Congratulations!! But why do I need a coach?

Thank you all for good wishes and encouragement and for writing in. There are some common queries related to coaching that i received, am answering them here for everyone's benefit.

Q - Who is a coach? 

This picture says it all - A coach is someone who provides a safe space (and some powerful tools) to help you figure out your truth and harness that truth to become the best version of yourself.

Q - What is coaching? The only coach that we have heard of is a sports coach or an executive coach? Do normal people need a coach?
A - Nice question!

Coaching is - 

"Helping a person change in the way they wish and helping them go in the direction they want to go, coaching supports a person at every level in becoming who they want to be and being the best they can be."

from Santhosh Babu's book - Coaching - The Art of Developing leaders

Another good one is by John Whitmore

Now Whitmore's definition, to those who have not experienced coaching, might seem quite basic. Whats the big deal in helping someone learn? We went to school/College/Higher studies, our teachers taught us, we learnt, we did well in our exams! Why do I need help to learn now?

Well the truth is - Our learning aptitude in our ADULT life is largely shaped by our beliefs, those beliefs we have gathered carefully since our childhood. The beliefs we have gathered could be empowering as well as dis empowering. In the absence of the dis empowering beliefs the human minds' capacity to learn is limitless. . To add to this - We don't even fully know what we believe! A larger portion of our beliefs are deep rooted in our sub-conscious mind, unknown to us and most often the reasons for our behaviour/decisions.

A coach helps you clear through the cobwebs of these beliefs and helps your true authentic self to shine through like the sun, in all its beauty and radiance. 

You will know you have some cobwebs masking your magnificence when you : 

• Feel stuck in a situations. You want to get out of them but are unable to
• Feel that some unpleasant patterns are repeating in your life  
• You have achieved success, as you feel the world perceives it, you have ticked the right boxes, yet you feel you have missed something very important.   
• You catch yourself judging others a lot, in a way justifying your situation/choices
• You are always seeking approval and acceptance from others.
• Your health seems to be declining for no apparent reason

Stop and think - these are signs you need to pay attention to the voice inside. In trying to 'fit- in', gain acceptance and feel loved and appreciated and become successful, you are losing touch with your OWN authentic self. 

Sometimes all it takes is a little attention and introspection to course correct. Sometimes some big interventions are needed too. 

There's a nice blog i posted on why BEING YOURSELF is so important. You can read that here. You cannot hear this often enough, no matter how cliched it may sound. 

This is a slippery path though, this self-discovery. It helps tremendously to have a partner/buddy on this path. Someone who has your back. A coach can provide you with a safe space and help you to figure your truth out, but its always YOU on the Drivers seat!

Q - Self - Discovery is mostly a personal journey, So when do you need a coach?

A - Coaching is not a life-long process. The 3 points listed down are situations when coaching will benefit you immensely 

1) You have some kind of pain/challenge in life at the moment with one/many areas of life, be it personal, family, relationship or career
2) Something significant in your life has changed or is about to change and you are not feeling comfortable about the change. 
3) You feel all is going well with your life - but you have a nagging feeling that there is something bigger in store for you. There is something important you have missed out. 

If you wish to experience the magic of coaching for yourself, let's talk. You can email me at alpa@ignitethespark.in or call on +919819552105

Rooting for your success always. 
Alpa

www.ignitethespark.in 

New Beginnings

Hello!

Wish you all a Happy 2017!!

Its so good to see even though i have not been as active as i would like to, so many of you still visit the blog. Definitely inspires me to write more often. Love to you all. 

2016 has by far been one of the most insightful years of my life. Spent a TREMENDOUS amount of time investing in myself and reflecting inwards,  just absorbing all the insights and learning, being with the knowledge, making it my own. This is the first time I didn't feel a need to verbalise it immediately or document it. Just let it be - serving as the foundation of the new person I am transforming into. I do believe SUCCESS is not something you Achieve, its WHO YOU BECOME. 

Will share the key insights with you all in bite size chunks in the coming months. 

As far back as i can remember in my childhood,  I have had this huge need to contribute to others. A lot of my thoughts always revolved around how can i make the lives of people around me better? How can I help solve their problems, or how can i make him/her believe in them self enough to believe he/she deserves love. 

That is what probably made me mediator in many situations. Even as a child I was mediating between adults. Friends and family sought me out with their most private issues for counsel. 

We had our 20 year school reunion early in 2016, and some friends recollected my inadvertently coaching them at some key moments in their lives, and how it helped them make better choices. (Neither they or me realised it was coaching at that point, but many years of life experiences later, they were grateful for those moments. I am grateful too) 

(This also led to sometimes being extra nice to the point of being a pushover, lessons from which I have shared that in my earlier blog post here )

That is probably what led me to have such a profound spiritual journey so early in my life and led me to my Spiritual Master, Sri Sri and Art of Living. There is a huge need to contribute to others on a large scale, but one at a time. Slowly and Steadily.

That also led me to my profession of Human Resources, specialising in Training, & Leadership Development.

And this need has led to another expression of my calling - Coaching :)

Have started my own coaching practice last year. 

Leadership Coaching as well as Life/Personal Growth coaching. 

The process of becoming certified to coach itself has been a life-transforming experience for me. Learning from the Maestros, Peter J Reding (Founder of Coach for Life) and Santhosh Babu (CEO, OD Alternatives). 

The learning space these 2 gentlemen created for us, was like a warm cocoon where each of us participants could be completely safe; safe enough to strip down all the masks we were wearing (because of pre-conditioning and limiting beliefs) and emerge our own unique beautiful selves. 

I really believe that each of us need and crave a space like this. 

A space where we are fully accepted for who we are. 

A space where we are nurtured without any external agenda.

A space where there is no critique, rather a strong belief in our resourcefulness

A space where there is utmost respect and care

A space in which we can reconnect with our own magnificent self (the way the creator created us)

A space where there is no advice - giving, no one telling you they know what you should do with your life better than you do. 

Its only in a safe and secure space like this, can we strengthen ourselves to create a life that feels fulfilled as a result of manifesting our own highest potential. No feeling in the world matches this feeling, of living a life in alignment with your own life purpose. 

This is the space a coach offers. A beautiful sacred space -  just for you. Once you experience this space, you will realise its like finding a rare treasure. 

A Coach is different from a Therapist, a Counsellor, a Psychiatrist or a Mentor. (Another post on that later)

All successful people across professions have coaches in some form or another. Its become quite fashionable now to have a coach i daresay :) :)

I am grateful for my clients who are committed to taking responsibility for their own lives and are taking steps to turn their dreams into reality. Am grateful to make a difference and be of service. 

If you are keen to explore coaching, do write to me at alpa.a.teli@gmail.com. Tell me why you would like to be coached. 

I promise to do a complimentary 45 minute telephonic session with all of those who write in, at a mutually convenient date and time. 

It will help you experience some of the coaching magic for your own life. 

Looking forward to the opportunity to be of service. 

Love

Alpa