How can you increase client self-awareness to overcome problem-solving obstacles?

When I tell a client, you have a dirty cheek, I enter a combative stage where he says no and I keep saying yes When I hold a mirror before him he sees the dirt by himself The fastest way to get him to see "the dirt" is when he tells himself the different belief: 1- Active listening C:"I don't want to divorce again but my wife is crazy" 2- Ask clarifying questions Me: " Why did previous marriage fail? 3- Summarise to his satisfaction Me:" Sounds like you're unlucky, 1st wife was too demanding, 2nd wife too controlling" 4- Ask closed follow up questions Me: "what's the commonality in both marriages? 5- Breakthrough Me: 2 wives, 1 man. C: I'm the commonality Let's move on to the next step....

I usually assess four planes: - physical - mental - emotional - spiritual 1. Physical How well they feel connected to their own body. 2. Mental How well they know their strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. 3. Emotional How well they understand, interpret, and cope with emotions. 4. Spiritual How well they feel connected to themselves, others, and nature.

You cannot heal what you dont reveal. If a client is not aware of his/her own patterns, there is no way to change them. I use a really deep and insightful tool called Shadow Mastery, which is an integral part of the Coaching Journeys my clients do with me.

Increasing self-awareness to better handle problems and obstacles all starts with YOURSELF. If you are not in control of your mind and body, then you will be reactive and act on emotions, instead of being proactive and acting on strategy. Two Tips: 1. BE AWARE of what you consume and how you use your time. What you eat, drink and the information you consume online play a major role into what mental state you are in. Gut health equals brain health and what you consistently look at online can affect your mood. 2. PAUSE and Breathe. Most people react fast to things and usually do not get the best outcome. By pausing and breathing, you STOP yourself going into a reactive state and can assess the situation and respond better.

Assessing your clients self-awareness begins at your chemistry call before they become a client. This is the time to better understand and dig into who they are, what they want, what they believe is holding them back and socializing how you might get them there with your services. That said, it's just the beginning. Assessing your client is ongoing as it's part of being a coach.

We help our clients become holistically fit. Mindfulness is a cornerstone of our coaching. I use yoga, mindful movement, breathing exercises, and more to build body awareness. My partner Ketty helps with mindful eating.

Mindfulness is about allowing our minds to pause and rest and BEING in the present moment. It is a powerful practice to counter overthinking, anxiety about the future or dwelling on past events. And a practice I help my clients incorporate in their daily routine through my programs. I encourage clients to try the following: 1. Mindful breathing techniques, they get to choose what works best for them and fits in with their schedule. 2. Daily rituals, e.g, mindful eating, mindful walks, 3. Gratitude journaling 4. Journaling and reflection either before bed or first thing in the morning to record their daily experiences, thoughts and emotions 5. Spending 10 - 30 mins outdoors, whatever the weather. and enjoying the sun, rain, snow, sunsets.

In my coaching sessions, mindfulness is a crucial, if not the most important, step. We can't change something that we are not aware of. That's why awareness is the very first step, and mindfulness practice helps in this regard. It is a skill, so I also encourage my clients to start practicing in small steps. Just like going to the gym, you don't start with 100 push-ups. Start with 5. But start.

Mindfulness is a valuable practice for increasing self-awareness. It involves staying present, without judgment, and helps clients observe their thoughts and emotions objectively. Techniques like breathing exercises and meditation can aid in this, fostering a habit of being attentive to the present moment in daily activities. My client a mother of two, sought coaching to manage her stress and improve her relationship with her children. Through mindfulness techniques, we helped her become more present in her interactions. During playtime with her kids, she learned to focus solely on the moment, enjoying their company without distractions. This helped her reduced her stress and enhance her role as a mother.

In my experience, a couple of effective techniques are Breath Awareness- Instructing clients to close their eyes and bring attention to their breath, noticing the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the body. Reminding them to observe the breath without judgment or trying to change it. Body Scanning- A wonderful technique that involves bringing attention to different parts of the body. Instructing clients to lie down or sit in a comfortable position and start by bringing awareness to their feet. Observing any sensations, tension, or relaxation in their feet, then gradually move attention up through the body without judgement. Body scanning can help cultivate body awareness, relaxation and connection to the present moment.

What I found particularly useful is to help them explore various angles to their worldview with perspective reframing techniques. That's often challenging but a fresh (or different perspective) can be all they need to move forward.

Challenging your client's idea, feelings, perspectives and internal narratives sits as the heart of what coaching is and can do for others. If you are never challenging your clients, you are playing it safe and doing a disservice to them and you.

