1. You start a new diet … every single Monday morning.
2. You start to fall off said diet by Tuesday or Wednesday … and by Friday, forget it! You decide to call it a week and start fresh on Monday morning.
3. You wish you could look like and have the bubbly attitude of the spin instructor at your gym but you just can not seem to get past believing exercise is a chore or – even worse – a punishment.
4. Your relationship with food and exercise bears a striking resemblance to the love-hate affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
5. You think you can get your life and weight under control by popping fat burners, diet supplements and other OTC drugs.
6. You weigh yourself daily and your self-esteem and confidence correlate directly with the reading on the scale.
7. Some days, you daydream about running away from it all and imagine what it'd be like to have no worries and no responsibilities.
8. Other days, you daydream about going back in time to when you were a kid and your parents took care of you.
9. You lack a support system to help you sort through and manage your problems.
10. You wish you had a script that could help you figure out your life and how you're supposed to be living it.
If any of the above statements resonate with you, there's a good chance you could benefit from working with a wellness coach.
In today's fast-paced world, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not always easy. Intellectually, you might know what you need to do – eat clean, exercise more, find time to relax and restore balance in your life – but actually finding time to DO those things, in addition to your other responsibilities, may seem impossible. After all, who has time to sit down and map out how to reach one's personal wellness goals when there are kids' lunches to pack, team practices to get to, homework to help finish, family dinners to cook, cleaning to do, dogs to walk, and / or a career to maintain? So instead of thinking about your personal goals and realistic ways of reaching them, you try the next fad diet or buy a few of the super foods and supplements you heard recommended by the well-known TV doctor everyone loves. But none of your efforts seem to stick and you just end up more and more frustrated with your seeming failures at staying on the road to wellness.
Would not it be nice if you had your own personal compass for your wellness journey? Someone to tell you when you're veering off-course before you've landed in a ditch (ditches that seem to get deeper and deeper, and harder to escape, with each passing year)? Someone to keep you pointed in the right direction when you've become distracted by "life" and feel like you might be heading for a tailspin? Someone to remind you why you started this journey in the first place?
A wellness coach can be your personal compass on the road to healthier living. In fact, a wellness coach will do even more than a conventional compass. Coaching will address the needs of your mind, body and spirit, taking a holistic approach to the recovery of your health. A wellness coach will first help you identify your vision for wellness and then create realistic goals for achieving that vision. Using your personal values and strengths, and factoring in your lifestyle and daily routines, your coach will aid you in translating your goals into action plans that will get you moving in the right direction. Regular progress reports and on-going dialogue will enable your coach to monitor your progress and tweak your plans to keep you from derailing. Everything about the plans will be tailored for you and your lifestyle, greatly improving your chances for long-term success.
The idea of having a wellness coach might seem like a luxury – something only the rich and famous can afford to do. It is true that there is a cost associated with hiring a wellness coach but think of it as investing in the only asset you can not live without – your well-being. We all know that advances in technology and medicine have extended the lifespan of the average human. Living those extra years in a state of wellness is hardly something on which you can put a price tag. A wellness coach will not only help you change bad habits and meet short-term objectives but will also facilitate lasting change and growth. The return on your investment is certain to be worth it in the long run.