The biggest mistake I made as a coach

I absolutely love my job. Seeing and helping people to live healthier, happier lives is our "WHY" here at Sustain and we have worked hard to facilitate this over the last 6.5 years.

I love the philosophical question - "Is there such thing as a selfless act?" and in my case, sadly, the answer is no. Because I really enjoy helping people and so whilst there is a net gain for the client there is also one for me too.

Selfishly.

And herein lies the problem. I have tried too often to be the saviour. I have poured more time into coaching than creating systems.

Me and James can never coach and help more people than an effective system could. Yes, coaching has a better hit rate but if our goal is to help as many people as possible then what is the right path?

Something has clicked recently in that by being the saviour I am NOT empowering people. Yes they get better results but this is short sighted; people are too reliant on us. Our previous signature of daily check-ins meant we were dragging people through the service who would ultimately never be able to keep their progress because they hadn't put the necessary work in. They weren't autonomous and their results were on shaky ground.

I love coaching and helping people 121 but if someone is unwilling to go away and answer questions on a form and they want me to ask them directly, what chance do they have beyond coaching left to their own devices?

As such, keep your eyes peeled for more resources, systems and content. I have seen the error of my ways and in order for us to fulfil our why and get you the best health and happiness possible this is the right approach to take.