I talked to a wellness life coach recently and while I expected her to have all the answers, it turns out she was armed with the right questions and let me find all the answers for myself.
Linda Formichelli had an offer for some practice sessions and I contacted her about two things in my lifestyle that have been on my mind recently, my running and my diet.
She started the call by explaining that she wouldn't just tell me what to do. This process was more of a listening one on her part and if she had suggestions then she would ask me if she could share them.
When I first got in touch I was sent a set of questions to answer about what I wanted to talk about and then given a second assignment to describe some bits of my lifestyle. By the time we started chatting she had a reasonable idea of what the session was about and I'd had some time to place myself in the same kind of context, as well. No matter how focused I thought I was about my topics, there's something about putting it in writing that gives it a more solid grounding.
I remembered the last time I was feeling really healthy - it was in 1999 and I was running, eating properly and feeling extremely energetic. When I ran my first marathon over 10 years later, I'd done a lot of training but didn't feel at my best. I somehow wanted to combine the two times and get to that stage again.
In the session, over Skype, I did most of the talking and Linda asked the questions. What do you want to achieve? What would help you do that? Is there anything blocking you? How can you make sure you follow through?
She also offered some suggestions of her own. For example, one of my biggest issues is eating the right things at the right time with a healthy, balanced diet. She asked me if I knew what that looked like and I said I did. Mainly vegetables, some carbohydrates, some meat and less dairy. How would I achieve this? Would it work if I bought a lot of food at the start of the week and then make the meals along the way? No. I know myself and I need structure so a plan would be better.
There were websites with lots of recipes. There are supermarkets close by and I had some time in the morning. I could cook twice the amount and freeze half and some other suggestions as well. Most importantly, the suggestions came from me and that's who I felt accountable to. I had no need to lie and I had every reason to make sure that when I said nothing was blocking me from doing these things, that I was telling the truth.
It was a fascinating experience and it feels positive so far.
Linda has a few more sessions which she is offering on a free basis in exchange for feedback. Check out her site at Happy Fit Coaching and see if there is any aspect of your wellness with which she can help. This isn't about sorting out relationships or finances. The topics with which she can help are in the areas of health, fitness, diet, and wellness. You have until October 31.