The Path and Thread - Coaching Toward Authenticity

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Karen Sadler, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

In our current connected and yet disconnected world, it is so easy to get caught up in all the “should do’s” and “must haves” as we attempt to discern what we need for our happiness. We are conditioned to accept the recipe for success which often includes a solid education, a great paying job, a nice house and cars, a happy marriage, children, a wealthy retirement plan, endless travel, mindfulness and enlightenment.

We are bombarded on a daily basis with marketing and messaging that we are somehow not enough, that we have shortcomings that require the many products and services that advertisers are selling.

At the same time we carry this guilt, this inadequacy. We can’t understand why we are unhappy. We know we enjoy so much privilege and are overwhelmed by the multitude of opportunities we have open to us to. We can be whoever we choose to be, do whatever we want. Just imagine it and it can be yours!

The irony in this is that instead of providing us with the liberty and freedom to choose, these endless possibilities can leave us feeling as if there is no way of knowing that the choice we made was the right one. There were so many other choices we might have made. Did I make the right choice? How will I know? Should I have done otherwise? What if I made the wrong one? Suddenly, each choice appears to hold the weight of a major life decision. No wonder stress related illness, sleep disorders and anxiety disorders are so prevalent in our culture today!

Fortunately, the solution is much simpler than we might think. When conditions are right, we all have the ability to tap into a deeper sense of knowing, a lighter feeling of being that results when we align our thoughts, behaviours and our actions with the wisdom of our authentic self. This level of knowing has been described in many ways – a gut feeling, our subconscious, our intuition, the heart knowing – even as psychic ability. The authentic self can be understood as our conscious awareness, the self that is buried beneath all our conditioning through formal learning and experience throughout our childhood, and as consumers in our economically driven culture. This authentic self represents you, the human being, as opposed to you, the human thinking and the human doing.

Old wisdom tells us that the only “right education” is the journey of self. It is by understanding ourselves that we come to understand our true nature and to reveal our authentic self that holds the key to our own satisfaction. This shift in perspective can be profound and is often sold as a 6 Step Program to Happiness, Fame and Riches! My belief is that we truly do get what we wish for. It’s the confident knowing of what to wish for that presents the difficulty. That’s where the coaching comes in.

Life coaching creates the conditions for you to tap into the deeper level of knowing that you have available to you. You come to realize that you are already complete and whole just as you are in this moment. Unlike visiting a psychologist or counselor who may be past-oriented and focused on the sources of the problems you are struggling with, the life coach is future oriented, focused on the possibilities for your future growth and happiness. Life coaching starts in the present moment, celebrating your strengths and successes, revealing the version of you that you have worked so hard to create until now. Rather than being deficit based, focused on what is wrong with you, the life coach is interested in helping you to become aware of your own resilience and the many positive conditions of life that you have been able to create for yourself. As your coach, I support you in finding and following the thread that connects you to that deeper sense of knowing what to wish for next and the resources you have within you to realize your dreams!

How much does it cost? How much is it worth? This question is for you.