photo credit: Edson Hong
Coaches For Fitness Or Personal Improvement
Since there has been a growth in demand for personal fitness trainers, business coaches and even personal improvement coaches (life coaches), I thought that I would write a post about how best to use one if you are ever to hire one for yourself.
Using a coach or mentor is one of the best ways to improve yourself in any area since you not only get their expertise but also their encouragement and accountability. However, since I’ve been a mentee as well as in the capacity as a coach in various areas, I’ve seen some people utilize the service of their coaches well and some not so well.
Have An Open Mind If You Retain A Coach
The first thing I would suggest if you are to use a coach is to have an open mind. The coach will probably have already gone through the path that you are about to take so he or she has already seen what may work and what may not. Some of the ideas might seem foreign to you but then again, remember that your coach has more experience in that area than you do so you would best keep an open mind to try out things that are new to you, especially in personal improvement.
Respect Your Coach Or Mentor
I come from a martial arts environment where there is always a lot of respect between the students and the instructor sensei or sifu. I carry the same respect with all the coaches and mentors in other areas such as my internet business coach and even my physiotherapist when I was going through rehab for my ACL knee surgeries (see my video episode on this if you missed it). I do everything they tell me to do and sometimes more.
When my physiotherapist told me to do 10 repetitions of an exercise, I gave her 15 or 20. I put my trust in my coaches and mentors. Even if I don’t agree with everything a coach or mentor would say, I would never show my disagreement in front of him or her. This would be disrespectful and disrespect has no place in personal improvement.
On my own time in private, I can do what I want so I would take just what I find useful from my coaches and mentors. I may not use everything I learn but during my time with a coach or mentor, I wouldn’t openly disagree with any suggestion or feedback I’m given in front of him or her.
This is what I do with my ski coaches and this is what I did with martial arts coaches who helped me during my competition career. I’m pretty sure that if I wasted my time arguing with my coaches on their feedback or tips, I would never have become Karate World Champion.
Ask Questions To Clarify
Although you don’t have to agree with everything your coach or mentor tells you, asking questions to clarify things would be acceptable in my opinion. Your coach or mentor is there to help you understand so ask as many questions as you want but again, don’t openly disagree with suggestions. You might say that you don’t feel comfortable with a certain thing but at least you will give it a try. Remember you can do what you want in private.
If I ever came to a position where I offer coaching or mentor services in either personal improvement or business, especially on a one to one basis, I would carry all of this approach with me. I expect my mentees to ask as many questions as they want but any outward disagreements or refusals of my suggestions would result in the termination of the coaching relationship.
This might sound a bit harsh but as a coach or mentor, my time and energy given to somebody is valuable and a lot of work would have been put in. If I feel that my time is being wasted, then I will conclude that I would not be a good fit for a specific mentee.
I personally don’t plan to offer any one to one coaching services anytime soon but plan to offer group seminars as well as continue to offer keynote speaking programs. Information can be found at my speaking programs section.
My free 3-part Personal Development Video Series shows parts of my live keynote presentations. Check it out if you haven’t already.