One effective strategy is asking clients open-ended questions that guide them to reflect on their experiences. Questions like "What outcome do you desire?" or "How does this challenge make you feel?" unlock introspection. Share stories about how looking at a problem from different angles has led to unique solutions. Get them to take a step back and look at the problem from someone else's point of view. This will often reveal solutions they haven't thought of before. Always remind them that every problem is a chance to learn and grow. Using the knowledge they've gained from different experiences can help them get to the bottom of the problem and solve it more efficiently.

Ways that I use to help my clients explore different perspectives are: 1. Asking powerful questions that encourage deep thinking and self-reflection. 2. Using metaphors and analogies to simplify complex concepts and make them more relatable. 3. Drawing inspiration from their role models or public figures they admire or aspire to be to find answers to some challenges. 4. Help them put themselves in the other person's shoes when they are dealing with conflict situations leads to a more balanced perspective 5. Encouraging to journal can help them gain more perspective into their own life stories Every client is different and I offer a variety of tools and techniques that can help them gain new insights and increase their self-awareness.

One way I get each client to get a different perspective, is to play a game with them, where they tell a story about what they're wondering or bothered by or can't resolve. This way, they're the ones coming up with a different idea than they've been holding, and it's an effective corroboration to what I might see for them.

Encouraging clients to move from contemplation to action can be transformative. It's in this realm of tangible endeavors where theory meets practice. Feedback becomes the compass guiding this journey. It provides invaluable insights, and while positive feedback boosts confidence, constructive feedback becomes a tool for growth. As coaches, our role isn't just to cheerlead but to ensure that feedback, both from us and others, is synthesized into actionable lessons. After all, awareness paired with action and reflection is the trinity of genuine self-growth.

Life Design is about taking action. To increase the chance of achieving their life design goals, clients define their goals, break down big goals into smaller SMART subgoals, break down subgoals in tasks, are organised, minimise barriers and distractions, anticipate obstacles, celebrate achievements, seek support and feedback from others, reduce the impact of unhelpful thoughts and feelings, and monitor progress.

I encourage my clients to think of taking action as a scientific experiment: - you come up with the idea - you create an experiment to see if it works - execute your experiment - the result is data to analyze: what worked, what didn't work, what needs to be changed to make it work - design a new experiment based on the data. This approach helps my clients to take their emotions out of the equation and not be afraid to take action. They realize they cannot fail as long as they are taking action. They either win or they learn.

People are sometimes embarrassed to ask for feedback because it doesn't feel natural. Being a role model and asking customers for feedback on a regular basis gives them a feel for how it's done.

Tasking clients to journal situations allows for their adaption after the fact. Then they see what went wrong and with discussion we can put together a plan of action for workable change. I am here to support their growth, not force it.

Self-awareness is a journey. It's not just about recognising your strengths and weaknesses. It is about challenging your limiting beliefs, uncovering your blind spots, and embracing personal growth EVERY DAY despite daily challenges and busyness. Which is why the journey of self-discovery can be both enlightening and sometimes uncomfortable. It demands being fully present with yourself and an open and honest exploration of your own thought patterns, biases, and behaviors. It's about understanding why you think and act the way you do, and it requires a willingness to confront those aspects of yourself that may have been hidden or overlooked. And it takes courage and commitment to really want to dig deep to connect with your true self.

Advaita Vedanta: Exploring Oneness and Self-Realization in Life Coaching 1. Advaita's Essence: Embrace interconnectedness and unity, recognizing the true self's nature beyond boundaries. 2. Realizing Atman: Transcend ego, explore the 'Atman,' and identify with the infinite. 3. Spiritual Growth: Advaita goes deeper than problem-solving, urging growth amidst life's challenges. 4. Unity with Brahman: Recognize unity between individual self (Atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman), guiding cosmic existence. Advaita Vedanta uncovers oneness, guiding self-discovery and spiritual realization in life coaching.

A few ways I use with my clients to practice or increase level of self-awareness, which is often the first step towards change: 1) Summarize their stories and ask curiously what did they notice? 2) Role-play. If there's multiple people involved in a situation they just described, I invite them to act out as the subject and I am the client. This gives the chance to be in another person's shoes and can encourage more compassion and awareness of how might the other person feel. 3) Journal their day. Free writing to record their thoughts and feelings from the day, and observe that they might have missed when in the moment earlier.

Life happens in seasons and it is important that the client is aware of the new seasons they are in in order to factor in how that might be impacting their lives For instance a client with a growing business who is also starting a family or navigating a divorce might need to consider factoring in how their personal circumstances might be affecting business growth. Once the client is able to link the dots it increases their chance of finding solutions.

Sometimes a client has to go through a situation to see where he/she could improve, rather than read about in a textbook. Then we have a platform to work with going forward. Examination is cooperative rather than punitive, and success is more likely. There are many paths, and my goal is to make sure they choose one that works for their goals, and life goals.