It is often too easy to get into a habit of doing the same things at the same times. It is easy to get stuck in routines or habits. This is a common barrier to creating meaningful change and achieving goals. How do you move past being stuck and into a habit of action for creating the change you want and achieving your goals? The best resource is – you guessed it – a coach. (When you do work with a coach be sure they have completed their coaching certification and ask them about their membership in the International Coach Federation.)
How does a coach support you to choose and create new habits? A coach starts with awareness; in coach training information is provided on what it takes to change a habit and effective coaches apply this personally and provide a process for clients. It is noteworthy that it takes time to change a habit. The research varies on how much time so for our purposes work with this: 21 days to change a thought, 30 days to change a habit, 6 to 12 months for the habit to become the new norm.
If you really want to change a habit, two things must be occurring:
- Information In – this comes in the form of reminders, recordings, books, affirmations, meditation, visualization, and accountability partners.
- Application Out – this means taking actions, often starting with a simple step, and consistently doing based on what you want for your new habit.
How does a coach help you create change and develop new habits? Through the coaching process, a coach helps you define what you do want and plan how to move past barriers, utilize resources, and develop new habits by design.
