I Coach People:

Who Feel Stuck

I coach people who feel personally or professionally stuck and long for greater fulfillment.

Many of my clients seek enhanced career satisfaction, in various life stages.

Some of my clients show up because they feel overwhelmed or unfulfilled at work, don’t know their career direction, or struggle to make their way in a challenging economy. Others know what they want but constrained to move in new directions - or afraid to risk uncertain new steps. Many feel out of alignment with their workplace culture or perceive that they simply don't fit a traditional or linear life path (don't worry, I'm going to help you embrace that as a gift!). Some are desperate for their work to feel more purposeful and meaning-driven. By the time people show up to explore coaching, they often feel frustrated, despairing, or self-critical. Coaching supports them in moving through and beyond the painful state of constrained self-expression and to create work paths that align with their deepest values and dreams.

Other people arrive with questions about their relationships, finances, an area of their physical environment they want to bring into order and beauty, or struggling to make a pivotal life decision. Elements of our lives are connected, so if we are stuck in one significant area, that often ripples out to impact, well, everything. Some of my clients struggle to feel connected with knowing what they really want, to make decisions or commitments, and to trust themselves in discerning a wise way forward in their current life chapter.

Amidst Loss or Transition

Sometimes people show up in the wake of endings. A divorce or breakup, a job loss, a move, a death - or a perfect storm of endings, where one changed puzzle piece has thrown many things off kilter. Other times clients have gone through a powerfully transformative experience and want support anchoring in who they are now and clarifying what they want next. Perhaps this takes the shape of an unexpected illness or hardship, a new life stage, or parenthood. Such losses and transformative experiences can shake us to our very core and leave us feeling unfamiliar to ourselves. We are no longer who we were before; our needs, priorities, and identities have deeply shifted - and yet we may not have anchoring new beginnings to hold to, either.

In our dominant culture, many of us don't have easy access to rituals or rites of passage that can hold and carry us through significant change. When we find ourselves in those uncomfortable or disorienting periods - when we or something in our lives is fundamentally changed or outgrown but the next iterations and forms of our lives aren't yet in place - coaching can facilitate reassurance and faith in our process and provide guidance and helpful tools and maps. We deserve space to honor letting go, to discover what wants to emerge, and to nourish what we long for next - in ourselves and in our lives.

Who are ‘Levelling-Up’

People sometimes seek out coaching because they're already on the cusp of experiencing something new in their lives. Maybe you're currently saying yes to a career or leadership opportunity, starting a new project or business, about to transition into parenthood, or deepening commitment to a relationship or home. Whatever the outer manifestation, people in or ready for a 'levelling-up' chapter are stepping up into their power, prosperity, creativity, or lives in unprecedented ways. It may seem counterintuitive but often when we're approaching our personal growth edges - even experiences we've longed for - we may feel wobbly and can benefit from some extra support.

It is at these very times that our self-doubts occasionally rear up, our fears or protective wounded beliefs may surface, or we can feel bumbling and uncertain as we develop budding skills and encounter new challenges. Coaching can help validate how normal discomfort is at such times (completely par for the course!) and remind us to embrace 'beginner's mind' and 'not-knowing.' A coaching relationship can also provide scaffolding as we deepen our courage, develop new skills and mindsets, and practice trust while expanding into our evolving maturity, power, and capacities. It can be invaluable to have a sanctuary where we can celebrate the wins and new delights and hold space for the vulnerabilities, arising questions and explorations - while extending great compassion to ourselves as we go.

A Note About Context

Finally, because we're interdependent creatures and live in dynamic systems (ecological, social, political, economic, etc...) our individual lives are embedded in bigger patterns, forces, and currents that expand far beyond our own influence. Whether we are focused on getting unstuck, navigating transformation, or 'levelling-up' in our lives (or any combination, thereof!) coaching conversations may validate the impact of systemic barriers, oppressions, and privileges on our personal experiences. Examining our lives through such a lens can sometimes free us up from limiting narratives we've dug ourselves into. That is, instead of a tendency to put all kinds of blame - or praise - on our individuals merits and shortcomings, we can better acknowledge and skilfully navigate the contexts in which we live.

Whatever your area of focus, coaching can help you build or re-build faith in yourself, your resourcefulness and gifts, and your powerful capacity to make skilful decisions, navigate your life and create positive change.

P.S. Late Bloomers, I Love You

I have a special place in my heart for coaching ‘late bloomers:’ adults who sense that they haven’t yet hit their fullest stride or have experienced a persistent struggle to bloom fully and authentically in their own lives. This ‘feeling behind’ can happen at any age, ranging from:

• a twenty-seven year old who hasn’t been able to figure out a fitting career path while their friends seem to be charging ahead;

• a single, childfree person in their thirties who longs to be partnered and parenting; or

• someone in their 40’s, 50’s or 60’s who - even if they have achieved the external ‘success’ - feels a quiet, stubborn and painful frustration that they haven’t created a life aligned with their truest desires

‘Late-blooming’ can be particularly bewildering for high-functioning people in under-actualized or inauthentic roles because they know they’re capable of more and often long to fully develop and contribute their gifts. These clients tend to be sensitive, bright, reflective and can occasionally be hard on themselves, entertaining painful thoughts, like: “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I ‘get it together’ or resolve this stuck aspect of my life?”

As a coach, I hold deep faith that - at any age and stage of life - we can drop the emphasis on ‘late’ and instead put it on BLOOMING. Sometimes these journeys includes tending to grief and regrets with kindness and compassion. I’m honored to walk with ‘late bloomers’ as they shift their narratives, expand what’s possible for themselves, deepen their self-trust… and bravely bloom.