Monthly Archives: September 2014

Do You Feel Like Your Life Is Going Around And Around?

Recently, my wife, granddaughter and I stayed in the downtown Omni in Atlanta, Ga.  Outside of our window we could see the giant ferris wheel, where people would go for entertainment and the opportunity to see the city from the top of the wheel.  It looked like a fun ride to experience!

When I took the picture you see above, I began to think about how life is like a ferris wheel for some people.  They just keep going around and around doing the same things day in and day out.  Life becomes a routine and it is easy to take the next step, because the next step is always the same.  These people never spend time dreaming or visioning about tomorrow.  They are absorbed with today and long for another day just like this one.

As a coach, I can help you to stop the ferris wheel, look out from the top, to discover where you want to go and who you want to be, and then help you in seeing your future.  Once you have ascertain your vision, I will aid you in the development of the next steps you need to take to reach your destination.  It will be as exciting of an experience as taking a ride on the giant ferris wheel.

GIVE ME A CALL (980-521-3582) OR EMAIL ME (jwadford@coaching-consulting.com) AND LET’S GET STARTED TODAY!

Follow Me

What does it mean to “follow” Christ? There are several scripture passages that speak of following The Lord. One very familiar passage is, where Jesus called Peter to come and follow him. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) The Greek word used here is ‘deute’, which means to come after or is translated “follow”. The word is also in the imperative form meaning it is not a request but a command “to go after.” So, Jesus was saying to Peter, James and John come follow me and I will make you fishers of men. You will no longer be fisherman, but now you will fish for men.

 

This passage is often used in arguing for evangelism and reaching people with Christ, however I want to challenge you to step back and take another look at the passage. The imperative here was to “follow me”. Jesus was calling his disciples to come after him and imitate His life. To follow him! Watch him!  And to live like him!

 

The main issue facing the church today is that she has lost her identity. The church does not understand her role in today’s world. Some see the church as a place of worship. Others see her as a mission station taking the message of Christ to a dying world. While others envision the church as a place of healing and peace. All these images are correct, however the metaphor Jesus used was that of simply following him.

 

The church and individual Christians must once again today, become followers of Christ. We need “follow-ship” back in the church, not just leadership. Follow-ship involves the ability to focus completely and totally on the person of Christ, while discovering where the Spirit of God is ministering and following Him wherever He leads. There is an old hymn, “Follow On” by William O. Cushing, which the chorus goes like this:

 

Follow! Follow! I will follow Jesus!

Anywhere, Everywhere I will follow on!

Follow! Follow! I will follow Jesus!

Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!

 

Will you follow Him today? Whatever the cost? Wherever He leads? Jesus calls, “FOLLOW ME!”

Kids Don’t Need to Be “Fixed”

This week’s article is by Stephen Wiedner, one of the co-founders of Noomii, a company dedicated to getting the word out about the great benefits of hiring a personal or professional coach. I hope you enjoy the article.

Kids are not like cars, behaviors are not like engine parts, and you can’t take your kid to the life coach “mechanic” to be fixed. It just doesn’t work that way. 

Parents naturally want to help and empower their children, but the good intentions of concerned moms and dads often create more problems when the “fix-it” mentality takes over. Kids get the impression that something about them is broken and needs fixing, and parents feel powerless to help them overcome their challenges.

 How Life Coaching Can Help

At Noomii, parents contact us because their children have high anxiety, ADHD, learning disabilities, difficulties in school, poor social skills, or a lack of confidence, direction, or motivation. Frequently, however, the parents must come to terms with their children’s challenges, quit trying to change them, and figure out how to move forward with them.

Barbara Fredrickson, positive psychologist and author of “Positivity,” developed what she calls the “broaden-and-build” theory. She sought to understand the purpose of emotions such as happiness and joy, and she concluded that “positive emotions promote discovery of novel and creative actions, ideas, and social bonds, which in turn build that individual’s personal resources.” Instead of putting your child in an environment of negative emotions by trying to fix him, look at what’s working well and help him build his physical and intellectual resources to deal with life’s challenges.

Life coaching is a forward-looking, goal-oriented process. It considers where you are now, where you want to go, and how to get there. Coaches can help a child achieve personal fluency and human agency proficiency by focusing on mindfulness, self-awareness, emotional and social intelligence, goal-striving behavior, and building self-esteem.

Leah B. Mazzola, a Noomii life coach for teens, said, “Helping the child understand first how and why he or she functions in a particular way — then introducing him or her to the malleable nature of self and the power of self-determination — sets the foundation for long-term success and life satisfaction.”

When You Need Parent/Family Coaching

In coaching, we find that every family struggles with its own unique set of issues that can manifest into larger problems in the home. Sometimes, parents disagree on how to handle difficult situations or siblings aren’t equipped to understand a brother’s or sister’s challenges. In these cases, family coaching can help establish an environment with:

  1. More empathy and understanding for one another

  2. Better communication between family members

  3. Better decision-making and agreements between all members of the family

No family is perfect, but the parents we work with all want the very best for their kids. Parents have strong instincts to protect their children, which fuels the desire to “fix” them. No life coach mechanic can do that, but a life coach can help children “broaden-and-build” their capacity to handle the challenges, bumps, and bruises along the way.