How to find clarity in being and doing

What I learned in coaching training, an offer, and new places to see my art

When you cut through the noise, what is in your heart this moment?

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I took a coaching training the other week which involves 2.5 days of learning new skills and trying them out with 25 other people, then finding other acquaintances to conduct a few sessions with.

I've done coaching before as a coachee, and have even read books on coaching, but going through the training itself was very eye-opening. Even life-changing, is what I told my boss. ✨️

I'll share a few things I learned, and some a-ha moments from these experiences. If you haven't done coaching before, maybe this will nudge you to try it! If you have, maybe it will be interesting to hear what happens from a coach POV.

Either way, here goes:

• Active listening: When you can truly listen to someone, you don't just hone into their words, but rather, you pick up on so much more: their energy, what they do when they're thinking, and everything that's happening around you both. And you can offer these observations to the coachee to dig deeper into the “what is happening right now?”

• Cutting through our brain's messy dialogue: We all may find ourselves in a very messy, disorganized space when alone with our thoughts. It's so helpful to have someone just say those messy, windy, disorganized narratives back to you in a clear way.

• It's not advice: You don't need to have all the answers as a coach— every human is fully creative, resourceful, and whole. And it's great to watch people find their own way to the answer that resonates most with them.

The benefits of active listening and offering what someone shares back to them is so powerful. My theory is that we sit along with our thoughts, try to think or effort or write our way to a solution, without taking enough time to sit with the actual problem. When someone can help you stay in that space, you go beyond the first answer that comes to mind and dig even deeper.

I've heard several times now during my sessions that the ability for me to articulate someone's thoughts back to them is invaluable. So, combining active listening with an unattached way that just mirrors the messiness into a couple of neater thoughts to consider is something they didn't expect and are pleasantly surprised by.

Finally, we all can come up with answers. We're constantly surrounded by people suggesting reasonable ideas, or judging, or not seeing the vision like we do. With a coaching relationship, you have the space to dream big, no judgement, and even find a champion in it.

✨️

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Now showing at LogOff Brewing! ✨️

If you're in Rancho Cordova, stop by to see some of my canvases in the hallway.

Hope youre having a great summer so far. Let me know if there's any topics you'd like me to cover for next time around creativity, design, motherhood, or life and career.

💖Love,

Lia

P.S. Check out my new original work at swishie.com and let me know what resonates with you! 💖