Life Coaching As Seen Through the Client's Eye: Unlocking Potential

Anna climbing toward a snowy summit.

What is life coaching? As a life coach, I get asked this question all the time. Some people seem have a pre-conceived notion of what it is. Others look at me in bewilderment, never having heard the term. In a nutshell, I help my clients get from point A to point B, focusing on the present and moving toward the future.

Hearing it from me is good (you can read more about how it works if you’re curious, too), but hearing from someone who’s gone through it is even better.

So I am beyond excited and honored to feature a post from Anna, one of my amazing and wise clients, sharing her story and experience working with me.

A quick side note I want to mention here: Client confidentiality is a huge part of my work, and I take it very seriously. Rest assured Anna has given me her gracious and wholehearted permission to post her story and pictures here. (Thanks Anna!)

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you’re probably interested in personal development. You’re also pretty likely to have a passion for the outdoors.

Anna’s story touches on both aspects—how the outdoors has proven an integral part of her growth and evolution. She writes with strength, honesty and wisdom.

As always, I ask that you please be considerate in the comments.

I am deeply grateful to Anna for sharing her story and allowing you guys a unique insight into not only what life coaching can be like, but shedding light on her transformation through the outdoors.

And with that, I’ll turn it over to Anna.

anna’s story

Anna at the summit of Mount St. Helen | 2011

A few years ago I reached thirty and realized that my body wasn't going to stay exactly the same forever. I dreamt of a fitter life, using my body to unlock my appetite for adventure. But I was stuck and couldn't make it happen.

During my teens and twenties, I was a dabbler in sports, often getting discouraged and giving up early because I never felt like I was getting better.

I came from a family of really fit people. My parents were runners, cyclists, skiers, swimmers, alpine climbers, kayakers and hikers. My step-sister and I tasted these activities growing up. She found her passion and profession in dance.

One would think that this would be the perfect environment for a person to explore their physical being but it was probably these factors which intimidated me and kept me from finding my own relationship with fitness and the outdoors until now. Everybody around me was so good at something. Why wasn’t I?

When I decided to make the commitment to lead a fitter, healthier lifestyle and unlock my potential, I realized I needed to understand and change the negative voices in my head that were preventing me from being active.

connecting to nature

Scrambling with the mountaineering club

My first step was to pick something I was interested in. I chose mountaineering since it has always piqued my curiosity. As a kid, I would look at my step-dad’s old mountaineering equipment in the "Recreation Section" of our basement and wonder how these tools could take me there. Ice axe, helmet, rope and crampons.

I love being outside and a connection with nature is important to me. I have a desire to experience high and unusual places; to smell trees decaying on the forest floor; to feel lichen growing on high alpine rock and being high above the clouds, looking down on the earth.

When I am in these places, I become more focused and the world is placed in perspective.

I decided to take an Alpine Scrambling course. It's a "taste" of alpinism that requires one to travel off trail in the backcountry and use navigation skills. It is not technical mountaineering because you don’t need to be roped up, but many scrambles can be life threatening if one falls. It requires traveling on steep snow and rock to obtain your summit. (And it’s so much fun!)

The course was a lot harder than I expected. It was not like hiking at all. Traveling on snow, learning how to use an ice axe, carrying 20% of your body weight on your back, climbing over rocks and bushwhacking takes far more energy than I ever anticipated.

Cardio, strength and muscles are needed for balance. I began to realize that I needed to develop my conditioning level further. I also needed some tools to deal with exposure. On some of my early scrambles I thought, “Jeez, I am never going to do that again. There is no way I am ever going to get better.” There were lots of people who seemed to be picking it up faster than me.

unlocking potential

There were some wonderful things about these initial scrambling experiences that kept drawing me in. But I needed a plan to tackle my issues. One day, while surfing the net, I came across a blog post at Expand Outdoors about climbing and friction.

I kept reading the blog posts, one after the other. Some were about technical things, but most were about adults making changes in their lives and incorporating outdoor sports.

Amy’s life coaching approach really hit a note with me. I liked how Amy approached change; she really took the time to analyze all of the hurdles that an adult goes through when they make a huge life change. I signed up for a package and started working with Amy.

it begins with awareness

Moving forward

In order for me to move forward, I had to stop comparing myself to others. I had to stop listening to the negative voices whether they were internal or external. When I compare myself to others who are better than me, I set myself up for failure before I truly begin. I become self-conscious about everything I do. I don’t give myself the opportunity to enjoy the process.

Process is so important because it allows me the opportunity to play and own the experience. Play is wonderful space. It takes the pressure of expectation away. When I am playing, my mind and body are in a relaxed state and I tend to learn more and have more meaningful experiences. This is something I learned over time and didn’t come easy.

