A key part of effective coaching is helping our clients to find a way over, under, around and through the barriers that get between them and their goals. The best-laid wellness plans are inevitably challenged by some combination of “life getting in the way”, lack of environmental support, or sometimes even the “push-back” resistance from peers.

The other side of this coin are the “internal barriers” that also block our progress. These are composed of our personal belief systems, values, and self-talk, including the “inner critic” or “gremlin” talk that sabotages our efforts at change. We will address the internal barriers in a later article.

We’ve all seen the efforts of clients, family and friends derailed when a source of stress arises, there is a break in routine, a spouse or partner objects to them using time for self-care, families rebel against dietary changes, etc. Someone’s workload increases, money gets tight, an aging parent’s health worsens, and the person resumes smoking, drops their healthy eating habits, increases their amount of sedentary activity and so forth. When attempting lifestyle improvement alone this is when progress halts or even regresses.

When a person is working with their wellness coach this is where support, creativity, strategic thinking and real fun comes into the coaching process. Let’s look at how the wellness coach can employ various skills and strategies to help their client create lifestyle change that lasts.

1. Use a strengths-based, positive psychology approach. Approaching a challenge to change with the usual “What’s wrong and how can we fix it?” style is kind of like asking a “Why?” question. The usual response is… “I don’t know.” Instead take complete inventory of the situation first getting a very accurate picture of “what is”. The effective wellness coach will draw upon earlier foundational work with their client and bring forth the strengths that the client has that they can make use of in meeting this particular challenge. For example, one client of mine was in a great rehabilitative exercise program for her surgically repaired knee when “life happened”. Remembering how she had earlier described meeting other scheduling challenges at work with great flexibility and creativity, I challenged her to use those same attributes to deal with her new dilemma. Her energy surged and she came up with a solution that got her back on track.
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• JAN 26^th (Wed.) - Coaching Through Barriers – Part One – Outer Barriers To Lifestyle Improvement : A key part of effective coaching is helping our clients t o find a way over, under, around and through the barriers that get between them and their goals. The best-laid wellness plans are inevitably challenged by some combination of “life getting in the way”, lack of environmental support, or sometimes even the “push-back” resistance from peers. This is where support, creativity, strategic thinking and real fun comes into coaching. Lifestyle improvement efforts can easily be derailed by these external barriers. In this webinar Dr. Arloski will focus on how the wellness coach can employ various skills and strategies to help their client create lifestyle change that lasts.

• FEB 23^rd (Wed.) Coaching Through Barriers – Part Two – Inner Barriers To Lifestyle Improvement
• MARCH 30^th (Wed.) Successful application of wellness coaching in different settings
• APRIL 26^th (Tue.) The Power of Habit: Neuroscience and Coaching
• MAY 27^th (Fri.) Coaching with lifestyle and fitness Apps
• JUNE 29^th (Wed) Successful application of wellness coaching in different settings