Life Coach Gets Helped by Her Clients

You know the phrase, “We teach what we have to learn”? Well, I should never be surprised that I spend a good deal of my days teaching, coaching, reminding clients about the very things I need to be reminded of. Some days I find I’ve done such a great job that they say exactly what I need to hear! Today was such a day.

My client started describing how she believes she is overcoming her anxiety. Besides being vigilant about what thoughts she’s thinking and giving up complaining, she realized that when she consciously brought herself present to the situation (whatever situation or task it is she’s involved in), her experience this past week has been way less anxiety.

Just the reminder I need. I’m not having a problem with anxiety but I sometimes have a problem of feeling emotionally flat. I believe that habit comes from my childhood when the negative feelings and sense of powerlessness was so acute for me that I had to numb out so that I could survive my childhood. And that bad habit has survived to some extent all these years later. But when I bring myself present, I feel myself and feel my lively, juicy interior self.

You might be wondering how you bring yourself present or not even know what I mean.  I’ll do it right now and stop and explain the experience.

1. I stop and notice whether my full attention is on what I’m involved in. Right now I’m writing on the computer and because I write often and fairly easily, I notice that part of me is a little absent.
2. Now I come out from behind what feels like an inner door and be here.
3. Now I’m trying to type and stay present with what I am doing.

I knew even as I wrote the above that it isn’t the best description in the world but, hopefully, you know what I mean and can duplicate my experience. This would be a great topic to discuss in the forum, so if you feel so inclined, press the “Ask a Coach Forum” button and join us in our “facebook plus personal growth” portion of our site and share your experience of becoming present.