Coaching: When You’ve Run Into A Wall

I remember one day at Youth Group I was explaining how sometimes in our faith we get stuck. Sometimes we get into ruts and we don’t know how to get out. I didn’t get the feeling that a good number of the students were paying attention or were understanding what I was saying. So, as per usual, I did something dramatic to spice things up. I stopped for a second and said, “I just feel like I hit a wall, you know. Sometimes we just don’t know how to get around that wall.” Then I bolted across the room and ran into the wall and fell down. I could tell some of my adult leaders were wondering what the heck I was doing. There was a little bit of laughter and a lot of, “What in the world just happened.”

When I think about Coaching, I think about everyone who is running into that wall. You have an idea you want to accomplish or get across. You are trying to do those things, but no one is really paying attention to you. No one really cares what you have to say or what your goals are. So you do something dramatic or attempt to pursue that goal, but instead of climbing the mountain, you hit the wall. And sometimes, when you hit that wall, you fall down…and sometimes when you fall down, you have trouble getting back up.

Sometimes, we feel like we’ve been trying to accomplish that goal for so long but we just can’t make any headway. We get stuck. We get discouraged. Then, eventually, we lose sight of the dream and inevitably, we aren’t even on the journey to get there anymore. On the other hand, sometimes we just want the dream without the journey. Maybe some people are able to do that, but 9 times out of 10 the journey and dream are not two different things, but rather they are intertwined. 9/10 you cannot accomplish your dream if you aren’t willing to make the journey to get there.

Think of it this way: Let’s say I want to go and hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. The journey to get there is more important than the destination at this moment. I have to train. I have to invest in gear to hike for a few days and my flight/car travel. I have to be mentally at a place where I can handle the stress. All of these are major factors that I need to deal with before I can even reach the base of the mountain. But the most important part is this: From where I am now, Mt. Kilimanjaro is south. So, if I start walking north, I not only won’t reach my destination in a decent time (or at all), but I won’t even be on the right journey.

This is where I come in as your Life Coach. I come alongside of you (kind of like Samwise Gamgee in LOTR) and I help you develop the game plan and the map of how to get where you want to go. I don’t tell you what to do, but I ask you questions, encourage you, and help you progress each day toward your goal(s). There are going to be hurdles, setbacks, and obstacles on every path to your destination, so I enable you to see them and provide you with the ability to overcome them. When other people don’t believe you, I stand beside you. When the journey seems too difficult, I empower you. When you don’t believe in yourself, I do.

For more information about Life Coaching and what it is, click here.