Why We Need Each Other: Mentors, Coaches, and Friends

Sometimes life is hard.  Most of us do pretty well for the most part, but everyone has moments when they feel stuck, unsure and life seems out of focus.  And even when life is not hard, it is still tricky to navigate through our relationships, finances, career choices and life purpose.  Just because something was clear a year ago doesn’t mean that it is clear today.  Sometimes the fog sets in and our vision becomes cloudy. Sometimes we need a helping hand.

That is what mentors, coaches and friends provide.

You may have heard the saying, “A fish does not know it is wet.”  There is profound truth to that statement.  The point is that we can become so used to our own pattern of living—our decision-making habits, our patterns of thought, our ability to see the options in front of us—that we are unable to see life in any different way.

We are wet, but like the fish, we don’t know it.

But when you have a mentor, a coach or a friend who comes along beside you, she can help you begin to notice things that you have become blind to.  She can help you to look at your life with clarity, bring focus to your circumstances, show you the places where you can choose differently, point out options and help you to reposition yourself so that you are once again on track to live out your life’s purpose and dreams.

When you lose clarity, the two main things you need are vision and confidence.

Vision helps you to notice what is obvious.  We tend to do things like we always have, respond in ways that we always have, and make the same kinds of choices that we always have. It can be very difficult to realize that you can actually make a different choice or respond differently to life circumstances.

Confidence is necessary so that you can believe you are actually capable of changing your course and making different decisions.  Change can be scary and make you feel off balance.  Confidence will see you through.

The secret is to let someone help you to see what is obvious and help you to have the confidence to take action.  You need someone to help you clearly see where you are right now:  proper assessment of your current situation is vital.  And you need someone to help you begin moving forward.

A caring coach or friend wants to know about your life and what has occurred in your past to make you who you are.  But she will not leave you in the past:  she will help you focus on the present and move toward the future.  She will help you decide where you want to be, and she will help you get there.

Seek out a mentor, a coach or a friend to share your life with.  A great place to start is by joining us at our upcoming workshop, “Back to Beautiful: A Fitness, Nutrition, and Style Mini-Makeover.” Click here to register.  I’d love to see you there!