1.4 Assignment: Building Your Inner Coach
Getting Started
Because you’ve chosen the life coaching and positive psychology specialization, you are undoubtedly committed to the process of growth. That growth process as it applies to your coaching client is obvious; people come to you looking for change in some area of their life. You identify where they are and where they want to be and help them devise a plan to get there. It’s relatively easy to see where others need to change but harder to see where we need improvement. But for you to be the most effective life coach, you also need to be engaging in the ongoing process of assessing your own growth points.
One of the more challenging areas of self-growth is identifying and changing feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. These negative scripts that we unconsciously repeat to ourselves often stem from earlier periods of our life. Because we’ve lived with them for a long time, we may just accept them, but it is important that you attempt to root them out. This will not only enable you to be a better life coach, but it will also allow you to be more proactive about caring for your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Identifying and changing feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy will also help you reframe mistakes or “failures” as opportunities for learning and improvement instead of accepting them as confirmation of your inadequacy.
This assignment is designed to help you identify any self-doubt or feelings of inadequacy as you prepare to implement your capstone coaching project. You will explore whether you have an inner critic that focuses on doing things perfectly or tends to be harsh if you make mistakes. A good way to push against the tendency toward perfectionism or unrealistic standards is to focus on the process of what you are learning and less on the end result. In this course, that means the process of learning the ins and outs of coaching. As you learn, you will inevitably make mistakes. But that’s okay. In this assignment, you will explore ways to turn your inner critic into an inner coach to keep you focused on the learning process.
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
· Transform the inner critic who has limiting beliefs into a positive inner coach that pushes beyond those limits.
Background Information
Before attempting to write the paper for this assignment, watch the two videos to learn more about how the inner critic can sideline your efforts and what you can do to change the script you tell yourself.
Instructions
1. Review the video “Self Talk: Self Sabotage?” (4:46):
2. Read the article:
How to Turn Your Inner Critic Into Your Inner Coach
(new tab)
.
3. Respond to the following in a three- to four-page paper:
a. What is one limiting belief that you currently have about life coaching that you want to change? It could pertain to your capabilities around the coaching process, what it takes to be successful, or how you relate to others.
b. Explain how this limiting belief might affect your coaching sessions in this portion of the capstone project.
c. How would you rather believe or act that would free you from this limitation?
d. What does positive psychology have to say about that limiting belief?
e. Create a turnaround statement that affirms or gives you permission to act or feel the way you described in the previous question.
f. How will you act on this turnaround statement during your coaching sessions? Be specific.
4. As part of the paper, you will need to identify sources that support your main points. Please provide two outside references, in addition to any references from your readings, in correct APA7 format, in a reference page at the end of the paper.
