with moving ahead by setting concrete goals and following through with the steps necessary to get there? Are you tired of being stuck in a job for which you have no passion, but you don’t know how to make the next move into something which fits you better? Do you struggle with the “work-life-balance” thing? Do you feel trapped in a hectic schedule, completely exhausted and snapping at everyone around you? Or, do you find yourself making “not so good” choices when it comes to relationships and want that crazy merry-go-round to end? If so, consider yourself in good company. A large majority of the people I see come to me for these very types of issues. I think of these types of issues as ones pertaining to personal growth.
In life there are certain adult, life skills that we should aspire to master, in order to make life much happier and much, much less complicated. When we learn to do this, we have experienced personal growth. We all need to be able to honestly assess a situation, make a decision to move forward if need be, define and take the necessary steps to do that and in essence begin designing the very life we want. Coaching, by way of accountability, provides guidance to help you define personal steps to achieving stated goals, lends emotional support and best of all can dramatically boost your confidence in your ability to tackle anything you want to change from here on out. Remember that accountability is not a bad word. Rather, it is unfortunate when we are not “accountable to ourselves”, which keeps us from our true happiness in just about every aspect of life.
So, there is no time like the winter to work on issues of personal growth through coaching, as the outside has become less and less inviting. This can be done either at my office or via skype if that is an alternative you like. Gone are the days when there had to be “something wrong” with someone for seeing a counselor or coach. I recall a funny story that took place years ago with a client who came in for his initial appointment. He said, “I heard that Barbara Streisand went to analysis for 15years. Is it going to take us that long?” I smiled, then said to the client, “You know that Barbara didn’t go to therapy for 15 years because she was so messed up, but rather she went that long because she liked personal growth”. Needless to say my client’s face changed in a way that denoted great relief. Many people, like Barbara, want to work toward fully understanding themselves, be able to quickly get in touch with their feelings, learn to be assertive to take care of themselves emotionally and they come to get the support to help motivate them towards their goals.
Christine Kniffen, LCSW is a Therapist and Relationship Coach in private practice. Call today for a free consultation 314-374-8396. Now Accepting Insurance