Freedom Coach
What’s a freedo
m coach?
Here are a couple of stories that may help you understand.
After having given a talk called “The Courage To Be Free” I was approached by Eleanor (not her real name), who had been in the audience, requesting to get together for a chat. Over several weeks we were unable to set a time to meet. Eventually she called and asked if we could speak right then on the phone. I agreed. An hour later she said, “I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders.” At this time I was referring to myself as an author, speaker and coach trying to find my specific niche. Riding home on my bike after that conversation, I was looking for a word to describe my coaching. What came to me was “freedom coach”. When I next spoke to Eleanor, I asked her if that would describe what she had experienced from our conversation. Her answer was an emphatic, “Yes.”
Over the years I had been an avid reader, consuming the most popular self-help books and applying what I considered appropriate to my life. When friends confided their concerns to me, I would share a story about whatever insight I thought might be beneficial. I started to hear things like, “That was really profound but I won’t remember it. I wish you would write it down.” Eventually I heard, “You ought to write a book.” Some time later, I wrote and published Journey to Personal Freedom.
Shortly after the book became available, I had a call from Sandra (not her real name) saying that she had just read my book, had been to psychologists and psychiatrists and knew, from reading my book, that she needed me. Always happy to support someone on their journey to freedom, I invited her for a visit. That resulted in weekly coaching sessions. One day, at the end of a session, I asked Sandra if she was experiencing any benefit from our time together. Her response was, “I could spend this money on a new dress and not feel any better about myself. What gets me through every day is knowing that I’m going to be spending time with you.”
Over the years of coaching experiences, I realized that usually people know the answer to their challenge. If it were someone else in that position, they would have the answer. What I do is tell them a story about a similar circumstance. It allows them to see the solution in that “other” situation and then transpose it to their own. It supports them in trusting their own inner knowing that has been distorted by emotional distress. It frees them up to see their solution.
My understanding of freedom has changed over time. There was a time when I thought freedom meant doing what I want when I want without needing to live up to other people’s rules and expectations. My understanding of freedom has changed dramatically since I actually achieved the freedom that I now know I was looking for.
For me, true freedom is being free from fear, guilt, shame, blame and feeling like I’m not enough and can’t do enough. Having found a tool to dissolve the guilt and shame of my past as well as my fear about the future I can rest in the present and fully experience what is happening right now.
If this is what you are looking for, freedom coaching may be for you.
Sessions are available by phone or Skype, or in person in Victoria, BC.
Email gigglefactor@gmail.com or phone 250-896-5933 for a complimentary 30-minute introductory session.
