My friend in New Zealand has recently started a coaching business. His focus is bringing clarity to people’s lives, and today, I had my first session with him.
It’s not life coaching, and it’s not therapy. It’s really just a chance to talk, and think, aloud about some things that are bothering you. For me, it was about trying to prioritize what’s important for me, and how to approach lifestyle design.
One of my dad’s favourite sayings is “most people do what they did yesterday”. Not always true when you’re young; very true when you’re old. If that is the case, then spending some serious thought into what you want your life to look like, or be like, is well worth it.
Not everyone gets the luxury to decide where, or how, or with whom they want to spend their time. You might want to live in your six bedroom penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park with Gordon Ramsey as a private chef, but visas, the absence of $80m, and the fact that Mr Ramsey has much better things to do make that rather unlikely.
Here were the main takeaways:
- Be useful: Don’t think about what YOU want, think about how you can be helpful to others first.
- Be grateful: reframing things as “I get to” rather than “I have to” makes a world of difference. I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, I get to.
- Be purposeful: it’s easy to let time slip away. Figure out the non-negotiables; how many hours a week do you want to spend with your daughter, your family, your friends, your fitness, your work. As much as possible is a juvenile answer. Be deliberate.
I enjoyed the session, and will be back for more. If you’d like to speak with Geoff yourself, you can find more about him at: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/services/health-wellbeing/life-coaching-counselling/listing/5881362512?ed=true
He’s based in Auckland but takes clients globally. Well worth having a chat with, and best of all, he’s a subscriber to this blog!