GROWing with Life Coaching

Life Coaching is all about learning some essential life skills, to be able to surpass the challenges of life and seize the moment to live the life you want. The very crucial tool in a life coach’s toolkit is the use of the GROW model. GROW stands for the four important elements you need to ask yourself, that is, goal-reality-options-way forward. 

 

What are your Goals in life? This is a question you have been asked since your childhood. As you age, you get to know yourself and discover your strengths. In knowing what you are and can be capable of, you should begin making goals and work your way toward it. Goals cannot be just daydreams or wishful thinking. They should always be in sight so that you will not lose your way. You need to have a timetable and an action plan in attaining them. You also need to have a contingency plan especially when there are obstacles in the way. If you are having  a life coaching, make it a part of your goal setting to determine what you wish to gain from this exercise. You need to be very specific with your goals so that you will know that you have already obtained them. Some people wish for happiness and worked so hard thinking that money will buy them this. They fail to discover that family and peace of mind can also be great sources of happiness.

 

What is the reality or your present situation that serve as the backdrop of your goal setting? You might be aiming for the chairmanship of the company you work with, but if you are not meeting your sales quota, this could be a problem. Knowing where you are at present is very important so that you can set realistic goals or work towards a way to make your goals reachable. Moreover, you also need to know if your reality is the real one. People tend to make their own realities based on their perceptions, which might not be accurate. Is your reality beset with problems? If so, what are your steps to overcome these? Knowing also a situation similar to yours is a good measure of your reality especially in the pursuit of your goals.

 

What are your options? This is important so that you can set your course of action and have safety nets on the side to fall back on. For instance, you may have an offer abroad at a higher income, but will entail being away from your family for a considerable amount of time. Is there a way to have both a promotion and be with your family? You may need to sacrifice some things and knowing what these are will help you make a good decision. With a good life coach, you can clearly weigh the pros and cons.

 

Lastly, you will learn the way forward or wrap up, which simply means knowing the next step. This is your action plan in action. Your life coach will guide you and will be the crucial support that you need. Most often, we have a clear picture of who we want to be. It is the getting there that seems so difficult. We easily get sidetracked.

 

Many of those who have used the Grow model have experienced a change of goals and plans. This is actually understandable since life coaching teaches us to be clear-headed. We may have goals in the past that are just copied from our parents. With life coaching, we get to know ourselves and discover that we have our own lives to lead and own goals to make.