I have to be honest. I cringe at the term “life coach.” What does that even mean? I also lose my mind since anyone, yes anyone, can say they’re a life coach and market themselves as such. There isn’t a governing licensing board like there is for therapists. There are some coaching accreditations (I myself...
Everyone has some anxiety. It’s a normal emotion that we actually need, because it protects us from danger. We don’t want to get rid of it. For those with excessive worry or anxiety, however, improving your ability to differentiate between danger and discomfort is important. Tolerating discomfort and learning how to better respond to that...
Every Tuesday, when I leave my trainer, Eric, I thank him and tell him that was the best hour of my week. Believe it or not, I’ve actually gotten side eyes and comments about how lame my life must be to classify that one hour as the best. Granted most of those comments are from...
This month, we sat down with one of my current coaching clients, Georgie Gray, because I thought it would give people a better idea of what goes on in a coaching relationship. She’s a fellow therapist who wasn’t looking for coaching specifically (she was actually doing me a favor) but who was looking for help...
One of the most impactful things I’ve learned since my divorce is the Buddhist distinction between pain and suffering. Basically, they believe pain is inevitable and suffering is optional. At first, I was like WTF? (I was, after all, recently divorced. My pain was front and center, and suffering didn’t feel optional.) But, as time...
Dating. Now there’s a word that can strike dread into the hearts of many. Online dating. Does that amplify the dread? For many, it does, especially if you’re old enough to remember the pre-internet days. For most of us, searching for a partner is inherently nerve-wracking. I mean the vulnerability and uncertainty are palpable. Technology...
We’ve talked about setting internal boundaries, or as I like to say, keeping our brain on a shortened leash. Now, because I know you’re going to ask … let’s talk about setting external boundaries. When I talk to people about setting boundaries with other people, there’s the typical refrain: “I know I should, but I...
Recently, we talked about willingness being the secret sauce to learning how to feel and tolerate discomfort. There’s great benefit to accepting reality, exactly as it is in this moment, even if you don’t like it. Now, I want to dive a little deeper. This is for those of us who sometimes find it really...
I recently discovered my gym’s VersaClimber classes. Within 5 minutes, I feel like I’m climbing Mount Everest without oxygen in the middle of summer, with no end in sight. A 30-minute class can feel like hours. Today, as beads of sweat tricked down my face, I asked myself, “why am I subjecting myself to this?”...
As I’ve mentioned, I recently became a Gestalt-certified coach. One of the questions I get most often is what’s the difference between coaching and therapy. Therapy helps when there’s something preventing you from functioning well. There may be a mental illness, like major depression or OCD, trauma or loss. Sometimes you need to dive into...