A job with a bonus

One of the great benefits of being a coach is that you can’t help but grow yourself in the process.

Of course, growth is required. You have to walk the talk and be a role model.

But when you coach people, it’s impossible not to notice similar patterns in yourself or pick up a good idea for how to do things a little differently.

Since a lot of what I do is spiritual coaching, which is less lofty than it sounds but amongst other things means we spend quite a bit of time meditating together and paying close attention to our senses, it’s impossible for me to not get more present along the way.

Today I had two sessions, both of which involved meditation. And tonight, I recognized for the first time a sensation in my own body that I need to work with. It’s something I’ve felt before, especially, oddly enough, when I drink red wine, and I’ve always passed it off as just a physical thing, an intolerance to something in the wine, perhaps.

But tonight I noticed that it can also be provoked by hunger and by feeling sorry for myself, and that there are actually some negative emotions stuck there. Overwhelm, self-pity, choking. Thankfully, I know exactly what to do to release them.

I’m certain I’d have picked up on it at some point, but I’m also convinced that being primed with presence from those sessions sped things up a lot.

Being a coach is a job with a bonus.