In the past, the act of working out always seemed like a chore to me. I hadn't really set up a thoughtful plan for getting conditioned for this activity in the first place. I just hiked. I did it without an intention of where I needed to go with it. I was easily discouraged. I saw a lot of people who were picking up scrambling faster than I was. They were fast and exposure didn’t seem to faze them at all.

I had my work cut out for me. I had two main goals:

• Conditioning
• Tools to deal with exposure

conditioning

Amy and I set up a conditioning plan with some purpose. The summer had ended, so the scrambling season was over, but I knew that if I was going to have a good second season, I needed to be in better shape. Here were some keys to my success:

Creative training days

• I made a commitment to get out in the mountains every weekend. I had a calendar and I made plans far into the future incorporating winter activities that could keep me in shape.
• I was mindful of the trips I was on, increasing my mileage and elevation every few weeks so that I would not plateau.
• I became more engaged in a large mountaineering club. I made friends I could work out with. As Amy describes it, I built a tribe. So important.
• I added some more cardio to my workouts during the week which consisted of stair climbing and swimming. Swimming is actually one thing that I was good at when I was a kid and it provided a good foundation for me to get started. I took a skill that I was good at, and used it to help me reach some other goals. Use what you have in your tool kit!
• I tried to make workouts even if I was having a hard day but I also forgave myself if I missed one. Nobody is perfect.

exposure

Yes, that's as steep as it looks!

Next on the agenda: tackle exposure. Amy really helped me develop some tools to manage my fear and risk. On some of my initial scrambles, I had been afraid of traveling on steep snow slopes. Two particular things scare me when I travel on a steep slope: avalanche danger and the ability to self-arrest/belay using an ice axe.

But, as I dug deeper inside myself, it wasn’t just these two particular things that I needed to assess when taking a risk; it became a list of important factors that I need to consider when going on a trip. We set up a template for me to follow. It is extremely helpful and I use it all the time.

• Do I trust the people I am with?
• Overall group dynamics. Do we work well together as a team?
• Assessing my comfort level with each person and the group.
• Do I have the energy for risk (not having to keep up with faster paced partners that expend my energy before we get to the crux)?  Have I been well watered and fed? What is my energy level? Did I get a good night’s rest?
• Do I feel comfortable in the group and know I can simply be myself (and if something scares me, can raise my hand and say it)?
• I like being with people who like to talk about the risks.
• Do the leaders take the time to teach those who are less experienced?
• What are the environmental risks? Is the rock wet or dry? Is the snow favorable for kicking and making steps? Is the weather changing the conditions? Is the slope steep enough to start an avalanche? What is the avalanche forecast for the area? Have we dug a test pit on this particular slope?
• If I climb this, can I down climb it? What would happen if I fell and couldn't self arrest? Where would I land? On snow? Over a cliff?
• Am I feeling anxious? What is the stress level in the rest of my life?
• Do I have the proper equipment? Ice axe, helmet, snowshoes and crampons?

Anna with a member of her tribe.

These are tools that will not only help the novice mountaineer, but also the most experienced. Amy and I came up with this list that’s unique to me, but I’d guess the most awe-aspiring risk-taking athletes in the world use similar lists.

Breaking a challenging situation down and examining all of its components allows me to decide if I want to take the risk.

As I become more experienced and skilled, I have learned that I am willing to take on more risk. I move in small increments, adding small levels of challenge until they feel good. When I am feeling good, I add a little more. Repetition and experience is everything.

unlocking beauty

When I started scrambling, I thought of summits as a good fitness reward. It's a tangible thing to attain. I’ll be the first to admit a summit is a pretty special place. My reasoning was that if I suffered all of the agony of spending an entire day on a mountain trying to attain a summit, then that in and of itself would be the reward.

What I hadn't anticipated is falling in love with the process of growing and becoming stronger. After each trip in the mountains, I feel this light soreness in my muscles. And that soreness is my muscles growing. I LOVE the feeling of growing stronger. What I thrive on today is getting my heart rate up and sustained for a long day and the soreness in my muscles after the climb. Oh, and you know what else happened? I got better at scrambling!

I love that my body is the tool that I use to unlock places of beauty outside in nature and inside my soul.

thank you

A huge thank you, Anna, for sharing such a strong, inspiring story.

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I want to invite you to subscribe to my blog via RSS feed or email to stay up to date on the latest posts, or subscribe to my newsletter for the latest news and additional articles and information from Expand Outdoors (of course, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can do all three!).

If you’re thinking about hiring a life coach, this is a great place to start.

Other posts you might enjoy:

• The Edge
• Being a Beginner Surrounded by Experts
• Late-blooming Athletes: A Compilation
• I’m Sorry: Why Apologies in the Outdoors Can Sabotage Your Progress