Considering A Life Coach: New York City Careers And Lifestyles
A good friend of mine recently asked me if I've ever consulted a career coach. New York, where I've resided for the past 15 years, is also where I ran into many of life's sour lemons at a time when I was trying to make sweet lemonade. In other words, I worked my way from the lowest rung of the totem pole to the top, but it wasn't easy to get on my feet, and even when I did, I was often knocked back down again. "Yes," I admitted to my friend, "I have used an executive coach before, and she helped me to restructure my life and career goals in a way that was conducive to the progress that, at times, I so desperately needed." After detailing my experiences with my life coach to my friend, she made the decision to hire one herself. These are just a few of the areas that I told her we had worked on together: doing what I wish I could do, learning to be proud of what I do and what I am working toward, and finally, relinquishing the old and unhealthy patterns that prevented me from doing those things in the first place.
These are just a few of the main things we worked on, but they were major factors in my life at that particular time. Probably my biggest issue was my inability to effectively communicate my needs and wants to other people, particularly in confrontational situations in which I was uncomfortable and often at a loss for words. I lacked the assertiveness that I needed to go further in my career--and that's ultimately what my troubles boiled down to. When it comes to hiring an executive coach or a life coach, New York City is no stranger to these types of services, but the professional I hired happened to offer a concentration on my personal needs as well as my career-oriented needs, which was exactly what I was looking for. Both of these factors are linked anyway--and one certainly affects the other.
My career coach and I focused a lot of energy on the career aspects of my life. In fact, some of the more business-oriented areas we worked on included business building, wealth building, financial intelligence, career fulfillment, and making transitions. We balanced out the time spent working on my business goals by working on my personal setbacks, such as my insecurity and lack of assertiveness in communication. We worked on my communication skills at the workplace, particularly in conflicts and other uncomfortable situations. We also worked on my ability to make a case for raises and promotions, a situation that I was always uncomfortable with and often avoided, much to the dismay of my wallet. Ultimately, I learned to tap into tools that I already had, the tools that were necessary to build a satisfying, balanced and successful life--a life that I both wanted and deserved.
From the moment I began meeting with an executive coach, New York began to gradually present itself as a much friendlier place, particularly in terms of its cutthroat business world. I was finally getting somewhere! I envisioned my ideal self, got to know that person, and then, one day, I woke up and I WAS that person--it was miraculous! Like I said, it's all about tapping into what already exists within you. We all have that power within ourselves. Sometimes it just takes a capable third party perspective to help us recognize those things in ourselves and bring them to the surface. And this is why I had no problem encouraging my friend to consult a career coach. New York has some of the best coaches and trainers in the country, so I have complete faith that she can find someone to help her write her own success story.
